Ever since I was a young lad, I've changed the oil in my cars roughly every 6,000 miles, which has always worked out at every 6 months or so, with the cars doing a mixture of long & short trips.
Due to a change in circumstances, I now find myself driving 600 miles a week, which means I'm now doing my 6,000 miles every 10 weeks.
The 600 miles are made up of:-
1 continuous 300 mile trip from Cumbria to London on a Monday morning.
1 continuous 300 mile trip from London to Cumbria on a Friday afternoon.
Apart from these 2 journeys, the car isn't used, ie no short journeys.
So, my question is this - should I still be changing my oil every 6,000 miles (which is going to work out at 5 changes a year), or, given the nature of the journeys I make, can I extend these intervals?
Many thanks in advance
Daltonman
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Good question!
On the one hand it seems likely the oil might last for more miles; on the other, you might now need the car to run to a much higher mileage. Unless I was planning to change cars more frequently I think I might keep up the 6,000 intervals.
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What car? What oil?
IME, 10 000+ between changes with a modern car (no fuel blowing past the rings) on long runs should be OK, 6 months is probably the maximum, a check over at the same time perhaps?
Much as I like London, Lake District to London on a Monday morning must be rather desperate :-(
Although Barrow to London is very appealing at any time!
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I always read these posts where people don't state the type of car & think to myself 'why didn't that fool say what car he drives??'......
Rover75 2.5
10W40 (I think, from memory).
Given that I've had a couple of different answers, maybe I'll do a compromise & change it every 9 - 10,000!
I find Dalton to London much more appealing than Barrow to London - must be ooh, 5 miles less....
Daltonman
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A good 10W40 should be fine for 10 000+ in my limited opinion.
Dalton-in-Furness? ....... You have my sympathy ;-)
The Lakes appeal more as one ages, although the Yorkshire Dales are a close 2nd I feel. It's all those touristy types that I despise though :-0
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A good 10W40 should be fine for 10 000+ in my limited opinion.
To add to that, a good semi synth oil.
What does the handbook say daltonman?
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Based on what I read on this site and the advice from HJ the handbook will be written to satisfy the fleet manager not someone who wants to keep his engine in tip top condition for a long time.
(Don't you just know this thread will run and run now with the 2 sides of the oil change camp. One saying 6 months max and a semi or fully synthetic and the other saying that with modern oils and engines you should stick to the handbook recomendations).
My cars do about about 6k a year so thus far I have stuck to 1 change a year which will horrify some people reading this.
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Don't you just know this thread will run and run now with the 2 sides of the oil change camp.
;o)
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>>the 2 sides of the oil change camp...........
There is a 3rd side...
Why change it if it hasn't used all the first lot yet ?
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Not technically a change then?
"This broom has had 12 new heads..."
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Oh definitely a change, just not driven by a schedule.
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thanks for replies so far.
handbook says (you guessed it) change oil when service indicator tells you to, which could be anywhere from 12 to 15000 miles.
I can't believe oil will degrade sufficiently in 10 weeks for me to be concerened - but then again I don't know the first thing about oil so could be wrong!
I'm leaning towards changing it an extra once or twice a year - an extra 30-40 quid a year won't hurt me.
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When in top gear on a run the engine will be do half the number of revs that it would be to cover the same distance in low gear in an urban environment. Therefore you need to change the oil less.
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Don't go by the handbook. 10K miles will be fine IMO. That sort of driving you're doing should maximise engine (and oil) life.
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I would go fully synth and change three times a year. A life of regular long trips and no shorties could not be better for the engine and less demanding of the oil. This is one of the few times when I would dare to depart from HJ's advice, specifically because of the usage pattern.
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I agree with Roger. For this type of use, the oil is suffering from very limited wear of its polymeric molecules and there will be almost no build up of water content. I am sure that using a reasonable quality oil and changing every 10,000 miles will be fine.
How many miles has the car done now and how old is it?
BTW what sort of economy do you think you get on this new regime?
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Agree with Roger but you could use a semi-synthetic i.e Shell Helix or similar,if your Rover is auto change the auto fluid at 50k you will need to use an X-part or Rover dealer for this as aT4 computer is needed for level check.
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I have a friend who changes his oil a more frequent intervals than the manufacturer recommends and he always uses the best (most expensive) oil. He always buys his cars new and sells them after three years at the most.
The point of this tale? Always buy cars from my friend, as his cars will be in very good mechanical condition as he has spent a considerable sum of money in preserving it in the very best possible condition for the exclusive benefit of the next user.
The moral of this tale? If you are not seeking to cover 250,000 miles plus, just stick to the makers recommendations and save a pile of money, time and effort.
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I'm one of those people who changes the oil every 5,000 miles - mainly because I only do 10k a year. If I did 40 or 50k of motorway miles a year I would extend the oil-changes to the recommended 10k.
Sitting on 3,000rpm in top gear doesn't put any strain on the engine at all compared to stop-start driving where you accelerate through the gears. If I were you I'd be very tempted to use a good semi-synthetic oil, and change it every 12-15k, as the manufacturer recommends (or did recommend, before they went bust...)
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>>if your Rover is auto change the auto fluidat 50k you will need to use an X-part or Rover dealer for this as aT4 computer is needed for level check.
slightly off topic but..............
Testbook is not used in the draining and refill of the Jatco auto box on the 75. The critical factor in getting the correct level is measurement of the oil temp which must be between 35c and 45c to get the correct level reading. Any auto box specialist will be able to change the oil properly.
The recommended change point for the oil is 60k or 4 years.
hth
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