Oil changes
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,064
Likes: 0
From: Warwick RI
Oil changes
I always have been a 3000mi changer on every vehicle I 've had even my 96 vette. My 05 is approaching 7000 mi ( bought it in March had 3300 on it) not sure if oil was changed by previous owner. Oil has life of 69% left. Going on a 2000mi trip in two weeks. Should I change it before I go. I'm almost 60 and I'm not used to this % crap. Old school you know.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 8,205
Likes: 40
From: Tucson AZ
I know you will get MANY opinions on this one..... However, I solved the problem by going to a six-month or 6K mile change period. Don't worry about the DIC reading, just change the oil, reset the monitor and enjoy the car. There is NO need to change synthetic oil more often that 6-7.5K miles. 
Safety Car
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 3,860
Likes: 5
From: Tampa FL
The synthetic oil has a long life but I've been changing mine at 5000 miles just like my other cars with regular oil. I would change it before the trip. I would rather be on the side of caution. Oil changes are cheap. Peace of mind is worth something.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 2,210
Likes: 9
From: CA
I always have been a 3000mi changer on every vehicle I 've had even my 96 vette. My 05 is approaching 7000 mi ( bought it in March had 3300 on it) not sure if oil was changed by previous owner. Oil has life of 69% left. Going on a 2000mi trip in two weeks. Should I change it before I go. I'm almost 60 and I'm not used to this % crap. Old school you know.
Technology marches on.
You can bank on the oil life monitor unless you modifed the engine.
There are decades of research into this stuff. You can trust the engineers on this. We pay for a lot of things on these cars, performance, handling, and yes....... less maintainance then days of old.
It must be changed every year no matter what the OLM says though.
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,651
Likes: 125
From: laguna niguel ca
It's not the Oil that goes away, It's the filter!!!!
It's true that mobil 1 will last way past the 3000 mile mark. But the Oil filter woun't. No matter which one you use. Look at your filter, it's the size of your fist. Now , how much dirt do you really think it will trap? No way will it clean oil for 5,6 7000 miles. It simply physics. I change my oil and filter every 2500-3000 miles. excessive yes. I've got a $14,000 forged 427 L92 motor in my 05 C6. Oil and filters are cheap compared to a motor's life expendency. I even use the Mobil one M1-206 which is 1 inch deeper than the standard filter,and 15-50 mobil 1 because of the looser Piston to cylinder clearences. The filter is $11.00 and the Oil is close to $50 a case. Much more than the $29 spent on 10-30 mobil 1 I used in my modded LS2 motor. It's still a small price to pay for what I consider good insurance. Anyway that's my opinion on oil changes. If you do keep your oil 6 or 7000 miles then simply change your filter at 3000 miles and top off the oil, and go on your way. What's the cost of a filter and a few minutes of your time?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 2,210
Likes: 9
From: CA
It's true that mobil 1 will last way past the 3000 mile mark. But the Oil filter woun't. No matter which one you use. Look at your filter, it's the size of your fist. Now , how much dirt do you really think it will trap? No way will it clean oil for 5,6 7000 miles. It simply physics. I change my oil and filter every 2500-3000 miles. excessive yes. I've got a $14,000 forged 427 L92 motor in my 05 C6. Oil and filters are cheap compared to a motor's life expendency. I even use the Mobil one M1-206 which is 1 inch deeper than the standard filter,and 15-50 mobil 1 because of the looser Piston to cylinder clearences. The filter is $11.00 and the Oil is close to $50 a case. Much more than the $29 spent on 10-30 mobil 1 I used in my modded LS2 motor. It's still a small price to pay for what I consider good insurance. Anyway that's my opinion on oil changes. If you do keep your oil 6 or 7000 miles then simply change your filter at 3000 miles and top off the oil, and go on your way. What's the cost of a filter and a few minutes of your time?
Unmodded, the filters can do the job just fine.........
http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/s.../oil-life.html
"To date we have completed our tests of Mobil 1 and Amsoil. Mobil 1 held on for 18,000 miles, and didn't need its first oil filter until 12,000 miles."
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