I have put on 20k miles since January on my car. I have changed my oil every single 3k miles. I have been using non-synthetic...5w30 or something like that. Today the guy at teh shop told me i should look into using a synthetic blend oil because of how often I change my oil. I think hes just tryin to get me to spend $10 more on it. I thought as long as i change my oil every 3k miles i would be fine...regardless of how often i have to change it. let me know what you think. should i stick wit what ive been doing or upgrade to the synthetic blend...he said something like Valvoline durablend or something

 

How many miles do you have on your car?
Why are you changing it every 3,000 miles?

 

read this FAQ it will help u:

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=227996

 

3000miles OCI is a scheme by oil manufacturers and lube shops. you should be going up to 5500mile oil changes with todays dino oils.
As for synthetic, i think it'll be worth it for you because of the amount of miles you put on your car. synthetics have 7500-15000mile OCI's. Make sure you dont have any leaks before switching to synthetic though.

 

i have 86k on my car now. They mechanic said prob not to switch to full synthetic because if there are any leaks, itll just flow right through. he mentioned the synthetic blend. What do you all recommend?

 

Try this the next oil change:

3.5 quarts of dino and 1 quart of synthetic or synthetic blend. Introduce it gradually and observe your tail pipe over a period of time to see if its burning any oil. Check your dipstick to see if the oil level goes down more than usual.

 

I started using full synthetic at about 103,000, but I started using sythetic blend before I made the switch, I had no leaks so I went full synth. I just like the fact that I really only have to change my filter twice a year or so and the oil only once a year since it is guaranteed at 15,000 ( I only drive like 100 miles a week). The oil is more money but not as much as changing it every 3,000 or 5,000. Another thing that dawned on me is people have different gas mileages and I would say most of us use 91+ octane fuel, but oil viscosity has alot to do with mileage too.

 

I use SuperTech 100% Synthetic ($2/qt at Wal Mart). Nissan OEM Filter. 5k OCI.

 

STICK WITH WHAT YOU'RE DOING. It is hands down the safest, cleanest way to run your engine without needlessly spending a fortune on oil. My only suggestion is that if you aren't already doing your oil changes yourself that you start. I personally don't trust anyone but myself with my cars, but that's just me.

There are a lot of debates about synthetic vs. petroleum oils and I'm personally tired of arguing about it. All I can offer is that my '96 Max has 210,000 miles on it - every single oil change on it since it was new has been done in my driveway on 3,000 mile intervals with standard SAE/API certified non-synthetic oils. It runs like a dream and doesn't leak or burn a drop. My mom's '96 Mercury Sable LS has received the same treatment and attention and also runs great after 170,000 miles. A lot of poeple will argue against my old school methodology, but I can't say I've ever had a problem with either of these cars.

 

synthetics should last longer than 3000 miles...
its a myth that 3000miles is manditory to change anyways, made up by the oil change places for garanteed busness.

their are many factors that might contaiminate and those are the reasons why you have to change your oil, not to mention you just have to change it after a certain milage because it just gets to ugly black

if its a stick shift its good to change the oil at around 3 to 5 thosand miles because its just good to do so.
if you have a turbo engine i would suggest every 3k miles also.

synthetics shouldnt need the change and might last 15k miles without a change as long as your not driving heavy (racing and riceing).

but hey i just read an article in some magainze about that, from 3 oil compaines, a drag racer, and an average driver with skilled background in car mikanics.

 

You are wasting your money changing the oil every 3,000 miles. Given the amount of miles you are driving, you could easily extend that to 5,000 miles with a quality dino oil like Castrol GTX 5W30. Given that you live in New Jersey, you should stick with the 5W30.

I doubt that you will experience any leaking problems with synthetic. Why don't you try using Mobil 1 5W30? I would try an initial OCI of 5,000 miles and up it to 7,500 if you think you will be continuing to accumulate mileage at the same pace as you have demonstrated thus far this year.

I'm just running AutoRX through my engine now and am switching to a full synthetic, PAO, Esso XD-3, 0W30, only available in Canada. I haven't run synthetic before and my car has about 59,600 miles on it. The AutoRX should solve any potential seal leaking problems that would result from switching to synthetic.

 

mobil 1 synthetic is what i run. You can buy the 5 quart jug at wal-mart for like $20. i change mine every 8k-10k. since i personally haven't found a filter that will last like 15k. I drive a lot otherwise if i stuck with reg oil n changing it every 4k, i'd change my oil every 5 weeks..

 

hey what filters does everyone suggest?

i hate fram, and will never recomend it. what do u guys suggest?

 

I use the nissan oem filter from courtesyparts.com

 

What i always do, is clean the engine with this thing , and i always pay 40$ for oil chage but it runs good

 

I recommend going to the oils and lubrication forum.

but a side note: It's a huge waste to change your oil every 3k miles. Depending on your driving conditions, nissan recommends your 4th gen oil to be changed either 3750 (if you do short trips and bumper to bumper freeway driving) or 7500 miles. And that's with dino that's "designed to go 3k miles"

Do lots of reading, and decide for yourself what you feel is best.

 

what is 'this thing' and why are you paying $40 for an oil change? do it yourself, or at least find a better deal. how often do you change it?

 

i appreciate the help, but im just as confused as i was before. haha. I hear good arguments from both sides. I pay only $20 to have my oil changed...i would do it myself, but i literally havea absolutely no time or means to do it with work. i think for the time being i am going to stick wit my 5w30 at every 3k miles. I know some of you say 3k changes are a waste, but i dont mind doing it for $20. let me know if anyone else has any suggestions

 

I don't think there's anything wrong with changing your oil every 3K. You're not going to hurt anything. You may save a little money by going with longer intervals, but its nothing worth losing sleep over.

 

That's the way I see it - clean oil and a new filter has never hurt an engine! And considering that when I change it myself I can do it for about $10 (filter included), I really don't care about doing it every 3,000 - it probably costs me less than changing synthetic oil every 6 or 7.5k. It only takes me half an hour on a Saturday morning every 6 weeks or so. Even if you have someone else do it for $20, it's still not a big deal. This is just my opinion, do whatever you feel is right.

 

Precisely what oil and filter are you using? If you are paying someone $20 for an oil change I suspect you are getting crappy oil and an equally crappy filter.

It appears you know nothing about oil. I suggest you go over to www.bobistheoilguy.com and educate yourself.

You should not be using a Fram filter. Use Nissan OEM, Mobil 1, Wix, Napa Gold or Purolator PureOne oil filters. Remember, you get what you pay for.

 

Go do the section devoted to these questions. Lotsa help there.