Opinions Wanted: Oil life at 69%, go ahead and change before road trip?

[Eidolon]

So I'm making the drive up to GONE 2012 in a week, plus seeing friends 'n' family within a few hours' drive while I'm up there. In all, it'll be over 2500 miles of driving. I just bought some more oil for it, buuuut... I'm running Redline 5W-30, known for its high detergency and ability to run long intervals. Oil was last changed at 42,500 and I'm coming up on 46,500. So after 4000 miles, my oil life is currently at 69%.

I wish I could remember the longest interval I've run so far. It MIGHT have been 7000-8000 one time on a Mobil1 fill from the dealership. Buuuut...

What do you guys think? To change before the road trip or not?

[WickedMom]

Pull the dipstick and evaluate. If it looks clean, don't change. If you think it looks dirty, change. :)


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[MIEngineer]

Yep...leave it up to the dipstick as noted....I've done some at different intervals based on where/how I was driving based on the dipstick. Unlike a politician, it never lies.

[Eidolon]

... Good and simple idea.

To quote a certain set of commercials...

"BRILLIANT!"

Thanks!

[WickedMom]

It's the service writer in me. :)

With extended oil change intervals we should ALL be looking at the dipstick in between services. But very few actually do. (I don't)

Glad I could help :)


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[zepcom]

Hmmm... I was just pondering the same idea myself, although my OLM is at 26%.

[GXPaycheck]

There's a dipstick?

[Chewy]

Hmmm... I was just pondering the same idea myself, although my OLM is at 26%.

I'd change it... That's 29 hours of travel PLUS the time here... CHANGE IT!

[-Ray-]

Leave it in there. Driving to GONE is the easiest it's going to get on your oil. Long trips allow the oil to remove any moisture, plus any contaminates make their way through the fresh air system.
Short trips are bad for oil. Chris should be changing his oil! LOL

[Chewy]

Leave it in there. Driving to GONE is the easiest it's going to get on your oil. Long trips allow the oil to remove any moisture, plus any contaminates make their way through the fresh air system.
Short trips are bad for oil. Chris should be changing his oil! LOL

There's NO doubt that what you (Ray) said is 100% correct, but I like starting out long road trips on a fresh step. That being said, mine shows super low for long periods because I change mine every 7500 miles and DO NOT go off the OLM on either of our cars. I drive 90% highway everyday (60 minutes) and use the Mobil 1 15,000 mile stuff...

[-Ray-]

......and I would leave it in there. :)

[zepcom]

Thanks for the insight, Ray. I generally drive 50+ miles each day, mostly highway, so my car has plenty of time to warm up and I love gettin' on it too.

I gotta check my paperwork as far as what mileage I last changed it was at... something tells me around 4000 or maybe even less. Maybe I simply forgot to reset the OLM last time, but I know I wrote down the date and the mileage on the delco filter label, FTW!

My car is not a drag race car anyways, I don't plan on abusing it on the trip, just enjoying myself and keeping busy with g8-related events!

Hope you can make it out for at least part of the event, Ray!

--zep

[Doug Hilliard]

I wouldn't change it but that's me. I'm using 5w40 Mobil 1 and change mine at roughly 10k intervals. I checked my oil before VIR last Saturday, ran 4 25-minute sessions hitting 11-13 psi of boost, then checked the oil Sunday after and I can't tell it used a drop; I'm now at ~93k miles so it seems to be working so far!

[matts88yj]

I'd let it in as well. I change mine every 10k since my driving is mostly highway as well (50 miles one way to work) and just cruise. I look at the dipstick and right around 10k is when I can tell its getting time for a change. I do get on her a bit in the twisty back roads and sometimes from a stop light. It's always good to stretch their legs a bit :)

[Executor999]

I'm headed to Texas in a week and I was just about due for a change, so I changed it. Gave me peace of mind, even if it is the last trip with this engine.

[I12XLR8]

The wise advice of checking the stick is where I stand. Enjoy GONE!