My recently purchased 2000 SE with 37k miles I presume has had regular oil since it was born. I am going to be switching over to synthetic soonish. My intentions were to go with AMSOIL because from what I hear it's the best (although it's also the priciest unfortunately isn't it?). In regards to oil filters on my 93 sentra I use the cheapest fram I can buy from walmart, but for this I was going to either go with a nissan filter or an AMSOIL one.

How often are most of you changing your oil? I am not a believer in the 3000 oil change because I think it's a waste of money - especially with synthetic. I saw the link with all of the oil change data on these forums but I can't make much sense of it :P

 

In a nutshell, unless you drive 2-3 mile trips repeatedly, both Amsoil and Mobil 1 will be okay for 5-6k miles. For the first change, no matter what your driving conditions, I wouldn't go much longer than that since you'll be flushing some of the conventional oil out.

Filters: Don't use Fram. If you want a good budget filter, the Supertech ones are much better. Nissan's own filters are also holding up excellent. For the top tier filters, either the Amsoil or Mobil 1 filters perform almost the same.

 

i'd agree that amsoil is the best bet. all of my research says so, and that's what i'm switching to. mobil 1 is not a true synthetic; it's a highly-refined petroleum product, so kind of apples-oranges.

i'm planning on 5-6k after my first synthetic change to change again, to cycle out old petro oil. after that, ams recommends 20-25k, or once a year, in a daily driver that's driven hard. i'll probably keep an eye on my oil, and shoot for the 20 (that's about 6 mo for me). if it gets dirty or shows signs of breakdown earlier, i'll switch it.

btw, gijoe's (don't know if they have those where you are) keeps amsoil in stock for only 6 bucks a quart. ams's site might tell you who else does, you could price hunt a little.

no one keeps our size in stock, but i'm still going to use a k&n filter. seem to be just as good as the ams ones, for less, yet still better than most.

oh, btw, i too have a 2k. with 55k on it.

 

schuss Are you worried about the oil filter being capable for that long a period of time? Seems that it might get really badly gunked up...

 

and on a related note - are the requirements for using Nissan etc. filters just so they'll stand up for that amount of time? I usually don't change my own oil, and use the filter the place uses (changing oil every 3k miles with non-synthetic, so filter effectiveness isn't that big a deal). Thanks

 

Extended drain intervals for Amsoil does NOT include the filter. ie.. if you elect to go 10,000 miles before an oil change, you will change the filter a 5,000 or 3,333 miles or whatever.

 

yeah, oh yeah i forgot that part. filter is recommended at twice the normal interval (so 6k). but i'll prob check it at 3k the first time. i figured i'd buy two right off the bat... since it's only gonna be a month before i'm in there again, to see if it's dirty...

 

Before I converted our 5 cars to AMSOIL I used their engine cleaner cleaner. Costs around 5 bucks. I am using AMSOIL 0W-30 synthetic oil and changing it once a year. I change the filter every 6 months. I use Baldwin filters, they make AMSOIL oil filters and cost $5.00 and are available locally. I have oil analyzed with every change and results have shown minimal wear. I am also using AMSOIL Sunthetic ATF and have had very favorable results. I also flushed power steering system and am using AMSOIL Synthetic ATF in it. The engine and transmission are noticably quieter since I converted to AMSOIL.

 

With regards to filter changes when using Amsoil for the long term:

If using an SDF series filter from Amsoil, the filter should be changed every 12,500 miles or 6 months, whichever comes first. If you are using any other brand filter, the manufacturer's recommendations should be followed. On the highway, it appears the Nissan filter should hold up to the 7500 mile schedule just fine.

 

couple quick questions, should be easy for the oil guys.

with regard to a previous post about castrol's syntec not being really synthetic, i understood that amsoil and mobile1 were our best bets for true synthetic oils. is mobile1 not an option either?

also, if i go superlong (ie ~20k) between changes and want to simply change filters, how can you do that without spilling oil all over the place? does just 'stay' in?

i plan on another change coming up. i've been on the syntec, but was planning on switching to mobile1. maybe amsoil now.

are those boutique brand filters worth it? nissan oem filters seem to work well without being overpriced. but if an amsoil or mobile1 filter is really better than i'm willing to shell out.

thanks.

 

 

I am curious about this too...how do you change the filter only? and I would imagine there would be some loss of oil...do you replace a quarter of a quart? At 6 bucks a quart and going three times the normal oil change interval, it makes good financial sense IMO..

 

Is Bill out of town? Or dead?

 

You only lose the oil in the filter not any from the oil pan. Then I just top it off to full line after I install the new filter. Oil pump feeds the filter and the engine would have to be running to get any additional oil out.

 

It was between Amsoil and Royal Purple for me. To make it short, I ended up going with Royal Purple. For more info read
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....5&pagenumber=1

 

As karguy posted, you only lose the oil that is in the filter itself. The majority of the oil is down in the oil pan and not affected. If you bought 5 qts. for the oil change, the leftover you should have had will be perfect for this.

Mobil 1 is also a PAO. There was some debate when the new Supersyn formula came out, but it's pretty much been resolved at this point.

The oil filter issue is another huge debate. About the only thing most of us agree on is stay away from Fram

 

how is the Purolator Filter. I think that is the name. Found it at PepBoys