I would like to believe that most dealers are not that premeditated and have enough legitimate work they don't need to resort to such tactics. This is my strong belief with my own dealer or else I wouldn't do business there. But I do understand your point that you cannot go wrong by changing the oil early & often. Certainly if I were doing it myself it would be a no brainer.

 

My SA also said wait for 10K/1 year. In fact, he said that when they were trained on the 991, they were told that the factory engineers want the oil to stay for the first year, and to discourage people from doing early changes

 

Fantastic - this dove tails with what I'm hearing from my dealer. Thanks for sharing. Decided I'm going to wait since the most likely scenario will be 1 yr and something less than 10k miles.

 

Since I joined this forum in 2012 oil change frequency has been an often repeated topic. From what I have learned from my Tech and the factory reps at Porsche and Exxon Mobil:

- factory fill is stock Mobil 1, there is no break-in potion or magic oil; and

- you can change the oil and filter after or before every drive and it will not hurt the engine.

- the oil will last 10000 miles but as a function of reducing the cost (monetary and environmental) and preserving engine life, that interval was selected as optimal.

Bottom line: change the oil at least every 10K, no penalty for more frequent servicing other than the your wallet and the environment.

 

I agree with RNL. It's not a conspiracy, guys. If Porsche says 10k, then why wouldn't you follow that unless you have time and money to burn.

If anything, they are always conservative in their maintenance guidelines and believe me, the dealers would be a lot happier if Porsche was telling us to change oil every 5k miles.

 

This topic comes up regularly and I'm still confused!

A reminder: The service interval in Europe for the 991 is 2 years / 20,000miles. Why it should be double that of the US? No idea.

About discouraging people from changing it before the first scheduled service. Unless the factory fill has some special ingredient (which it doesn't), I can't see how changing it early can harm the car. I'm not talking about $, time or effort required. Purely for the benefit of the car, how can putting clean fresh oil be harmful?

 

Yeah, not buying that one, it is utter nonsense.

While I'm comfortable saying that 10K miles is ok for the first oil change if Porsche recommends it (if nothing else the huge qty of oil in the sump will make the oil last longer). Keep in mind a big block or small block V8 usually has only about 5 quarts..

However, there are a lot of reason oil in any engine get contaminated (not specifically Porsche but any internal combustion engine). Blow by from the rings causes exhaust gasses to mix with the oil, metal particles from wear.. Lube and oils from when the engine was first assembled. . Heat and pressure applied directly to the old between parts cause it to break down. Modern Synthetics are better and supposedly suspend the particles and impurities so the filter can catch it..

But having lots of oil in the sumps and using good oil goes a long way to keeping it all cooler and from breaking down as well as diluting any impurities. .

BUT for a "professional" to someone to say that it is somehow bad to change the oil and running on used oil is somehow better is absolutely ridiculous and ignorant.. Or most likely just telling someone something because it is too much work to give the real reason..

If I had a service adviser, mechanic etc. tell me that it would be last time I'd let them touch any car I own again because I would be clear they are either a liar or an idiot..

The real reason in the old days we used to change the oil at about 2 or 3 K miles (my autoshop instructer in high school aways had us change the oil when we built a new engine at 1000 Miles).. Was to get rid of of the assembly lube (usually white grease) that we gobbed all over the main bearings, camshaft bearing, rocker arms, and on the cam lobes. Sure we could put oil all over everything, and we did but unless you first start the engine up right away a lot of that oil sort of thins out. So when you first fire the engine up a couple of weeks later, you have a lot more friction, when the oil pressure is first coming up from zero..

I suspect there are more modern techniques and materials so maybe that doesn't happen now, hence the oil is in good shape. But I can tell you I've taken crate V8s from the factory and changed the oil at 2000 miles and it wasn't always pretty..

Me if I get a chance I'll change the oil myself at about 5000 miles, but I'm not going to stress on it if it goes 10K miles..

