I was just wondering whether you guys use sythetic or regular oil?? Since i've had my Maxima i've used regular oil, but the last time i put in synthetic to try that

 

I use regular dino oil and change every 5k miles. I don't have any mods or drive aggresively. I think also a good quality oil filter helps.

 

I use Mobil-1 5w30, love it.

 

Me too. Just put it in for the first time. The whole car feels different. Very smooth. Better pickup too. Overall very satisfied with the Mobil 1 5W30. Now if only I could get it in like $2 a quart. LOL

 

With the extended oil change period and extra protection, I think it worths the extra $2 per quart. Honestly if you do the oil change yourself, you pay ~$10 more for synthetic.

 

That's what I did. It only cost me ~$5 more as I did not want to overfill the oil I only used 4 quarts. I agree with the extended period thing but I am not planning to extend the periods of oil change. I think I will do it at 4K with the synthetic instead of the 3K with the regular. I know it is too frequent but my car does like 4 miles each way every day in traffic. Very short distances you know.

 

I have the same question should I use sinthetic or regular. I always use the castrol gtx 10w40 and buy my own filter from nissan which which keeps the seals longer than using the aftermarket filters.I always wanted to use the Mobil one But a friend of mine told me that new cars benefits more from synthetic oils than older cars considering I have a 95. So the question is should I try the Mobil one synthetic or continue to use my regular oil ?

 

Originally posted by Max4U


Unless you're in a VERY warm climate (south FL, south TX, NO cold weather), please use 5W-30.



Do you have proof of this? There are many aftermarket filters that do an excellent filtering job. I have links that prove my case. Here's one:

http://members.nbci.com/minimopar/oilfilterstudy.html




Your friend is ignorant of the true value of synthetic oils. The VQ engine is light years ahead in tolerances, etc. compared to "old school" Ford V-8s, GM V-8s, etc. The fear of synthetics causing leaks is not true in most motors produced in the past dozen years.....switching to synthetic will only improve the protection and lubrication for your engine.

It's up to you. Both will protect. Look over the Oil Analysis spreadsheet and decide for yourself. Feel free to ask me any further questions relating to the spreadsheet.

 

I'm no expert on cars, but I've always been told that Castrol GTX (5W-30 in my case) was the best motor oil for Nissan's and if you change your oil every 3K miles there was no need for synthetic. Before everybody jumps on my case that's just what I've always been told. I've thought of slipping one quart of Castrol Synthetic in there just to add a little more protection. Is that a decent idea? As far as the filter goes, you can buy a Nissan filter for $5, I wouldn't think there are too many filters our too much cheaper than that?

 

What you're doing now is fine, but you could more than likely go 5k between changes easily.

I wouldn't slip the synthetic in there every once in a while as it will just be diluted by the dino oil.

If you really believe synthetic gives you more protection, then extend your drain intervals and go synthetic.......Otherwise, keep doing what you are doing now.

Purolator filter: $3.25 normally, $2 on sale.

 

HSV, please be aware that castrol synthetic is actually a highly refined dino oil and I have the MSDS (material data safety sheets) to prove it. There was a big lawsuit about this filed by Mobil. The courts declared that since the castrol has been highly processed, it too can be called synthetic. As a chemist, I object to this since Mobil actually synthesizes the oil molecules from scratch rather than distill, hydrocrack, etc. crude oil. From my research, Mobil1 is probably one of the best true synthetic oils money can buy but there are other favorites here such as Amsoil. I too used Castrol regular oil in my car from day one but was sort of annoyed when they made the formulation change with their Castrol Syntec. You see, originally, the Syntec was in fact similar to Mobil1 but they switched it to a highly refined dino oil without changing the name. I think they tried to dupe the public and I was offended enough to stop buying their product altogether. If you really want to know more about this topic, check out noria.com under the bulletin board section.

Hope this helps!

