I just bought a new 2002 SE Maxima about 2 months ago.
I was wondering at how many miles should I get the
first oil change or any oil change. the Nissan
booklet says 3750 miles. And when I do get the oil
change what can I add to oil afterwards (perhaps a oil
supplement or something) mind you this is the first
oil change
Thanks alot
any info would be much appreciated

 

There are many opinions on this one and many threads on oil.

My opinion is to do the first change around ~3,000 miles and start synthetic. Use Nissan filter or better yet a Mobil-1 oil filter.
As far as what type of synthetic, I have used Mobil-1 for years, but some say it is not as good as Amsol.

Do the change yourself, it is easy. This keeps the costs down especially if you go Synthetic.

Don't waste any money on "oil additives". They are not needed with the quality of today's oils, especially if you go Synthetic.

Enjoy the new car! The VQ engine is fantastic and durable!

 

Horsepower, as far as manufacture is concerned, they normally recommend every 3000 miles. Some are even going as high as saying 10,000 miles such as the latest Mercedes cars.

Changing your oil at 3000 miles is a great start as you are not even sure the type or condition of the factory oil. Remember, it comes from the lowest bidder.

To get the most performance with no changes, I would recommend changing to Amsoil Series 2000 0W-30. That is the oil I use in the wifes 2k1 Maxima. The benefits are better start up protection, superior heat protection, better fuel economy, better performance overall, and is capable of extended oil intervals without effecting your warranty. Setting a base line when we got the wifes car clicked off 18 mpg for the first 3 tanks. Did the switch and now she is regularly getting 20 in the city with no hiway. She rarely gets the car over 45 mph on a daily basis. Now be nice everyone, she only works 10 miles away with a billion stop lights, stop signs, and troops everywhere.

Mobil 1 is a good product, but you will have better experiences switching to Amsoil and running it throughout your vehicle. Drop me an email if you have questions, I can answer nearly all of them.

Bret

 

Good advice here. I did my first oil change myself at 3000 miles. I put in Mobil 1 5W-30 and a Mobil 1 oil filter. Buy the oil in the 5 quart jug instead of the individual quarts and save some money. This was the first time I have ever changed my own oil and it was easy. I could not bear to pay $50 bucks that the quick lube place wanted for a synthetic oil change.

 

Did anyone use a motor flush before switching to synthetic? Do you really need to? Thx

 

Ok. You guys might think I'm Nucking Futs, but those synthetic oils are a RIPOFF ! I always used regular 10w30 on my previous muscle cars, changed the oilr regularly, and thats all you need to do. These synthetics are just a way to squeeze more money out of you. Speak to any Speed shop, that isnt loooking to make $$ out of you and you will here the same. I have friends with 11 second cars, with 100,000+ miles or more who run regular oil..just my .02 Cents !

 

Most people won't doubt what you are saying, because you are correct... As long as you religiously change the oil every 3000 miles like all the commercials say, then regular oil is absolutely fine. However, since we care about our cars here (not to say your friend doesn't, he obviouslyt does) we prefer better oil products. As mentioned above, synthetics are better for cold starts (because they pour/flow much easier at low temps) and high temps (because they don't break down as easily, either do to the synthetic molecules and/or the additives). Basically, its whatever floats your boat -- some like regular oils, some like synthetics. Afterall, its a capitalist society, choose whichever you prefer

 

One reason I use Synthetic is that I feel it is safe to extend the oil change to what the manual says for highway milage (7,500) even though alot of my driving is short trips.

Also, did you guys/gals see those reports of the Toyota V6 filled with sludge even though the owners changed their oil at 3,000-5,000 miles? That tells me that todays engines are hard on the oil and since Synthetic is much much better at not changing into sludge than regular oil it is a safer/better product to use.

 

Which report on Toyota V6? Any links to this report?

 

You are definitely Nucking Futs. As long as you do the work yourself it is well worth the money for the extra protection that the synthetics provide. I can get the Mobil 1 for $18 bucks in a five quart jug and a Nissan OEM oil filter for $6 bucks. So I pay $24 bucks for a do it yourself synthetic oil change while I was paying $28 bucks for a conventional oil change at a quickie-lube. But I don't think it is worth the price that the quickie-lube wants for a synthetic oil chnage($50 bucks).

 

I think you're a geaking frenious. Frequent oil changes (3k but absolutely no more than 5k miles) with quality dino oil and filter get me and my family to well over 150,000 miles on our cars and trucks; one guy actually has Legend pushing 300,000 on dino!

To be fair, though synthetics aren't a rip off. They have their place in severe service applications. I come no where close to severe service but for those who do, it is a very good product.

BuddyWh

 

So I know how we have to practice using the search function here. I figured I'd revive a decade old thread. I have an 02 I35 and have been changing the oil with Dyno oil every 3-3500 miles. I looked at the owners manual and for schedule 2 which pertains to my style of driving it says change it at every 7500 miles. Has anyone actually went 7500 miles with regular dyno oil? I drive almost 90% highway miles and the car runs dang good.


Any opinions?

 

My '02 with 240K on the clock has gotten oil changes at the dealer every 5,000 miles since day one. I don't think the dealer puts additives in the oil, I've never been charged for it if they do. My driving would also qualify for schedule 2 maintenance. The dealer tries to sell the schedule 1 maintenance to everyone, a waste of money IMO.

Several articles in consumer based magazines discuss this and most feel the 3,000 mile oil change intervals just aren't needed with the newer cleaner burning motors. I think it's much more important to use high quality oil AND OEM filters. I also think synthetic oil is a waste of money, but some will certainly argue otherwise.

 

I've done 7.5k+ once or twice or thrice on my 01 Max with dino oil and it hasn't been a problem (as far as I know), however the oil that came out on those occasions was pretty dark and pretty ugly, so I wouldn't do it regularly. If you really want a definitive answer the best thing would be to try it and do an oil analysis to see how it held up.