97 Civic coupe

I know now cars can go 7500 miles between oil changes. But I drive under "sever conditions" because I hardly ever drive more than 5 miles at a time. So my question is how often should I change my oil? Every 3 months? Every 3,000 miles? At 3 months I probably only have 1500 miles on that oil change. My civic has 205,000 miles on it so I'm sure changing the oil at the right time is essential if I want to keep it running well.

Mad Dog Tannen

With 200k on the engine, I would change it more than every 7500 with sythetic. I would do it maybe every 3000-5000. Especially considering that it is driven harder than normal.

hotrod_714

ya between 3-6000 is fine and especially if you use a synthetic or blend

kyle_l88

wow thats nuts 205K miles thats awesome dude. I change mine every 5K kilometers ( religiously lol. Oil seems to be the one thing that is essential to a long life. And its easy to do, so i don't mind spoiling my car :P. So I would say 3000 miles give or take a few hundred would be good. If its longer between changes say 6 months for you to rack up 3K, i would say do it every few months, just to keep it fresh . Hard driving conditions I find makes my oil look crappy at each change.

Kennykid2002

iTrader: (1)

I do 3~5k oil changes

which typically means about 2 months

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

If you have 205k miles on your car now it seems whatever your doing is working. Stick to your regiment. Changing oil every 5000kms is a waste of good oil because its just worked in at that point. I go about 5000 miles before changing the oil. I don't use synthetic but a synthetic blend. (Valvoline MaxLife). Even car manufacturers are now admitting that 3000 mile oil changes are a complete waste.

kyle_l88

I wouldn't say its a complete waste. Yes sometimes its a bit overkill if the oil still looks good. Also you use a mixed synthetic/regular so that might help as well. I used regular oil and after 5K kilometers my oil is pretty black. But i spend alot of time (and i mean ALOT of time) in traffic.

As for the 205K miles guy, I agree just keep doing whatever your doing now if it works for you. Just giving some input. I'm sitting at 120K miles and my car runs like new.

MelJ

I usually go between 4000 and 4700. Hell, my girlfriend drove my old 94 Corolla for 5000 miles on one oil change with no problems. The 3000 mile change is a load of crap. But seeing as you fall under "severe operating conditions", that might be best. I mean whatever you're doing now is working, so why not keep doing it?

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

Oil is supposed to get dark... IMO. Oil does not really degenerate like most people thing it does. What happens is that it gets dirty and the detergents and additives slowly burn off. I wouldn't be concerned at all about dark oil, it just means its doing its job and absorbing the dirt which will come out when you change the oil. My oil looks the same at 5000km as it does at 8000... IMO.

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

Oh, and for the record. Were beating on a horse here that's been beat to death on every car forum that exists...

kyle_l88

Hmm. true that makes sense I guess. And yea 5000Km to 8000 looks the same to me too. I guess doing what works for you is the best way to go. As long as its not every 30K km lol.

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

Haha yes there are limits to everything, you don't want oil with no additives in it. That could lead to clogging and many other problems

loadedmind

I've got 231k on mine and change the oil every 5k. I buy the gallon jug of full synth Mobil 1 at Wal-mart. My commute is 26 miles one way with only 8 of those being side roads. Besides the clear coat coming up and a few dents/scratches, she's good. Completely stock 5-speed DX sedan. I cruise at 80+mph. Hope this helps.

SubieSTI555

If you have a aftermarket exhaust I would recommend changing it more often than if you were still running stock exhaust.

Newfiedan

lol what the hell would having an aftermarket exhaust influence changing oil or breakdown of the oil in the engine. Thats a new one to me, I guess in the 16 years I have spent working on cars I have never been informed that it made a difference. In all seriousness though exhaust has nothing to do with oil changes period. Its all to do with how far/often you drive the car and how hard you drive it. If you bag on it all day long for short commutes then change it more often, if you do all highway driving then do it per kms. The rule I use is city = 4000 highway =5000.

MelJ

haha yeah. i was trying to wrap my head around that.

danwat12345

My 6th gen has 215K miles on it and it burns 1 quart per 2500 miles, so people who have engines that use a bit of oil perhaps can use dino oil for a bit longer than otherwise. The reason is that I have to add a quart every 2500mi and this brings in fresh additives. I've been changing every 4K but I am going to do it @ 6 or 7K this time (in a few months) and get an oil analysis done. Using a good oil filter (Pureone) and trusty Chev Supreme 10w30 dino. When I was dong it at 4K, the oil was still brown, didn't look dirty at all.
The car is 80% highway driven.
IMO if the oil is dirty, change it. But i'm not a engine expert, chemical engineer or mechanic.
Hope this helps.

If this thread isn't buried by my extended oil change I'll post an update

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

try auto-rx.com oil treatment, it will greatly reduce oil burn and make the engine run better by cleaning up internal parts.

danwat12345

OK, so here is my oil analysis, as promised on a prev.post of mine in this thread.
5,300mi on oil. Chevron Supreme 10w30 SM GF-4


The insoluable level is a little high even though I'm using a Purolator Pureone oil filter, Wix fuelF and Purolator Classic airF.

TestSubject712

My previous civic was a '98 EX that had 278K on the odometer when I got rid of it. I would always change the oil anywhere between 5,000 and 7,000 miles using Mobil 1 fully synthetic (towards the end the high mileage one) with some Lucas oil stabilizer and I never had a problem. She still ran quite well when I sold her.

JackedByJack

i have a ek hatch and it has 250k on it and i changed my oil every 4k just to be on the safe side especially with the car being mostly oem

KapilBajpai

Hi ,
I have Honda Civic 2016 ,
I run the in a condition where I just have to travel 2-3 miles on an average per day .

First time when it asked for Oil change , the distance was just 1800 miles (in 8 months). When I asked about this to dealer , she said may be you are driving rough . I explained that this can not be even a possibility because I just travel - 2 to 3 miles and there are two three turn and three four Stop sign and I have learned car driving last 2 yr back . I drive car very smoothly (who ever sit say the same).
Now it is asking Second time oil change and reading is 5000 mile (3000 miles s the difference -- In 10 months) . My cars average isPlease can some one help me, Is this normal ?
I do not know anything about car internal , even terminologies

Thanks