Low mileage oil change interval

[ncted]

With the advent of my wife working from home 100% of the time and increased gas prices, we are driving our cars a lot less these days. We easily hit the time interval between oil changes way before the mileage interval. I was curious what people think about how often I reasonably need to change the oil and filter. Does synthetic oil change the interval at all? I assume it is more important on our EJ25 Forester XT, but that is just an assumption.

 

Anyway, opinions welcome.

[silverton]

As long as you get it up to operating temp regularly you could go a year or so. do some reading on bobistheoilguy, the one thread i looked in to had someone saying their 29 year old bmw gets its oil changed every four years.

 

if you're really curious how long your oil can go for do a six month change and send a sample to blackstone, one of their options is testing for extended use iirc, they'll let you know how often you should change the oil in YOUR engine.

[Brisvegas]

With the advent of my wife working from home 100% of the time and increased gas prices, we are driving our cars a lot less these days. We easily hit the time interval between oil changes way before the mileage interval. I was curious what people think about how often I reasonably need to change the oil and filter. Does synthetic oil change the interval at all? I assume it is more important on our EJ25 Forester XT, but that is just an assumption.

 

Anyway, opinions welcome.

 

Here are 3 random opinions ... (the internet is full of them, so take your pick)

 

https://www.oceanworksberkeley.com/blog/does-oil-go-bad-sitting-in-an-engine

 

 

https://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/car-technology/a24676402/old-motor-oil/

 

 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/oil-change-truths/

 

 

As for me, I just follow the Subaru service manual :lol:

[ncted]

Here are 3 random opinions ... (the internet is full of them, so take your pick)

 

https://www.oceanworksberkeley.com/blog/does-oil-go-bad-sitting-in-an-engine

 

 

https://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/car-technology/a24676402/old-motor-oil/

 

 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/oil-change-truths/

 

 

As for me, I just follow the Subaru service manual :lol:

 

I was following the Subaru recommended intervals until the past couple of years. FWIW: I had the original oil in a lawnmower for 10 years, and it still ran great when I gave it away. I was young and ignorant. Didn't realize oil changes were required. I think I could be comfortable up to a year, assuming the engine warms fully when it is driven.

[Max Capacity]

Once a year or 18 months should be fine. I'll agree the important thing is when you do drive the car, make sure you drive it long enough to get the oil hot enough to boil the moisture out of it.

 

One of my cars normally sits for weeks, but when I do drive it, it gets at least 10 miles on the highway. That's how far it is to get to most restaurants on Saturday night.

 

My 86' F150 gets its oil changed every 2 years, but it only gets about 800 miles a year. it uses Castrol GTX 10w-30

[waldguy]

I did the changes at the recommended time intervals and documented it until my drivetrain warranty expired. Now, I go by mileage, which will be about 2 times every three years. Oil lubricity (slipperiness) and viscosity doesn't break down significantly with time alone. Edited July 7, 2022 by waldguy

[silverton]

I did the changes at the recommended time intervals and documented it until my drivetrain warranty expired.

 

Smart!