Oil Change Interval Extension

Hello everyone,

"I drive an Alfa 156 JTD 16V, but I still have a general question about long-life oil. Alfa recommends an oil change with 10w40 or 5w40 every 20,000 km or once a year. The oil consumption is approximately 0.5 liters every 20,000 km."

Could the vehicle be driven with 5w30 LL oil, and could the oil change interval be extended to, for example, 30,000 km?

Price isn't a factor for me, as I have to pay €7 per liter for Mobil 5w40 and around €10 per liter for Castrol Edge. What matters to me is the work involved, which I usually do myself.

Would you advise against it?

dokky wrote:

... Could the vehicle be driven with 5w30 LL oil, and could the oil change interval be extended to, for example, 30,000 km?

No!

Quote:

... Would you advise against it?

Yes!

The LL oils used in VW vehicles are not approved for use in Alfa Romeos, so I wouldn't use them.
Furthermore, many people don't like LL oils and voluntarily stick to 15,000-mile intervals, and there's plenty of information about that here in the forum.

Sven.

Okay, so stick with 5W40 oil and change it every 20,000 miles.

Even though I might not make friends with the most oil-change-obsessed people right now, but...
"I'm driving an Audi A3, manufactured in 3/1997, with engine code AGR. It has a chip tuning upgrade, increasing the power to 125 hp, and has 200,000 km (approximately 124,000 miles) on the chip. The total mileage is 280,000 km (approximately 174,000 miles), and I've always used "flexible" extended oil change intervals."
"Previously, I used standard SLX oil, and more recently, LL III. I switch between 20,000 km in the winter and 30,000 km in the summer, with a lot of long-distance driving. My thought was that the 15,000 km factory oil change intervals are designed for oils with minimum requirements. However, the SLX and especially the LL oils far exceed these requirements."
The oil consumption has consistently been 0.5 liters per 10,000 kilometers since 200,000 kilometers.
Does this suggest anything about wear and tear?

I have also read technical reports that describe the reasons why such short replacement intervals are mandated. The main reason is profit.
Ultimately, the workshop needs to make a profit.

Everyone should change their oil as they see fit. For example, a colleague might halve their oil change interval, from 30,000 km to 15,000 km .
But I think the mileage of my engine speaks for itself.