What oil for a car that sits alot?

I have a car hanging out in a garage for the past 4 years. 200 miles later, it's due for an oil change. This car has used nothing but Mobil 1 Synthetic, but when I went to Advance the other day I noticed the price went from like $21 4 years ago to $37. Before I buy it , I was wondering if you guys had a recommendation for what type of oil for a car that sits a lot. I would imagine synthetic would be the way to go, but maybe get a synthetic blend? It's funny because at this rate I will be changing my oil as often as I change my gas.

Walmart, 24 dollars a gallon.

+1 can't see why you'd need anything special. In fact if it doesn't get a lot of miles between changes, don't use synthetic. Just make sure to only shut it down from full operating temperature to minimize the amount of condensed watery contaminants in the engine.

GameboyRMH wrote: +1 can't see why you'd need anything special. In fact if it doesn't get a lot of miles between changes, don't use synthetic. Just make sure to only shut it down from full operating temperature to minimize the amount of condensed watery contaminants in the engine.

What he said. Cheap, cheap, and cheap.

Diesel oil, designed for the abuse, rotella T6 5w40 full syn is $22 a gallon at walmart.

AMSOIL makes Z-ROD: AMSOIL Z-ROD™ Synthetic Motor Oil is specially engineered for classic and high-performance vehicles. A high-zinc formulation to prevent wear on flat-tappet camshafts and other critical engine components, along with a proprietary blend of rust and corrosion inhibitors for added protection during long-term storage.

That's all I know about it, though.

robert

Kenny_McCormic wrote: Diesel oil, designed for the abuse, rotella T6 5w40 full syn is $22 a gallon at walmart.

Can anyone else vouch for this? I stock that stuff exactly because that is what I use for my TDI.

Sad thing is, I change my oil almost as much as I change my gas. Filled up for the first time in 4 years a couple of months ago.

Enyar wrote:

Kenny_McCormic wrote: Diesel oil, designed for the abuse, rotella T6 5w40 full syn is $22 a gallon at walmart.

Can anyone else vouch for this? I stock that stuff exactly because that is what I use for my TDI.

I'll second it, why not. Diesel oil is made to deal with higher levels of contaminants.

What kind of car are we talking about?

GameboyRMH wrote: I'll second it, why not. Diesel oil is made to deal with higher levels of contaminants.

Great, my pops gets some pretty high quality diesel oil for a boat he works on by the pickup truck full. Sounds like I will nab some of that.

Kenny_McCormic wrote: What kind of car are we talking about?

It's a 1994 Mustang GT that I would feel guilty selling.

Enyar wrote:

Kenny_McCormic wrote: Diesel oil, designed for the abuse, rotella T6 5w40 full syn is $22 a gallon at walmart.

Can anyone else vouch for this? I stock that stuff exactly because that is what I use for my TDI.

I use Rotella 15W-40 at less then $14 a gallon. It's not synthetic but my van sits up to 6 months without running and get less then 2K miles put on it a year. I think I went 3 years without changing the oil until this fall. The oil looked fine.

I'm going with the "cheap" crowd. The quality of the base stock is not your concern. You won't have a problem with lubrication even if you buy oil from the 99-cent store.

The problem is with the additives - all of which break down over time. There is a reason they say "every X months or X000 miles".

jimbbski wrote: I use Rotella 15W-40 at less then $14 a gallon. It's not synthetic but my van sits up to 6 months without running and get less then 2K miles put on it a year. I think I went 3 years without changing the oil until this fall. The oil looked fine.

"looking" fine isn't any indicator. I know you know that, but the "looks" of a lubricant mean nothing. My 7.3L diesel takes 14 quarts every oil change. Within 500 miles it looks like black sludge. My wife's 1.5L gas engine has oil that looks almost new at 5000 miles.

This is the same argument that many people use to justify using ATF as an engine flush. They assume (because transmissions stay so clean inside for 100k) that ATF must have lots of detergents in it. In fact, the opposite is true. ATF has fewer detergents. ATF stays clean because its not dealing with massive localized friction heating, not absorbing massive quantities of blow-by gasses, and not as exposed to external air.

curtis73 wrote:

jimbbski wrote: I use Rotella 15W-40 at less then $14 a gallon. It's not synthetic but my van sits up to 6 months without running and get less then 2K miles put on it a year. I think I went 3 years without changing the oil until this fall. The oil looked fine.

