2k miles in 2 yrs, oil change due?

[4HondaOwner]

Even with Royal Purple in the crankcase, you have doubts in your head just by starting this thread. If it was me, I'd give my brain some good peace of mind and change it out.

[Gothche]

Can anyone tell me why royal purple should last longer than other oils of the same standard? Is there a special additive put in the royal purple or are you just staying loyal to some weird idea put out here? I'm not saying royal purple isn't a good oil, but I find it hard to believe it last that much longer than other oils of the same type or standard.

[Nightshift]

Todays oils are much more resilient then oil 10-15 years ago. Both 6-speeds may see 300-500 miles a year. They get started regularly and moved around. I change the oil in them once a year.
The automatic (daily driver) is changed every 3000 miles; about 6 months.
I tend to go through batteries, I buy the high end batteries and exchange them every 2 or three years when they go bad.

WW-

[mellofelow]

Thanks guys. All great info and I appreciate your input. Advice is duly noted and I'll find some time to work on it asap.

[DrDave]

These questions seem to be popping back up again. There was a guy on BITOG (Bob is the oil guy) a couple of years ago that had a motorcycle with 15 year old oil. He drained the oil and sent the 15 year old oil in for analysis. Everyone expected the worst. He lived in a dry climate. The bike was stored indoors the whole time and not started. The oil had a few thousand miles on it.


The UOA came back showing the oil in perfect condition; no condensation, nor acidic conditions and a TBN (total base number) well within normal range.

If my car were in Tyson's garage where it's a relatively consistent temperature and low humidity It would not bother me to leave the oil in the motor for five years if I was only putting a couple of hundred miles a year on the car. The oil is made to deal with acidic condensation. If you are going to start the car during long storage periods then start it and drive it for at least 30 minutes. Simply starting it and letting it idle in the driveway is the worst thing you can do for the car.

80% of all engine wear takes place during startup and warmup. When you start the car you draw 150 amps with the starter and take the surface charge off the battery. It takes time to replenish the battery. As you know throwing 80 amps at it from the alternator does not provide the time to adequately saturate the plates. I have watched the charge profile on the manual charger here at home. A battery needs at least an hour of charging to completely recover from a single start cycle.

There is a thread in the G1 section talking about dying batteries in a sitting car. The guy wants to go out and periodically start the car to keep the battery charged. The better answers are to either buy a battery tender or disconnect the battery. Two weeks is enough time for the battery to discharge enough that the plates start to sulfate and decrease charge capacity.

I believe we can solve two problems, oil and batteries by not starting the cars periodically believing we are doing them good. Next is to invest $45 in a battery tender or disconnecting the battery. I really like the battery tender. It charges the battery up to ~14.5 volts and then floats the battery around 13.2 volts. Those are great numbers. Your battery will always be topped up and there won't be a long inrush of high current right after startup.

Dave

[OLDSKOOLACURA]

^so should I just stop starting it up until it's back on the road?

[MarcD]

As Dr Dave was eluding to, 2 years should be fine- esp if it is Synthetic but I would change it. I dont drive my coupes much- maybe upwards of 1500 miles a year and use Mobil 1. When I sent a sample in to Blackstone after 1 yr they said the oil was fine and to extend the changes to 18 months or more. However, I do try not to let the cars sit for more than two weeks at a time. And I hardly ever start them and not take them for at least a 20min drive. I usually try to get them on the highway for a bit