mastapro

Hi guys, I have a '11 g37xS coupe. I just had an oil change about 3 months ago. I don't put many miles on this car, maybe about ~400 miles a month if that. How many times should I be changing my oil?

2008G-Man

Search my friend .... and you will find loads of opinions. What I have been doing for many, many years (when mobil1 first came out) is target 3500 miles and don't let it go past 5000. Some will argue you can push synthetic to 7500 miles but I say why? Just because you can doesn't mean you should. IMHO, oil is the life blood of your car.

Following my method, all of my cars (at least 9) I have gotten over 100k miles, older than 10 years and none have burned a drop of oil ..... cheap insurance IMHO.

mastapro

Sorry, I searched but couldn't find anyone that drove as little as me. Regarding your recommendations, I don't think I will drive 3500 miles in less than 6 months or more. Should I just change my oil twice a year then? I have put on only 600 or so miles since my last oil change but my maintenance reminder went off so I'm not sure what to do.

Selym

Have you oil analyzed. The lab will tell you how much "life" is left.

hobbs

(1) year or 10K miles with Mobil 1 EP is what I follow.

mastapro

You're saying I should bring it into the shop and ask them to check for me?

Rybitron

No, you can do a used oil analysis (UOA) where you ship a small sample of your oil in and they test it. It might be worth doing once or twice, but definitely not needed every time you change your oil.

Blackstone Labs is one of the places that can test your oil.

mastapro

Ah ok thanks. The cost of the test itself is about $30, that's already 1/3 cost of an oil change. I might just go for the whole thing

astat4

i always do 3500 oil changes

Epiphany

With how little you drive I'd say do it twice a year and you should be fine.

Ricio1991

5500k miles on full synthetic, no need to do every 3750 there has been plenty of analysis done on synthetic oils and still good at that mileage, I use valvoline full synthetic

MistahGuy

That's a lot of oil changes. I'll show myself out.

Selym

The point of having it analyzed is to see if it's safe to proceed with extended oil change intervals. You're not going to have the oil analyzed every time.

astat4

well if money was a problem i wouldnt do it every 3500 but since it isnt it doesnt hurt to do this every....2-3 months? only $26ish dollars

hobbs

You start the car with ZERO oil pressure until the filter fills. Seems too soon of a OCI.