What would you do if you were me?

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Up until a little over a year ago I owned one vehicle, a 99 Buick Lasabre that now has 99,450. I average about 3400 miles a year and my daily commute to work is 1.6 miles one way. Lets put it this way, the town I live in fits easily into six square miles so every where I go is a short trip. I always considered my vehicles were under sever duty and change my oil every 3 months (I know old school). For the last few years I've been having a privately owned quick lube do my oil changes, an old bar buddy works there and I trust him plus they use a Valvoline blend I think. The only down side is the Valvoline filters are probably on the low end of the scale but always figured they were good enough as long as I stuck to my 3 month changes.

A little over a year ago I inherited a 1989 GMC Sierra from my father in-law with 12,000 miles on a new crate 350. I have been driving them equally as much as possible which brings me here wanting opinions, how often would you change your oil if you were in my shoes?

I don't want to use a full synthetic in the Buick but might consider it in the truck since it has lower miles on the motor, plus I'm not sure he has bulk synthetic. He only charges me $34 a pop with my $2 off local high school discount card. He said I could bring my own filter which will make me feel better. I can get the Carquest blue at AAP for cheap with their discount codes.
 
Just use Valvoline blend with the Valvoline filter and have the oil changed once a year?

You drive so little both cars will last forever.
 
I would put in the Valvoline oil and use it in the vehicles for 5k miles and then change it.
 
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If I lived that close to work, I'd walk on nice days and only drive when it's either very cold, very snowy or raining.
At the rate you're using these two vehicles, once a year changes with any decent oil and filter would be fine.
The only caveat I can think of would involve moisture accumulating in the oil. In cooler weather, you'll never get the oil warm enough for long enough to evaporate the moisture.
The obvious solution would be a longer drive now and then, but I'm sure that you must get out of your little town every so often.
 
Duffyjr said:
Up until a little over a year ago I owned one vehicle, a 99 Buick Lasabre that now has 99,450. I average about 3400 miles a year and my daily commute to work is 1.6 miles one way. Lets put it this way, the town I live in fits easily into six square miles so every where I go is a short trip.

With a 1.6 mile commute, you don't need a car. Why not bicycle to work? It might take 10 minutes instead of 3.

Seriously, you have no idea how jealous I could be. I work commercial contract construction and sometimes spend all day driving to work, followed by a week or two in a hotel before coming home. I think my longest commute was St. Louis MO to New Orleans LA.

I have spent weeks driving further than you say you drive in a year. I have 8K on my oil right now, and it was changed 4 months ago. Yes, I run full synthetic and bypass filtration, but our driving conditions are opposite ends of the spectrum.

What would I do in your shoes? I'd send in a test sample of your used oil in 3K. Would you be pleasantly surprised if running a few Used Oil analysis showed you could safely go 5-6K between changes? It sounds like your main enemy might be condensation from sitting, not additive depletion from driving.

Do your vehicles sit in a heated garage at night or out in the Nebraska winters?
 
Sometimes folks can't walk or bike to work if they have a lot of items to carry with them, or want to be prepared to leave from work quickly, say to pick up a sick child from school who can't wait for the bus at the end of the day. All sorts of reasons to drive a car short distances to work; not everyone's situation is the same as your own.

Biggest problem I see is your not getting up to operating temps on short hops. Creates a lot of condensation in the oil system and the water can't burn off and it means more cold starts as well. Frequent oc's probably, won't do much to help that from happening, but I'd probably go with every 6 months myself to flush any water in the oil out. I would go with a good detergent full syn for the condensation and the cold starts and good filter because your oil flow will have less opportunity to catch contaminants. If you have to stick with a Valvoline product, Maxlife full syn, if not, PP would be my choice. Filters, well, look around here and pick your poison. I'm not saying this is the best choice because everyone has their own opinion, but myself, I have a 2004 Ram 1500 with only 75k, so obviously I drive on short hops a lot just like you, and I use a Fram Ultra with PP.

I also have a 97 Buick LeSabre with 110k on it that is the car my kids drive back and forth to school every day, and have, for the last 3 years. They share it, and it is 2 miles each way, 4-5 miles a day. It was a cheap car, and a perfect safe "beater" for them to learn to drive and which I'm not out much money for the harsh treatment it gets by high school drivers in a high school parking lot. I do the same with it.
 
Originally Posted By: ryanschillinger
I would use valvoline maxlife or another high mileage oil, at least in the Buick. Change both annually.


Exactly what I was going to say. Valvoline MaxLife 5w30 in both vehicles, change once a year. Use a Wix or Fram Ultra oil filter, you can leave the Fram Ultra on for a couple years.

Take the cars out on the highway every once in a while to get them up
To temperature and burn off fuel in the oil, also to keep the batteries charged up. 10-15 miles on the highway once a month sounds like enough.
 
Originally Posted By: ejes
Sometimes folks can't walk or bike to work if they have a lot of items to carry with them, or want to be prepared to leave from work quickly, say to pick up a sick child from school who can't wait for the bus at the end of the day. All sorts of reasons to drive a car short distances to work; not everyone's situation is the same as your own.


I also have a 97 Buick LeSabre with 110k on it that is the car my kids drive back and forth to school every day, and have, for the last 3 years. They share it, and it is 2 miles each way, 4-5 miles a day. It was a cheap car, and a perfect safe "beater" for them to learn to drive and which I'm not out much money for the harsh treatment it gets by high school drivers in a high school parking lot. I do the same with it.


