oil change -mileage vs. time?

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I have read where one should change oil every blank miles or blank months whichever comes first! If a person has very few miles , lets say 1000 for an example, and it has been six months since an oil change, should you change the oil? Even with less miles how does oil degrade from just setting there and not being used?
 
Yes and no
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. With fewer miles on the oil there will be fewer combustion products in the oil to cause deterioration of the oil. Also the heat generated by fewer miles will also mean less deterioration of the oil. The combustion products in the oil will though have a longer time to cause problems.

But really there is absolutely no reason that an oil can't go a year (or more) with so few miles on it. On thing that can help the situation is a good long trip just before a long period of sittting which will get rid of a lot of the moisture and even unburned fuel in the oil.

The other thing is that many many shorter trips over a long period of time on the same oil is worse than fewer trips (same total milage).
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The real problem is that all miles are not equal. If the 1,000 miles in 6 months was composed of 2 500 mile trips no problem. If the 1,000 miles in 6 months was composed of many many 2 mile trips you probably have a problem (fuel dilution, sludge, varnish, etc).

To be safe the makers generally state a mile and time interval.
 
Also, even if short trips if you warm that engine up by driving at least 10 miles or so most of the time you can go a year. I have one that gets less then 3000 miles a year on it and change oil and filter once a year and this has worked fine. I try to drive it at leat 10 miles every time I cold start it though.
 
I have too pondered that same thought. If that was the case, us boaters would be out changing our oils in the dead middle of winter! I liken it to shelf oil. You know that the oil can set up on the shelf for a long time. So, if you don't have many miles on the oil, I think it would be fine sitting in the crankcase.
 
If miles are low...my vote goes to 1-2 years...eg. 3k in 1 year is no big deal in my book....especially if syth.
 
quote:

Originally posted by yankees1:
I have read where one should change oil every blank miles or blank months whichever comes first! If a person has very few miles , lets say 1000 for an example, and it has been six months since an oil change, should you change the oil? Even with less miles how does oil degrade from just setting there and not being used?

Like others have said, if it's doing a lot of short trips every day and it takes that long to put on miles, then yes you should change it at no longer than six months.

However I suspect you might be referring to your 2003 Corvette? In which case I would suspect that you only drive it on nice days on the weekends, so it doesn't get too many miles put on it, but when you do drive it you'll always go on a long enough drive to get the oil temperature above 180F for a good period of time.

If this is the case, then you could certainly go one full year, and perhaps even two years, although I'd recommend getting an oil analysis done after going one full year first.
 
I have to agree with what the type of miles were. My Jeep get driven about 8000 miles a year. I change it every 3000 miles, regardless of time. It may sit for a week without being driven. It drives some short (3-10 miles) several times, but also has several 50-60 mile trips and occasional 200 mile trips along with some off-roading. I am @ 4 months right now, but only 1600 miles on the oil. I am actualy going to be doing a UOA on this next change, both for a initial engine wear check and to see if Valvoline All-Climate is as bad as everyone seems to think.
 
VW Castrol SLX Longlife Overview for OCI
Between 9000m or 12mths to 30000 or 24mths

LongLife Regime.
To obtain the most benefit from the LongLife service regime, the car should to be generally driven in a style/condition of use listed below
• Mainly longer distance journeys.
• Limited number of cold starts, engine is kept at operating temperature over a longer period of time.
• Daily mileage above approx. 25 miles.
• Constant speed.
• Vehicle used regularly.

Time/Distance Regime.
It your is driven in a style of use listed below, it may make sense to opt for the Time/Distance regime.

• Extremely uneconomical driving style ie continual maximum acceleration ie "foot to floor"
• Vehicle fully loaded
• Mainly short journeys.
• Frequent cold starts.
• Frequent hill climbs.
• Frequent towing.
• City Centre driving
 
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