I'm new to import engines and I was wondering what is a good oil to use for 85% highway driving? I understand that some people are going longer than 3,000 miles? I'm in a '98 SE with 52,000 miles.

Thanks

 

For predominately highway driving Nissan recommends oil changes at 7.5K miles. Some owners (like me) choose to change at 5K miles. Some owners (especially synthetic oil advocates) use the same oil for 15K miles or more, substituting oil filter changes for oil changes. Please see the Sticky *08/14/01 UPDATE* Oil and ATF Analysis Spreadsheet for further information about synthetics.

I buy any name-brand oil which is on sale at the moment. In my area this is usually Texaco Havoline. Right now it is on sale at K-mart.

 

I appreiciate the help. I don't have my OEM manual cause I bought my car at CarMax. I think I'll go for 5,000 miles.

A-ight!

 

Another piece of advice: purchase a quality name brand oil filter such as Nissan OEM, Purolator, Wix, or Mobile 1. That has seemed to be just as/if not more important than what oil you use.

 

You can call Nissan for an OEM manual, or check eBay.
Manual says 7.5K with highway driving.
I use regular oil, 5K between changes. Lots of mixed driving.

 

My questions are simple and I get straight-forward answers. Thanks.

 

With dino oil, 5k intervals are fine. While 3k may be the routine in the past, oils have improved considerably over the years (as well as engine tolerances), so 5k is more than adequate nowadays. If you do a lot of highway driving, you may want to consider synthetic oil. Synthetic oil wears less quickly than dino oil, and has improved cold start characteristics. But if you do go synthetic, extend you interval accordingly to compensate for the increased cost (7.5k interval, for example).

Most of the people here agree that the Nissan OEM oil filter is a good choice. It's inexpensive (~$4.50) and better constructed than a $5 Fram.

 

i use synthetic and i go about 6000+

 

I find Nissan oil filters are cheaper than my local auto part store filters....a no brainer !

 

Do you have evidence to support this opinion? I'm not saying you are wrong, and I'm always eager to learn more.