Ouestion about oil?

Question

I have an RX7 and it basically sits in the garage most of the time I drive it maybe once a week sometimes once every two weeks and only put about 30 miles on it in that time, I was wondering if I hardly drive it do I still need to change the oil every 3 months or 3,000 miles or is it okay to just change it every so often and if not what should I do or what oil should I buy so I don't have to change it out, but every so often?

Answer 1

yes , you need to change it every 3 months, oil breaks down , even if you dont drive it, also, gas breaks down too, you need to add a stabillzer to your gas.

Answer 2

Nice car Kimmie, I had an 89, cant kill a rotary. The oil definitely should be changed out at the very least every 3-5 months, mileage wont matter since you don't drive it much. Oil breaks down and loses its magic the more it sits and heats up and cools off, If you use a higher mileage oil (cant use names) you can let it go a little longer but a lot of people don't think about there oil as much as they should, stick to the rules of every 3 months or 3000 miles and you will be ok. Maybe try a synthetic, expensive but you get what you pay for. Good luck to ya!

Answer 3

Please consider this: If you put 30+ (highway miles) on your car per week in ideal conditions, no cold weather, dust, high humidity, you safely can stretch your changes to 4-5 months and or 4,000 mile changes.

The problem is few people are able operate under all warm weather clean highway miles. Short hops in your car shortens the oil's ability to get rid of moisture inside the crankcase. Gum and varnish may start to build up. If your motor has over 75,000 miles on it it may be getting prone to a little compression blow by. This eventually breaks down the oils ability to suspend contaminants. In winter time raw gasoline and water mixes with the motor oil because of condensation do to heating and cooling and gas wash down because of excessive idling and slow town driving.

Think of motor oil and quality oil filters as cheap insurance on a very large investment.

As others have already said synthetic motor oils have superior lubricating qualities at both high and low temperatures plus much improved detergent and dispersant packages. Regular Mobil One can go 5,000 miles with no time limitations. Mobil one extended performance can safely go 10 - 15,000 miles between changes. Engines run cooler with synthedics and may improve fuel mileage.

Answer 4

Seriously you all change oil way to often in north america. The same manufacturers recommend every 6000 miles in europe and that tends to be much harsher driving (lots more gear shifting, engine brakeing due to predominance of manual transmission etc.)

Your recommended frequent changes have a lot to do with the fact that oil companies have a lot more by product (heavier hydrocarbons e.g. lubrication oil)from petroleum (gasoline)distillation due to poorer efficiency in North American vehicles.

This isnt a dig just stating the facts - you can check figures out yourself if you dont believe that but your manufacturers insist on using inefficient large engined V8s etc in small cars as a marketing tool (I give the dodge caliber as a perfect example - meant to compete in small car market but some a-h*les in GMs marketing dept decided to toughen it up and give it a V8 engine to make it more butch than its competitors - nice one, you just killed its main selling point), when a flat four would likely give more power, better fuel economy and lower emissions.

Poorer efficiency means more gasoline for the same number of vehicles - therefore more leftover lube oil - therefore the oil companies in cahoots with the idiots like GM tell you you need to change more often to get it used up. Great thinking for the worlds dwindling oil reserves!

Answer 5

your doing the best one so far driving it a least once a week . It prevents condensation build up and good for the car period. They recommend changing it every 6 months even if it driven aLittle, It`s preference on what oil to use

Answer 6

30 miles is enough to warm up the oil properly and get rid of any condensation, short frequent trips are classified as severe service, you should be fine with going longer between oil changes.

Answer 7

my french car owners book recommends oil change each 5 000 miles or once a year if 5000 miles not reached. i think it's a waste to change oil each three months.

Answer 8

as long as you run it once a week to lubricate it you can change it every 3,000 miles or every 5 months and it will be fine

Answer 9

Since the manufacturer recommends every three months or three thousand miles, whichever comes first, I'd say change it every three months. You might be able to stretch the intervals if you use a good synthetic oil (that will resist water build up - condensation), which is very likely since you use the car so infrequently. Good luck!

Answer 10

That's the "recommendation", not requirement.

You could go 5,000 miles without a problem. As long as you check the oil level occasionally.

Answer 11

Change as manual directs,unless its longer than 6 months between changes. Oil looses viscosity (lubracating capabilities) with heat and age. Better to be safe than sorry ,oil is a lot cheaper than engines....George