jxkim

iTrader: (18)

time for an oil change. was wondering the benefits of putting in synthetic. one of my friends told me that the maxima engine doesnt need synthetic oil and ill basically be wasting money.

willard00

iTrader: (1)

if youve used regular oil, use regular oil. dont switch. it just has potential to mess things up if you do (50/50 chance). same thing if youve used synthetic the whole time, except i think its a better chance ull mess thngs up if u go from synthetic to regular.

THT

iTrader: (8)

1. Yes, I do use synthetic; I switched at 75K
2. Synthetic oil is derived from petroleum so your passive/aggressive political comment is pointless.
3. Synthetics will not "mess things up" ... the smaller and more uniform nature of the synthetic molecules will find pre-existing problems such as bad seals. The conventional oil merely hides them by clogging the seal. This is not the fault of the synthetic oil. On the contray, synthetic oils WILL protect your motor better than conventional.
4. Switching from synthetic to conventional won't mess up your motor. I just did. I switched from Amsoil 5w-30 (fully synthetic) to Quaker State 5w-30 for 2,000 miles so I could do an Auto-RX treatment. I will be switching back synthetic in the form of Amsoil P2000 0W-30 when the flush is complete in 1,000 miles.

nguyen925

havent you ever seen those displays at autozone? the ones with the synthetic oil VS the reg oil? your car will only run as long as you take steps to maintain it. plus ive read that synthetic > conventional oil.

NYC32798

iTrader: (3)

My max has had synthetic since I have owned it (159,000 miles). I was told by the previous owner that he used mobil 1 since he got it with 60,000 miles but theres no telling if he was full of bs or not. Either way my car now has 212,000 miles on it and it still runs the same as it did when I first got it. If someone took a ride in my car for the first time, they would never guess it has 212,000 miles on it. I still change my oil every 3,000 miles with synthetic. Some say it's a waste of money changing it that soon but I don't care. I'm religious when it comes to my car and I always make sure it has fresh oil.

Crooper_Hedder

iTrader: (2)

Would switching at 152k miles be a bad thing? I use partial synthetic, but then I've heard that there's no difference between full dino and dino/synth blend. I presently use Castrol GTX and Nissan filters.

Trajiksmax

This post would be better in the Fluid forum. To your answer Yes, I do run synthetic in my car Mobil 1. There are pros and cons to synthetic. If you change your oil every 3k or 3 mo. than your fine with dino. If you want to extend that duration than synthetic is a good choice.

willard00

iTrader: (1)

i guess its opinion then, because i was told by my teacher (whos about 45ish years old, and has been working on cars since his 20s) that switchin oils like that can damage your engine....

no offence to you, but ide believe some who has 20 years experience over someone who is only about as old as the experience my teacher has.

EDIT: reason being because synthetic oil is thinner, therefore if you go from regular oil (thicker) to synthetic, it wont lube as efficiently, and thus creating more heat. its kinda like transmission fluid. you switch from regular tranny fluid to synthetic, part willl heat up more and you can kiss that tranny goodbye. i was told if you want to use synthetic, you should use it from the very first oil change and on.

JwaxMax99

iTrader: (14)

No matter how old the guy who said this is, it's pure BS.

Sounbwoy

iTrader: (2)

If your engine burns oil, then don't switch. Contuinue to use the regular stuff. As far as changing synthetic every 3000? That's really up to the individual. I use regular oil (Castrol GTX 10W-30) and my car has 256,xxx miles on it. It also runs like it did when I bought it with 65,000 miles on it and I change at 5000 miles. There MAY be some added protection with synthetic, but again, if the regular stuff works, and you change your oil regularly, there's no reason to switch IMHO.

