I am running GC right now and it has been in my car since January. I've put about 3.5k miles on the car since that time and I am wondering if I should change the oil in July, 6 month interval, or wait a little longer given the car doesnt get a ton of miles put on it. Should I go off of mileage or time?

I've been running GC in cars now for over 2 years, but those cars always were around 7k miles at the 6 month time period, so I never thought twice about changing the oil.

Anyway, I know there are some good resources around here regarding oil questions so I thought I'd ask here.

Thanks!

 

GC = german castrol? I would do it at around 6 months.

 

i run GC and change the oil once a year, i put about 4k on the car a year, and change it because of time mainly... I'm not sure if it's ok to go longer than a year or if thats too long...

 

a. GC every 7,000 miles

Or

b. Kmart oil every 3,500 miles?

I would choose b.

 

^ u are on crack dave

 

I Change mine around every 3,000 miles

 

Yes, I mean German Castrol.

Unless I am terribly mistaken, I thought it was safe to run a synthetic up to 7-7.5k miles without it being too detrimental to the engine? When I started to use this oil in my g/f's '05 G coupe people who had UOAs were saying that was a safe range. Though I guess the argument can be made, "different engine, different results," but overall I would think it wouldnt be that much different from the DE to HR.

I could very well be wrong and I am ok with because if I learn something new, then great. In any case, this is why I asked the question...

 

I dont think its the mileage that's causing any worries here.
I just read/heard that additive packages wear down over time.

 

I intend on going 6000-7000 b/w changes w/ GC, as the wear numbers from the UOA thread support it.

If you use this oil and change out every 3k, you are wasting money since you would get similar performance from a cheaper oil at that interval.

 

This is why I asked because I am fairly confident from what I have seen the oil itself should be fine for the amount of mileage on it (~3.5k). My concern is the the timing, coming up on 6 months.

I wasnt sure how much I was going to be driving the car so since the other cars I've used GC in have all seen about 6-7k in a 6 month time frame I never second guessed it. For the future though, if I foresee driving the car about the same amount I will definitely consider a regular oil.

Your second sentence is what I am trying to confirm. If that is the case I will definitely be changing it out next month, if not, I'll let it go a bit longer.

 

i change my oil every 50 miles to be safe. 25 miles if i drive her hard.

 

damn .. that means I'd have to change it after I get to work and when I get home each day

I got castrol full synthetic in mine when I hit 4000 miles (bought it with 3300 and dont trust the honda dealer that changed it when I bought it)

I'm gonna change it every 6K miles or so .. do 100 miles a day monday through friday so 6K miles comes well within 6 months for me

if you dont drive it so often .. I'd just change it atleast once a year as long as you start it once every couple days or seals will start to dry out and crack or stick (like your front and rear main seals) .. then when 100K miles comes way down the road you got oil drippin everywhere

 

every 50 miles is perfect, LOL
my commute is 50 miles 1 way
I'm using M1 0W30

 

Not castrol but I changed M1 after 3k and still had a TBN of 6.6. That was with 1 stressfull HPDE and 4 days of hard driving at zdayz. I am not changing it again until 7k this time and will post up another UOA when I do.

 

Haven't thought about Oil ****, but I think M1 should be good for 5K - correct me if I'm wrong

 

You guys who think about running longer on the german oil or whatever are not considering the oil filter....I am pretty sure they can't handle 7K miles...

 

That's what I thought too. Although some oil/filters are rated good for 10K miles.
I personally believe Pure1 filter + M1 oil should be good for at least 5K (normal commuting).

 

That is what I had always assumed as well, but people who did UOA going 7k+ miles, I always thought if the filters weren't working properly then it would be reflected in those analysis.

 

I'm not updated here in the states.. but in europe on a 335i or any bmw/mb/porsche that aren't amg, ///M or GT2/3 the oil changes are every 15 to 25K miles.
of course using full syntetic. usually mobil 1 or castrol.
(if you don't track the car, but average speed is higher there as is the "drive the $hit out of the car without going in jail")

 

As I recall though, even on the BMW forums, they admit that the oil changes need to be performed before what BMW recommends; 12k or 1 year. UOAs have also suggested this on BMW forums.