95maroz28

iTrader: (21)

Do i have to change the oil yearly? I use full synthetic and sometimes only put 2-3k miles on the car yearly. Recommended oil change is at 7500 miles full synthetic. So do i wait till 7500 miles to change the oil or does it have to be done yearly. Its my daily driver i drive it 20-30 minute trips 3-4 times a week running errands. Next may will be a year since i changed the oil. thing is i was at 92k miles im now at 94k miles. I dont want to waste good expensive full synthetic oil. Someone told me it was yearly regardless of miles as acid builds up with the oil sitting in the oil pan. Walmarts supertech jugs are the only oils i see that say 5k synthetic blend 10K full synthetic or change oil after a year whichever comes first.
Fram also has 10k mile filters along with supertechs filters are 3.42$ for ls1 10k mile filter and 22$ for full synthetic. I used quaker state full synthetic after the cam swap early thing year.

G Atsma

I would do it yearly. Sitting a lot collects condensation, some of which emulsifies in the oil.
Once a year won't break the bank.

Full Power

Oil is cheap.
Even VERY GOOD oil is cheap.
Every time you drain your oil, you are CLEANING the inside of your engine.

stockA4

Sometimes I just change the the oil filter randomly because I know it gets dirty long before the oil does, especially cheap oil filters a lot of times especially you clowns with higher than stock oil pressure The paper medium inside those filters is crap to begin with and it will fall apart eventually and then you'll have no filtration at all. So yeah a lot of times I just spin the filter off and throw a new one on if the oil doesn't look that bad I run synthetic and honestly that's better than most of these engines deserve, regular bulk 5w30 oil is usually more than enough to keep them alive Even if they are abused regularly. I use 5W-40 euro spec synthetic in the engines that I have built or rebuilt myself because it says designed for Porsche engines, some brands even say Nuremberg ring tested on the bottle. This kind of oil is tested under the most severe conditions, so I doubt my Camaro can hurt it that bad over a year of spirit of driving.

99 Black Bird T/A

iTrader: (4)

I don't think the Oil Change Police will hunt you down and lock you up if you don't change once a year. You can do what you think is best.

I change yearly even if under on miles. The short trip drive cycle you describe encourages sludge buildup. The yearly change should help reduce sludge.

I think conventional oil changed yearly trumps, synthetic changed every 3 or 4 years 🙄. Someone probably goes to 5 to 10 years without changing oil if they only drive the car ~500 to 1,000 miles a year.

Sounds like a good argument for more frequent cheap conventional oil changes. If the cost of one synthetic oil change a year is a big deal, this will likely prove a very frustrating hobby.

Buying oil on sale can definitely help on cost. DIY also helps on cost.

FWIW - I know it sucks to dump practically fresh synthetic oil with 300 miles on it due to the yearly change - I had to do it this year with one of my car's. However, I care enough about the car to try to take care of it to a good standard even if it costs a little more on occasion.

YMMV