I have one last road trip this weekend, approx 200 miles. Is it a bad idea to change my oil, drive the 200 and then put away for the winter? I added techron fuel additive a tank ago which has me thinking I should change the oil. Thoughts?

That would be fine. The long drive will not accumulate any moisture in the oil, and it’s only 200 miles, so any dirt will be minimal unless you are driving on country dirt roads.

Thanks

How are dirt roads and dirt in the oil are related?

For many vehicle owners manuals, dusty roads are lumped into the ‘severe’ category of driving conditions, which may include very cold or very hot weather, short trips, towing, prolonged idling or run time, fuel quality, etc.

Engine air filters do not stop all particles, which is one component of how engine oil gets dirty. This fact is well understood and has been discussed, tested, and explained across many different types of engine applications, including rally, off-road, farming, industrial applications, and street cars.

Do you guys change oil before you put them away for the season? Wont all the moisture just evaporate if you get the engine oil hot enough?

I change the oil before winter storage, yes.

So if the oil experts could please confirm - changing the oil as the very last thing before storage isn't that important, as long as the last drive is long enough to get the engine up to temp?

Well, it does matter how many miles are on the oil. Just a few tens or hundreds of miles should be fine, and yes, never store the car when the engine hasn’t gotten fully up to temperature beforehand.

I wouldn’t over think it. Oil with hardly any miles on it will be relatively clean.

Thanks. I ask because you never know when the cold weather really sets in. If I change the oil this week and then 2 weeks later we have a beautiful, warm fall day, I'd hope I could take the car for a drive.

I would definitely say that taking advantage of a nice day is more important than worrying about the oil. It’s the short drives and warming by idling that are hardest on the engine.

How long do you plan to store the car for? If you are only talking about 3-6 months of storage, you can always just change the oil again in 6 months. I wouldn’t even necessarily change the filter at that time. Aside from oil and a trickle battery charger, my car is stored in a heated garage, so I only worry about fuel treatment and tire pressure when I store my car for 3-6 months. I actually drive my car no less than once a month, even in winter, because I live in Chicago where it can and does warm up to 50F and sunny just about every month. Perfect for a drive.

I address this conundrum but just driving my car all year long, through all the seasons

I'm not familiar with these so called "seasons". Here we just have hot sunny days and colder sunny days. Both types are great for driving

Did the bag, will let you know how it works out in May.