To Change or not to Change, Oil

[Anonymous]

At the rate I'm driving, I wonder when I will get an oil change.
The last time I got an oil change was last year, July 2019.
Like some people, my driving has reduce down to about 30 miles a week or less since March. The oil is at 40%. The car is about 100,100 miles. I'm really waiting for it to get to 101,000 miles or the next oil change to get a tune up. I usually change my oil at 15%.
I like to have things check before winter comes. The car is starting to make sounds that needs to be checked. The more I drive it, the less sounds my car makes. Should I just change my oil at the current 40% and get a tune up at the same time? Or wait till it drops down to 15% to take it in?
I really don't want to take my car to the shop more than once. And I prefer to take my car in before winter weather kicks in.

[Anonymous]

You should still change it every six months or so even with low miles.

[Anonymous]

I would do it all now.

[Anonymous]

July 2019? Do it now!

[Anonymous]

The sound is not from old oil. You need to drive more. Take it in and do pre-winter check up and change the oil while there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You should still change it every six months or so even with low miles.

Not true.

[Anonymous]

Am I the only one that drove very little between March-May. Most people were barely going anywhere. Even grocery trips were minimized. And I definitely do not drive around to multiple grocery stores looking for the lowest price for toilet paper or chicken.

[Anonymous]

The protections that oil provides to your engine degrade over time. This is why they recommend changing after X miles or Y months. You should go ahead and get it changed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should still change it every six months or so even with low miles.

Not true.

Agree. That’s a waste of resources and money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At the rate I'm driving, I wonder when I will get an oil change.
The last time I got an oil change was last year, July 2019.
Like some people, my driving has reduce down to about 30 miles a week or less since March. The oil is at 40%. The car is about 100,100 miles. I'm really waiting for it to get to 101,000 miles or the next oil change to get a tune up. I usually change my oil at 15%.
I like to have things check before winter comes. The car is starting to make sounds that needs to be checked. The more I drive it, the less sounds my car makes. Should I just change my oil at the current 40% and get a tune up at the same time? Or wait till it drops down to 15% to take it in?
I really don't want to take my car to the shop more than once. And I prefer to take my car in before winter weather kicks in.

You need to have your oil topped off. It doesn’t work the way you are explaining it. It needs to stay full even between oil changes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The protections that oil provides to your engine degrade over time. This is why they recommend changing after X miles or Y months. You should go ahead and get it changed.

That’s a function of time spent in a *running* engine. Not an infrequently used car.

As the engine runs, the oil picks up contaminants from fuel combustion, and additives and friction modifiers in the oil vaporize and are gradually “cooked out” of the oil as it is heated over time.

But oil sitting day after day in a cold engine in a car that is only driven a few times a month isn’t “aging”. It’s not doing anything. Oil only degrades during the time the engine is actually running.

I have a Corvette that only gets driven maybe 1,500 miles a year. The last oil change it had was in 2018. The oil currently in the engine from that change still looks like brand new oil at 2,700 miles. Changing it unnecessarily is a waste of money and resources.

[Anonymous]

I would change the oil at least once a year. Oil does in fact oxidize even when not being used.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At the rate I'm driving, I wonder when I will get an oil change.
The last time I got an oil change was last year, July 2019.
Like some people, my driving has reduce down to about 30 miles a week or less since March. The oil is at 40%. The car is about 100,100 miles. I'm really waiting for it to get to 101,000 miles or the next oil change to get a tune up. I usually change my oil at 15%.
I like to have things check before winter comes. The car is starting to make sounds that needs to be checked. The more I drive it, the less sounds my car makes. Should I just change my oil at the current 40% and get a tune up at the same time? Or wait till it drops down to 15% to take it in?
I really don't want to take my car to the shop more than once. And I prefer to take my car in before winter weather kicks in.

How many miles have you driven since the July 2019 oil change? If you've synthetic oil, you should be good for another 6-12 months and if you've used quality oils like Mobil 1, you're good go drive up to 10k miles on it, no need to worry. the 900 miles from 100,100 to 101,000 won't make much difference. If you've driven 12k miles after a oil change, I'd start to worry a bit, but even then, you can use run a $20 engine cleaner that will take out any grime or stuff stuck in various places.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would change the oil at least once a year. Oil does in fact oxidize even when not being used.

How exactly does a substance “oxidize” in an environment that is almost entirely devoid of oxygen? There is almost zero empty space inside an engine, except under the valve/cam covers, and inside the cylinders themselves, and inside the intake manifold and exhaust manifolds. The rest of the void spaces within an engine block are filled with coolant, and oil.

Please tell me where all the atmospheric oxygen that is in contact with the non-circulating oil is coming from. Because that makes no sense to me. But then again, I’m just some dumb guy who’s built a few engines.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would change the oil at least once a year. Oil does in fact oxidize even when not being used.

How exactly does a substance “oxidize” in an environment that is almost entirely devoid of oxygen? There is almost zero empty space inside an engine, except under the valve/cam covers, and inside the cylinders themselves, and inside the intake manifold and exhaust manifolds. The rest of the void spaces within an engine block are filled with coolant, and oil.

Please tell me where all the atmospheric oxygen that is in contact with the non-circulating oil is coming from. Because that makes no sense to me. But then again, I’m just some dumb guy who’s built a few engines.

Probably the same guys who was here months ago arguing with me that the white steam from car tailpipes at cold mornings is due to water condensation in the engine.