MaximaSE96

iTrader: (8)

Do think the Auto-RX treatment worked

Kazoo

iTrader: (3)

That makes no sense. Why would synthetic oil be thinner? If you use 10-w30 than it is the same vescosity if synthetic or normal oil. Also the reason you use synthetic is because it lubricates better. So if it lubricates better than you will not create more heat. It will be the opposite, less friction less heat. I have been running synthetic in all my cars for ever and even in the tranny. One guy told me that when he switched to synthetic in his older car he had to turn the idle down because it started idleing higher = less friction. I would say that if your car has over 100,000 miles on it its not really worth switching. If it is use to normal oil and runs good than keep it like that. On my new cars I run normal oil for 3,000 miles and than switch to synthetic. They don't recommend running synthetic oil to break an engine in because it lubricates too good and won't let the engine break in. For an example how good it is. I also have a Grand Prix which is my toy car. I was taking the heads off to have them ported and polished with new vavles and to my surprise when I took them off and looked in the bore, the walls still had cross hatch marks on them. The engine had 40,000 miles on it and I run it hard. Some food for thought.

99grnmaxgxe

iTrader: (11)

I talked to a mechanic and he said that the recommendation to change even synthetic oil is 3,000 miles. He said it could last longer, but it's just a recommendation.

THT

iTrader: (8)

Synthetic oils are not "thinner"...that's the point of the weighting system...0w is thinner than 5w and so on. And what's this about synthetic tranny fluid killing transmissions? That's new to me because I've run a synthetic GL4 from Amsoil for over a year and a half. That's a year and a half of hard shifting, street racing, drag racing and other stupid behavior. And my transmission shifts like butter. Even on the coldest days of winter when my garage gets to ten below celsius, I can shift like it's a summer morning.

THT

iTrader: (8)

Yes. I had an annoying valvetrain tick that is gone now and the only thing that changed was the introduction of Auto-RX.

THT

iTrader: (8)

I call BS. The only way to know when to change an oil is to have an UOA done. Even then, it's dependent on the oil (brand, weight, etc.) as well as the motor that it's protecting. Every time I switch oils, I did a UOA. Mobil 1 5w-30 recommended OCI for my car was over 8K. Amsoil 5w-30 recommended OCI is over 10K. I'll be testing the Amsoil P2000 0w-30 shortly.

Jeff92se

iTrader: (82)

*******. This crap spouted in this thread is amazing.

WhiteMaxima9600

I use castrol gtx 10w-30 year round, i swear by it! the sytec blend is great also.....

96blkonblkse

iTrader: (18)

Mobil 1 10W-30 full synthetic, i use it in all my cars, and will never go back to dino.

d00df00d

iTrader: (4)

1. Switching oil types won't hurt anything. Ever.

2. Synthetic oils are not "thinner". They are composed of smaller molecules, which MAY cause them to leak SLIGHTLY faster in SOME cases where there is SLIGHT wear and tear on a very old seal.

3. Our engines were designed to run OK with non-synthetic oil. On the other hand, they were also designed to run OK with 87 octane gas. If you drive lightly, you don't have to worry about the expensive stuff. If you don't, you WILL get greater benefit from synthetic oil.

4. Any good synthetic oil, in combination with good oil and air filters, will kick the crap out of any non-synthetic oil. It will protect better in every way, work better over a wider range of temperatures, and run for longer periods of time without needing to be changed.

5. When you think about the benefit of less frequent oil changes, keep in mind that the first time you start your engine after changing the oil is BRUTAL in terms of wear and tear. The more you can avoid doing that, the better it will be for your car.

kcryan

iTrader: (1)

Not saying he doesnt know what hes talking about, but id bet, like everyone else, he heard that, it sounded like it made sense, and he repeated it, the fact is that UOA's dont lie (a uoa is a used oil particle analysis) and UOA's show no problem with switching oil (brands, synthetic to dino, 10-30 to 5-30 to 0-30 to 40 weights, a combination of all of these, and using different filters) and it doesnt matter, i dont see why people would do that (mabye get the stuff on sale, but i wait for it to be cheap and then buy tons of it) but anyways you can defiently do it, no problem

99grnmaxgxe

iTrader: (11)

Okay thanks for the info, I'll make sure she doesn't get it changed until at least 5k.

MaxBlack97

iTrader: (11)

So do we use 5w-30, 10w-30, or 10w-40 for our cars. I see all 3 of these in this thread, or is it just a matter of preference?

