Hi,
So I bought the car new last June 2010 CS and changed the oil/filter at 3k miles. Ok I'm anal about oil changes. So I put the car away for the winter at 5k miles. now do you think I should just change the oil when I take it out in the spring? Or just leave it? And replace it later, possbily at 10k miles?
thx.
Good move to have changed it at 3K miles. I wouldn't do it again until 10K.
Most auto manufacturers, including Porsche, state that you should change your oil at least once per year, so you'll be due in June regardless of miles. If your car was stored in a garage that has a relatively stable temperature and humidity level I'd wait. If the garage had wide swings in either I'd do it now. Condensation is one reason why annual changes are the limit.
Personally when I used to store my other car in winters I did change the oil before the storage and then after it as well as it was cheap insurance and it was in an unheated garage. I would only change the oil as the filter as unused and new as the oil change happended once the car was stored.
From my understanding, oil even when not used does get oxidized and does have a limited life inside a motor. It will be good for 12 months especially more so in a heated garage so you should be fine and for warranty purposes this is within warranty procedures (12 months). Now if it were me, I would just change the oil myself as it will cost about $60 for Mobil 1 Synthetic. When I move back to a region where I will be storing it this is what I will do.....do an oil & filter change when storing and just change the oil after storage. If you do it yourself the 2 oil changes will cost less than going to the dealership for just one oil change.
I change my own oil every 12 months and I also get one done at the dealership every 12 months.....basically its getting one at the dealership every 12 months for warranty purposes and at the 6 month mark I do it myself as its cheap insurance and the 'blood' of your motor!
Your driving style will dictate how important it is to change your oil more often and some do it for piece of mind regardless.......
Good move in changing it at 3000 miles. I changed mine at 2400 miles and then 4200 miles to get the rest of the break in stuff out. My other one was at 6800 miles and now the next one will be at the end of April and will be at at 8500 miles. So since your at 5000 miles I would do it regardless to do the 2nd breakin oil change then your good!
+1. That's pretty fresh oil, not likely to contain much contaminants, acids, and stuff. If it had, you would of probably already suffered the damage to bearing and seals by storing it with old oil.
My opinion is that it makes no sense to wait until spring, change the oil just before lay-up - like with boats. The oil doesn't spoil just sitting there, and you can have confidence that it is not etching things or settling into sludge (if it is really old).
If there is any condensation, which I doubt, it will evaporate after the 1st long drive. BTW, I doubt an engine block (a fairly closed system) suffers from condensation as much as a fuel tank does due to cycles of temp changes.
Wabbit: I think, if it gives you peace-of-mind, go ahead. I like working on my car (at least for simple things), so why not. But I doubt that is is really necessary. With large boats - which is a far harsher environment, it is only done either before or after storage. I don't know anyone doing both. And, a large marine engine gets much more abuse than our cars. Its like driving at red-line in 1st gear all the time.
That said, I would always change a filter with the oil. It holds almost 1 qt and hopefully much of the any possible contaminants.
Finally, for people like us who change our oil far more frequently than required, its probably all academic. We want to protect our cars, like our kids, so we go the extra mile out of caution. I can understand that.
Yeah I'll probably will change it when I take it out of the garage. It was in an unheated garage with swings in temp for sure. Cheap insurance. Now if the wether will please get warmer here in the NE and the snow stops flying, we'll be in good shape.
If an oil change has never been done. Just because it's a new engine the possibility of metal parts from breakin would be enough to do a change. Look for any metal anything out of the ordinary. It takes many miles to fully seat rings / cyl liners etc. If all looks good after you check it out THEN go with the 7-10 K oil change / or one year. I do the one year and only use synthetic stock. All syn oils are better than Dino juice (though even the syn starts out as processed dino stock ) The syn mixture varries but pretty much ANY Syn is leaps and bounds better than reg Oil. Walmart Syn ($17.95 is least expensive and still rated highly) is very good. Also use what's rated for your climate. Too thin in a hot climate like Pheonix could be a bad thing in summer and too thick in anchoridge Ak in winter likewise a bad idea. See manual for guidelines..
This isn't really correct. The base stock for Group III synthetics starts out as petroleum, and is Hydroisomerized, as the ChemEs say. The first example was the original Castrol Syntec. But Group IV (Polyalphaolefin based) oils like Mobil-1 0W-40, and Group V oils (polyol-ester based) like Redline do not start out as petroleum.
You did the right thing by changing the oil *before* you put the car away.
But there is no reason to change the oil after the car has sat unused for a few months.
The amount of water the oil may have accumulated is low, very low. There's not a large amount of air exchange going on.
The first time you start the engine and run the car long enough to get the engine/oil hot the water will boil away.
My advice would be to change the oil/filter every 5K miles or if one drives the car less than 5K miles a year and stores the car away for the winter change the oil just before putting the car away for the winter.
Sincerely,
Rockster.
I have to ask if a search was performed before posting this question as this topic has been discussed many many many times in the past, there's even information on this topic in our FAQ. I don't mean to sound harsh but this is a question that hasn't changed since the Cayman was first released and if you read those past topics you'll get more info than you can possibly imagine so I just wanted to make sure you were aware of our search feature and the gold mine of information it can retrieve for you.
yes I did search for the oil info. Thought my situation was a little unique and just wanted to ask what people thought. Oil is such a facsinating topic, always different views and ideas
