I usually use Castrol Gtx 10w.. in my 97. But I have some coupon for a free oil change .. but i know they wont be using that brand of oil thats for sure but something cheaper. Is it ok if i get an oil change done this time without my usual brand of oil? and then switch back to my usual brand next time one is due?

or.. not a good idea?

 

It won't hurt to do that. You'll be fine.

 

k good. thanks

 

No prob.

 

I wouldn't do it. Last time I had a free coupon at NISSAN they FU*KED up my motor for almost an entire week. I then did my own oil change and never had a problem since.


Moral of the story = Don't let ANYBODY but you, touch your car. Plain and simple, just do your own oil change, unless you really want to risk getting barrel driven/recycled oil into your engine... Just my .02

 

They probably just cleaned the oil filter to make you think they changed it.

 

just take in a nissan filter and make sure they use the weight you prefer, if thats not do-able the frick it. my .02c

 

Some places won't do that. I'll give you an example. Several months back, I was at Tire Kingdom having a slow leak checked on a tire. While I was there, I asked about an oil change. I told them I have a factory Nissan oil filter, and they told me to liability reasons, blah blah, that they couldn't use any filter other than their own that they get. So, I ended up doing it myself the next day, even though I was busy and really didn't have the time to do it, I went ahead and did it anyways.

 

Just stand and watch while they do it, so you know they wont get over on you...

 

HA!! Tell me... How can someone FU*K up a motor by doing an oil change?
Steps for a consumer while doing an oil change at ANY shop...
Step #1.. Mark filter with magic marker.
Step #2.. Use free coupon.
Step #3.. Check fluids after oil change to make sure all fluids have been topped off and new oil is seen on dipstick. Check filter for absence of Marker and remark it for next oil change.
Step #4... Park in driveway once home and fall asleep.
Step #5... Put car in reverse and check for oil leaks on driveway.
Step #6... Feel satisfied when you realize that driveway is still clean and breathe easy.

 

I wouldn't let them touch my car either.

 

I think they actually drained about a quart and a half cause my car was shaking like there was no tomorrow

Mind you, this was over 3 years ago. Never again...

 

Not all lube-and-tune places are bad news....but some of them are horrible. I only let someone else touch my car when I need something done that I absolutely can't do. (which isn't often) Plus, its good motivation to learn how to do something yourself.

 

If you never let anybody touch your engine then you can only go so far. I will be the first to say I knew nothing about engine performance a year ago. However, after talking to people at lethal/other performance shops and picking peoples brains, now I know more. There is always someone who knows more than you. And don't knock recycled oil. Some is very good

 

Eh something about using recycled oil doesn't sit right with me. Some things just don't recycle well. For example: writing paper, It's all brown and disgusting, and ink smears on it. Oil is just one of those things that shouldn't be reused after it's been in a motor. That's just my opinion.

As for the OP, I'd say don't do it. I'll never take my car to a shop unless it's something I absolutely can't do on my own because of lack of tools. If you already know how to change your own oil then don't bother taking it somewhere else. Sure it's a little inconvenient to do it, but it only takes 10min tops. I'd rather take 10 minutes out of my day to know it was done right then have some 20 year old in a lube shop do my change for me and **** it up by not screwing the filter on all the way (yes that's happened to me before). I've had my fair share of horror stories from lube shops. I'll never ever ever let lube shops touch either of my vehicles ever again. Just my 2cents though.

 

I replaced an engine that had 20k on due to jiffy lubes ignorance it was a brand new Mazda 3 they forgot to fill the oil

 

A) Why the fawk would anyone use recycled oil??

B) Why the fawk would anyone use recylced oil????????

Dayum!

 

QFT! I just don't get some people...i guess oil's really expensive.........

 

yo man....

I can buy cheap new 5w30 oil for maybe 2 or 3 bucks a qt from walmart or autozone.

Recycled oil cant be that much cheaper??? and besides, the recycled oil doesnt last as long so in the long run u paying more.

