how often the enginge oil needs to be changed

[alichevy]

how often dose the engine oil needs to be replaced just as a good practice

i am aware that when the oil gets dark it has to be changed but how dark or is there something else to indicate it

[clive]

Engine oil change is ideally related to kms. If you put mineral oil 20w50 its 3k kms, if you put semi synthetic oil 10w40 its 5k - 7k, If you put fully synthetic oil its 10k - 12k kms.

Color is last indicator to consider, but not the first one to consider. I change per km not with color. why risk it, oil is very cheap in this country so change often is better.