 

Actually, using any API approved 5w30 oil will be fine for 3000 mile change intervals. With normal oil, a 5000 mile interval is more than adequate. With synthetic, you can safely extend that change interval depending on your driving conditions. If you drive all city with short trips, there is little benefit extending change intervals. But if you drive highway all the time, synthetic is a great choice.

As for me, I use Mobil One 5w30 and Nissan oil filters.

 

I have put 265,000 miles on an 85 Toyota Celica and I was not the most faithful person in changing every 3,000 miles. More like 5-7 thousand miles between changes. Oil pressure still reads above 80psi and no mechanical problems as of yet!

 

If you look at regular oil under a microscope it is made of irregular and often course shaped molecules (like gravel), while synthetic is round microscopically (like ball bearings). This is one of the many engineered benefits. And of course it has proven itself to be better, empirically, not just in theory.

-Zack Rad

 

265,000 is nothing.

Consider your Celica is one of strongest cars I know. My friend's Celica (I think it was '87) last >350,000 miles.

 

I got castrol syntec oil in car (frist time) it was a little smoother then before adn quieter under 2000rpm, should I do 3k or 5k oil change?

 

Hey Bill, not to start anything, but my mechanic (ex Nissan. Knows the VQ inside and out)also told me to change back from using synthetic to the good ole Dino stuff since I have higher mileage(121,666k) on my engine. Since changing I have noticed my engine running slightly quieter, smoother, and the common problem with the 95-96 years with timing chain tensioner issues is fixed by using dino oil instead of synthetic. I had it making a really noisy knocking, he told me what it was, and to change back to the petro based. Corrected the problem for me. I have driven 4k miles since switching back, and have not heard the problem return. My suggestion, since I've run both enough to compare, is stick with the petro based oil.

 

hmmmm whats the temp rating for 5W30? cuz well i'm wondering cuz i've always used 10W40 and where i am most of the year it hovers from freezing at night to 120 in the daytime... would anyone advise me whether to switch to 5W30?

oh yea HSV... does the HSV stand for Holden Special Vehicles? if it does.. haha those cars are tite...

 

I don't know if he explained this, but he probably stated that the VQ isn't as "tight" clearance-wise on the inside as it used to be, thus the synthetic which runs a little "thinner" than dino oil would cause timing chain tensioner issues because of slightly less than ideal lubrication, especially when the engine is "warming up".

I don't agree with your mechanic, especially if you didn't have any oil consumption issues. I would have first switched to synthetic 10W-30 to see if that helped......

 

Hey Bill Thanks for the info but the part about sticking with the nissan filter I brong my car to the dealer and the guy who was working on my car noticed I had an aftermarket filter and told me to switch to the nissan filter cause it wont cause your seal to leak after a certain amount of years. Also Whitmax I noticed the same knocking in my 95 engine but I only hear it when the car is very hot I was wondering what it was so thanks. My next oil change is the next 500 miles so I will switch to the 5w30 and see if the noise will go away. THANZ ALOT GUYZ

 

Silly question, what seal are you guys referring to?

-Zack

 

Isn't the Nissan filter designed with the regular oil in mind (i.e. 3k changes on oil and filter), therefore making extended oil changes not a good idea? Is there a special oil filter designed by Nissan for those of us that use synthetic?

I use synthetic, but change about one month later than what I should with regular oil. Am I harming my car?

Thanks!

MaXXX

 

Typical dino oil with typical driving should be changed at 5k with a filter.....

Filters are predominantly filters.....extended drain intervals USUALLY require a filter change halfway through the interval.

For example, with Mobile 1 Synthetic, I believe a normally aspirated Max under typical driving conditions should be changed at 12k with a filter change at 6k REGARDLESS of the filter. I recommend Purolator (Regular or PURE ONE), Nissan OEM, Mobile 1, or Amsoil oil filters......

I continue to kindly ask that you look at the Oil Analysis Spreadsheet linked in my sig file and further explained in the sticky post. That will give general guidelines on oil drain intervals......

