Oil Change

[esussman]

Owned my BT7 now for over 12 years. Change the K&N filter and oil every Spring with Castrol GTX 20W/50. Drive my Healey less than 500 miles every year from April thru Oct then she sleeps through the Chicago winter. Started her up today before intended oil change. Checked the dipstick and the oil is squeaky clean like every year: so why change now? Am I breaking a forbidden rule that I might have created for myself? If oil breaks down over mileage and time, maybe once a year really doesn't make sense. Right? Let me know your thoughts. Thanks, Eric

 

[Bob_Spidell]

I think once a year is about right. I put 4-5K miles/yr on my BJ8, most of it on an annual 3-4K road trip. I change my oil after the long run, and drive it another 500-1,000 miles until the next long road trip. Here in the SF Bay Area, I can usually get out a few times over the winter--that helps boil off any condensation that has formed when sitting. The risk is from water and other combustion byproducts forming acidic compounds that remain in the oil. If I were you I'd change the oil at the end of the season instead of at the start, so the erosive compounds don't sit in the pan and on the bearings, etc. over the winter. And drive your car more--Healeys seem to thrive when they're driven often and hard. Also, the most damage is done with short trips to the 7-11, most Healeys aren't driven like that.

Realistically, with your driving profile you could probably go two years or more on a change with little or no ill effect.