I would personally never do that, having been scarred by the purchase of a vehicle where the previous owner waited too long between intervals and stretched the timing chains. Most of us here shoot for 5,000 mile intervals using Mobil1 or Castrol Edge. But to each his own.

 

I rely on the oil life monitor, which usually ends up being 5k-6k. 25k might be ok, but with a sump as small as the B207s plus turbo I would never be the one to run that experiment - the price for failure is too high. Oil life monitor + Mobil/Edge (or sometimes Lubro or Motul) is my jam.

 

The oil life monitor is what killed the timing chains on my 9-4X Aero. Algorithm is waaaaaay too long.

 

20k on oil is far to long..imo especially if there are short trips,the oil doesn't get hot enough to burn off the combustion contaminates..

 

Too risky.

 

I've seen people go up to 10k in other engines with no issue...one guy even did the 20k challenge and the oil was fine. The only way to confirm is to be a guinea pig then send off a sample for oil analysis. That said, I still wouldn't feel comfortable waiting that long in between changes. 7500 miles is my upper limit, lower if doing HPD which doesn't really apply to the 9-3. Also, depending on how much you drive 20k miles may exceed 1 year's time...which is my other trigger for an oil change.

I believe BMW has their factory/manual oil change interval set at 15k (at least they used to)...it's what they base their warranty off of but still doesn't sit well with me.

 

Yeah. Oil changes are cheap insurance. Why risk it?

 

I have 2010 Saab 9-3 SC, since it was new. I only use Mobil 1 0-40 every 5-6k miles. I changed my valve cover gasket at 105K. You can see my attached pictures for what it look like. If you going to change valve cover gasket soon, please post pictures so I am kind of curious as well.

6 new items by Iman Wan

photos.app.goo.gl

 

Ok thanks for the reply, If I change my valve cover gasket you will be the first to know 👍🏽

 

I don't have a picture handy, but our 05 Linear was worse when I changed gaskets. I had to physically go in and remove build up.

htowniman, yours looks okay, probably about average, but I might have expected a little better with your OCI and Mobil 1.

 

I was scrubbing the build up on the cover as well. It did not leaking oil, but the valve cover gasket was harden so bad I can brake it apart easily. Those valve cover screws seal was a pain to take off and put back on. I might do that in 60K miles next time.

 

Good Day everyone, I have been using Amsoil and Filters for past 2 years, my mechanic loves this oil and says my Car can get 20,000 to 25,000 miles before I need to change it. So far I've had no issues, but can anybody attest for this claim and should I continue using this oil and length of time before changing it. I went 20,000 before changing My oil and filter a few months ago, but I'm concern is this a good idea for my engine in the long run? Is this oil really as good as he says? I presently have 119,000 miles on my car.

Thanks
Martin

As long as you change the filter at the Amsoil recommended interval. You may want to use an Amsoil Ea filter, since they are a 10 micron filter. Don't use the cheap auto store vThis is long life oil. it doesn't break down, like conventional oil. However, some Saabs had a breather issue, causing sludge in the oil pan, so you may want to check on that. Also, run a bottle of Amsoil engine and transmission flush between changes. That stuff really works. I will break up deposits, for a clean start.

 

b207 engine doesn't suffer the sludging issue..

 

Careful, some people will take that statement as a challenge [emoji6]

 

It's dangerous with 20k, Even manual also define miles to change the oil. Generally, the 5k-7k is enough to change the oil for any car

 

When Synthetic first came out, they advertise 10k miles oil change, but I guess this is busted badly. Maybe engine technology change even NA car.

 

Been Changing oil and Filter on My Saabs. Every 3,000miles... Religiously, for 40+ years.
Don't use Synth and I've Never had any engine issues.. whatsoever.

 

Does Amsoil meet the specifications required by Saab or carry the certification? If so, then I'd use it and change it per the oil life monitor or once per year. 🍻

 

I use 5w30 Mobil 1 for my 2010 9-3 2.0T and change every 5k. My dad had a prius and dealer would put in Mobil oil that would last 15k or 20k I can't remember. Regardless I checked the oil around 10k and it was still clean. If gonna go that long without changing I'd say just make sure you check it more often.

 

The color of the oil isn't a good indicator of it's usefulness. The oil might "look" OK but have worn out additives or diluted with fuel, or it might look dark but still be usable.