Oil Change Frequency?

[986sport]

I bought my '03 Boxster at a Porsche dealer last May. 33K miles, Porsche certified.
There was a Mobil 1 oil change at the time.

Since then, I've driven about 4500 miles, mixed driving, no tracking. Car always garaged. I drive about 6K miles per year. The car has not used any oil since the oil change last May.

The question is: Should I change the oil at 6K miles this summer, or can I wait until 12K miles next year?

[Gary in BR]

I would change it at the 1 year mark or every 10k miles what ever come first.

This is my opinion, I am sure more technical guys will chime in with better reasons than mine.

All I know is that through 159,000 miles the 10k miles interval worked for me.

[Benny986]

depends on what kind of oil you use, good stuff, or really good stuff.

i would recommend doing a blackstone analysis too. this will tell you how often you should do it.

but my rule of thumb is 7500 miles, or 8 months which ever is first. but if it was winter and i don't plan to drive for a while, then i'd let it sit over the winter with occasional driving, but before any big drive, or high RPM event, i would change the oil. i know very unscientific.

but my next change, i plan on sending my oil into blackstone. and that should tell me : )

[John V]

Based on the info from oil analysis I've had done, I keep my oil changes around 8k miles. Always Mobil 1 0W40.

[blue2000s]

Originally Posted by 986sport

I bought my '03 Boxster at a Porsche dealer last May. 33K miles, Porsche certified.
There was a Mobil 1 oil change at the time.

Since then, I've driven about 4500 miles, mixed driving, no tracking. Car always garaged. I drive about 6K miles per year. The car has not used any oil since the oil change last May.

The question is: Should I change the oil at 6K miles this summer, or can I wait until 12K miles next year?

I'd go with what the manual says to do.

[Bob Z.]

I say once a year at a minimum or 10,000 miles - no way in hell am I waiting 20,000 miles to change my oil.

[CJ_Boxster]

Same here Bob, I wit 10,000 miles before changing... However im close to 11k right now cause Im waiting 3 more week for Royal Purple to finally release there 0w40 on the market. Right now im using Royal Purple 5w40 but since that weight is no longer approved by Porsche... I'd like to take the straight and narrow when it comes to recommended fluids.

[Lil bastard]

Originally Posted by blue2000s

I'd go with what the manual says to do.

YES - generally that's a good recommendation. But, this assumes ideal conditions which rarely applies to anyone.

Short Trips, infrequent trips, Stop & Go, dusty conditions (incl. frequent expressway driving), hot climate, spirited driving, long idling periods, aftermarket intake and/or filter, will all put you outside this ideal zone and the change interval needs to be adjusted accordingly. Most owners manuals will state this.

At least once annually or every 7500-10k mi. (whichever comes 1st) is probably the best all-around recommendation.

[blue2000s]

Originally Posted by Lil bastard

YES - generally that's a good recommendation. But, this assumes ideal conditions which rarely applies to anyone.

Short Trips, infrequent trips, Stop & Go, dusty conditions (incl. frequent expressway driving), hot climate, spirited driving, long idling periods, aftermarket intake and/or filter, will all put you outside this ideal zone and the change interval needs to be adjusted accordingly. Most owners manuals will state this.

At least once annually or every 7500-10k mi. (whichever comes 1st) is probably the best all-around recommendation.

I haven't looked at my manual lately, but isn't there a severe conditions schedule? These conditions would fall under that schedule. If there isn't one, I would assume the schedule in the manual applies to all conditions. Porsche tests it's vehicles for durability, it seems that these schedules are based on the results of these tests.

[Bobiam]

I bought mine ('01) last August. Had a receipt from an indy garage that said that it had a synthetic oil change 500 mi before. Not being sure what oil or grade was used, I changed it last week at approx 3000 mi. Put in Mobile 1, 0-40. I will probably drive it 4-5K annually and am planning to change the oil each 10K or so or 2yrs whichever comes first.
More frequent may be even better, but there's a diminshing returns factor here, and as a retiree who does not own Mobile stock, I have to draw the line at practicality.

bob

[Cloudsurfer]

I just ran M1 0W40 7000 miles, and the Blackstone analysis showed I could have gone longer. Wear metals were extremely low, no fuel dilution, no coolant in the oil, viscosity was right where it should be. I think 10,000 is safe but I'm not sure I'd push it much past that.

Patrick

[blue2000s]

Originally Posted by bmwm750

I just ran M1 0W40 7000 miles, and the Blackstone analysis showed I could have gone longer. Wear metals were extremely low, no fuel dilution, no coolant in the oil, viscosity was right where it should be. I think 10,000 is safe but I'm not sure I'd push it much past that.

Patrick

It sounds like, based on what you said about your oil analysis, that you could go much longer than 10,000 miles.

For the 2005, 2006 and 2007 Boxster (987) Porsche had a 20,000 mile oil change interval.

Then for the 2008 Boxster, Porsche states a 12,000 mile service interval for oil & filter.

I find this very strange, since it is basically the same engine. Maybe Porsche knows something more than us.

I change my oil every year, prior to winter storage. I will not put more than 10K miles on the oil. If I drive more than that in my 7-month driving season, I will change it early. I have done 3 oil changes in the past +17K miles. The first one was at about 1,200 miles, again at 7,000 (just prior to winter storage 2006) and then this past fall at about 16,500.

Right now I am running 5W40 Red Line (the past 2 oil changes were Red Line). I really like this oil. $$$$. About $9.50 quart. I plan to use Mobil 1's 5W50 later this year. It is the only Porsche approved 5W50 oil. One problem though! It is not sold in the USA. I can buy it in Canada at Wal*Mart. During one of my next business trips to Montreal, I'll buy some, and then ship it back home via the UPS Store.

[Lil bastard]

Well again, driving conditions and driving style have a lot to do with it.

Retired or not, at least change it annually. Oil accumulates lots of dirt (the stuff which passes through the air filter - a significant portion of which are silicates, very hard and able to create significant wear), moisture and fuel (combustion by-products). This is precisely the reason you change it at regular intervals, not because it's lubricating properties have failed.

In a sealed system, a quality motor oil such as MB1, Royal Purple or RedLine could go maybe 50k mi. without a dangerous drop in lubricating properties. This is partly why the tranny oil has a much longer life - it operates in a sealed system. Unfortunately, the engine is not a sealed system.

If you don't respect the equipment, or have short term ownership goals, it's certainly not as important. But, I've never heard of anyone having maintenance or wear issues from changing the oil on a regular basis either annually, or mileage based.

[Halfbreed83]

Haha, this is why i'm considering a Boxster S. With my old 93 RX7 Twin Turbo i'd freak if I didn't change the oil at 2500 miles