seldom driven miata dino or synthetic

[MARCUSBEAR]

my wifes miata 1999 with 33k miles driven very few miles ( less than 5 per day ) .. need advise on which oil to use dino or synthetic .currently using 10w30 castrol gtx changed every six months ..should i be using mobil 1 instead .. did a search on this topic did not really come up with a answer..thanks

 

[joe4324]

ewww 5mi per day. it sounds like the car might never even really warm up... If thats the case I'd be concerned about start up wear more then anything. Ultimately its not alot of miles your putting on it but how many cold starts. I'm certianly not anyone worthy of advice. But... I'd consider doing a full synthetic and maybe only changing it once a year... That or run it for 6 months and do a UOA and see what happens....

 

[MARCUSBEAR]

thanks for the quick reply ..was leaning towards going to synthetic (mobil 1 or redline ) ..the car is kinda of pain to change the oil ..you have to take off the right front wheel to get to the oil filter ..i am 6'5" 300 pounds so even with rhino ramps its a tight squeeze under the car .. and no i do not drive this car very often .. i think my wife bought this car for that reason ..

 

[John in the ATL]

Since you are in Miami (tropical climate), I would go with Mobil 1 10w-30 with a good filter Bosch, Baldwin, Hastings, etal. Stick with the 6 month interval change (oil and filter).

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

My worry would be the thinning of the oil due to fuel dilution. You have got to get the car out on the highway for a run or any oil you use will make no difference.

 

[MARCUSBEAR]

next oil change i will switch to mobil 1 10w30 .
been using purolator pure one filter.. thanks for all your advise

 

[pscholte]

Oh no, the cooties are back!!

 

[Chris B.]

quote:

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Originally posted by GROUCHO MARX:
My worry would be the thinning of the oil due to fuel dilution. You have got to get the car out on the highway for a run or any oil you use will make no difference.

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Exactly! You need to take the car out at least once a week and drive it long and hard to get it up to temp and burn off the "cooties" in the oil.