To oil change or not to oil change after 1yr/2.3k miles

[FC]

Naturally I am talking about the Miata. I have all the stuff for the job and was planning on doing it this weekend. But is it overkill? Should I wait another year (or at least half a year)?

It's not hard and it's not a lot of money, just get the sense that ti is wasteful.

[bren]

I have this same debate pretty much every year with all of my cars.

[JST]

Naturally I am talking about the Miata. I have all the stuff for the job and was planning on doing it this weekend. But is it overkill? Should I wait another year (or at least half a year)?

It's not hard and it's not a lot of money, just get the sense that ti is wasteful.

I do oil changes every 12 months on the Boxster, even if I've only driven a couple of thousand miles. It probably is wasteful, but for annual maintenance the expense is pretty minimal and it can't hurt to get any moisture that might have gotten in their out.

[FC]

Glad I am not alone. Normally I'd do it without thinking too much about it, but The Miata has 83k miles, the engine is pretty bullet-proof, and it is not a fancy, expensive car.

[FC]

I do oil changes every 12 months on the Boxster, even if I've only driven a couple of thousand miles. It probably is wasteful, but for annual maintenance the expense is pretty minimal and it can't hurt to get any moisture that might have gotten in their out.

You are right. I'll just do it.

[zach]

I do oil changes every 12 months on the Boxster, even if I've only driven a couple of thousand miles. It probably is wasteful, but for annual maintenance the expense is pretty minimal and it can't hurt to get any moisture that might have gotten in their out.

Same here with the M3. There were a few years where I had driven less than 500 miles between oil changes, but I still think it's worth it.

[Nick M3]

It's a Miata. I'd probably be comfortable with 24 months. :p

[FC]

It's a Miata. I'd probably be comfortable with 24 months. :p

:lol: Well, that was the whole point of the thread. I did them religiously on the 997TT regardless of the low miles.

[Biggins]

I usually do one in March/April before autocross season starts on the FR-S and one more if I'm trekking to Nebraska that year in late August. If I didn't autocross so much, I would maybe do it every 12-15 months with how few miles I put on the car.

I still stick to every 5-7k miles on the CR-Vs no matter the timeframe.

[Nick M3]

:lol: Well, that was the whole point of the thread. I did them religiously on the 997TT regardless of the low miles.
Also, if moisture in the oil is your concern, just get it hot.

[rumatt]

It's a Miata. I'd probably be comfortable with 24 months. :pThat's what I was thinking. :lol:

And how long are you going to keep it.

[kognito]

I just went through this with my RV (ford V-10, many quarts of synthetic blend required) It only has about 3K miles on it but is over a year old. Went to the local Pennzoil drive through (not going to put a 26 foot RV on a lift) and the owner told me to bring it back when it had 5k miles on it.

In a world where anyone seems willing to take your money, I found his honesty about what his computer system said about usage and mileage comforting

[equ]

I used to do 12 months regardless of mileage. But we have simply too many vehicles now (have to do something about that). Four cars, three motorcycles. For the less driven ones, I've stretched it to 18 months (say 1.5k miles on a bike or 3k miles on a car).

I think it's completely fine, especially as I get the oil hot on most of those runs (never do a short cycle).

I also remember when I was shopping for m3's, I looked at a local mint one. It had 14k miles and had only the first 1.2k oil change and maybe one more at 12k miles - over nearly 10 years!

When I passed, the seller got all huffy, as it seems the e46 computer did not call for it based on time. Anyway, EAG bought that car and sold it for a pretty penny.

[John V]

I wouldn't change it. If you want a little peace of mind about that decision, suck out a sample of oil and send it out for analysis.

[Alan]

I’d follow whatever the manufacturer recommends ... I do oil changes once a year and brake fluid changes every 2 years on both the R8 and 911 and like equ I wanted the maintenance records on the R8 when I bought it and every maintenance was followed to the T. For a car with 15k miles it has had more brake fluid changes then most cars had oil changes :D

[Nick M3]

I wouldn't change it. If you want a little peace of mind about that decision, suck out a sample of oil and send it out for analysis.
Isn’t an oil analysis the same cost as a miata oil change?

[rumatt]

Isn’t an oil analysis the same cost as a miata oil change?

:bustingup

But he'd know for future years.

[John V]

Isn’t an oil analysis the same cost as a miata oil change?

5 Quarts of decent (not Mobil 1) synthetic plus a filter? No.

[Nick M3]

5 Quarts of decent (not Mobil 1) synthetic plus a filter? No.
Why would you put better oil than M1 in a Miata?

[rumatt]

I know Mobile 1 fell off its pedestal years ago... But what exactly is better?

A while back I asked the Blackstone oil analysis guys what oil they recommended, and they said any of the synthetic oils are all pretty much in the same bucket. That made me lose interest in trying to pick the best oil. Now I just focus on trying to remember to change it once in a while. :lol:

[FC]

MObil 1 Extended performance is supposed to be decent. That’s what I use.

[John V]

Why would you put better oil than M1 in a Miata?

Because you have to rev the piss out of the engine to get it to go anywhere? Because you plan to keep it a long time? I put good oil in all of our vehicles :dunno:

[Nick M3]

Because you have to rev the piss out of the engine to get it to go anywhere? Because you plan to keep it a long time? I put good oil in all of our vehicles :dunno:
Is there any chance in hell that FC keeps the Miata for 200-300,000 miles, which is around the point when it *might* matter that M1 is not necessarily the absolute best oil in existence?

[lemming]

i'd love to see the difference in "wear" or oil "ageing" by analysis if, for example, FC did not change the oil and let the car sit over the winter.

[bren]

i'd love to see the difference in "wear" or oil "ageing" by analysis if, for example, FC did not change the oil and let the car sit over the winter.

Yeah, me too. Can you do the snow blower also please. :D

[lemming]

wouldn't the main concern be with an older engine that there could be fuel contaminant in the oil?

beyond that, the synthetic polymers would not have broken down.

and the mileage is too low for any colloidal-type of particulates to build up.

[ff]

wouldn't the main concern be with an older engine that there could be fuel contaminant in the oil?


And moisture. I think that once/year is all the further I'd let it go.

It costs all of $30 and an hour of your time to change the oil. Plus it's a chance to tinker around in the garage. In my mind, it's not even a question of should I?, but when can I start?.

[John V]

Moisture in the oil isn't really a problem that needs to be solved with an oil change. Just get the car up to temperature and the moisture will go away.