This is a pretty simple but important question. My C6 has about 4000 miles on it. I have not changed the oil yet. Though I suspect the time is soon approaching. When is a good time to change the oil? This car is an everyday driver. At how many miles do you guys change your oil? Thanks.

Amber

 

Just posted about using Rhino Ramps on Gen discussion. Changed mine today at 2000 then will go 5000 or 12 months. First oil change, most would say, do earlier than future ones. I'd do it soon if I were you. Then every 5k should be fine.

 

Have the oil changed very soon.After that I would do every 5k miles.There is also a oil life remaining option on your dash.I believe you press the trip button?(check the manual)

 

Synthetics last far longer than normal oil, but it depends on the type of driving you do. The oil life in the DIC is based on about 15,000 miles of highway driving. If you do alot of highway I would follow that and allow no more than 10,000. If you do alot of city then I would probably change it more like 5000-7500 depending on the mix. No more than a year between changes, absolute max.

I did my initial change at 3000 just for the sake of paranoia.

 

This question has been discussed many times and there is no correct answer. Members have changed their oil as early as 500 miles and up to 10,000 +/- miles. It doesn't hurt to change it often but the question is, is it necessary? Only you can answer that. Some members follow the DIC but in my opinion it waits to long. If I were you I would have it done soon. IMO.

 

If you want to pollute the environment & throw money away under the guise of "cheap insurance for a $50k+ car", change it less than 7500 miles. Otherwise, follow the DIC.

 

Newton, buy a prius.

Oil gets re-cycled now a days....might be made into tupperware, pavement, etc.

 

Oil is the cheapest thing you put into your engine. The "initial" oil change should be done earlier than the regular interval. Get that crap out of your engine. Change it soon!

To put into perspective~ Do you have your nails done every other week-or once every other year?...

Sometimes I surprise even myself...

 

Not only does used oil get recycled, but re-refined. It is then sold to Gov't agencies that require "re-refined" products.

Think USMC & USN...

 

i put the drain oil back in the ground so some day a t rex will be born

 

Get it changed as soon as conveniently possible (especially since this is the first oil change). Others may disagree but IMO changing your oil at sooner than recommended intervals is good practice.

 

Change it now and then whenever your DIC drops below 50% oil life.

 

Just for another point of view, a few LS2's in GTO's died on the forums, a common occurance was extended oil changes and waiting till the DIC said it was time for an oil change.

I'll change mine at 500, then every 3K beyond that. Might be overkill but it's a small price to pay to keep the engine happy.

 

Even if you wait until the DIC says 0% oil life left you're safe, as there is still some leeway there. So there is no sense changing it any earlier than the DIC tells you too. If you aren't confident going that long, try doing longer intervals in stages. Do an oil change at 50%, send in the oil for analysis, and I guarantee (unless something is seriously wrong with your engine or you're letting in a lot of dirt into the engine) they'll tell you the oil is suitable for continued use. Then on the next one, go down to 25% and also get it analyzed. Pretty soon you'll be confident enough to go down to 0%.

 

get it changed asap I would have dropped the 1st change at 500-1000 for break in reasons.every 5000mi is fine for a daily driver

 

Trust your DIC. Compulsive oil changers may disagree, but consistent oil analysis says there is no good reason to change it earlier.

 

Amber,

Like you, my C5 before and now my C6 are also daily drivers in the same climate. My driving is mostly around town, not much true highway. In the old days, natural (dinosaur ) oil would break down fairly quickly, and I religiously changed oil every 3000 miles as cheap insurance to make the motor last. Synthetic Mobil One lasts much longer than dino oil however, and I go by the DIC Oil Life Monitor, changing the oil when it gets to 10 or 15% life left. For my driving around town to and from work, that's about 5000 miles. Following the DIC for over five years, my '97 C5 used no oil the day I sold it to buy my C6, so I'd say following the Oil Life Montor in the DIC is safe.

The only exception is if you drive often in dusty conditions, as the Oil Life Monitor can't adjust for that. If you do, then you should change more often, like every 3000 or so, just follow the manual recommendation.

However, many people recommend that you do your first oil change early, to get rid of any metal shavings that may have accumulated during the break in period. Out of paranoia, I did my first change at 2500 miles with 50% life left showing on the Oil Life Monitor.

Enjoy your Vette!

Henry

 

4k miles.... time for new oil

 

Once I did my break in changes, which I did at 500 and then again at 2000 miles. I know change mine every 7500 miles. If I were in a very dusty climate, I would probably drop to 3500 miles. This is using a high quality synthetic and NOT dino oil. YMMV and good luck.