Forget mileage. Who else changes their oil based on engine hours?

[jonzzon]

Does anyone here change their engine oil based on operating hours instead of mileage? Most of my driving is pure stop-and-go traffic with almost no highway miles, so my engine idles a lot. Would 150 hours be a safe target to aim for?

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[Hasan]

Just change it twice a year. No need to complicate it unnecessarily.

Its not like you leave the engine running at idle for hours.

 

[ShakaDaKine]

Well, I change my oil when the low fluid level warning appears (2021), which is usually somewhere between 5.5-6k. I'm guessing that's comparable to about 150-200 hours...take your pick.

 

[tracer bullet]

Miles are a lot easier to track. And if you idle a lot in traffic then cut your "normal" mileage target accordingly. It's a combo of all the things - time, miles, engine load, etc.

If you really want to know what's up, send the oil for analysis. It'll tell you if you are changing too late / too early / about the right time. If driving changes significantly do it again.

 

[i3igpete]

After every 4th trackday

 

[J29DB03]

 

[BigPoppaStuke]

Don't overcomplicate it.

I put about 5000 km (3100 miles) on my car a year give or take. So I just follow the once a year recommendation.

 

[lucky phil]

Does anyone here change their engine oil based on operating hours instead of mileage? Most of my driving is pure stop-and-go traffic with almost no highway miles, so my engine idles a lot. Would 150 hours be a safe target to aim for?

It's not really about the idling in traffic thats the issue but the length of the commute and the number of cold starts/running time. A 30-40 minute commute in traffic every day, no issues but a 15 minute commute in traffic then that's an influence with regards to oil changes.
Phil

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