My mate has driven less than 1000 miles in his car over 18 months because he has use of a company vehicle.
He drives it at least once a week, to normal temperature, on a 12-15 mile round trip.
He's not changed the oil (10/40 mineral) in this period. How urgent would you say an oil change is?
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Manufacturers state a given mileage for an oil change.and time period regardless of mileage.ie whatever the mileage if time is over the top should be changed.if mileage is covered within time limit should be changed.
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Was mech1
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id go with once a year...the condensation etc still builds up and ruins the oil
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I'd echo HJs advice - every 6 months. And use at least semi synth.
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Seriously, if your friend is doing 700 miles per year, does he need a car? The total costs divided by 700 must be terrible. A taxi would be miles cheaper. When he sells the car, the depreciation could be even worse. Take the plunge... ditch the car.
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This thread has got me thinking, and feeling a tad guilty. I've just looked at the service book for my Honda CB 125TDC. The last time I changed the oil was way back in August 1992 at 9637 miles. The bike has now got 11607 miles on it. The last time I actually did any servicing on it was in 1995 when I put some new plugs in and stripped / cleaned out the carbs. Still runs sweet as a nut, so have left well alone.
I bought some oil last year (Castrol GTX), intending to change it. It's still sat in the garage next to the bike, minus a litre or so that I've used for topping up purposes.
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Well, I cannot see that this oil has deteriorated enough to warrant it being changed. During 18 months it has only being started from cold about 70 times, this is about the number of times the average motorist starts his car every month. I think I am correct in saying the shelf life of oil is about 4/5 years.Would you say, change the oil if it had done only 800 miles or 600 or 400 or maybe 50 .Where do you draw the line regarding oil changes of low mileage cars.
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Just change it - it's hardly expensive (plus filter) !
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I am inclined to go along with that reasoning, Alan. I had a look at the dipstick and the oil was barely discoloured.
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The shelf life of motor oil is 4 to 5 years. It needs changing!
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Its in the manufacturers interest to give it a shelf life of 4/5 years .You can bet your bottom dollar the real shelf life will be nearer double this.The same goes for the "use by dates" on a variety of pre pack foods. i am not saying it is bad legislation, but the manufacturers must rub there hands together when they see the amount of the perfectly good products that they make, dumped because of a date on the pack.
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Oil never actually loses its viscosity values - it's the additives which require replacing.
Most cheap oil on the market is merely recycled oil from all those recycling centres plus additives - the amount of additives used depends on whichever company produces it and how low it wishes to keep the retail price.
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Some one worked out that it is cheaper to hire a car every weekend and for your holidays than owning one if you don't need a car in the week.
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>>Some one worked out that it is cheaper to hire a car every weekend and for your holidays than owning one if you don't need a car in the week.
Someone probably worked out that it is cheaper to hire a car than to run a BRAND NEW car.
>>Shelf life
Shelf life is exactly that - life on a shelf, in a sealed bottle. I've no idea what gets put into oil by way of additives, but I do not doubt for one second that whatever gets put in will suffer degradation by at the very least Oxygen in the air & Water (which will get into your car in all sorts of ways - condensation, out of petrol, leaks between the cooling system & engine etc.)
So you cannot compare oil sitting on the shelf with oil sitting in your car (or oil sitting in an opened can).
But then, how much does it really matter?
I'd be inclined to change it, personally. It's such a cheap thing to do. The manufacturer's guideline is bound to say annually, for exactly that reason
(The instructions for Honda ride-on mowers say that if you plan to leave the mower unused for 3 months you should change the oil.)
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>>Most cheap oil on the market is merely recycled oil from all those recycling centres plus additives
Really? (Astonishment, rather than disbelief of your statement!)
I've always idly imagined that the reason that oil that's overdue an oil change looks like tar is that it has polymerised - into heavier hydrocarbons, as well as picking up soot & other rubbish, as well as having broken down into smaller hydrocarbons.
Whatever, I've always idly doubted that the oil that comes out of an engine contains much of the original length hydrocarbons? And so is unsuitable for recycling in that fashion. Am I completely wrong? (Or is it fairly straightforward to get out whatever is still the correct fraction?)
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