How often do I need to change engine, transmission and diff oil?

B

BH1

Member
Hi,

I am wondering how often I have to change the engine, transmission and diff oil.

I recall that Forsberg or Tuerk stated that it is best to change engine oil after every drift session or every other drift session.

I also recall watching Best Motoring and someone stated it is much more important to change the transmission oil rather than the engine oil.

They recommended changing the transmission oil after each race- or drift session.

What do you think about it and when would you change your engine and transmission oil?

It would be tough for my budget if I would change fluids after every drift session. :no:

Do you also have any idea if the diff oil is also subject to such short oil change intervals when the car is being used for drifting?
 
Oil change after a drift/track day. Gearbox fluid once a year at most. Diff oil once a year if it's a plated lsd.

No need to change gearbox oil that often imo. It's often rated for 80-100k mileage compared to 10k odd of engine oil.
 
Yes the guy who said that was Tatsuru Ichishima and he expanded on the fact engine is cooled while the transmission fluid is not. Kinda like overheated ATF power steering fluid and then when you replace it, suddenly everything feels better. I personally don't bother with often fluid changes anywhere and when it's time I don't buy expensive either.
 
if your worried add oil coolers.
engine
gearbox
diff.
initial outlay will be more but your keeping everything from overheating and wearing out quicker so saving money in the long run
 
Its probably not the end of the world if i dont but i always change the engine oil in my 328 after every dift session, think about the engine being at max revs most of the day, I change the diff and gearbox oil less often tho.
 
Is it the oil temperature then that is causing the degradation of the oil then? As others have pointed out, would fitting an oil cooler avoid the need for frequent oil changes?
 
I personally change my engine oil every 4/5k, regardless of drift/track days. I don't do many and I do a fair few road miles so it gets changed quite frequently, gearbox, diff oil and coolant I change once a year, I also try to replace the brake fluid evry other year as well.. may seem excessive to some (especially as a lot of modern cars have lifetime oils/10k service intervals!) But I look at it as cheap insurance to keep my car feeling sweet :)

Another point is a recently changed the oil in my s14 diff, it looked as of it'd never been changed so had done around 50k.. it was absolutely minging!

I've also read it's more inportant to do frequent oil changes on cars that sit around alot/never get a proper run as the moisture builds up in the oil and ends up ruining it.
 
Lucasdemoley said:
Is it the oil temperature then that is causing the degradation of the oil then? As others have pointed out, would fitting an oil cooler avoid the need for frequent oil changes?
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Oil is generally ok up to around 140°C for limited periods of time. Spending a lot of time at that temperature or beyond causes the oil to "shear" where the protection it offers to bearing surfaces reduces significantly.

Good modern oils have a lot of useful additives in them that help them last longer at higher temperatures and over prolonged periods of time.

The other thing to think about is oil dilution - fuel doesn't really do much for protecting bearing surfaces and thins the oil quite significantly at high percentages of dilution. Less of a problem once warmed up in the main, but older engines which perhaps won't be sealing as well as they used to will still have high blowby and should have their oil changed slightly more often.
 
docwra said:
Set fire to a couple of £20 notes while you are there too, why not? :D

Engine oil every year/4Kish Id say, its not going to hurt to do it more often other than in the pocket though :)
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Since I use my car as a daily it works out about right. My mx5 did 12-13k miles in a year and 10 drift days. Did about 10 oil changes In total.

Yeah I know it's a tad excessive. But it stayed cleaner, it ran better and never gave me a drop of bother being ragged to death each drift day.

I just add 20 odd quid to the price of a drift day costs.

Tad worse in the beemer due to needing 6.5 litres. But it's just one of those things in my eyes.
 
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