Bobo

If I lived in New York, I would be inclined to use 5w-30 year round. I have been running a 0w30 synthetic oil for the past 7 months and plan on running it year round (Esso XD3 Extra, PAO, full synthetic, not available in the US).

Bobo

Get rid of that Mobil 1 crap and switch to Esso XD3 Extra 0w30, PAO, full synthetic. Get it at the M.R. Smith Esso bulk plant on Underhill in Burnaby (Lake City, just off the Lougheed Highway). It shows superior UOAs relative to Mobil 1, costs 1/3 less and does not shear down like Mobil 1. You can get a longer OCI out of it. It is a heavier 30 weight at operating temperatures and gets rave reviews on BITOG.

I have been running it for 7 months and plan on running it year round.

MadMaxSE-L

iTrader: (4)

I'd base that decision on what climate you intend to be driving in:

5w-30 for winter driving
10w-30 for summer driving

when it's colder your oil will be thicker, especially when your first start your car in the morning, and it will make it harder to flow, so you run the thin stuff in the winter time. conversly, when it's hot outside your oil will thin down some, negating you step up in viscosity to maintain proper lubrication. if you don't have extreme temps where you live(i.e. really cold winters up north, or real, real hot summer/hard driving down south here) then either one is fine but for most driving in normal weather 5w-30 will be ok.

MorpheusZero

iTrader: (10)

The man knows what he's talking about. You'd be surprised how many mechanics have no idea wtf they're talking about. They know basic symptoms and how to replace things on cars, not necessarily the exact effects of different types of lubrication in the engine or transmission. Did he actually give you any reasons or did he just say it was bad?

d00df00d

iTrader: (4)

What grade you use depends on what the climate is like, how you drive, and what type of oil you use.

For example, I use 0w-30 because the oil that I use -- Amsoil Series 2000 -- is an absolutely top-quality full synthetic. Esso XD-3 and the made-in-Germany Castrol Syntec are other oils that are excellent in 0w-30. But if you were using a non-synthetic, you might want an oil that has a narrower temperature range, such as 10w-30. The reason is that the additives used in a cheaper oil to give it a broad temperature range can break down and leave deposits, so you want to minimize the possibility that that will happen.

How hard do you drive, what's the weather like, what kind of oil do you want to use, and how important is fuel economy to you?

Wrightsfd

I use Mobil1 and change every 10,000 miles. No problems. Runs like new @ 135,000 miles. I use a Bosch 2232 filter (slightly larger than stock) and the oil looks clean when I drain it. I never hesitate to rev to redline. I drive in LA stop and go traffic. I dare anyone to tell me synthetic (which is NOT made from dino juice- that is why it is called SYNTHETIC) will F-up you engine.

I tried to search for the MSExcel spreadsheet that used to be on .org which lists analasys from dozens of Maximas (and other cars) and basically shows proof that synthetic will hold its properties longer than dino and protects better after many miles. I can't find it though, anyone know where it lives?

Bobo

Have you ever sent that oil out for a UOA?

Stretching an OCI for 10K, particularly in LA stop and go traffic, is pushing the envelope. That oil will have been sheared down badly by then.

4thgenx42

5W30 Mobil 1 Synthetic Motor Oil

JFP in PA

ABSOLUTE RUBBISH!

dgeesaman

iTrader: (10)

The risk with going to synthetic oil is that it will tend to leak a little more. Things like seals that weren't leaking before might begin to leak.

My car doesn't have that problem - I've been running Mobil1 10w-30 for about 3 years. Since it's $22 for a 5qt jug at Wal-Mart, it's an outstanding value for being a premium oil. While I feel the benefits of synthetic over dino are small (mostly being better anti-wear performance), the extra few bucks to get the Mobil1 is worthwhile to me. The other premium synthetics at $6-9/qt are whole lot more money for no real benefit.

I don't buy into the longer oil change philosophy. I do a new filter and syn oil every 5k and that oil is plenty dirty.

