[NewSong]

I'm taking in my coupe for its first Dealer oil change/service (had one in between). My car has 8,020 miles on it after 1 year. I commute to L.A for work and I usually take the Metrolink train so my car has really low miles.

Anyway, the service person on the phone said that they would change the oil, but that changing it too often could be bad because synthetic oil needs time to be effective whatever that means.

Does anyone know if changing your oil every 5,000-7,000 miles is bad if you're using synthetic??

[Ramos]

The guy who told you that is an idiot !! Too often would be every 1000 miles.. Every 5000-7500 is very reasonable and I would not leave oil synthetic or not in the engine more than that

[Crisp]

Originally Posted by NewSong

I'm taking in my coupe for its first Dealer oil change/service (had one in between). My car has 8,020 miles on it after 1 year. I commute to L.A for work and I usually take the Metrolink train so my car has really low miles.

Anyway, the service person on the phone said that they would change the oil, but that changing it too often could be bad because synthetic oil needs time to be effective whatever that means.

Does anyone know if changing your oil every 5,000-7,000 miles is bad if you're using synthetic??

I dont see how fresh oil that is not polluted is bad for your car but used oil with 7000 miles is good for it.

I'm going to change my oil at 3,000 miles, then do the whole 15k mile interval.

[nicknaz]

the only thing 'bad' about frequent oil changes is the cost.

If you changed oil after every drive you wouldn't hurt anything but your wallet

[ncoig]

Originally Posted by NewSong

Anyway, the service person on the phone said that they would change the oil, but that changing it too often could be bad because synthetic oil needs time to be effective whatever that means.

Does anyone know if changing your oil every 5,000-7,000 miles is bad if you're using synthetic??

He may be referring to the fact that the initial oil in many cars contains specific additives that are meant to aid in break-in, and draining that oil prematurely can have negative consequences. After that, probably not an issue if you've got $$$ to burn.

-N

[pittyinSC]

Depends. If you track it often and drive it like you stole it. Changing the
oil often would be a good idea probably. Every 3-5k would suffice probably

[josephr25]

A recent R&T tech article asked the same thing about changing oil on a Civic... the dealer told the guy (for his daughter) that were special additives in the oil that need to bond for the parts... in other words, they told him to hold out.

You would probably have to find more research on our cars.

[NewSong]

Originally Posted by Kampfer

A recent R&T tech article asked the same thing about changing oil on a Civic... the dealer told the guy (for his daughter) that were special additives in the oil that need to bond for the parts... in other words, they told him to hold out.

You would probably have to find more research on our cars.

There we go Kampfer. He said the oil comes with additives and that if I change oil too much, they won't bond to the parts properly causing wear + tear.

Has anyone heard this from a BMW SA?

[Mk23]

I plan on changing my oil at 1200 miles, then again at 5000 miles, and again at 10,000 miles. I think as long as you don't change your oil before that 1200 miles (break-in) you'll be fine.

[shadye90]

excessive oil changes are bad for only 2 reasons.
1) pollution-too much used oil being produced
2) excessive wear to your drain plug and oil pan threads

* not that any of that stuff stops me from changing the oil in my cars early.

[maraud]

There is one small factoid you all are missing out on. Synth oil is much better than "dino" oil when it comes to breakdown, longevity, viscosity ranges and most importantly - anti-friction.

However, the last thing is also the problem. Synthetic oil does too good of a job on a new engine. A new engine requires a reasonable amount of friction for the rings to actually break in the cylinder bore and seat properly. If you change the oil too soon (from dino to synth, or from "1st fill additive synth") you'll end up with an engine that burns oil as the rings wont properly seat.

Before you all start screaming though, if you switch too soon there is no permanent harm done, it's simply that due to reduced friction it'll take longer for everything to break in properly which equals burning off some oil a little longer.

[stickypaws]

Originally Posted by maraud

There is one small factoid you all are missing out on. Synth oil is much better than "dino" oil when it comes to breakdown, longevity, viscosity ranges and most importantly - anti-friction.

However, the last thing is also the problem. Synthetic oil does too good of a job on a new engine. A new engine requires a reasonable amount of friction for the rings to actually break in the cylinder bore and seat properly. If you change the oil too soon (from dino to synth, or from "1st fill additive synth") you'll end up with an engine that burns oil as the rings wont properly seat.

Before you all start screaming though, if you switch too soon there is no permanent harm done, it's simply that due to reduced friction it'll take longer for everything to break in properly which equals burning off some oil a little longer.

You get a chocolate chip cookie for posting the (closest) correct answer.

[742]

There was a study by Ford years ago that found oil to offer its peak performance when it had a bit over 1,000 miles on it. The reason for this was not, as far as I know, determined. This in turn has helped fuel the “don’t change too often” side of the oil wars.

As for break in, for all the talk about it I don’t see anyone on these boards complaining about oil consumption, other than the occasional owner with no mechanical skills who is panicking because the car wants at quart at 5,000 miles. I used to work on engines that were very sensitive to break in practices, so I am not blind to the concern. But I see no evidence that these engines have break in problems no matter what reasonable practices are followed.

I find most dealers to be poor sources of information. They want to sell cars, and they tell customers what they want to hear. And what most customers want to hear is that the service requirements are minimal. Add to that the fact that simple oil changes are not money makers and not worth their time.

Finally, the environmental issue. Oil is recyclable, and all of us should be taking our used oil to a recycling center of some form. In fact used oil has a value because of this.

[E90330iS]

cool