I have read a lot of posts saying that using Synthetic oil in our high mileage cars is trouble for free and secure leaks, I'm planning to change the oil on my '96 I30 with 125K on it's odometer, I would like to use Semi-Synthetic or Synthetic Blend Oil, am I right with this decision or do I need to use Plain Oil ? All advice is greatly appreciated ! Thanks !

 

Castroll All the Way,

 

A good friend of my family, who's family owns a Nissan dealership in Michigan, and who actually hooked me up with my maxima, said that if you change your oil every 3000 miles, don't worry about synthetic or semi, or any of that jive that Valvoline tries to sell you while sit and wait for their slack asses

 

You have read Bill's oil info in the stickies RIGHT!?

Semi-synthetics. Don't waste your time. Either 100% of dino or 100% of sythetic. Which one to use? Well

 

People with more mileage than you have switched to synthetic with no issues. If the car has been well cared for and has no leaks now, it shouldn't be a problem.

Blends are a waste of money.

What Jeff said...

 

I used Castroll Syntec synthetic blend on my '99 max with 68K. However my dad bought 20W50. Is this alright to use? Will 20W50 damage anything? I sure hope not.

 

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....hreadid=100060

 

Castrol Syntech Blend is horrable oil. Please don't use it. I have an oil anaylsis report from my car that proves that.

Castrol GTX 10W-30 is probably the best non synthetic motor oil you can buy.

 

 

Thanks for the info. Am I safe with it in my car for now? I will change to GTX in about 2500 miles, I should be alright, right?

 

I like to go with the Valvoline Max-Life High mileage. It is supposed to be used with cars over 75K miles. It has some additives that help with strengthing seals and it seriously helped with bringing the car back to life in a way. They say you shouldnt use Puure synthetic on higher mileage cars due to the fact the oil is thinner. So you want to get the non synthetic due to the reason it is thicker. Same with a brand new car. No synthtic until the 1500 mile break in is done, just to give it the extra lub. Just my .02

 

You really have no idea how synthetics work do you?

 

Valvoline oils, be they conventional or synthetic, have been the poorest performing name brand oil.


This is based on real world analyses, not what Jeff92se's brother's husband's wife's daughter's 8th grade high school teacher's son's wife's daugther's husband's son's father's cousin's sister's Nissan "Master Tech" mechanic said.

 

I started using synthetic when my car had 72K. I change it every 7-8K. I have over 140K and my engine is fine. Synthetic WILL NOT cause your engine to leak or anything else like that. And I do agree with what most people say... synthetic is not absolutely necessary. It just works better at extreme temperatures and extended change intervals. If you change your oil every 3-4k using regular stuff, you will be just fine.

 

I switched 3k miles ago to AMSOIL, and have had no seal problems or leaks or excessive burning. I had 80k miles at the switch, all dino oil up to that point.

I'll probably do a blackstone test in another few thousand miles. I'm doing extended drain intervals though, which is the major reason for my switch. Just like the "smarter" people on this board have said - if you change your oil every 3-4k, you won't see a dramatic benefit from synthetic. If you are driving your car harder, or want to do extended drain intervals, then synthetic is probably the best way to go (as long as you remember to change your oil filter!)

Ashok

 

I've always used Castrol and I used Syntec Blend in my Maxima for 2 oil changes

3rd one is coming up, going to wise up and switch to Mobil 1.
95 SE with 85k miles

And got the Valvoline high mileage for my 13 year old Escort. God have mercy on her soul

 

I've seen plenty of posts from people who use Amsoil. Where can you pick this stuff up at? My car now has a little over 150k miles on it and ever since I switched to synthetic I noticed that my car burns/leaks oil, but not from underneath the car. I guess the detergents have eaten away at the artificial seals in my engine created by conventional oils.

Any suggestions?

 

In short, I wouldn't use any viscosity not recommended by Nissan in your owners manual and 20w-50 is not recommended. It is too 'thick' which can result in poorer flow especially in cooler temps, higher operating runnning temps and decreased fuel efficiency. I believe 10w-40 is the thickest viscosity approved. Just my opinion, but find a better oil...Anything like Mobil 1, Amsoil or Redline if you want to run synthetics. Castrol GTX, Pennzoil or Chevron Supreme if you want to run non-synthetics.

