winter storage oil change question

[ramonesfreak]

hi. have my car 1 summer , changed the oil about 5,000 miles ago. soon i will be storing the car for the winter. question: should i change oil now, or in the spring, and, if i change it now - should i change it again in the spring? thanks

[Mo_Gearhead]

Scott,
Most will suggest changing the oil JUST BEFORE storing the car. This puts a fresh batch of oil in. Used/old oil can contain contaminates that you do not want sitting in your engine for months.

Be sure to treat the gasoline with Stabil also.

No need to change oil in the spring until its due again (mileage).

[ramonesfreak]

thanks. will do!

[livi]

You will hear all kinds of advice. As with everything in life there is always a better way to do things - even though the improvement may not be more than 0.5 %. Engine wear is associated with so many different factors that it is difficult to pin point how much difference each make. What kind of oil ? What drain interval ? What time of year ? Driving stile and habits, long or short trips, etc etc etc.

Some like to change before hibernation, others after.

I am very particular with cold starts and never drive the car unless long enough trip for it to be at fully operational temp and then some.

I change every summer with typically about 6000 miles in between. The last trip for the season I aim to heat it really good ie at least a 45 minutes drive.

Again, there are likely better ways, but I doubt it can be proven scientifically to be MUCH better counting in all the other factors.

[chrisp]

oil doesn't like unstable temperatures and as pointed out used oil has contaminants you want out of there, most notably the acids from water contamination and the combustion process. So I change pre-winter and post winter. Pre is because of the contaminants. Post is because of the exposure to hot-cold-hot temp swings because I store mine in an un-heated garage. If the car is stored in a stable, warm-ish, temp then I would probably skip the spring oil change.