O wait a min, that raises another good point:

C) Why the fawk would you PAY for used oil?????

 

Non-synthetic oil comes from the ground and is a limited resource. Nothing wrong with recycled oil IMO. Plus, you have synthetics for performance use anyway.

 

You CAN get lucky and find a good oil lube place like I have. The older guy that works there always takes a flashlight and looks over the engine bay while adding in the new oil. He's recently found the following two problems:

- Front motor mount stud was loose with the nuts not even finger tight. Happened when the transmission shop that just did my trans rebuild and clutch "forgot" to tighten them. I really doubt I would have noticed.
- Pointed out the top radiator hose on my Integra was ballooned out and ready to pop. I should have seen that one myself.

So I asked him how much to tighten the power steering belt on my Maxima while he was in there, the occasional squeal was getting annoying. He did it for free. And that's not a fun adjuster to get to IMO.

 

I found a bunch of Nissan oil filters from the dealer on Ebay for a good bundle deal... I'll be grabbing them for sure and giving those to my mechanic and maybe he will take like 5$ off the regular $30 hehe. I decided to give that free coupon to my roomate to use on his ****ty grand am. Glad to see the thread has become a ... top of interest apparently? haha

 

best to stick with the oil you always ran because all different oils have different detergents in them and may act different if mixed a lot of different ones. and why would u wanna go any cheaper then regular castrol oil?



in my opinion if your gonna go cheap the best cheap stuff out their is in between Peak motor oil and Castrol GTX If you ganna go Full synthetic Mobil 1 or nothing.


i got from 270k miles till 315k miles on my 95 maxima racing the hell out of it running mobil 1 Oil so thats what i stick with in my 99. and i sold it at 315k im sure its still running strong.

 

"[quote=TravisCadello;8366042]best to stick with the oil you always ran because all different oils have different detergents in them and may act different if mixed a lot of different ones. and why would u wanna go any cheaper then regular castrol oil?

in my opinion if your gonna go cheap the best cheap stuff out their is in between Peak motor oil and Castrol GTX If you ganna go Full synthetic Mobil 1 or nothing."

Ah yes, Castrol. I wonder if anyone here is old enough to remember that Castrol R racing oil was actually made from castor bean oil...hence the name Castrol. I used to get it up through the '80's for my Norton m/c, but it's still available for vintage racers. Had a real nice aroma out the exhaust pipe, tended to gum up the insides though....but I digress...

 

hahaha ^

 

It wasn't a joke.

 

hence anything made from a food by-product makes a mess inside the block after time

 

Amsoil or Mobile1 synthetic is the only way to go on any oil change in any make or model. Dinosaur snot leaves to many carbons behind to infiltrate small orifices and create potential damage in the future. Anyone using "general oil" should switch by using a quart of Amsoil tranny fluid on top of existing for a 15 minute idle period, then change filter and fluid to synthetic of choice. It will change the way your engine performs and sounds. By the way, Power utility plants use synthetics on the bearing for both cooling and lubricant for the generator shafts. So why shouldn't you?

 

Actually, Redline is the only way to go. I saw data from thermocouples and an oil pressure transducer on a m/c head running in AZ and the oil temps were lower and the pressures higher with Redline compared to Mobile 1, Valvoline full synthetic, et.al. This is on an air-cooled engine in the AZ desert....worst case scenario. Without actual instrumentation, it's all heresay. I use their full synthetic in our '08 Acura MDX with Mobile 1 filter. I also use their MT-90 GL-4 gear oil in my rebuilt 5-spd Maxima transmission. Redline....the only way to go! http://www.redlineoil.com/

 

Ask them what they use, if you don't like it then change it yourself. If it's a good brand then why not?

 

Shouldn't really matter. But I know if you use synetic and change it's bad. Honestly i use mobil 1 and don't plan on changing to another brand anytime soon. As for cheap oil well you get what you pay for. Why cheap out on oil?