RICH 28

So you would have no miles between oil changes after storage?

Red08

I drive 4,000-5,000 miles/year, and change the oil/filter before I put it away for the winter.

Dub Mc

I don't drain clean oil.. Usually starts changing colors on a clean electronic engine at 5k.. I don't see the benefit in dumping clean oil just because it's been in an engine for 2 years and has less than 5k on it.. Years back with carburetor engines running rich and contaminating oil we changed at 3 k...Driving on paved roads with electronic engines oil has a longer life by 2..

Rick369

That's right. Unfortunately my car goes into cold storage away from my home. Heated storage is too expensive and hard to come by where I live in Wisconsin. Concerned about moisture build up after 4-5 months sitting idle in cold storage. Buy my Mobil 1 and AC Delco PF48 at Walmart. Cheap insurance to make sure my expensive C6 has good oil in its veins after sitting idle for the winter.

Vettemuscle1

to each their own but thats excessive.

Dub Mc

Well you sure as heck aren't hurting anything Rick.. Often times I go with what makes me feel good.. there is a lot to say about feeling good.. Different than me doesn't make you wrong.

C6 Snowboarder

Every 2 years or 8 K miles.. -- it is good oil.

About the only ones that really need a 3,000-mile oil change are the quick-lube outlets and dealership service departments.

Dub Mc

Yep the quick lube joints are stuck on 3k miles..

windyC6

When it comes to maintenance on these Corvettes, there is a lot of over-kill. A lot of Corvette owners think that they need to change this and that at certain intervals to protect their baby. Of course that is all good and fine as it hurts nothing. But sometimes we get carried away and just waste a lot of $$$ and time and effort doing things more often than they really have to be done. Of course the nay sayers will have a panic attack if you don't change your oil every 300 miles or 3 months, which ever comes first....but....well....there ya have it.....

johan gouws

if you don't even drive 3000 miles pa, why even have the car?!

Corvette_Ed

If they're enjoying their ownership, does it really matter?

Dub Mc

I have a Motor Home that has 5 years on the oil.. True I don't use it much but in the event that changes I have her in the barn and ready..I have an employee who has a 57 Chevy 2 door resto mod that cost him 50 k.. He keeps it in a room where it sits for a year at a time.. He wants it and finds pleasure sitting in a chair drinking coffee and looking at it.. He wants it and that's all that matters.. Different people find pleasure in different ways and in the end pleasure is all that matters. Different strokes.

RagTop69

I changed the oil to Mobil 1 about a month after I bought the car in April, 2015. The DIC now tells me I have 47% of my oil life remaining and I've driven the car about 10K miles since the last change. I recognize that the old 3K miles is a vestige of the carbureted engines with dinosaur oil in them, but why would the DIC say that there is 47% of my oil life left and, if so, why should I change it?

Dub Mc

The DIC gadget may not be smart RagTop.

RagTop69

If you reset the oil life after an oil change and the car is aware of the number of miles you have driven, how smart does the DIC have to be to calculate the % of oil life remaining? These cars are intended to use synthetic oil like Mobil 1, so I would expect that Chevrolet has a default 0% mileage built into the DIC and I would think it's a simple calculation. And, yes, I'm going to change my oil very soon anyway because the implied default 0% number would be somewhere around 15K miles (I think I actually have about 8K miles on this oil), and I think that's about right for full synthetic oil.

BTW, my LS1 used a little squat oil filter like the LS3, but I used a taller one (AC PF61) that provided me a little extra oil capacity. Is there any tall filter application for the LS3 or is the concern for dragging a taller filter an issue?

Corvette_Ed

The oil life monitor is extremely complex. It takes into account many parameters to judge the % of life left in the oil.

Dub Mc

I bet even at 10k your oil hasn't been black long has it?

Vettemuscle1

i wouldnt say extremely complex. it has a preset number of engine rpms and it counts down to 0 (0% - oil change time). However it has a scaling factor for "high load" operations so it looks at engine temps etc. and then scales these rpms to "penalize" it (counts down faster). i'm over simplifying the algorithm itself is complex but the idea behind how it works is not.

it does not measure oil viscosity, shear, or any physical/chemical composition as some seem to think it does.

just fyi it doesnt use mileage as mileage wouldn't define operation

bill gsport

I agree with the fact that engines and fuel systems (FI vs. carb) have changes dramatically over the past years and I question the frequency of oil changes. By the way, I use the factory recommended Mobil 1 and the heavy duty filter. Guys, give me your opinion on my 10-1/2 qt dry sump GS oil changes. I don't track the car and I find that the oil analysis after 2 years (minimal miles of about 3,500) shows no degrading. (Maybe on a wet sump, 5 qt system that would be different.) I don't plan on changing the oil for at least another year unless someone (with knowledge not just opinion) can make a good argument to the contrary. I always enjoy the input from other members.

Vettemuscle1

you've just restructured the age old question.

if you feel comfortable with 2 years then go for it. only you know how you treat your car, it's not a perfect science 3,000 miles on your car and 3,000 miles on my car is completely different so there's no hard fast rule. pick something you feel good with and go with it.

I'm good with once a year regardless of mileage cuz its a whole 100$ plus changing/reading your oil can give you a heads up to issues that you may not otherwise know... metal shavings in the oil, coolant in the oil, etc. So i don't mind a once a year "inspection" for peace of mind.