new 987: When to Change Oil?
 

Apologies; I've done a search--i vaguely remember this topic being debated--but i can't find the thread. So I'll ask:

When do you recommend the first oil change for a new 987, purchased last Sept., driven mostly in city traffic, currently with 5,000 miles?

I know Porsche says I have a ways to go before the change, but I'd like to err on the side of caution. thanks.

I've just commented on this question on another thread but will paste to here as well:

I wanted to note that I hadn't changed the oil up to the 20k service interval and the car ran like a champ. Since the oil change, it runs like a champ. I honestly couldn't tell a difference, where in other cars the before and after was noticeable.

I'm not making any sweeping judgements on the oft-debated oil change intervals in the 987, just stating my experience; YMMV.

I changed my oil at the first 1,000 mile mark, and now plan to do changes once per year (just prior to winter hybernation in November) or between 7-10,000 miles but I doubt that I will put that many miles on the car per year.

You should probably go ahead and do the first change, just because it's a new engine and has never been changed. I don't know about the P-car engines, but in others you get small metallic debris that collects during the first few K miles that should be drained out. After that, change it just before the manual says to do it so you're not late (I think it's 20K for the 987) or annually if you don't reach the mileage.

One tip...make sure the engine is warmed up before changing it and get a sample for analysis so you can get an early warning if any parts start to wear. :cheers:

We've got 3K on ours now
 

and I'll probably wait until the end of the season--October--to do the first change with probably 6K on the car. After that, I'll do it every other year or 10K which ever is first.

For the "peace of mind, I-can't-fathom-a-20K-oil-change-interval", I decided to double Porsche's recommendation. I'm changing mine every 10,000 miles.

at 2,200 miles (break in over) and every 5-6K for me
 

Cheap insurance and oil gets dirty before it breaks down

I was told the engine has appx 24 hrs on it prior to leaving factory and has already had an oil change, negating the fears of debris, etc. entrained in oil. What was suggested was to find the build date of car by calling factory (dealer can do this) and to change oil after 12 months at the most. This will insure airborne contaminants have not degraded oil, water/condensation being the chief culprit. My car was "born" in March 05 and i changed oil in April of 06 even though it had less than 5K miles.