Should I change oil/filter?

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Jul 14, 2020
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Heres the deal, My 65 Mustang with the 200 engine is only used for cruises and car shows. It also sits the rest of the time in my attached garage which does not get below freezing in winter, but does get into the 90s in summer. When driven it is always (well 99% of the time). warmed fully, and NEVER driven or started all winter. Now, in 2020 it was only driven about 3 or 4 times, and this year several more, but at this time has only 750 miles since I changed the oil with synthetic oil, and a Fram Ultra filter. This was in September 2019. The oil still looks, feels, and smells like new oil. I am thinking I can go another year, at which time it will probably have less than 2000 miles before changing. What say you all?
 
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I'm old enough to remember when that car was new on the lot. If it were mine I'd drive the wheels off it and take me back to '65!

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My general rule is up to two years, however when it has so few miles, the engine got up to temp every
time and if you're using low-sulphur fuel and synthetic oil up to three years likely won't do any harm.

Just drive it more often!
 
Heres the deal, My 65 Mustang with the 200 engine is only used for cruises and car shows. It also sits the rest of the time in my attached garage which does not get below freezing in winter, but does get into the 90s in summer. When driven it is always (well 99% of the time). warmed fully, and NEVER driven or started all winter. Now, in 2020 it was only driven about 3 or 4 times, and this year several more, but at this time has only 750 miles since I changed the oil with synthetic oil, and a Fram Ultra filter. This was in September 2019. The oil still looks, feels, and smells like new oil. I am thinking I can go another year, at which time it will probably have less than 2000 miles before changing. What say you all?
Change your oil filter at every OCI.
 
My general rule is up to two years, however when it has so few miles, the engine got up to temp every
time and if you're using low-sulphur fuel and synthetic oil up to three years likely won't do any harm.

Just drive it more often!
I really do need to drive it more often, as right now it still has some of the gas that I put in last Sept. just before storing. It is top tier E-0 with both sta-bil and lead substitute in it.
 
If money is not an issue for an oil change once per year and its your favorite toy, why try 2 years? If you want to play it safe, its every year.
 
If it was my Mustang, I would change it every fall. I would install a drain plug in the fuel tank so I could drain out the regular gas and put in about 4-5 gals of race gas. Start it and smell the sweet fumes all the while letting the carb get full of it. Next Spring it'll fire right up!!!! BUT. I like to change oil. I like spotless clean oil. I know......I know. I'm obsessed, I can't help it.
 
I'm old enough to remember when that car was new on the lot. If it were mine I'd drive the wheels off it and take me back to '65!

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I was 5 years old when the '65's hit the car lots. A little bit too young to pay much attention to cars. My interest in cars I peaked at about 13-14 years old and I've been in love with them ever since.
 
My oil changes use to be ~$50, then went to about $30. Then $15-20. Now it's almost free, plus the cost of a filter. I view filters now as an annual replacement, or 10k miles. So that's annually, and my filters are about $5.

My oil change philosophy just changed radically this year. Heck, this month. The oil clearance Gods have been generous. I think my average price per qt of oil right now for premium blends and synthetics is probably about 20 cents per qt, maybe 50 cents. Me personally, I'm going with faster OCIs going forward for vehicles I really care about. No need to play the "should I change it" game when it costs less than $3 to dump the oil and replace it with new. It's not even worthy of a question. If you're wondering, it's a $3 solution to dump it. Annual cost of oil/filter for me are $10 for the year.

That's MY current situation. YMMV but this is the advantage of stocking up on oils. In this situation if I had that Mustang, and my oil stash, I'd drive the car more and change it at least seasonally or every couple thousand miles.
 
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This is one of those cases where it's better for you to do it for your own peace of mind, rather than for the vehicle's health. If you feel comfortable leaving the oil in your crankcase for over a year, then do it and don't worry about it. But if it's playing on your mind, change both the oil and filter when YOU deem it necessary.

I'm somewhat in the same position as you. I'm retired with 3 vehicles. So none of my vehicles get driven a lot of miles. I have gotten into the habit of changing oil and filter every 6 months, regardless of mileage, (which isn't much). I do it myself. Once in the Spring around April, and in the Fall around October. Do my cars need it? No. And most everyone here who knows about oil could make the argument that I'm over doing it.

But the thing is this. And there is no getting around this. It makes ME feel better. And let's face it, we're all here because we are all somewhat compulsive about motor oil and lubrication. So for me, 6 month oil and filter changes just goes with the territory. As Forest Gump said, "That's all I have to say about that".
 
This is one of those cases where it's better for you to do it for your own peace of mind, rather than for the vehicle's health. If you feel comfortable leaving the oil in your crankcase for over a year, then do it and don't worry about it. But if it's playing on your mind, change both the oil and filter when YOU deem it necessary.

I'm somewhat in the same position as you. I'm retired with 3 vehicles. So none of my vehicles get driven a lot of miles. I have gotten into the habit of changing oil and filter every 6 months, regardless of mileage, (which isn't much). I do it myself. Once in the Spring around April, and in the Fall around October. Do my cars need it? No. And most everyone here who knows about oil could make the argument that I'm over doing it.

But the thing is this. And there is no getting around this. It makes ME feel better. And let's face it, we're all here because we are all somewhat compulsive about motor oil and lubrication. So for me, 6 month oil and filter changes just goes with the territory. As Forest Gump said, "That's all I have to say about that".

A totally legit outlook. I've come to enjoy it to some degree as well. :)
 
I am retired, with four cars and two motorcycles. I change them at six to eight thousand miles, or every year, whichever comes first. Why? Because I lived in a wet/dry, cold/warm climate (tn), and vehicles here are known to pick up significant condensation in winter.

If your weather includes dramatic changes, condensation can get you.

Also, I liked the "so I won't worry" answer above... :)

Chris
 
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