Mike LaBranche

I've run the same filter with two batches of oil, and by the time I'm done adding a quart every few months, maybe 3. I figure I run enough fresh oil that it's fine getting good mileage out of a filter. If you're not going to change it, don't disturb it until you do.

Erik N

I think Jerry raises a great point. There is a reason most of us (probably) are driving around in 20-30 year old cars and doing the maintenance ourselves. Yep- it's cash flow (or lack thereof).
There is no way I could afford a new car with the qualifications of my '78. I for one don't even have a job!
And an oil/filter change is $50 if you run synthetic like I do.
Plus, the OP was more about spending the time to wait for parts, rather than the $$. And that's a finite resource for all of us!

James-man

Sooooo...

How was the drive?

linderpat

I'm with Earl on this. If a few bucks a year is a big deal to you, then a Honda is what you need. It is an $80K +/- value car, regardless of what you paid for it. That's how it was designed. Do you think for a second I could spend $20K on a Ferrari 328, and treat it like a $20K car? The Porsche is the same thing.

These were designed as high end super cars in their day, and if you expect them to perform as such, they should be treated as such. I currently drive a '78 - not because it was not terribly expensive, but because that's the one I want to drive. And no matter how much I paid for my prior sharks, I always put sufficient money into them to make them far more in line with their original value than with my initial purchase price.

It's nuts to me to see folks go cheap with a Porsche however, this is something you either get or don't get, and nothing I or anyone else says is ever going to change your view.

Erik N

Spending time & money on it when it's needed = good.
Spending time & money on it when it's not needed = wasteful.
Simple as that IMHO. And I have spent PLENTY of both!

jeff spahn

I agree with Erik. Spending money on something that really only makes you feel better but is not demonstrable to make the car run better or last longer is silly. I.E. changing a synthetic oil that doesn't need to be changed and won't degrade over time does not make sense. If a filter is perfect after two oil changes then why does it need to be changed. Why don't we change our fuel filters after every tank of fuel?

RngTrtl

I would like to thank you all for your opinions.

Erik N

Sure! I got some more if you need 'em!

RngTrtl

nah, you are still a newb. You need to have been a member longer than the life span of most goldfish. thanks tho

jeff spahn

Interestingly enough. Click and Clack on car talk covered this very same topic on the February 20th edition of their show. It is past the halfway point and talks about how often or even if you should change the oil and discusses a study done by the US Army that states "don't ever change it". here's a link to their show.
http://www.cartalk.com/ct/review/show.jsp?showid=201008

dr bob

Anybody remember those toilet-paper bypass filter things? The claimed that you just needed to pull and replace the toilet paper, and add a quart or two to make up for what's lost in the filter change. Additives would be maintained that way, and the TP filter is a much finer filter than the full-flow filter that comes on the car. So the spin-on gets the big rocks, the TP gets the fines, and the additives get replenished continuously.

In that era, cars were considered pretty well used up by 50k. Shocks, second set of brakes, third set of tires, suspension, exhaust system, boil out the carburetor and rebuild the distributor. Usually well into the second water pump, and a timing chain in the next cycle is inevitable so might as well add that to the list. and RUST. Perspective has changed as cars really have gotten better in so many ways. And so have lubricants. Consider that Porsche recommnded a 15k oil change interval in these cars, and that theexpected duty included high-speed blasts, cold-weather, hot weather, lots of extremes. Just add oil as needed between changes, and that was all with conventional oils.

I change the oil once a year or so because it seems like a good idea. I'm sure an analysis would tell me that the old stuff in there is just fine and I could run it for another year, but the oil analysis costs as much as the oil I'm replacing. Reality is that the annual change (4-6k per year for me) is really cheap insurance. It reminds me to check the flex plate and the TB tension, clean the electrical connections, test the battery, verify the gearbox and diff oil levels, look at the brakes, change the blinker fluid. Easy while the car is on stands for the engine oil change.

20 Years or so ago I bought a new car to replace my 300k old Saab Turbo. I'd been keeping it up quite well, but a business opportunity and a tax law loophole allowed taxpayers to buy me a new Explorer. I didn't really keep track of how much time I spent keeping the Saab in tip-top shape, but it was obvious after the first month with the Explorer that it wasn't an insignificant amount. By then everything on the Explorer was washed, cleaned, lubricated, waxed, polished, inspected, and all I had to do was put gas in it and drive. It ended up needing more attention as the years went by, until I sold it to a guy on a project who's family really needed it. Suddenly a car-care time vacuum, and the 928 gets the bulk of the attention now. But the time budget shrank a lot after the wedding 8 years ago, and there's an accountant who watches my play budget too. Good news is that I'm still allowed to do the annual oil change and service on the car, and squeeze in all that other stuff that it needs. Oil changs may be all I have lft to remind me of the good old days...

jeff spahn

A very good reason to do oil changes. We have to do something you know. I mean I don't have to wash my car three or four times a week either but I do.

I just find the oil change interesting in a countrywide economic impact sort of thing. Imagine if you didn't (you being everyone) suddenly "need" to change your oil. Gigantic economic impact.

Sailmed

You really need to get out and drive the car more and stop wasting time on maintenance - try for about 50k miles a year!
Then she will leak enough you can stop asking silly questions about filters and just add new oil every couple of weeks!



You did ask for opinions didn't you?

jeff spahn

I like it. I have put on 5K since beginning of December here in Iowa!