My brother happens to work for a company which makes oil analysis machines among other things and offered to do some tests. I'm planning on draining my diff and oil soon and providing him samples, but since I don't know exactly what fluids will be coming out (not sure what brands the previous owner used) so it'll be hard to compare apples to apples the next time I drain and test. Off the bat we should be able to see if there are wear particles, glycol's, etc. Some day I would like to get my hands of sample during a S2k's first change after a break-in period, then I could tell you what's REALLY in there

 

1st recommendation , get out the house and drive ........


Josh I rock the break in oil for 7500 miles , but I did not store my car the first year .

We all know I am a firm believer in the break in oil ,but I dont think you will hurt anything leaving it or changing it if 5k is your goal .

 

http://forums.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=191704

and the "oil journals"

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=195574

 

My dealer, and we know about dealers. Insisted that the original oil be changed at 3,500 miles. They put in some Honda special blend, they did it again at 7,000 miles. I went to a tech day and changed it at 10k with Mobil 1.

As far as storage goes, oil does deteriorate over time, but since this is break in oil, I would leave it in.

 

(Sigh). Ok, let me try and add some science to this.

Oil lubricates your engine and provides some cooling also. After those two primary jobs, oil must also contain and absorb impurities. This is not the purpose of oil, it is just a result of the fact that an oil filter cannot remove every impurity from the oil.

So what is in there with the oil? One, microscopic particles of metals that have worn off the moving parts of your engine, two, the by-products of combustion that have escaped past your rings and valve guides, three, water that has formed through the process of condensation and four, the products that have formed out of mixing the above three things and the oil in your oil pan. What are those products? Acids.

Now, the metal particles are not the real problem. In theory, you should have the same quantity of metal particles if you drive your car 4000 miles in a month or 4000 miles in four years. BUT, the reality is that cars that sit for a long time (say more than 4 or 5 days) between starts will have a higher concentration of metal in the oil than a car that is run regularly. This is becuase most of the oil will drain off the moving parts while the engine is sitting for a few days and the next time you start it, there will be a moment where the engine is spinning with little or no oil protecting the moving parts. This resutls in greater friction and greater engine wear for that brief moment before the oil pump sends oil to the bearings, etc. So, if you have a low mile car that doesn't start often, you probably have more metal in your car's oil than a car that runs daily with the same number of miles on the oil. Got it?

Next, lets look at the by-products of combustion, water and the resulting acids. Cars that do not run often are prone to collecting condensation and not burning off the water before it can combine with the carbons and hydrocarbons from combustion that make it into your oil. Those contaminants can mix to form acids and that acid can actually eat away at your soft metal parts, especially bearing material. I have seen bearing shells from long stored cars that are well pitted, almost like a worm had been in there eating away at the shells.

So I would not store it over the winter with +year old oil. I'm not saying it is going to destroy your bearings this winter, but I'm guessing that the detrimental effects of the old oil will outweigh the beneficial effects of the break in additives, which, as I recall, are little more than molybdenum which you can either buy as an addititve or find in certain oils like Castrol dino oils.

I've said my peace. Do whatever you like.

 

Phew, what a relief! Josh I was afraid you were thinking of selling your car!

 

So what Bill is saying if I get it right. Store it with fresh oil. When you take it out of storage, change the oil again. That will keep the contaminates way down and prolong engine life.
It never hurts to change the oil.

 

That's not entirely true when speaking of the break in oil. There is some type of special additive that is put in on the first fill in the factory which helps the engine in some way. Will removing it a couple thousand miles do damage? Probably not, but will the car ever be broken in to it's full potential? Who knows.

the only way to solve this problem for sure is to drive the car enough to reach the recomended change interval and then change the oil and store the car. Scott was right when he mentioned the weather being perfect for it right now. Get out and drive!!! That's what cars are for

 

I think changing out the fresh fall oil in the spring is over kill, although some car collectors actually do just that.

If I change the oil and run the car for a few miles before it goes into storage in the fall, that oil will be fine in the spring. It sits in your oil pan just as well as it does on a bottle on the shelf, and the few miles will not put any real quantity of moisture or by-products of combustion into the mix.

DO NOT START YOUR CAR ONCE A WEEK WHILE IN STORAGE. This is a terrible interval. If you are not going to start it every day or every other day, just leave it alone until spring.