What a funky number to get your oil change at. Anyone know why 3750 miles instead of 3000 miles? Think I'm going to get it changed at 1500 miles after reading in another thread how the oil gets really dark after 1000 miles. Any thoughts or comments?

BTW - I'm the proud new owner of a 03 Silver SE. Got it a week ago and racked up 500 miles on it over the weekend. Talk about breaking it in gently...


Answer:

Actually it has been proven that VQ engines who switch to synthetic early (less than 3k) have had elevated levels of silicon and other wear metals, a possible sign of insufficient engine break-in. srbarnes4ever's oil anlayses in my oil spreadsheet immediately come to mind. There are a couple of other members with similar results as well.



Unfortunately, no one has analyzed a VQ from birth showing how a dino vs. synthetic 3k change intervals for the first 10k differ......


VQ "break-in":


1) Use a good dino oil such as Castrol GTX 5W/30:


2) Change at 500 miles, 1k, 4k, 7k


3) At 10k, go with a synthetic and go normal intervals.


At least use the OEM 15208-9E000 oil filter at each oil change. DO NOT use that garbage 16208-65F00 OEM filter Nissan is trying to push on all VQ35DE owners.

 

I've been wondering that myself. I have about 2800 on my '03 Silver SE (I bought it two months ago) and am coming up on the first LOF.

 

You dont have to get a oil change every 3k or 3750 or even 4k. It all depends on a varity of factors like weather conditions, your driving habits, etc, etc etc. I change mine every 5k and havent had a problem. When i took my car to get 30k service done, the tech said It was in superb condition, and I really took care of my max.

 

Could be due to something as simple as the fact that they expect you to drive about 15K miles a year and if you divide that by 4 (for 3 month periods)....guess what!!!

3750...

 

... or ... since Maxima is a Japanese Auto, and since Japan uses metric system, if you mutiply 3750miles x 1.6 (miles to kms) = 6000kms which is a recommanded oil change interval...

 

Congrats on the new car. I liked jjs' explanation of the 3,750, it's probably right on the money .

I personally change my oil every 3,000 miles because a) it's easy to remember, and b) oil is vital to your engine, and an extra oil change a year is a cheap way of helping extend your engine life. Sure, depending on your driving habits, it may not be too dirty (i.e. not much gunk and carbon in it) at the recommended change period - but for $30 I'd rather have it a little too clean...

 

Nissan could state any mileage they want to. Defining exactly 3750 miles sounds so specific that it will envitably influence people to assume that it MUST be done, and be performed by Nissan's authorized service dealers to boot.

Fact is people are going to do what they want to do anyhow. Yes, you will get those people who 1) follow exactly what the mantenence booklet says, 2) enthustists who reduce the recommendations to whatever suits their preference, and 3) owners who don't give a flying fauk what anyone says, I know that there are people who practically never change the oil.

Every car is driven differently. Personnally I did an intital oil/filter change at 1500 miles to rid engine of break-in particulate. I used Castrol GTX, then to Castrol Syntec Blend. I just switched to Mobile 1 and I am planning to increase oil/filter change interval from 5K-7K to 9-10K. I can see a bunch of you all gasp in disbelief, but I drive at least 75+ miles a day, 95% of that on the highway. I am comfortable with that, as most of you are with your own regimine. Yes, ask others what they do and why, then do what makes you happy.

_________________
2K Super Black SE 5 Speed

 

If you have an oil question...go to bill99gxe! The oil guru!

 

my 02 has 6500...i was going to go synthetic next oil change..i'll wait till 10K

Although, bill..whats the difference with the good vs. garbage filters? why is one better?

 

I ran mine a little past 3k before the first oil change, then at 6.5K I switched to synthetic.

 

Bill will be able to answer this more thoroughly, but it has to do with the endcaps. One uses metal and one uses cardboard.

 

What is the differences between the two??? I'm almost near the 3,000 mile mark,So oil change will be coming soon. Any help will be appreciated.

 

Cardboard endcaps:




Metal endcaps:



For the same money, it's a better value to get a filter with better internal construction.

 

bill99gxe,Thanks for the info. So the OEM 15208-9E000 oil filter will fit on a my 2003 maxima with no problems whatsoever???

 

Yes, the 9E000 was originally designed for the VQ. The 65F00 is Nissan's effort to cost-cut and combine OEM filter parts. I have a parts guy monitoring when the 9E000 is officially discontinued, as I suspect it will be in the near future.

 

So the OEM 15208-9E000 oil filter is still available at all Nissan dealerships??? If so,I'm gonna try and buy a bunch at one time just incase they decide to phase it out sooner.