Dave

JFP in PA

I continue to remain amazed at the amount of mis-information available on this subject:

i guess its opinion then, because i was told by my teacher (whos about 45ish years old, and has been working on cars since his 20s) that switchin oils like that can damage your engine.... Utter nonsense, you teacher needs to learn a few things from this century........

no offence to you, but ide believe some who has 20 years experience over someone who is only about as old as the experience my teacher has. Be sure to tell your teacher that an automotive engineer, with over thirty five years of automotive R&D background, and who has been a life-long member of the SAE, says your teacher does not know what he is talking about.

reason being because synthetic oil is thinner, therefore if you go from regular oil (thicker) to synthetic, it wont lube as efficiently, and thus creating more heat. its kinda like transmission fluid. you switch from regular tranny fluid to synthetic, part willl heat up more and you can kiss that tranny goodbye. i was told if you want to use synthetic, you should use it from the very first oil change and on.

In reality, synthetic has higher lubricity properties than an equivalent dino oil, a lower coeffecient of friction, and also has higher (read better) heat transfer properties than dino oil. So your premise that moving from dino to synthetic in a gear box is as full of crap as you and your teacher are..........

Wrightsfd

Most manufacturers recommend oil changes at 7500 miles. You have all been brain washed by JiffyLube. 3000 miles is bunk. 7500 miles for dino, 10,000 miles for synthetic. Many cars have sesnors (Chevy trucks for instance) that calculate your driving style, type of traffic, and weather conditions and then give you a signal on the dash when it is time to change. I've seen those intervals as long as 9000 miles on dino oil. Bobo, I don't need to test my oil, the tests have already been done for me in the previous mentioned oil analasys spreadsheet. I'll do a better job of searching for it and try to post here. It is illuminating.

dgeesaman

iTrader: (10)

First off, JFP knows what he's talking about.

Second, experience is a very touchy way to judge knowledge. While following the recommendations of an experienced person will usually help avoid problems, it is one of the worst ways to learn how to improve on the status quo. Everyone has their own way of learning and judging stuff like automotive technology, here are a few:
- if it ain't broke, don't fix it
- tried it, it broke, ain't trying that again
- had an idea, tested it, repeated until it worked
- had a problem, researched it, found options, tested several options, sticking with the best one
- research the subject, tell others about what you found

If you don't understand how your teacher learned, you should. It's not that one of these methods is always superior to the others, but some are better for answering certain questions than others. Of course, when someone is trying to sell you something, they will usually base it on similar reasoning, and again it helps a lot to know what they based it on.

The engineering method is the fourth one, and IMO it's the superior method to attack a problem, although it's time consuming and expensive. But if engineering has been applied to the problem, and it's not been twisted around by marketing, it always recommend that. Research and development in oil technology is extremely intense and broad, and focused on making even very slight improvements.

Wait, what was the original subject? Oh, yeah, oil. Well pretty much any off-topic rant is better than talking about oil.

Dave

Bobo

The length of an oil-change interval is dependent on many factors, not limited to: driving style, % of highway vs city miles, temperature, type of oil, etc. etc.

I agree that the 3K, 3 month OCI is a myth perpretrated by the oil companies and lube joints.

However, I have never extended dino oil to 7,500 miles and would only remotely consider that if I was doing all highway driving over a short period of time and added oil in the meantime.

I wouldn't have a problem with a 10K synthetic OCI under the above circumstances. In fact, I am currently running Esso XD3 0w30, PAO, full synthetic and am planning a 12-month OCI at which time I will have put on about 5K, mostly highway miles. If I had driven 10K in a year, with this oil, I would probably be comfortable with that, but don't intend to extend the mileage that far, despite the fact that it is superior to Mobil 1 5w30 based on UOAs and VOAs posted on BITOG.

Apparition

iTrader: (5)

it is available in the U.S. under the Exxon name.. Exxon=Esso. Different nomenclature though.

Apparition

iTrader: (5)

.........

Thorby

Synthetic has a little bit of nitrous oxide which is bad for your health if you ingest it in large amounts. Personally, I use Mazola due to the low-cholesterol inhibitors. Occasionally, though I pour in a little of WD-40 on the engine just to make sure the valves run smoothly and get to where they want to go. Run Forrest! Ruuuuuunnnnn!!!