Oil change info
 

Hey

I sent this request tp Pedro's Garage but I forgot that he is most likely at Sebring for the weekend. I have an 01 Boxster S with 21,412 miles on the odemeter. I change oil and filter once a year and accumulate around 3,500 miles between oil changes. A year has passed and it's time to change oil once again.

My question is, do I need to drive the car 1st to warm up the oil? The weather is wet outside (the car is kept in a heated garage) and I don't want to get the under carriage dirty. If necessary I can wait until it's nice out and drive the car a few miles before changing the oil or I can just let it idle 30 minutes or so if needed. Your thoughts are appreciated.

Lou
01 Boxster S Seal Grey, Manual. 030 etc.

I would just change it. Unless it is under freezing outside I would not sweat it.

Warming up the oil before changing is typically a good idea - it'll be thinner, so more will come out and it will drain more quickly.

Letting it idle for a few minutes is fine, there is no pressing need to drive it around before an oil change.

Not why you pre-warm the oil.

You warm the oil and in doing so get all the gunk and particulates back in suspension so it will be drained out along with the oil.

This is really the purpose of the oil change because at regular service intervals, the oil still possesses most of it's lubricating properties - it's getting the dirt (really, there is dirt and fine particulates of sand that pass through the air filter), carbon, metal shavings, moisture and unburnt fuel out of the motor that the regular oil change is really all about!

Cheers!

Huh, well consider that my education for the day. Makes complete sense, too.

:cheers:

ALWAYS warm oil prior to changing it. You want all the particulate matter suspended in the oil so that it comes out when you drain it. There is, however, no need to drive the car to do this. Just idle it enough to get the oil warm.