 

It's still available at all Nissan and Infiniti dealers.


Keep in mind I am purely speculating about its future.

 

What is the difference between the two filters? I just bought an oil filter over the weekend for my first change. I was amazed at how tiny the Nissan filter is. I've seen bigger fuel filters!

 

Go back to page 1 in this thread at the bottom.

 

I guess I win the oil-change-frequency award. Regardless of miles, I always change the oil in my two Maximas and my girlfriend's G20 every payday (twice a month). During the winter months, I may do it once every month--depedning on whether or not I can withstand the weather conditions. Changing oil is like having money: you can never have too much.

 

You're really wasting a lot of resources and your time taking this approach. It makes no fiscal sense and very little mechanical sense.

 

Yes, this is very wasteful and does absolutely no good. Think of it this way, until the oil begins to break down (estimated around 5,000-6,000 miles or every 3 months) it is exactly as effective as it was when it went in your engine. Changing it any sooner is a waste of time and money.

Changing oil is NOT like having money. You are just plain wrong on this.

 

Why the emphasis on OEM filter.....wouldn't a FRAM or some other brand from a company that SPECIALIZES in filters be better than OEM NIssan? We all know how Nissan cuts corners, so what makes you think that they make the highest-quality or most effective oil filter? Just curious.

 

Because both have been cut open and examined. Frams are still sub-par quality.


Nissan has cut corners by going to the 65F00 filter on most of its model line, but they still make the much better made 9E000 filter.





The recommendations issued aren't shots in the dark, and the spreadsheet has links to these pictures for all to judge what's comfortable for their own needs.

 

I agree with "DARHAW-MAX" somewhat..

i have a 95 auto w/ 150k+.. after 1500 miles on my oil its useless. i can tell that my gas mileage is horrible and the inital highway acceleration is not very responsive.
Ive ALWAYS changed my oil @ every 2000 miles b/c the car just feals better it self. None of that oh wait ~"whats that weird sound from my engine, as soon as i sucpect its been about 2000k its on, oil change. takes 5 mins & costs $8 a time.
Fram 7307 filters i believe. sometime's i even spoil my car by gettin the (DG) double guard filter. woo hooo are those any better for the xtra 2-3$.

I use only penzoil oil only. Im very fearful of switching to synt after this long of my engine attapted to a reg oil.

my 2 pennies.

 

I use the Wix (NAPA) filters - apparently they are built pretty well - better than a Fram. The cutaway of a Wix filter looks the same as the OEM 15208-9E000. Are they the same filter?

 

VQ35DE engine. Changed oil and filter using dino and OEM filter at 1200 miles. Changed again at 4000 miles using dino and OEM filter. Plan on going to Mobil 1 5w30 synthetic at the 7000 mile OCI using OEM 9E000 filter and running the Mobil 1 5w30 for a 5000-7000 mile OCI. I would then continue with the Mobil 1 5w30 and OEM filter changes every 5K-7K miles. Live in SW Missouri and most of the driving is highway minimum one way trip is normally 15 miles. Temp range 90's summer and 0 winter. Suggestions? Problems?

Thanks

 

I would perform changes at 7 and 10k miles, with the change at around 13 to 15k being the time to switch to synthetic. Looks like a good plan otherwise.

 

Yet

Funny how people have 30k on their car and think they must be doing something right because it made it that far...

I feel sorry for whoever you sell it to because you wouldn't dare to own up to the problems it's going to face.

 

I will give you credit for taking the Max in for the 30k service.

That is, unless you took it in at 37k or so...

 

I will be changing the oil after the break in period. 1000 or 1200 miles on my 05 SE. I then will do another change in about a month because right after X-Mas I drive cross country. I will be using a Mobil 1 M1-105 filter and Castrol GTX 5W30.

 

Bill:
I switched to swnthetic @ the 3750 oil change. Mobil 1 5w30 supersyn since then and nothing else. Im willing to have my oil analyzed as a guinea pig for someone who went so synthetic right away. Let me know.

 

That's fine.


The main think you'll notice with a VQ35 is that it will take 20 to 25k and possibly longer to fully "seat" and break-in. This is most telling in the silicon and some wear metal levels, which will be elevated, especially if 3k intervals are used.

