porschetobenz

sounds good guys....how often do you all change your oil? every 8-10,000 miles? Oil filter every oil change? I was reading on the porsche forum somewhere that mobil 1 oil filters are one of the best.

Ynot

My SLK is my weekend car, and usually don't get much attention in the winter. I drive less than 4,000/yr so I try to change oil/filter once a year. Mobil 1 oil is what is recommended from the factory, not sure about the filter.

WyattH

In my C43 AMG, Mobil 1 oil, no idea what kind of filter (I feel bad now), changed ever 5K - - overkill, though.
I'll do the same with the SLK. Can't change the oil too much, I sleep better at night. New filter each time. Clean air filter 1-2x per year.

porschetobenz

Wyatt. I read an article from 6speedonline(porsches) that said changing the oil too much actually INCREASES engine wear. that once the oil has broken down a little it provides the best protection. That oils now aday are so advanced you can wait longer but that he was concerned with the decrease in Zinc and phoshates in the newer oils. That boron is being used to replace some of the zinc...He said every 7-10,000 miles was best with synthetic. and he rued the day that he went away away from normal, parraffin based oils(the best are from pennsylvania)...he said mobil 1 oil filters are amongst the best. I can't remember if he said he changes his filter every oil change or every other. i guess every change couldn't hurt at all.

WyattH

Interesting, never heard that. I will look into it. Kinda worries me now...

porschetobenz

Here you go Wyatt.

http://www.lnengineering.com/oil.html

got from 6speedonline. 997 forum. page 4. "The reason for 10,000 over 20,000 mile oil changes". they get into it. it's an interesting forum.

he is referencing porsche but i'm sure it applies to M.B.'s.

Please tell me what you think..

Yellow R1

Anyone advising you that less frequent oil changes HARM your engine is misinformed. Oil breaks down over time & gathers contaminants which leads to decreased lubrication. Period. While the article is correct regarding recent removal of some lubricating additives in non synthetic based formulations, you will be fine with Mobile 1 (I run Royal Purple - the stuff has proven superior lube properties over even Mobile 1 & other synthetics including Amsoil. I read an article long ago where they showed the lab pics of actual wear using each oil - Royal Purple was the best & why I run it in my SLK).

Also, be wary of the article you posted - it centers on air cooled powerplants (ie Porsche), not water cooled powerplants (which have different thermal properties & cooling requirements based on different operating temps & oil dispersion & filtration set ups.....AMG filters, for example, are fabric for increased filtration over std dual pass oil filter designs).

porschetobenz

Thanks for your reply. I have never heard of Royal Purple before. Has anyone else here heard of it or used it?......I checked out R.P. website. It sounds good. I'm surprised I haven't seen an ad or heard any enthusiast mention them. Auto stores sell it but do any MB dealerships or certified MB shops use it I wonder.

Shinigami

I run Mobile 1, and I do the oil changes every service interval, i.e. about 10k miles (15-16k km's). Honestly, I think I'll have parted my ways with the car waaaay before it gets to the point where it wouldn't run anymore, so I don't care to do oil changes every 5k miles or something like that...

I most likely won't have the car ten years from now with 200k km's, and modern cars should be able to last that many just fine. Back when bits and pieces were not machines to perfection, some cars required engine rebuilds after just 60k miles, but we now hear of cars frequently lasting hundred and hudreds of thousands of miles just by following standard services.

Of course, if you're the kind who WILL drive the car for several hundred thousand miles, then extra care can be taken.

WyattH

Good point. I'll probably begin the 10K intervals.

Royal Purple is great. I have heard amazing thing about their syncromesh transmission fluid.
Also Redline, heard great things about their differential fluid.
I'd stick with Mobil 1 for the engine, though.

Yellow R1

You can find Royal Purple at large auto stores (ie Pep Boys, etc). Shini's points above are also correct, especially for N/A engines, however, for engines using FI - it is wise to change oil much more frequently due to the harsher/higher temp environment. I change my SLK oil/filter every 3K & my RX-7 oil/filter every 1.5K....I hold on to my cars for a long time & mod them as a hobby so I'm in the minority suppose. It just does not hurt to give your car a blood transfusion often.

-Matt

porschetobenz

Yellow. do you have the P30 package on your SLK? If not, was that a choice?
thanks

Wyatt...Royal Purple recommends the Max-ATF for mercedes tranny fluid.

Yellow R1

No, I did not select the 030 package (added unsprung weight, ~$7k additional cost, and created a harsher ride - not necc for my wife's daily driver). I didn't want to pay more money for less peformance? We just figured more power & our own rim/tire combo had a better ROI. Just different strokes for different folks.

-Matt

WyattH

Yes, the Syncromesh is for manuals. I wasn't saying use it in the Mercedes, just that I've heard great things about it.
I'm sure their Max ATF is great in our cars, but never used it before.

porschetobenz

I'm sure their Max ATF is great in our cars, but never used it before.

Think you'll ever try it?

Also, how do you get the paragraph to start off saying "originally posted by porschetobenz >"