 

Hey bill 99gxe I think you are totaly wrong about valvoline My dad usd it in his old max with 375,000 miles on it and there are no problems valvoline is a great oil.

 

Let's look at some facts, shall we?


Valvoline Conventional 5W/30:

Calcium: 1549
Phosphorus: 699
Zinc: 811

Average of other 5W/30 Conventional oils in my spreadsheet:

Calcium: 1672
Phosphorus: 847
Zinc: 1055


As you can see, the ZDDP additive package used by the All-Climate Valvoline conventional oil is inferior and outright pathetic for a brand new conventional oil. For the same money, much better oils with stronger additive packages are available.


This may or may not apply to your dad's car, as we are examining the latest SJ/SL formulations of the oil, which may be different than what your dad primarily used.



In addition, Valvoline's MaxLife dino formulation was a relatively good dino oil, as it used molybdenum as a barrier additive and had several decent results in my spreadsheet and elsewhere on oil forums on the internet. Unfortunately, Valvoline removed the molybdenum in mid-2002, and the MaxLife formulation is now not any better regarded than the All-Climate conventional formulation.


Valvoline's SynPower full synthetic is empirically good, but has a chronic history in oil analyses of breaking down to a low 20-weight oil in under 3,000 miles, which is pitiful for a full synthetic oil.


For the money, there are several much better choices than anything Valvoline currently has to offer.

 

WTF??

How can "he" be wrong. "HE" didnt do anything but send your ****y valvoline out to get analyzed by a professional lab.

Numbers dont lie. Nor do proven labratory tests.

 

My brother's mother's 3rd removed 4th cousin's husband's mailman's mechanic's said "really?"

 

This is the only time i have ever used 20W50 and probably won't do it again. I am in the Bay area, Cali and we don't have cold starts so i'm not going to worry about that, when I use 10w30 or 40 my oil consumption is outrageous. I can definately tell that the 20w50 is thicker, and keeps the heat down a little. I'm interested to see how much is consumed by my next oil change. Thanks, for the info.

 

I have Amsoil available for forum members and would be happy to provide some info for you if you send me an email.

I do have a few questions though:

How long ago was your car switched to a synthetic oil and when you switched which viscosity where you previously using and what did you go to?

Can you see any seepage at all from the seals, even though it may not be dripping onto the ground?

 

It's funny how men are into motor oil the way women are into all those cosmetic accessories.

Lucy asks her friend Cheryl, "Girl, what kind of oil are you runnin in your Lexus?"
"Castrol Syntec." Lorraine replies.
"You better get rid of that stuff. Use Mobil or Amsoil. They have better revitalizing conditioners. They last longer too, oozing thru all the pores of that sweet Lexus motor. You better switch it, girl."



DW

 

I use Castrol Syntec full synthetic oil, and I have no problems...... I have a 96 Maxima SE with 128,000 miles on it, and I noticed that the synthetic oil does last twice as long as the regular stuff...

 

with all you guys replying how many are you really mechanics??

 

...that have torn down an engine... (not me)

 

I switched to Mobil 1 synthetic at 80K without any issues. I'm at around 115K now and the engine hasn't leaked and performs like new. Just my .02

-Chad

 

Cool....you have some oil analyses that show going x miles on conventional results in the same wear levels as going 2x miles on synthetic?

Mind sharing those lab results with me?

 

Can you be more specific please?

 

it means, how many do it as a living..

 

for maxima you should use 5W30.

 

Prolly none, whats your point?

 

Calm down Dr. Phil....I believe he's asking us for our opinions not based on our mechanical expertise.

"In my opinon I prefer Amsoil synthetic."

 

Was I taliking to you panty face?

 

No actually you weren't taliking to me? But last time I checked I was on maxima.org forums not mardigrasmax.org forums. I'm glad to see we have mature moderators on the .org.....just remember you're only a moderator unless you feel like taking it to another level. Don't get it twisted

p.s. I was talking to 99maxi if you would've been paying attention to my post!!!

 

What, you mean how many of us only have a high school education?

 

I am currently using the castrol syntec blend and it's still clean but i am switching to full castrol syntec this week.

 

Those of you who use synthetic, are you changing the oil filter at the same intervals as the oil, or more often?