3000 mile oil change

[JohnnyC]

Hi all. I was wondering who here always changes their oil every 3000 miles exactly? Or conversly, who waits for the "Change oil" light to go off before changing, be it 3500-4000 miles since last oil change. I know keeping up the oil changes in a performance engine like the Corvette is very important, and I will continue to do so in a timely manner.

The last oil change i had was 3100 or so ago, and I am ready to take it in for the oil change. But the light has not gone off. The last time it went off was 1500 miles or so ago, and it was not cleared the past oil change, because it was not on then. Therefore, my conclusion is that the oil must have been good for about 4500 miles. Just simple math.

So, actually the post is a two part question i guess: I read up somewhere(probably the manual) that the light goes on due to oil break down or something along those lines and is not "timed" or "milaged" in any way. Can someone explain this to me further?

I drive fairly conservatively or economically, not racing, or going to high revs normally... but it is a Corvette, so I have fun some time I generally have short trips, 5-10 miles one way.

Any thoughts or comments on oil changes are welcome.
John

 

[Edmond]

John,

I read that the computer will record revolutions, driving conditions and mileage to determine when that change oil light will come on. I think that the 3,000 mile oil change is really a fabrication of those Jiffy Lube, 15 minute oil change places.

"Under ideal conditions", whatever those are, I've read that cars can go up to 7,500 between changes. Would I ever wait that long? No way, the cost of changing oil is too cheap to take a chance like that.

I change my Corvette with synthetic when it's a couple hundred less than the 3,000 mark. It's 14 years old with 93,xxx on the clock so I try to baby her a little bit. I use Mobil 1 synthetic with a Mobil 1 high efficiency filter.

My Toyota, I do about 3,000 with regular oil. It has 132,000 on the clock and it's a 94' so I put quite a few miles on it. Costs about $1.28 each for 5 quarts of oil and about $3.00 for an oil filter.

I work with a guy who strictly changes his oil 2 times a year, but he doesn't drive very far, probably 10 miles round trip a day to work/school.

 

[dmkoger]

On my C5 I'm going to go by the oil life indicator. When it gets to 10%, I change it. I estimate it will get about 10,000 between changes. I figure the GM engineers are more knowledgeable than Jiffy Lube about when to change the oil. ON my other vehicles, that dont use synthetic, I change about every 5000. I'll add tho, about 90% of my driving is interstate.

 

[Vettelt193]

The oil life monitor (on C4's at least) is complete BS. I am convinced it just tracks miles, and I think it is set at 7500 miles. If it tracked what the manual says it tracks it would have a database full of information to sort through. Also, if it was that high tech, why can't it figure out if you have changed the oil without re-setting the system?

 

[snow0925]

I believe the owners manual of my 2000 says 7,500 or 10,000 miles between oil changes . I am a big Consumers Report fan and about 2-3 years ago they wrote an article that said a 3000 oil change is NOT necessary base on their extensive testing. In most cases 6-12,000 miles is more than adequate.

 

[dmkoger]

Dont know about the C4 monitor, but the C-5 tracks start-ups, miles, RPMs, etc. Uses several variables to compute the life. Regardless, I dont see any need to change synthetic oil every 3000 miles.

 

[92ghost]

I believe the C4 change oil indicator is set at 7500 miles but I should never see this go on and here is the reason why. For those of us who store our vette. In a recent article on "storing corvettes" one of their suggestions is to change the oil/filter right before storage. This will prevent or inhibit moisture buildup internally and also keep the acids that form in the oil, due to normal daily driving, off of internal parts during the long winter storage. When its time to bring your car out of storage they again suggest to change the oil but not filter. Any thoughts on this method of storage? Also, I don't drive the vette more than 3K a year, (only had it 2 years and I need to take it more long trips) but if I did I would change oil/filter around 3K-3.5K. It's cheap enough and its good insurance for a long engine life.

 

[Vettelt193]

For those of us who don't drive the car that much, 3000 miles is not unrealistic. Oil should be changed at least once a year anyway... plus, it isn't the oil that breaks down, but the additives in the oil.
about the storage... I think it is definitely a smart move to change the oil right before you take the car out of storage, but I can't see how changing it before prevents moisture. That really makes no sense to me. If I were going to do it both times, I would consider using a regular motor oil (or cheaper synthetic/synthetic blend) for the pre-storage, then back to synthetic before you take it out of storage. It seems like a big waste of money to put in fresh synthetic, just to drain it out again.

 

[Full Bull]

I use Amsoil synthetic...they recommend 25,000/1yr drain interval. No, I don't sell it...but, I do buy it and have done so for some time now. The oil companies love the "change it every 3,000 miles" folks...keeps them coffers full and investors happy

Amsoil's proven that their extended drain intervals do not harm the engines....several tear downs and other test have proven that a good synthetic can go and go....

 

[LarryBible]

My favorite reply in this thread is that of vettellt193.

The oil itself can go quite awhile, there are two things that happen to the oil over time, the additives are used up and the oil gets contaminated.

Contamination consists of moisture content, acid build up and particulate matter that is too small to be trapped by the oil filter. Draining the oil is the ONLY way to clean the inside of the engine and replenish the needed additive package.

The Consumer Guide and most other studies are based on the typical driver. The typical driver doesn't take the car past 100,000 miles, if that far. The typical driver trades off the car long before this milestone.

If you are a typical driver, extended oil change intervals, that is 7,500 will most likely get you to 100,000 miles. If you are looking for long engine life, change it hot and change it often. I have NEVER driven anything I've ever owned to 7,500 miles without an oil and filter change.

My Vette gets oil and filter changed at 2,500 mile intervals. Furthermore, to me a correct oil change consists of getting the engine oil at operating temperature, which is around 215 or better, and pulling the drain plug and filter and letting it drain overnight. By doing this, you will remove more of the contaminants. If you drain it cold, many of the contaminants (sludge) sticks to the inside of the engine and does not get drained out. That last drop is the sludgiest.

Oil is the cheapest engine insurance that can be bought. How much do you think it will cost to rebuild or replace a Corvette engine? How much is an oil change? This is pretty simple math.

Have a great day,
Change oil hot and change oil often.