How long (time) between synthetic oil changes?

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I have a 300ZX Twin Turbo running Castrol synthetic 10w-30. The car has been driven only 1,000 miles in 18 months. How long should synthetic last in a case like this? Gordo
 
I would change the oil. I would change at least once a year even with such low miles. Problem would be condensation issues that would contaminate the oil. Also, any acids that are not neutralized would be doing a job by 18 months. My .02 worth.
 
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I have a 300ZX Twin Turbo running Castrol synthetic 10w-30. The car has been driven only 1,000 miles in 18 months. How long should synthetic last in a case like this? Gordo




That nice car's meant to be driven!
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Heck if I had that car I wouldn't be able to stop driving it! But if I were you, I'd just change it once a year.
 
I think the golden rule is to change the oil once a year for the garage queens because of moisture and possibly even acid build up in the oil.
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I'd leave a synthetic in there 2 years with low miles.

Aren’t some of the oil change intervals in Europe spec'd at up to 2 years?
 
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Beautiful car. The 300zx is my dream car
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Pretty much mine too. I used to sell nissans and we'd always take the t-tops off or put the top down on the convertibles and drive the zx's to lunch and back. The automatic non turbos were also real fun to drive. Great interior design.
 
I also support changing 1x a year - in the spring - due to condensation from temp changes and the oil degradation it can lead to.
 
If you are driving a longer distance each outing, say at least 15 or 20 miles, that would completely burn out the condensation and fuel dilution from the oil each time you drive it, and you could go a couple years on a synthetic driving that few of miles. Otherwise, just change it yearly and use something good like Maxlife 10W-30, a semi-syn blend. The Maxlife would probably do your seals some good too, with all that down time between trips.
 
I posted the UOA for my b-i-l who purchased a 5 year old Porsche Boxter that had 9000 miles and 5 years on the FACTORY FILL
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. Terry did the UOA and amazingly the wear numbers were ok and the oil still had life left in it.
The factory fill was a European Mobil 1 5W-40. Of course this car was not used for runs to the store. When it was driven it was driven as a Porsche was meant to be driven, for enjoyment
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I think the time element of OCI if the mileage is low is really dependent on the type of driving you do. If it's lots of short trips then by all means change it sooner. The definitive answer is to have a UOA done to see how your driving affects the oil and engine wear.

Whimsey
 
If it's a good synthetic, then you'd be okay for two-years...

But if she were mine, I'd do it annually with a cheapy Group III (like PP or QS) bought on sale (if you're only doing 1000-miles a year). But then again, I'd drive that car a lot more!
 
oil is cheap change it if you do not feel confident in it.. pretty simple.. btw valvoline synpower is on sale BOGO at Advance auto.. just go stock up on it and not have to worry for a looong time
 
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