 

As noted by some folks here, the thinner nature of the synthetic might be better or worse for some engines. Synthetics lack some comppunds in dino oils (obviously) and this has caused seal leakage in some vehicles. It considered riskier to switch at higher mileage as the seals seem to have more trouble moving to synthetic then (apparently they harden up after changing to synthetic). Newer cars are supposed to have more pliable seals that can handle synthetic, so later model years are better too.

Castrol is made by starting with dino, removing everything that's bad, engineering in what's good. Mobil 1 is created from scratch, with everything good engineered in. Is one better than the other ? Aside from a bunch of hype and profit driven lawsuits, I've yet to see a side by side wear test performed. Since Castrol is only .10 cheaper than Mobil 1, I go with 'ol reliable, Mobil 1.

I can't see how which filter you use can have ANY effect on your seals. Your oil choice, yes, but not your filter.

Nissan does not specify an extended interval for synthetic use so to keep your warranty in force, if you have one, you need to change at 3750. I'd go 5K on synthetic after warranty, even though we all know it can do more. Never go over 3K with dino oil.

Bob

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by BobMax
Aside from a bunch of hype and profit driven lawsuits, I've yet to see a side by side wear test performed.
Bob [/QUOTE/]

Bob:

I did see some test results once on the amsoil website using the ASTM ball bearing wear test. As I recall, amsoil and mobil1 faired very well and regular castrol and the like were somewhat lower down on the list (more wear components detected in the tested oil).

 

Bob:

Here is the website and test results I was thinking of. Scroll to the bottom half of the page. I remember it had a strange name about oil and kids. It is the website of an Amsoil dealer. I would still like to see the same test run by an independent organization like Consumers Union or Reports though.

http://www.oil4kids.com/facts.htm

 

Thanks Bill! I did not know that!

From now on, I will change my filter midway through, and extend the oil a bit.

Actually, this triggers something my mechanics teacher posed to the class: "Would you take a shower and put on old, smelly clothes?" And: "Would you put on fresh clean clothes after a workout without first taking a shower?" By this he meant that when you change your oil, change your filter and vice versa.

BTW, what do you recommend regarding engine/tranny flushes? How often should these be done?

Thanks!

MaXXX

 

Well agree with him or not. But I was using 10W-30 synthetic, and it was after I started using it that the noise started to occur. I can only go by what I've seen and what he has recommended to me. And I have yet to see him wrong. He actually stated that since the synthetic tends to run slightly thinner that it is more difficult for the tentioner to build enough pressure to tighten the chain.

 

Considering I have to drive it for about 2-3 more years, that is comforting to know!

 

Actually Nissan recommends changing the oil filter at EVERY OTHER oil change. With the "normal" schedule maintenance, that's every 15k miles. Sooo...I think changing it with every oil change, even if you do 12k synthetic changes, is fine in my opinion.

And for that dude who posted that "you should never go over 3k with dino oil", show me some evidence that once you go over 3k, the engine will break down. The general concensus from the veterans here on the BBS is that 5k for dino oil is fine, and 8-12k for synthetic is fine as well. For your information, Cartalk recommends 5k intervals for dino oil, the local news show here in Sacramento recommends 6k intervals, and this website:

http://www.salemboysauto.com/faqs/faq-index.htm

recommends 5k intervals as well. There is of course, nothing wrong with changing oil every 3k, but please don't say that every Maxima owner must do that.

 

I noticed a big difference in the coasting performance
of my 1999 SE when I changed from the stock oil to the
Royal Purple. I also use the WIX filter for the Maxima
instead of the Nissan OEM filter.

Both were suggested by a buddy of mine that runs a
stock car in a local circuit in Canada. He had used
the WIX/Royal purple combination for a full season
without a rebuild (the previous season he had to
rebuild the engine twice). Not too scientific, but
since I trust this guy's opinion on keeping cars
running at their best performance, I tried it out
and have had very good results. BTW, I only change
both oil and filter every 5000 miles and could get
away with every 10000 miles but I don't want to push
my luck.

Just my thoughts...

BB

Royal Purple can be seen at:

http://www.synerlec.com/