Oil change frequency Blackstone

[AAA96]

So, when I first received my car last year I changed the oil and filter. I have had the car for almost 9 months now and driven it about 500 miles. The question at hand is, being that I don’t put that many miles on the car, how often should I change the oil/filter? Also, in those regards, if I changed the oil today and sent a sample to Blackstone, would there be enough use to determine anything significant from the analysis? Thanks!

[Lawineer]

500 miles won’t be enough IMO. I doubt 2 or even 3x that amount would be enough. If there is enough copper in your oil to warrant concern at 500 miles it’s already too late.

[01sapphirebob]

I have a feeling youre gonna get a wide range of answers on this. Personally, I change the oil right before I store the cars for the winter (per owners manual GEN II). This is for both my GEN II and IV. I never put 3k miles on either car in a driving season. The only time I had to change the oil earlier then before storage was when I had got home from NVE 2 in New Orleans. Drove there and back so I put over 3K miles on the car in about 10 days time. Not sure if this heplps or not BUT it's my .02 and what ive been doing with my cars for 16+ years. :)

[AAA96]

I have a feeling youre gonna get a wide range of answers on this. Personally, I change the oil right before I store the cars for the winter (per owners manual GEN II). This is for both my GEN II and IV. I never put 3k miles on either car in a driving season. The only time I had to change the oil earlier then before storage was when I had got home from NVE 2 in New Orleans. Drove there and back so I put over 3K miles on the car in about 10 days time. Not sure if this heplps or not BUT it's my .02 and what ive been doing with my cars for 16+ years. :)

I don’t mind changing the oil more frequently. Can’t hurt the car. Was more wondering about the Blackstone analysis and how long I should wait to get a decent evaluation.

[Policy Limits]

The owners manual states every 6 months regardless of mileage. However many of us whom drive limited miles just do it annually. I changed mine at the 6 month mark from New and then yearly thereafter. I just changed mine last week which makes the 5th change in 4.5 years. Cheap insurance though so the more is probably the better as alluded to.

[AZTVR]

I think that if the car still has the 5 year powertrain warranty in effect, then I would change the oil and get the analysis, just in case it maybe could show some early indication of engine failure before the warranty expires.

[Steve-Indy]

Good points by all.

I USED to go by the every 6 month rule...noting that our Vipers are under-driven. I always sent in a sample for analysis to Blackstone...along with periodic samples of virgin oil. During my more ambitious testing phase, I also followed fellow Viper owners Vipers, a BMW or two, a Porsche 996 Turbo, a Mercedes, and a few others...several of which were tracked.

It became apparent to me that the Mobil 1 being used by all of the above was a decent oil...though it was also apparent that the 0W-40 European Car Formula (ECF)looked better than the 10W-30 on analysis. We made the switch BEFORE Viper started using the Mobil 1. 0W-40 ECF as the factory fill in 2005 model year Vipers.

With scores of samples tested, I learned a lesson or two. Too frequent of an oil change schedule accompanied by low mileage driving generally yields less useful info as there is little wear in several hundred miles vs several thousand miles ( such as 3,000-6,000 miles) for a non-raced car...unless it is a frequent trip, heavy traffic, or hot climate car.

The most interesting Viper analysis was on a friend's late Gen II that was only driven 800 miles in 4 years on the same oil. That sample tested very close to a Virgin Oil Analysis (VOA) of the same oil. Admittedly, this Viper saw very little traffic, was used for highway cruising, and generally when started it was a full drive cycle.

Bottom line...taylor your Oil Change Interval (OCI) to your driving style and habits.

Finally, AAA96...because of the "multifactorial oil issues" that have been well discussed, I do favor a more frequent OCI for the Gen V Vipers...and, I am still using the recommended Pennzoil oil for now noting that I still have a few months of extended warranty left.

[Bruce H.]

Do we know if doing an oil analysis has ever helped a Viper owner with an engine issue before? For example, if someone received a poor analysis did FCA replace the engine, or make it easier to get an engine replaced if it later went bad?

[AAA96]

I think the only reason why I wanted to send my analysis in was to make sure everything looked good inside the engine. It’s a 2016 with 6500 miles on it. I can change the oil myself and send a sample to Blackstone (not that expensive), and see what it yields. Probably won’t get much info out of it.

[zee]

I was planning on continuing doing mine every 6 months until my powertrain warranty ran out. I’ve heard people getting denied warranty claims if you don’t show proof of oil changed every 6 months regardless of miles. Is this ridiculous? I’d say so…what are others doing?

[ViperJon]

I change mine approximately every six months regardless of miles as the manufacturer specs in the manual and will continue to do so till the five year power train warranty is up. Is it completely a waste of money and throwing perfectly good oil away? Yes. But do you want to give Dodge a reason to deny a warranty claim?

[Gen5snake]

Mine is still under warrantee, so I change it every 6 mos (as stated in the owners manual)....even if I only put 350 miles on it. Since I do the changes myself, I send it to blackstone for proof that I changed it at 6 month increments. I also save the oil filters and write the date and mileage when changed on it. It's cheap insurance to avoid any hassle is something goes terribly wrong with the motor. When warrantee is up, I'll change it yearly or at 3k miles.

[JonB ~ PartsRack]

Do we know if doing an oil analysis has ever helped a Viper owner with an engine issue before? For example, if someone received a poor analysis did FCA replace the engine, or make it easier to get an engine replaced if it later went bad?


FCA being generous w/ warrantee?

