Oil Change Service Interval

I have been in or around the car industry ever since my high school days, starting work at a Ford dealership. As easy as it would be to turn this into a “Jake needs better goals and ambitions" article, or a mid-life crisis rant, I'm merely trying to say that I remember the old 3,000 miles or 3-month oil change recommendations. Does it still apply? If not, then why?

Those are the million-dollar questions with no clear, one-answer-fits-all answer.

To start, let me approach it with how we like to talk about your car set-up goals here at Motoring Unlimited before we start changing parts or tuning with aftermarket products. And that is, how do you use your car? Or how do you want to use your car? Most of our service clients use their Porsche or Audi as a fun and excellent form of basic, yet inspirational transportation device. And for the masses, who only use their car for commuter duties, we usually recommend between 5,000-7,500 mile intervals with good full synthetic engine oil. (Motoring Unlimited uses Mobil 1 synthetic factory-recommended-weight engine oil.) And if you are one of our clients that has the pleasure of driving a later model Porsche or Audi, most are all now equipped with service reminder lights. These handy little guys will come on and let you know when it is time to have your oil changed and even when you’re at a factory service interval.

What about for the hard-core drivers? You know who I’m talking about… Is the stop light a drag lane Christmas tree? Do you attend DE (driver’s education) or lapping days at the track from time to time? Do you often stretch your right leg? Does the Prius in the left lane offend you? Do tunnels make you roll down the window, and make sure there is enough space to “hear if she is still running okay?” Did you recently happen upon an open parking lot and spell your name with burnt tire, or show the world that you, too, are proficient in the art of drifting? Well, then taking those items into account one may want to lower those intervals in relation with the frequency of those exercises. Everything from excessive heat, to increased combustion chamber blow-by, and time sitting static in traffic, can increase oil breakdown, and engine wear on your beloved car. In other words, the harder you are on your Porsche or Audi, the more often the oil should be changed.

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