Technical How often do you change the oil?

Back when I was running a Flathead without a oil filter I changed the oil religiously ever 800 miles.

When I added a auxiliary oil filer to the flathead I stretched it to 1,500 to 2,000 miles at the most.

With the sbc/sbf with the oil filters I have always change the oil every 3000 miles and still do.

I have heard some people with new engines are actually waiting until they travel 5000 miles before they change oil.

How often do you change your oil and what is the engine? HRP

 

Yearly or around 6000 miles.

 

Yep, 5000 on both my dd. For years and years.
Gotta brother in law that changes at 3000. He thinks I’m crazy and visa versa.

 

Mmm maybe I've been doing something wrong a couple of years ago I changed the oil in my 35 tub thought the oil was a bit black when I checked the service sticker it was 10 year's

 

5K But with my first car, a Yblock FOrd, I never had to change it, it changed itself. I just had to keep adding it. Don't ever remember changing the filter more than once in 4 years!

 

SBC every 3000, earlier if I have to take it apart again.

DD Dakota pickup 3x a year. I work from home, so “daily” is really more like “weekly”.

DD (SWMBO’s) Camry specifies a much longer change interval, with fancy oil and special filter.



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Mom had a Studebaker like that. My grandfather kept a barrel of oil in the garage to refill the Stude every time she came home. They’d know when she was coming, the cloud of smoke was easy to see from blocks away.



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Once a year on my 56. about 2000 miles

 

I remember working at a Shell station and the old mechanic named Milton told me oil don't go bad it just gets dirty, he drove a old Plymouth Cranbrook and would drain his oil and save it, replace the filter and put the old oil back in the car.

He changed the filter every month and I questioned him many times about his odd practice, he just repeated what he had said in the past, oil gets dirty but the filter keeps it clean.

He would add oil if it was needed but never changed it.
When he passed away Marvin, the station owner, took possession of the old Plymouth and he told my dad that he dropped the oil pan on the old car and it was clean as a pin and there was absolutely no metal in the pan. HRP

 

Every 3000 miles on daily drivers , ever 1500 miles or less on hot rods , and every 10 passes on our alcohol fueled dragster .

 

Synthetic in everything I own . Royal Purple in my 32 . 10000miles on changes . Cummins Diesels at 7500 . I know , you think way too long . My wife’s past Toyota , had 340k on it and never had the valve cover off . Oil looked as clean exiting as what I was pouring in new . I think raising the operating temp has a big factor on engine life . Seems to be the new norm is around 200* , I just run my Hot Rod at that temp yet .

 

My flathead motors, I change the oil and filter every 1500 miles. My DD F150, every 5000 miles as suggested in my owners manual.

 

as often as needed - depends on how oil looks & smells when checking the level - sometimes due to lack of use of your ride, especially during winter months, condensation can show up - your carb may leak gas into oil, especially if you have the habit of reving up your motor before turning it off - or just for the exercise of crawling under your car

 

HHR gets Mobile 1 synthetic every 8000 miles as per manual.
Changed oil and filter in the 34, 100 miles after break in...then before putting away for winter...maybe 1500 miles. Changed it again when dropping pan last week to rebuild my oil pump..had maybe 1000 miles on it. Soon I will install a working speedometer to keep better track.

 

Somehow I seem to rebuild engines sooner than they need oil changes.....

 

every 3000 on my hot rods 5000 on my 20016 dodge

 

I try and change oil about every 2500 miles, at least that's what I tell everyone. I seldom go past 3K though.

 

Some of the decision is how you drive it;
Short runs = severe service .-Change the oil more often
Long runs are easier on the engine (and everything else) Can do more miles per change.
Oil is much cheaper than parts.
I tend to bet conservative and change earlier rather than later.
Garpo

 

Running Synthetic in my DD's. Oil change at 6k and filters at 3k.

 

No odometer in the 56 but the date on the oil filter I pulled down last Saturday read 5-24-17

 

My Hot Rod's every 1,500 miles but often I will change it at 1,000 depends if I need something to do. My Dodge 1 ton Cummins every 3,000, old lady's Chrysler about the same 3,000.

 

Change filter twice a year on daily drivers and add a fresh quart.
330,000 on one,302,000 on another. Wifes daily gets a new filter and a fresh quart once a year.
My hot rods in the past got a new filter every Spring. Never had a oil related issue in 35 years.
I believe the frequent oil changers do so for peace of mind.
Oil doesn't go bad,it just gets dirty.

 

I never go by the miles.
Go by the smell and how it looks.

 

I changed the oil in Debbies Jeep Grand Cherokee today . 6 cyl with205000 miles. use 15-40 shell rotellat . it had a bit over 5000 miles on the oil. fuel injected engines stay cleaner and last longer than a carb engine.

 

Whatever the owner's manual for the car the engine came from says. Except the Hemi, which gets it every day on Drag Week.

the late models, I let go 7500 or whenever the light comes on.

 

My flathead has no filter, but the oil stays pretty clean. I change it with the seasons - every three months.

 

My flathead w/filter is changed about three times a year at maybe 2000 miles. My regular cars are twice a year at 10K to 12K miles.

 

I do not recall where I read it, but I was reading an article somewhere about oil and the author stated this very same thing, i.e. oil only gets dirty and does not wear out.

 

I have changed oil in all my cars around 2,000 miles on the oil. Daily drivers , hot rods too. My convertible has a 455 Olds engine in it

 

I just pour it through my flathead Never need to use the plug.