HA HA, HEE HEE, HO HO, YUK YUK

[GTS Dean]

When my GTS was just a few years old, I was tracking it HARD about 5x per year with Mobil1 15W-50. Over 3 years, I only added makeup oil at the track and changed it annually. Mileage averaged between 2-3k/yr. I sampled with each change and the wear metals always looked really good. The only consistent issue was fuel dilution, but the oil never missed original viscosity spec.

Quality synthetics do not need to be changed often if you generally baby the car, as long as you drive long enough to get up to full operating temp to vaporize any condensation in the crank case.

[Bruce H.]

FCA being generous w/ warrantee?

HA HA, HEE HEE, HO HO, YUK YUK

Exactly, so I'm kinda wondering how much value there is in doing it. Is there even many that come back showing an issue? I recall year's ago one builder here claiming just about every engine he tore down showed signs of impending catastrophic failure. That was a ridiculous claim that many of us had a good laugh over, while others read and immediately sold their cars or threw themselves off a roof top. I'm more OCD than most, but have yet to send in a sample.

[Old School]

I've always just cut open the oil filter with any 'race' engine or new engine to see what going on.

[AAA96]

I've always just cut open the oil filter with any 'race' engine or new engine to see what going on.

And that’s why your name is old school. Haha love it

[Lawineer]

While we're on the subject, how often are we supposed to change trans and diff fluid? Is there a fluid and additive everyone is using that is recommended?

[Steve M]

While we're on the subject, how often are we supposed to change trans and diff fluid? Is there a fluid and additive everyone is using that is recommended?

Depends on how you use your vehicle.

If you race it hard, I'd change the transmission and differential fluids after every track weekend. If you are a bit easier on your car at the track, you might do a couple/few events before changing.

Otherwise, under normal use, changing it every 2-3 years or so is probably fine.

The factory fill for the TR-6060 is ATF+4. Any oil that meets that spec will do the job.

Differential fluid has been discussed at length; this is the product you want (Castrol Syntrax Limited Slip 75w140): https://www.amazon.com/Castrol-Syntrax-Limited-75W-140-1-Liter/dp/B07KQFV3K8

If you use that fluid, no friction modifier is necessary.

Source: https://driveviper.com/forums/threads/9410-Differential-fluid-change-and-the-addition-of-friction-modifier/page2?p=152590#post152590

Drain/Fill procedures for both here: https://driveviper.com/forums/threads/19110-Differential-and-Transmissions-Fill-Procedures?p=309260&viewfull=1#post309260

Note: if you choose to use a different differential fluid, you may need to add a friction modifier for the OEM GKN Visco Lok. This is the friction modifier you'd want if that's the case: https://www.amazon.com/Genuine-Mopar-4318060AC-Limited-Additive/dp/B000TTEX8W

[MoparJohn]

My fluid change schedule is not based on miles, but on track days
Oil - Every two track days
Brake fluid - Every two track days
Diff - Every 4 track days
Transmission - every 4 track days.
I used to send oil to blackstone, but I didn't find their analysis too helpful. I went back to the cut the filter open and look for metal method.

[Steve M]

A couple more thoughts on the transmission fluid while I'm thinking about it...

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Why you might want to stick with the ATF+4 factory spec'd fill: https://driveviper.com/forums/threads/28539-Correct-amsoil-for-tranny-and-diff?p=439940&viewfull=1#post439940
Relevant quote:

The main issue we have seen over the years is that the cars with 75W-85 factory fill tend to get extremely sticky as they age, not so on the ATF+4 equipped cars. I generally advise ATF+4 on most normally driven cars, as the detergents in the ATF+4 do a nice job of keeping everything clean. For a high-power application, a thicker oil should be run, especially in warmer climates.

All that said... ATF+4 has proven to be quite reliable at any power level that isn't going to destroy a trans quicker than it will wear out anyway, ha.
Note: keep in mind that the original discussion linked above was for the older T-56, but the same basic principles apply to the Gen 4/5 TR-6060.

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Why you might want to deviate from the factory spec and go with a thicker transmission fluid:

https://driveviper.com/forums/threads/716-T6060-5th-and-6th-gearchange?p=9028&viewfull=1#post9028
Relevant quote:

If you make big power you will want to upgrade the fluid as well, the production ATF+4 will not hold the load. BG Synchromesh and Syntorque work great for the Turbo cars.

https://driveviper.com/forums/threads/20240-Transmission-Fluid-Recommendations?p=328478&viewfull=1#post328478
Relevant quote:

The ATF+4 will help the cold shifting notchy feeling. You might experience more neutral gear rattle when its warmed up. Also, the hot AZ summers will cause the fluid to break down faster if driven hard due to the lack of EP additives.

Again, the original discussion in that thread was related to the older T-56, but what he wrote applies to the TR-6060 as well.

From the same thread: https://driveviper.com/forums/threads/20240-Transmission-Fluid-Recommendations?p=330037&viewfull=1#post330037
Relevant quote:

The production fluid is the ATF+4. This works very well in the TR 6060 for most applications. After going through several 6060's that were installed into boosted Vipers running the 1/2 and mile events with severe head set gear wear the switch to the BG fluid eliminated the issue

Note: he also recommended BG Synchro Shift II for my application, which is stock-ish power, but hard shifting at the drag strip. The trade with the thicker fluid is notchy cold shifting, but goes away once the transmission is up to full operating temps.

[SRT_BluByU]

Gen V's have a pretty frequent scheduled maintenance for tranmission and diff.. I think the diff is every 18k miles and the transmission every 36k miles. I used the factory specified fluids