"looking" fine isn't any indicator. I know you know that, but the "looks" of a lubricant mean nothing. My 7.3L diesel takes 14 quarts every oil change. Within 500 miles it looks like black sludge. My wife's 1.5L gas engine has oil that looks almost new at 5000 miles. This is the same argument that many people use to justify using ATF as an engine flush. They assume (because transmissions stay so clean inside for 100k) that ATF must have lots of detergents in it. In fact, the opposite is true. ATF has fewer detergents. ATF stays clean because its not dealing with massive localized friction heating, not absorbing massive quantities of blow-by gasses, and not as exposed to external air.

I used to work for a major oil company and the additives added to motor oils do break down over time but due to heat, fuel dulition, and contamination not from the engine just sitting. Oil in a bottle is still good even if it's 10 years old. Now while additives in new oils today are better in one case the removal of Zinc is a negative. I know why it was removed but it's loss in motor oils can hurt older engines like the one in my van.

Since my van sits alot nothing is happening to the oil when it just sits in storage and oh and I do run it hard when I do drive it. I use it to haul things or tow my race car for the past 10 years!

And when I said the oil looks fine I didn't mean that it looked fresh. NO, it was black like oil should look if it's doing it's job to remove contaminants.

curtis73 wrote:

jimbbski wrote: I use Rotella 15W-40 at less then $14 a gallon. It's not synthetic but my van sits up to 6 months without running and get less then 2K miles put on it a year. I think I went 3 years without changing the oil until this fall. The oil looked fine.

"looking" fine isn't any indicator. I know you know that, but the "looks" of a lubricant mean nothing. My 7.3L diesel takes 14 quarts every oil change. Within 500 miles it looks like black sludge. My wife's 1.5L gas engine has oil that looks almost new at 5000 miles. This is the same argument that many people use to justify using ATF as an engine flush. They assume (because transmissions stay so clean inside for 100k) that ATF must have lots of detergents in it. In fact, the opposite is true. ATF has fewer detergents. ATF stays clean because its not dealing with massive localized friction heating, not absorbing massive quantities of blow-by gasses, and not as exposed to external air.

if there aren't any detergents in atf, why is it such a damn good grease cutter- use it to cut the really heavy grease on hands/tools/whatever, then use a "regular" degreaser to finish the job.

also, it makes hair and skin feel nice and smooth...

The better question is why in the heck you are using ATF as shampoo and skin moisturizer!

I think (I could be wrong) that the bigger concern is all the oil collecting back in the pan and no protection at start up?

Joey

joey48442 wrote: I think (I could be wrong) that the bigger concern is all the oil collecting back in the pan and no protection at start up? Joey

Exactly. That is one of the reasons why I use the best quality synthetic oil I can in my tractor, race car and Audi A4. Each can sit for weeks on end without a startup. Each uses an oil unique to its engine (diesel for the tractor, a high zinc oil for the race car and a Euro spec 5W30 for the A4). Good synthetic oils do an excellent job of retaining a protective film for long periods where they have been circulated without degrading which will help a lot with bearing surface rust and bearing surface contact damage at startup (that is if you dont have a way to precharge the oil system just before starting).

While safe drain interval for infrequently used vehicles can change depending on a lot of factors including engine condition and storage environment, in most cases if you use a good quality oil it is safe to extend the time it is in the engine. I have chosen to extend the change intervals on each of the above significantly based on oil analysis. The tractor usually goes 3 years between changes, the race car and A4 (turbo) go 1 year.

I would recommend you have a sample of the crankcase oil analyzed when you reach the recommended drain time interval and if it appears to be good, extend it based on the results. Then do another analysis at the end of the next period to see if it can go further.

BTW I use Amsoil products exclusively - well except in the '12 Sprinter, where I will use the MB approved Mobil 1 until the warranty ends just to be sure there is no issue with coverage should something go wrong (MB is very quick to deny warranty for about any reason and a PITA to fight with over it - and M1 isnt that bad).