911 Carrera oil change intervals

[ourv12]

Ok I rarely drive my '84 Carrera and I want to know how long should I go before changing engine oil? Should I go by mileage or length of time? I drive it less than 200 miles a year. Is the oil still good even though its been in the engine for 2 years? how long does oil last before it goes bad even though its only got less than 1000 miles in 2 years? Id hate to change it if its still good oil cause you know the 911 holds a lot of oil !
thanks for any advice!

[GaryR]

General advice in the Ferrari world is oil changes once per year regardless of (lack of) use, bringing engine to full temp to flush out condensation and contaminates. For the cost of a case of oil and a filter I would say it certainly won't hurt! As for "going bad", oil doesn't go sour...

[Synchro Joe]

Annually and change the filter as well. The brake fluid every other year as a minimum. As GaryR says, warm it up to full operating temperature.

[DWeg1998]

I advise you to drive it more and change oil once a year

[GaryR]

Originally Posted by DWeg1998

I advise you to drive it more and change oil once a year

Agree with the brake fluid flush also, and yeah, and how old is the fuel in that poor neglected thing? I'd be more worried about that!

[MrBonus]

I change my oil yearly. I put between 1000 - 1500 miles on it every year.

I have no significant leaks or issues and have been doing this for the past 6 years.

[Alex66]

IMO oil change every other year is sufficient if mileage is low.

[Duc Hunter]

My question around this is that my car runs at 80C all the time, and if its hot and it sits in traffic it might get to 100C, but this is very rare. To get to 120C is next to impossible unless it's at 80C already and idles for 20 minutes on a warm day. This means most of the time it sits at 176 degrees F......prob not warm enough to evaporate off any ,moisture in the oil (I live in FL). Any thoughts on if this would be a problem?

[ourv12]

Originally Posted by GaryR

Agree with the brake fluid flush also, and yeah, and how old is the fuel in that poor neglected thing? I'd be more worried about that!

I use "Stabil" every winter when its stored so i assume the fuel is fine? I top it off when ever its driven also. Im assuming when i top it off with fresh fuel and the fact it has Stabil in it the fuel should be good.

[Tremelune]

Besides factory recommendations (which seem to have more to do with auto industry logistics than reducing wear), I can't find one reliable source that supports changing oil based on time intervals. Oil doesn't deteriorate over time. There's no reason to change oil annually if you're putting 1,000 miles on the car in a year.

That said, I have read that it can become slightly corrosive once it's sufficiently "used". This is why people (motorcyclists, mainly) say change it before you winterize as opposed to when you're getting it going again. My guess is that this level of "corrosion" is so slight that it's not worth thinking about unless you know for sure that you're going to change it in the Fall or the Spring for sure. I also know motorcyclists who change their oil every 1,000 miles, so...

Oil chat gets religious quickly, in no small part because engine wear has a bazillion variables that change based on region, motor, driving style, usage patterns, etc. If anyone has any non-religious sources for more information, I'd love to see them.

[ourv12]

Originally Posted by Tremelune

Besides factory recommendations (which seem to have more to do with auto industry logistics than reducing wear), I can't find one reliable source that supports changing oil based on time intervals. Oil doesn't deteriorate over time. There's no reason to change oil annually if you're putting 1,000 miles on the car in a year.

That said, I have read that it can become slightly corrosive once it's sufficiently "used". This is why people (motorcyclists, mainly) say change it before you winterize as opposed to when you're getting it going again. My guess is that this level of "corrosion" is so slight that it's not worth thinking about unless you know for sure that you're going to change it in the Fall or the Spring for sure. I also know motorcyclists who change their oil every 1,000 miles, so...

Oil chat gets religious quickly, in no small part because engine wear has a bazillion variables that change based on region, motor, driving style, usage patterns, etc. If anyone has any non-religious sources for more information, I'd love to see them.

Interesting. I certainly dont even put 200 miles a year on it and I dont cause I want to keep the miles down as long as possible. When I check the dip stick the oil is still clean and clear. I dont feel I should drive it more often just for the reason to change oil because of the miles put on( if its driven more). Its my summer only fun car so its driven mostly less than 100 miles a year (summer).

[Tremelune]

There are plenty of things that deteriorate over time when a car isn't driven, so don't take this as a recommendation to let your car sit for weeks...but I've seen nothing that indicates that an oil becomes less lubricant by sitting in a static engine.

[old man neri]

Originally Posted by Duc Hunter

My question around this is that my car runs at 80C all the time, and if its hot and it sits in traffic it might get to 100C, but this is very rare. To get to 120C is next to impossible unless it's at 80C already and idles for 20 minutes on a warm day. This means most of the time it sits at 176 degrees F......prob not warm enough to evaporate off any ,moisture in the oil (I live in FL). Any thoughts on if this would be a problem?

Oil does not need to reach 100C to evaporate off moisture. Much like you don't need to sit under a 100C heat gun to dry off after taking a shower.

Evaporating and boiling are two different things.

[proporsche]

all i remember from the days the oil will loose it`s viscosity....with time

Ivan

[old man neri]

Originally Posted by ourv12

Interesting. I certainly dont even put 200 miles a year on it and I dont cause I want to keep the miles down as long as possible.

I have to ask...why?

When I check the dip stick the oil is still clean and clear. I dont feel I should drive it more often just for the reason to change oil because of the miles put on( if its driven more). Its my summer only fun car so its driven mostly less than 100 miles a year (summer).

The reason to drive it more often is probably due to the perceived notion that driving it so little will lead to all sorts of other maintenance issues.

[ourv12]

Originally Posted by old man neri

I have to ask...why?



The reason to drive it more often is probably due to the perceived notion that driving it so little will lead to all sorts of other maintenance issues.

I live in a small town, everything is just few miles away..stores, restaurants, beaches, etc. rarely drive out of town with it. If we go on trips I take the vanagon

[manbridge 74]

Been around too many oil leaks to not change oil regular like. It attacks seals and rubber when it gets old. And there is a lot of oil left in a 911 when you drain it. I’m for saving the old low mileage yearly oil and putting it in other equipment. Like an old truck or giving it to the kid who owns an old VW bug...

[Trackrash]

There was a time when oil manufactures stated change your oil every xxxx miles or one year.

Valvoline does not list a "or one year" interval. Mobil 1 does.

Supposedly some of the additives will "evaporate" or "deteriorate" over time, regardless of the miles. I also read that European oils don't have this problem? Just sayn'.

Any hard facts on that? Sounds like marketing to me.

My other car, (Baja Bug, see Garage) which I drive only a few hundred miles a year, may go 2 or 3 years between changes. Still runs perfectly after 30+ years. It uses Rotella 15-40 BTW.

[djantlive]

Every year or two if mileage is low. If the oil is still clean, it is still good, as a general rule. After 3-5 years, oil can start to age with time. One year is perfectly healthy still but it’s your call to change it or wait another year.

Filter gets old. The paper elements will break down with time but that takes several years. So change it at least once every 2-3 years.

[da Vinci Dan]

To keep my very low annual mileage ‘74 Jeep cj 5 purring like a kitten (lives on a 7 mile long summer use island), I change the oil religiously every now and then and twice every once in a while. However, I solely use the cheapest Walmart oil I can find.

Been running great for the past 23 years and 8k miles.