oil change every ????? miles/kms

I tried using the seach function but was not working. Anyway, after how many miles/kms do I need an oil change. I drive a 2004 C4. Secondly my bmw used to tell me when i was due for an oil service, does the 996 do the same? I have done about 15,000kms now since I bought the car last August.

Porsche recomments oil change every 15,000 MILES.

Just remember it is always easier to change oil than engines.

heh, I knew someone was going to throw that one at me . Anyway thanks. Also does the computer tell you with a warning light like in a bmw?

Change the oil after every drive.

"Change the oil after every drive." Would not put it past some of the folks here

I change mine every other day...

every 5-6000kms for me.

and the conditions your driving in I was told to change it every 3k or once a year (if you don't drive it much). If you change your own oil, it's a cheap piece of mind.

Dell you are doing it again!!!(dry humor!!)...I personally pull over about every 50miles (give or take a couple of feet) and change my oil on the spot...causing traffic jams, but who cares you got to take care of your baby.....(it a human baby needs a diaper change...you are not letting him/her walk around with a crappy diaper!! now do you?) If I don't have time to do all of the above....I change the oil every 7500 (garage recommendations)...but I have read somewhere that synthetic oil doesn't lose it's viscosity...so I guess the garage is just trying to make an extra buck.....because the manual states every 15K

Actually, I change the oil by the factory interval, every 15K miles or 1 year, which ever comes first. never had a problem.

I always hated that light on the Bimmer. It purported to take into account such things as trip length, engine speeds, number of starts, etc. I always, and still do, believe that it was simply a means to get the BMW owner into the dealership for service ... and to get that light turned off. In my circle of acquaintences who drove and modded the 325 series in the early 90's, a common first mod was to pull the instrument circuit board and crush the "service" light bulb with a pair of needle nose pliers. One of the hotest selling accessories (once the 3rd parties figured it out) in all the BMW mags, clubs, etc was the "engine reset tool". Then BMW changed the plug shape in the mid 90's .... the savvy entrepeneurs were out immediately with adapters to allow the old home reset tools to be used with the new plug.

The main reason for changing your oil is because it gets dirty. It doesn't matter is the oil won't breakdown for 100,000 miles, it should be change periodically depending on driving conditions. In areas where there is dust, or in the midwest and plain states that have a lot of farms, it is a good idea to change it every 3000 - 7500 miles. You would be surprised how much crap gets into the crankcase just driving around. The 15,000 mile recommnedation is a response to EPA and similar groups demanding that automobile manufacturers decrease the frequency of fluid changes and has little to do with what is best for your engine. I would never wait 15,000 mile to change oil.

7000 Miles or 1 Year whichever comes first for me. Just my preference. I think its a good compromise between the Porsche recommendation of 15K, the economics (the expensive price of synthetic oil/making it orth it) and protecting the engine. For me 15K miles, the oil is already really dirty and have acculmulated lots of contaminants.

5k miles or 1 year for me.

It really depends on your environment and how many miles you put on the car. Minimum is every year. Maximum is theoretically every day, but realistically, every 5,000 km or 3,000 miles is probably too often. Personally, I change mine between 5,000 and 10,000 miles, which results in about 1.7 changes a year.

http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/...c;f=3;t=002842 check out the mileage on this oil change interval...i realize it's a Cayenne but their is some interseting discussion in this thread....the only way you will ever know with certainty is do start doing used oil analysis...if not, it is more than safe to do a once a year or 8,000 miles with street driving...this is basically half the factory recommended interval from a mileage standpoint. i have done 12,000 street mile intervals in my 1987 3.2...the oil was deemed "suitable for continued use"...this was a synthetic 5w40. in the race car i do 10-12 hours and it hasn't even begun to use up the oils capabality...i change that oil more often just to see if i am getting any abnormal wear from racing use.

I use Blackstone Laboratories for oil analysis on all of my cars, and the results of my 30K test is why I am sticking to the 15K/1 year interval. Essentially the spectral exam, viscosity, and insolubles tests were well within tolerances. This is a well spent $20 to get a baseline on how the oil in your car performs in your personal driving situation.

The main reason you change oil is not because it gets dirty. It is because the additives get used up. These additives help get rid of acids formed by the combustion process. Also they keep particles in suspension that other wise would sludge ect. If you get in your car and drive across the U.S. with out stopping you would not do much to the oil because all the bad stuff would boil off. If you get in your car and go one block in the winter nothing boils off it all gets in the oil, then the additives do their thing. It is a lot more complicated but you get the idea.

OE, you definitely win the award for most attentive Porsche enthusiast. I remember reading your post about installing the new suspension and was literally in awe by how clean the undercarriage of your car was in the photos. I could spend a year cleaning my car whilst up on a lift and still not get it looking that way. Good on you. For the record, I change oil annually. I very rarely get more than 7500 miles per year, but that mileage would be my absolute benchmark. It's like 1999 said, it's not about viscosity, it's about the dirt and particles in the oil that need to go. And, if you chance the oil yourself (as a lot of the guys do here), it's not that expensive a proposition.

Speaking of oil...After lusting over the Lambos and Ferraris over on 6speed...I completely threw financial caution to the wind and bought a '06 Vespa 4 stroke LX150 scooter. After riding from the dealer and taking my wife to a sidewalk cafe ala La Dolce Vita, we rode maybe 40 min. at 35mph for 20 miles in city traffic with hills. No smoke, no leaks, no errors. next a.m. checking the oil find it 1/8th inch below the lowest mark. Dealer swears they had put in a quart...but noway. Soooo, new engine, break in period starting...should I be concerned? Thanks