And even if 10K miles isn't optimal, not going to have much effect until the engine is higher mileage and most of the folks participating in the forum probably won't even have their same 991 when it has 100K miles anyway.

 

Really? 20K miles is too long..

I can see the two years though as other than changing the oil and filter, nothing of importance is done during the early services (other than a lot of inspections to justify the cost)..

 

If they say 10K miles it is probably fine.. (given the huge oil sump).. But that doesn't mean 5K is bad, just not needed.

Then again folks around here do endless and ridiculous things to their expensive toys, believing it is somehow better or safer.. Some of the nonsense I see with tires is about as ridiculous unless you are hard core racing..

BUT keep in mind there is a lot of marketing/PR about high end cars on their maint cycles.. So there is a competitive reason to minimize maintenance cycles. Most people (not enthusiasts like here in the forums) don't want to take their cars in for service continuously just because they don't have the time..

 

Apparently, European countries have extremely strict and expensive regulations on the disposal of used motor oil. That may be one reason for the extended change intervals in Europe.

Another is for Porsche to keep the average cost of ownership down, when the magazines and governments mandate that calculation.

BUT, also Mobil1 and Porsche both believe the oil and the motor can easily handle 10k miles or 1 year intervals without any impact on the motor's longevity. So change it sooner if you want and/or can afford to spend the time/money.

I'm coming up on 1 year and have 6600 miles, so I'm about to call for an appointment for the first change.

 

Yeah I suspect it is the cost of ownership that drives the numbers north..not only by governmental regulations, but it becomes a competitive thing in the marketplace.

 

As much respect as I have for anyone with an "Adam West" alter ego, it amazes me how many scientists and engineers who are experts make mistakes and get things wrong!

I changed my oil at 250 miles - always do. I had it changed at 3000 miles also. And then, because of faulty oil sensor, they had to drop my engine, drain it, replace the sensors and wiring harness and add more oil. And, it was changed at 10,000 miles. I will change it every 3000 miles.

Never, in the history of engines, has an engine been damaged by oil that was too new or too clean. Is it a waste? I spent 127k on a car when I could have bought a new car for 10% of that. On the scale of things, oil changes don't even register. Call it religion. Call it superstition. Call it unnecessary. Heck, call it stupid. That is my plan and I am sticking to it!

That said, i cannot for a moment believe that Porsche would recommend 10,000 miles if they did not feel it was appropriate! Do what makes you feel comfortable!

 

Hear, Hear !!

 

When I got my first oil change at roughly 6k miles my service advisor made certain that I was aware that the oil didn't have to be changed until 10k miles.

I got it done because I felt the engine needed it. Now it runs a bit smoother. But next time I'll wait until another 10k miles have passed since it's a leased car and I'm only keeping it until it has 24k miles.

 

1) A short interval oil change places a certified technician giving added attention to the car's engine . In my case a short interval oil change did detect a defective O ring on my Turbo before a problem arose .

2) Porsche offers a 4 year /50 K mile warranty and perhaps the recommendation works well for that timeline . Beyond those miles and time it's the owner who bears the full responsibility of repair costs . If one hopes to risk a 100+K mile ownership with long intervals then its his choice if he faces a large out of warranty bill .

3) Some people drive the car only 2K miles a year . That's an extra long interval and just enough time for something to break out of warranty.

4) The variety of driving styles and climate are IMO too broad to give one lump sum recommendation .

5) Years ago I recall (I can even try to find it if needed) reading on a BMW forum where someone actually tested the synthetic oil mid interval to find out that it lacked the cleanliness and viscosity that he had hoped for . His car ran fine .. on the crappy oil .

6) If the person chooses to modify his car that opens up a huge new can of worms . The parameters of "stock" are now changed .

7) One day the owner would hope to sell his car . I'd rather buy a used car from someone whose carfax shows documented frequent oil changes . It shows me that he cared enough about his car to go above and beyond to keep it nice .

A 991S optioned up is about 125K . An oil change is IMO pennies for dollars in terms of maintenance .