Gas is getting really expensive! My wife's car, we drove it less than 5000 miles last year. I'm thinking of going to a once a year oil change for that reason. Should the oil be changed in the spring ,or in the fall/winter for a car that isn't driven too regularly?

Send a message to [email protected]
He will be able to get you a product that will help you with this problem.

Based on the information provided, I would only attempt changing the oil and filter once per year, if you use a full-synthetic oil; e.g. Mobil 1. Normally, I recommend changing full-synthetic oil and filter every 6,000 miles or 6 months, whichever comes first. With conventional oil, changing it only once per year is asking for trouble.

You guys are right. All the references I checked say the same. I can get twice the mileage out of an engine if I do regular oil changes, so trying to save money there is foolish. Will it hurt anything if I use a different brand, say it's got Valvoline in it but I want to use Castrol cause that's what I use in my other vehicle?

No.

Check what some are saying about the GM Oil Life Index.
I think this is going to help people save both money and time:
GM, California to Plug Motor Oil Leak | Car News Blog at Motor Trend

Or this, excerpt, quote directly from General Motors Oil Light System (OLS) Change Oil Light by upmpg.com

Quote:

---

Many motorists today are confused. For several years General Motors, BMW and Mercedes-Benz have been installing monitors on their dashboards that light up to indicate when it's time to change oil. GM monitors have frequently allowed motorists to drive 5,000 miles and as much as 7,000 miles or more before signaling that it's time to change oil. The Mercedes-Benz service system indicates 10,000- to 20,000-mile oil change intervals.

---

It's cool. Ask me how it really works.

Naturally, this flies in the face of the 3,000-mile drain recommendation that oil companies insist are necessary to protect engines. This despite the higher prices for engine oil, to justify "high-detergent" blends, supposedly designed to reduce the problems with early generation oils.

Some die-hards will insist on a conventional 3K oil change. To me, that amounts to being overly cautious. But I know I have no problem with that.
I use fully synthetic in both my vehicles and change it at 6K. It rarely goes six months, but if it did, I would still change it again. I like my cars.

The more people research this, the better.