How long between oil changes? - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

23109VC · 10-14-2009, 06:12 PM

my car is a weekend/fun car, not a daily driver.
2000 2.7L.

the last oil change, before I bought the car fromm my dad - was at 70k miles. that was in late 2007.

the car now has about 76000. so it's averaging 3k/year.....

i know the book says I can go 10k between oil changes, but is there any "general" rule that most of you here follow for cars that don't get driven a ton?

do you recommend changin teh oil much sooner, not as soon???

this is my first POrsche, and now that I've put about 6-7k miles on the car, i'm wondering if I should change the oil now, or wait one more year / 3k more miles to do it???

my oil level is fine, and has not needed any added oil since it was last changed...

Jaak · 10-14-2009, 06:21 PM

I definitly would change it every year.

I have always done this on my Porsches in the past. If it's a daily driver, do it at least twice a year. Cheap insurance ...

Paul · 10-14-2009, 07:00 PM

Porsche once specified once a year if driven less than 9500 miles.

roadracer311 · 10-14-2009, 07:58 PM

I do it at 1 year or 5k miles whichever comes first. There are definitely some things, like oil and brake fuid, that need to be changed on a calendar basis. The owner's manual is pretty good about letting you know which ones those are.

Spark plugs are another one. Porsche says you can run them for 60k miles, but also recommends changing them out after 4 years. That meant I did mine at 20k miles.

manolo · 10-14-2009, 09:16 PM

You should change it more often than you are. Its not just mileage that you have to keep an eye on, but time. A byproduct of combustion is acid and it sits in the oil along with fuel residue, carbon, etc. Its not good for the engine parts to sit in this for prolonged amounts of time. If you only do 3k a year, change it every year or so.

Its also an excuse to drink beer and work on the car.

mptoledo · 10-14-2009, 09:34 PM

I change mine every year before I put it away for the winter(1yr or 5k miles). Throw porsche's recommendation out the window. $60 DIY oil change per year is a cheap alternative to a new engine!!! I use catro syntec 10w40 and napa gold filter. If your too lazy to change it once a year, buy a HONDA!/!(no offense, but seriously change it once a year)!!