This is another good example of why sometimes short hop driving might be the only option. The road we live on is rural and a straight shot north to south to the school. It is also a straight shot "shortcut" for commuters from a small town to the north to the bigger city to the south. It is a road with no shoulders, heavy traffic, and accidents. I will not allow my kids to walk to school, or bike to school, on it. It simply isn't safe.

Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Originally Posted By: ryanschillinger
I would use valvoline maxlife or another high mileage oil, at least in the Buick. Change both annually.


Exactly what I was going to say. Valvoline MaxLife 5w30 in both vehicles, change once a year. Use a Wix or Fram Ultra oil filter, you can leave the Fram Ultra on for a couple years.

Take the cars out on the highway every once in a while to get them up
To temperature and burn off fuel in the oil, also to keep the batteries charged up. 10-15 miles on the highway once a month sounds like enough.



This is great advice, and simple.
 
With a vehicle that is short tripped using unknown (but decent) oil I agree with a 5k or 1 year OCI.
 
I agree with the big items part.

Sick child or whatever, someone at work could likely run him home on the such an infrequent occurrence.

I think the point isn't to shame anyone into doing something, but rather to encourage them to consider other ways to address the issue.

If it's possible to walk or ride a bike, then it should be considered as it may improve his health and fitness.

I imagine in Nebraska, there is only 6-8 months at most you would want to do this. Winters are likely out for a bicycle and summer gets pretty hot. So even if it's just a spring/fall thing, it may be feasible.


Originally Posted By: ejes
Sometimes folks can't walk or bike to work if they have a lot of items to carry with them, or want to be prepared to leave from work quickly, say to pick up a sick child from school who can't wait for the bus at the end of the day. All sorts of reasons to drive a car short distances to work; not everyone's situation is the same as your own.

Biggest problem I see is your not getting up to operating temps on short hops. Creates a lot of condensation in the oil system and the water can't burn off and it means more cold starts as well. Frequent oc's probably, won't do much to help that from happening, but I'd probably go with every 6 months myself to flush any water in the oil out. I would go with a good detergent full syn for the condensation and the cold starts and good filter because your oil flow will have less opportunity to catch contaminants. If you have to stick with a Valvoline product, Maxlife full syn, if not, PP would be my choice. Filters, well, look around here and pick your poison. I'm not saying this is the best choice because everyone has their own opinion, but myself, I have a 2004 Ram 1500 with only 75k, so obviously I drive on short hops a lot just like you, and I use a Fram Ultra with PP.

I also have a 97 Buick LeSabre with 110k on it that is the car my kids drive back and forth to school every day, and have, for the last 3 years. They share it, and it is 2 miles each way, 4-5 miles a day. It was a cheap car, and a perfect safe "beater" for them to learn to drive and which I'm not out much money for the harsh treatment it gets by high school drivers in a high school parking lot. I do the same with it.
 
1700 miles per year on each vehicle? If it were me, I'd change every 2 years. If the cars were close to new, I'd change every year.
 
I would walk or bike or sell your vehicles and get an electric car. If not, change oil once a year w the cheapest oil
 
Originally Posted By: javacontour
I agree with the big items part.

Sick child or whatever, someone at work could likely run him home on the such an infrequent occurrence.

I think the point isn't to shame anyone into doing something, but rather to encourage them to consider other ways to address the issue.

If it's possible to walk or ride a bike, then it should be considered as it may improve his health and fitness.

I imagine in Nebraska, there is only 6-8 months at most you would want to do this. Winters are likely out for a bicycle and summer gets pretty hot. So even if it's just a spring/fall thing, it may be feasible.


Originally Posted By: ejes
Sometimes folks can't walk or bike to work if they have a lot of items to carry with them, or want to be prepared to leave from work quickly, say to pick up a sick child from school who can't wait for the bus at the end of the day. All sorts of reasons to drive a car short distances to work; not everyone's situation is the same as your own.

Biggest problem I see is your not getting up to operating temps on short hops. Creates a lot of condensation in the oil system and the water can't burn off and it means more cold starts as well. Frequent oc's probably, won't do much to help that from happening, but I'd probably go with every 6 months myself to flush any water in the oil out. I would go with a good detergent full syn for the condensation and the cold starts and good filter because your oil flow will have less opportunity to catch contaminants. If you have to stick with a Valvoline product, Maxlife full syn, if not, PP would be my choice. Filters, well, look around here and pick your poison. I'm not saying this is the best choice because everyone has their own opinion, but myself, I have a 2004 Ram 1500 with only 75k, so obviously I drive on short hops a lot just like you, and I use a Fram Ultra with PP.

I also have a 97 Buick LeSabre with 110k on it that is the car my kids drive back and forth to school every day, and have, for the last 3 years. They share it, and it is 2 miles each way, 4-5 miles a day. It was a cheap car, and a perfect safe "beater" for them to learn to drive and which I'm not out much money for the harsh treatment it gets by high school drivers in a high school parking lot. I do the same with it.


Oh for goodnes sake. I merely meant you can't know the OP's situation entirely. How about we just help the best we can with the question instead of trying to change his "lifestyle choices". I'm sure he has thought of other options already and ruled them out. He just wanted some solutions for oil with specific perameters. Nuff said.
 
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