when do you change your oil
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 223
Likes: 1
From: Chesterfield, MO
I change the oil before I store for the winter. then I drive until 50% on reminder and then change again. Truthfully, this usually means I change once a year before I store the car for the winter. I don't want any contaminants in oil when I store.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 8,812
Likes: 2,029
From: eastern NC
I'm sure this goes without saying, but the oil life monitor is calibrated around synthetic oil. If you are not using synthetic oil, the oil life monitor is not a reliable indicator of when to change the oil. 
I use synthetic in most of my vehicles so I change them at; 10k, when the oil life monitor gets below 5% or once a year, whichever comes first. For the Corvettes it's typically once a year. For my vehicles with conventional oil, it's every 3-5,000 miles.
Good luck... GUSTO
I use synthetic in most of my vehicles so I change them at; 10k, when the oil life monitor gets below 5% or once a year, whichever comes first. For the Corvettes it's typically once a year. For my vehicles with conventional oil, it's every 3-5,000 miles.
Good luck... GUSTO
Racer
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 272
Likes: 0
From: Reinholds PA
Usually do an oil change before the first track day. These days annual mileage is only driving to track days or AXs, so probably < 1500miles/year.
Oil temp during a 20 minute track session can hit 320F, oil pressure goes down accordingly w/a 10W-30 Mobil1 oil.
As per Mobil rep a couple years ago Mobil 1 upper limit was 400F, after a 300F+ track day weekend the oil gets changed again.
FYI: I had a Chevy Trailblazer ( company car and did a lot of highway driving) and always put Mobil 1 in it. I typically changed oil at 7000-9000 miles. if I changed oil at 3000 miles I'd be a Jiffy Lube every 3-4 weeks.
One time the dealer forgot to reset the meter and it told me to change oil at 12,500 miles!
Oil temp during a 20 minute track session can hit 320F, oil pressure goes down accordingly w/a 10W-30 Mobil1 oil.
As per Mobil rep a couple years ago Mobil 1 upper limit was 400F, after a 300F+ track day weekend the oil gets changed again.
FYI: I had a Chevy Trailblazer ( company car and did a lot of highway driving) and always put Mobil 1 in it. I typically changed oil at 7000-9000 miles. if I changed oil at 3000 miles I'd be a Jiffy Lube every 3-4 weeks.
One time the dealer forgot to reset the meter and it told me to change oil at 12,500 miles!
