[JEL]

As you know, Alfa recommends an oil change every 10K on the Stelvio. That amount of mileage seems high to me, but I haven’t owned a newer car in 15 years. I had my Range Rover Supercharged for 15 years/175K miles. I had the oil changed religiously every 5,000 miles, and I think it was one reason I got so many miles out of that car. I (DIY) changed the oil on my 1984 Alfa Spyder Veloce every 3K. I am now concerned that I shouldn’t be following Alfa’s factory recommendations for the Stelvio, and instead change the oil more frequently. I know lots of other manufacturers today follow the 10K rule, but not sure it’s advisable. I spend a considerable amount of time driving during the summer in temperatures @ 100 degrees or more, if that matters. I would say the miles are 50/50 highway vs city driving. Appreciate your advice.

 

[ALFAOFFROAD]

Its has been discussed here alot lately, with me driving alot of it.... So to keep it simple,

5000-7500miles is a lot smarter then 10k if you want to drive lots of miles problem free.

 

[ventogt]

I change every 5K miles, and usually first oil change after 1,000 miles on brand new cars

 

[ViscontiVerde 164L*]

More important is the type of driving you do. If you drive 100miles/day highway, that's a lot kinder to oil than a 10 mile commute stop n go all the way...just sayin..................Too many folks in auto world have become number happy lately.
Short haul commuter, 5-7500 max. Long distance traveler, your oil will do just fine for 10K. Lots of data to back this up too.

Drive your car like Grandma, it will act just like her old Buick that never got past 30mph. Drive it like you stole it on occasion your motor will love you.........Everyone lugging around due to the media portrayal of gas prices and you save gas but lose motor life....... take your pick. Cost per mile still below the 60s till we get around $5.25/gallon for normal states. Forget Cali...............

This, of course , has become much more complicated because its becoming obvious that DI are not what everyone hoped they'd be in terms of engine life, issues, etc
VAG being the first and probably still major offender, but others catching up that have yet to side port their motors.

 

[bhvrdr]

More important is the type of driving you do. If you drive 100miles/day highway, that's a lot kinder to oil than a 10 mile commute stop n go all the way...just sayin..................Too many folks in auto world have become number happy lately.
Short haul commuter, 5-7500 max. Long distance traveler, your oil will do just fine for 10K. Lots of data to back this up too.

Drive your car like Grandma, it will act just like her old Buick that never got past 30mph. Drive it like you stole it on occasion your motor will love you.........Everyone lugging around due to the media portrayal of gas prices and you save gas but lose motor life....... take your pick. Cost per mile still below the 60s till we get around $5.25/gallon for normal states. Forget Cali...............

This, of course , has become much more complicated because its becoming obvious that DI are not what everyone hoped they'd be in terms of engine life, issues, etc
VAG being the first and probably still major offender, but others catching up that have yet to side port their motors.

This is great advice.

Remember the manual had two intervals. The regular duty interval at 10k abd the severe duty at 4k.

Severe duty isnt just towing and racing. Its also stop and go traffic and very short trips where oil never has much time at full operating temp.

On the other hand if you traveled freeway 200 miles per day id be willing to bet your oil looks just fine way way more than 10k miles. But that would be a very unique drive schedule that id do oil analysis for.

 

[Hoosbeach]

I have been changing my oil every 10k but I have decided this past week to reduce to no more than 5k/change. Just changed my oil at 7k and my next will be 5k or less. My dealership does take the Mopar oil change maintenance plan so my oil changes have been around $65. I have been burning a quart per 5k so I rather just change the oil instead of topping off as well - Save the cost of the quart of oil. 😀

mileage 67k

 

[ALFAOFFROAD]

A quart every 5k?

Thats approaching rotary engine territory, keep us informed if going to a more frequent schedule doesn't help with that.

 

[Anunnaki]

I change at 5000 -6000 miles

 

[Peter A]

A quart every 5k?

Thats approaching rotary engine territory, keep us informed if going to a more frequent schedule doesn't help with that.

Ahh, not so bad. I am burning about 1/2 quart every 5,000. Rotary might burn a lot more than a qt/5k. LoL on an older alfa engine design that would be awesome. A quart every 2,000 would be good and one every 1,000 acceptable🙂. Used to change 7 quarts every 2,500 miles on a Nord 2.0 4cylinder or a Busso v6, and expect to burn 1-2 quarts in between.

 

[ALFAOFFROAD]

I did say approaching.......😁

The thing about the old engines... They had way higher tolerances in terms of flow, the pumps.. everything was stronger back then.

Now.... Things are engineered to be no stronger then they absolutely need to be. (Then the supplier makes it a little weaker without telling anyone sometimes).