Racing/Maintenence intervals

[Bradley G]

I had a discussion with a buddy, a few months back, regarding racing and oil changes.
I thought I was going the extra mile, on oil change intervals.
The longest I ever went was 4000 miles on Mobile 1 .(Usually between 2-3K miles)
He was outraged, I did not change my oil after going to the drag strip.
He claims the oil should be changed, every time the car is put to this excercise.
Racers; how often do you change?
Do you change it after racing, even if it is not time ?

[Smokie]

I change my oil every 3k, if I know I am going racing and the oil has over 2500 miles I change it before racing, I don't do anything special "after" racing.

[RF Overlord]

Bradley, I don't race my car so I can't help you there, but changing Mobil 1 (or any good synthetic) at 2-3k intervals is an enormous waste. A good synthetic is capable of running at LEAST 5,000 miles, even in a motor with a power adder.

I think Smokie's on the right track...if your oil is close to it's normal change interval, change it before you go racing...I don't see the point in changing it AFTER.

[fastblackmerc]

I change my Mobile1 & filter every 5k. Was at 4K before driving to MMIV so I changed oil & filter (Mobile1 & K&N) and my motor blew on the Florida Turnpike. No power adder, completely stock, fortunately Ford is warrantying the motor. I also sent an oil sample (during the change) to Blackstone (1st time I ever did this) and the report came back saying I could strech oil change to 6K which I won't do as I'm comfortable at 5K intervals. The report shows my engine was below the national averages for this type of engine, in some cases way below. I don't see what changing oil after racing could do for the engine. I would change it before racing if it was within 1K of my regular change interval.

[rumble]

I change my Mobile1 & filter every 5k. Was at 4K before driving to MMIV so I changed oil & filter (Mobile1 & K&N) and my motor blew on the Florida Turnpike.

Was this an oil related failure or some thing else? What exactly happened?
Thanks,
Gary

[SergntMac]

As conservative as I am about engine oil at large, what you suggest, Bradley, seems to be an extreme point of view.

The "big boys" make a deal out of changing the oil, and the "real life" pros are much more conservitive, maybe even after one pass?

However...When one pass makes the seasonal "difference" in who wins the season, maybe it's a safeguard? Don't really know more about all that.

I have never seen any "NASCAR/Whatever Cup" driver pit for an oil change. What ever they use, gets the worst of beatings anywhere possible.

For us humble wanna-bes...Stick with 3K plus (with better oil) and be happy?

[QWK SVT]

Perhaps I'm anal, but I change the oil (Mobil1) every 3,000 miles in the Lightning (religiously) and <4,000miles in the Marauder. I drive them both really hard, and it's cheap insurance, in my mind.

If you're going to be anal about the oil, make sure you do the same with the fuel filter - I've seen first hand what can happen if you don't (well, it was a friend's mustang). Personally, I change the fuel filter every second oil change.

For fun, if you're going with more than say 10,000 on yours, swap it out, and open up the old one. There's gas in there, so be careful if you're cutting it (sparks + gas = fire)... Take a look at all the crud that's collected...:eek: That CAN'T be good for your engine!

[ckadiddle]

I get oil changed every 3000ish on both our cars. Trans gets serviced once a year regardless of mileage. We are at the low end of the mileage spectrum. Maybe 7000 miles a year spread out over both cars. Most of our driving is city in hot weather. If I was drag racing with a lot of runs with a high horsepower Marauder i might be paranoid enough to have it changed just before and just after racing events. For my slow boat at this time, drag racing is really not much harder on my car than merging onto I-4. I just hold the pedal down a few seconds longer. :)

[Bradley G]

I must be a tight wad, I would do it with dino oil (blend)Motocraft
But if I sprung for mobile 1, I'd want to get more use than, one drag racing event.

[fastblackmerc]

Was this an oil related failure or some thing else? What exactly happened?
Thanks,
Gary

Haven't seen the motor yet to see what happened. All I've heard has been 2nd hand... I'm in NC the car is in Fla.

[Vortech347]

If I'm about to go auto-xin or drive hard I get the oil changed before reguardless of the miles. Its cheap as hell. My local dealer does mine for 19.95$. :)

For once something is cheaper by taking it to the dealer.

Also if you drive very agressively, aka power brake launches, hard driving, etc. I recommend changing your tranny fluid twice a year and filter once a year. Might be a little much but usually that fluid needs to be changed when I do it...