 

He won't be close to having a problem with a 5k change interval. Have you ever sent used oil off for lab analysis? Those of us who do so regularly have discovered the obvious: modern engines in good health easily go far longer than two or three thousand miles, even on dino oil. The link below is to the lab results on the first "transitional" fill of synthetic I ran in my VQ35 for 4,000 miles. As you can see, with wear metals almost non-existent and the TBN (total base number, or acid neutralization capacity) still at 4.5, this oil was between 1/3 and 1/2 used up -- plenty of life left. With the engine finishing the maturing process, I'm moving on toward a full 10,000 per oil change. The first couple runs, I will do intermediate UOAs to just to be safe, but given the VQ's general strength, this will not be a problem. I'm also posting a UOA from my wife's 2001 Sequoia, not a vehicle commonly referred to here, but a useful example of a short tripper who at six months and 4,500 miles, has not used up but maybe 1/4 of the capacity of its oil. Try some lab tests, they're typically only around $25 and they will open your eyes to some of the silly oil myths from the 1950s that still persist.

G35-VQ35 Used Oil Analysis Results

2001 Sequoia UOA Results

EDIT: As food for thought, I've added two more results. These are both from Porsche vehicles (no, alas, not mine...). In the Cayenne, the owner left the factory fill Mobil-1 0w-40 in for almost 20,000 miles!. As you can see, his breakin metals are still there, but otherwise, there's no indication of trouble. The Boxter received arguably more severe treatment -- relatively short miles, but the oil was left in for five years. See the results for yourself. Now, I would not recommend either "strategy" for anyone, but these do show that extended use of oil is not an automatic, per se death sentence for an engine.

The Cayenne UOA.

The Boxter's UOA.

 

I appreciate your reference to data from actual laboratory analyses. One gets the impression that there is emotional investment in some individuals' choice of oil. The lab reports to which you allude seem to show that the recommended oil change interval is (appropriately?) conservative. While I would like to use the best oil filter possible, since I take my car to an oil change service about every 3000 miles (I don't understand the Nissan recommended 3750 interval either, it seems an odd number), I haven't really given a lot of thought to the oil or which filter is best. I may switch to a synthetic after about 15K miles or so, but for now I'll probably stick with Valvoline 5w-30.

One more consideration for those of you who do a lot of stop and go commuting - on some machines (e.g., farm tractors), the oil change interval is by the number of hours of operation. If you do a lot of slow driving, you could be putting more wear on the engine than someone who drives farther (more miles) because you are running your engine a longer amount of time, though putting equal or even less miles on your car.

 

The number 3750 * 1.6 = 6000 Kilometers. That's why it is so funky.

 

So i have one quick question about the 9e000, on the application chart on the box it would cover an a33 3.5 2004 I35? I know this is a fairly stuipid question but I'm so careful about covering my butt w/warranty.

Also, I originally wasn't to concerned with my break-in oil consumption but at 15k the oil still gets considerably contaminated and loses about .25qt between 3k mile dino 5/30 changes. (I also have the cold start vct rattle??) Break-in was done "by the book" with it's first drive being on the highway for about an hour, but I was varying the speed most of the time between 40-60mph. By 400 miles it used .5 quart, by 800 it was done another 1/2 qt, I had it changed at 1200 miles because it was very contaminated from blow-by and what not, it really looked crappy and broken-down. I'm very curious as to what everyone thinks about this, I'd also like to hear from other 3.5 owners break-in consumption amounts.

((Oh one quick favor to ask also, I'm not trying to clutter this thread, and this info might be pertinent to my situation, I only need help finding a post... one time at about 1k miles I was moderatly accelerating from a stop, I was at 1/4 throttle and it happened between 2-3k in 1st gear. I swear it was mildly detonating under light load, it sounded like that classic marbles in the exhaust sound, If possible could someone guide me to the thread about the pre-cat problem, I can't search and I've scanned back almost 20 pages, TIA.))

 

My freind just bought a new hyundia and it also recommends 3750, One thing to point out is that car makers came up with the 3k interval before I was born, take into account just the advances in metal technology alone since then that have resulted in less blow-by in a newer engine.

 

no this WILL NOT ALLOW THE ENGINE TO BE BROKEN IN PROPERLY, nissan uses a special oil thats put into the engine upon assembly, this oil is used to allow all gaskets to seal properly and is thick enough to provide enough protection for all the metal shavings and what not to come off as the motor is freshly built and is being broken in

 

Special breakin oil: they tend to use a thinner oil for break-in. My previous car was a '02 Altima SE and I changed the oil ~1500 miles and it was not until after I changed it that I read that it was recommended to keep the break-in oil in until 3000 miles. I now have a '06 Maxima SL with 2400 miles on it and it is going in for a change next Monday, I expect it to be ~2800 miles (free change at dealer). After that I will do the changes myself and use GTX until 10k miles then switch to a syn.