john981

The one year anniversary since my last oil change for my 981 is coming soon. This is my weekend car and within this one year I might have driven less than 4k miles. Now the service recommendation says 10k miles or 1 year, which ever comes first. I am kind of hesitant to spend another 400 dollar for the oil change, I want to put at least 6k miles before changing the oil but in the same time don't want to do any harm to my car. What are the opinions and experiences here with the oil change intervals? Any tips and advice would be highly appreciated.

w00tPORSCHE

I’m no expert But ... Do not go over a year or year and a half .. oil oxidizes.

GT4John

There is a recent thread discussing this exact thing. I think the majority (including myself) is 1 year is max. It's a super-easy thing to change the oil and you can DYI it for < $100 if you go that route. The dealer cost is just nuts.

TMc993

My 2014 Cayman Base is my daily driver. I have my oil changed every 5000 miles, no exceptions (This equates to approximately once every 8-9 months given my driving patterns). Some very knowledgeable people think a 5000 mile oil change interval is wasteful but it's what my shop (Not a dealership) recommends. They've flawlessly maintained my Porsche cars for the past fourteen years and I trust them, so I follow their recommendations.

My shop charges approximately $185 for the oil, filters and to "eyeball" the car to see if they see anything out of the ordinary. Any time I begin to think I'll skip/extend an oil change, I convert the $185 into a daily cost. $185 over 8 months comes to 77 cents a day. Over 9 months it's 70 cents per day. So, I figure if things get tight, I'll drink one less Guinness every other day and I'll be good for the $185 oil change.

Truth is, you're probably not going to damage your engine by extending the time interval between oil changes to something closer to the 10K mile limit, even if you go longer than 12 months. Yet, in my mind, an oil and filter change is one of the least expensive and most effective wear deterrents you can buy. So why not do it on time?

Just my opinion...

Terry

DFW01TT

Wisdom right there from Terry.

Pep!RRRR

Don’t know where the OP is located, but I would wait and change the oil prior to Winter storage if that is applicable. You could also collect a sample for an engine oil analysis when the oil is changed. Then you would have some hard data instead of speculation about oil viability.

danschy

Exactly - I use Blackstone Labs to help me decide when to change the oil on my very lightly driven Cayman. Their recommendation, based on hard data from my engine, correlates poorly with the opinions of many of the "experts" on forums. There are threads theorizing how Porsche picks their recommended oil change interval since it varies from year to year. Having worked for a major corporation, I can tell you that our recommended service intervals were determined more by marketing than engineering.

Rich_Jenkins

Yes, get the oil and filter changed.

garfunkle

I heard its cheaper to get it changed in Tijuana by homeless people on the side of a dirt road.

https://rennlist.com/forums/991/9712...dventures.html

guab

OP I would find a reputable indie shop to change the oil before spending $400. My local Porsche dealer here in AZ charges right around $200 (slightly less with PCA discount, I believe it was 10%) for an oil change and to inspect the vehicle. I follow Porsche's recommended intervals -- just had my annual change yesterday. For that $200, I'll let them do it...

badabing

The manual on my 993 states to change the oil every 10,000 miles and the filters EVERY OTHER oil change.

I change my own oil on my 987 and 981, but if I didn't and I was in your situation, I would buy a pair of 5 qt jugs Mobil 1 0W-40 for $50 and an extra drain plug and washer and go to a decent quick lube place and have them drop the oil and refill.

Leave the filters alone. Fresh oil in the motor for less than $100 and you don't have to get your hands dirty.

OC_Cayman

IMO, change the oil and oil filter at 7500 or 1 year (whichever comes first) intervals.

But - $400 for an oil change? Why would you take it to a Porsche dealer for a simple oil change? Yes, it's a Porsche, but an oil and filter change on your 981 is no different than an oil and filter change on a Toyota (actually, an oil and filter change on my 987 is a bit easier than doing it on my 2018 Toyota Highlander).

HelpMeHelpU

Just wait until you encounter this in a few years. Today I inquired about price at local Porsche dealer of four-year maintenance/service for a 981 CS: $2,495!

And this is what it includes:

"Oil and filter change
Replace spark plugs
Cabin and air filter
Drains cleared of all debris
Computer resets and software updates
Replace brake fluid."

Wow.

bvanlieu

OP, the oil is fine (modern oils are amazing) but a once a year change for $200 is a simple approach to maintenance as already discussed.

$200ish is an average fair dealer price, its $100 DIY or less. $150-200 indy.

Unfortunately some dealers stack prices: that 2500 price for a 4 year seams like each service individually added up, not taking into account savings in labor of already having car up, etc...an indy would charge 700-1000 for that service, even taking 4 hours to do it all (and that's with a beer break).

If you lack multiple dealers, to shop against, find a good indy and save the receipt: done and done.

- b

johnnymiz

i am very old school about oil changes.... i change mine every 5k miles or 6 months.
'08 987.1 with 60k miles of flawlessness. other than oil, gas, tires, brakes and 2 batteries, i have put ZERO into this car up to this point.
is it because i change the oil frequently? hell if i know, but i am going to go with it. the extra cost over the years is minimal compared to a happy motor.
today, in fact, it is in for a 60k mile checkup and i will be putting the first money into it....
new coils (cracked from age and heat, but still working), plugs, oil, filters (oil, cabin, air), and brake fluid change at an independent porsche guy on long island....$1300.