progrocker

True, and it's a great oil but I just can't do 15K between my changes: eek: and the other synths cost a lot less and are very good for the 7500 miles I'm comfortable with between the changes.

talkinghorse

iTrader: (121)

So why not AMSOIL XL or OE? You may be surprised at how competitively they're priced:

https://maxima.org/forums/group-deal...icants-27.html

7500 miles is a cake-walk for XL as it's formulated to protect for up to 10,000 miles/6-months or longer if specified by the OEM. Many of my customers choose this oil. AMSOIL OE is a great choice for the value-minded person who wants to step up to a quality synthetic oil, but who is uncomfortable with the concept of extended drains...very affordable.

AWeb80

Look at some of the UOA's of Amsoil SS. Some of the Chevy cruze's w/ the turbo are going 15k and the oil is still coming back in great shape.

talkinghorse

iTrader: (121)

Absolutely. I use SS in my own vehicles and sell a lot of it to our members. Currently running several of the car/trucks in the extended family on 15K intervals with Signature Series. I don't do UOA on every oil change as I have a lot of experience with the product and the utmost confidence in it; however, when I have had a UOA performed the oil was still in good condition after 15K of south Texas heat and traffic.

I have several customers who use their vehicles for business and run the oil for the full 25K recommendation. One customer drives >40K per year...his last vehicle was a Sentra and he ran it for about 360K on AMSOIL at 25K intervals...the engine was still running strong till he hit a large chunk of cement on the highway and it essentially did the vehicle in. He currently drives a Corolla and I believe he has ~230K on it now while practicing the same maintenance intervals.

Here's a link to a study where AMSOIL Signature Series motor oil and ATF were used in a Las Vegas taxi fleet. Engine oil test was run for over 100,000 miles with drain intervals every ~15,000 miles. Due to the nature of the test (taxi's in a major metropolitan area where extensive idling, high heat and urban traffic is the norm) those 15,000 miles equate to over 21,000 miles of city driving or over 48,500 miles of highway driving per EPA definitions. This is on a single drain!!! The ATF was run for nearly 200k on one fill. What I found more impressive than the condition of the components was the fact that the used sample of ATF was still within grade for new fluid!

http://www.amsoil.com/lit/g3118.pdf

I'm sure you know, but recognizing that not everyone drives a lot of miles; not everyone subscribes to/believes in extended drains; and not everyone appreciates the value of a premium product like Signature Series, AMSOIL introduced the XL and OE lines of passenger car motor oils. These oils provide excellent performance when used in accordance with AMSOIL's recommendations, and they are priced competitively with other synthetics sold in the local parts & discount stores. These oils are great alternatives for people who fall into one of the above categories or those who have newer vehicles and want to step up to a high quality synthetic motor oil while adhering to the OEM's maintenance schedule. I have several customers, one of whom has a new Hemi-Charger, doing just that...

progrocker

Wow, just checked out Amsoil's website. The Signature Series oil is good for 15K(or one year)of hard driving!!! That does make it a good deal. That stress test with the Vegas taxi..awesome! I think I'll give it a shot next change.

talkinghorse

iTrader: (121)

Let me know if I can help.

Group Deals:
https://maxima.org/forums/group-deal...icants-27.html

AWeb80

i'm putting synchromesh in my honda's trans this weekend.

talkinghorse

iTrader: (121)

AMSOIL Synchromesh? I also have that. Good stuff...I sell a lot to Honda owners. You won't be disappointed with it!

AWeb80

yes, amsoil. I have been running valvoline maxlife 5-30 in the trans, but it seems super thick on cold days. The last couple weeks have been 0-8* mornings and seems like it is hard for the engine to turn the gears. At 234k miles, it shifts buttery smooth and couldn't be any better, but lets see if this also improves my MPG

Alexyan

I have a 2002 Nissan Maxima and the Mobil 1 engine oil leaks A LOT. So I switched to this and the leaking stop

shobuddy

iTrader: (1)

What do u mean Mobil 1 leaks a lot? Do u mean it burns? I use Mobil 1 5w-30 on my 03 Max and burn thru about 1/2 to 3/4 quart per month. Have you tried the Moly 5w-30?

Moatilliatta

I'm going to be changing the oil for the first time in a 2000. I've read this whole thread twice in the last few months though and it turns into so much synthetic/amsoil talk that I keep forgetting all the information about what oil filter to use with a vq30 and if i should avoid/favor a brand of oil.

I'm at 151k on conventional and i'll be sticking with that and a ~5k change interval.

SilverMax_04

If you are sticking with conventional motor oil, then Castrol is your best choice. I prefer 10w30 weight and used that in my 04. For conventional oil, I would not push it past 6K miles for your OCI. Now what filter is a good question. Nissan a few years ago cheapened their filters and I would no longer recommend them -- they were great before the change. I used NAPA Gold 1381 in my 04, but that is a 3.5 L engine, so check to see what size Gold to use in your 3.0 L engine. Good luck.

talkinghorse

iTrader: (121)

Wix filters are very high quality and the correct part number is 57356. Wix makes the NAPA Gold and their p/n is 7356

I believe the correct NAPA/WIX filter for your vehicle is the 1358/51358. I don't believe the 1381 has a by-pass valve which could be important on cold winter starts.

Moatilliatta

Thank you both.

civicduty

Hey all. I just bought my 2012 Maxima and it has 47k miles on it. I have been thinking about going synthetic. Is it too late in the engine's life to switch, or should I run a blend for a few oil changes and then go full synthetic? I had an RX8 (before my wife totaled it) that could not run synthetic. Any help is appreciated.

Thank you,

maxprivate

iTrader: (12)

I wouldn't run synthetic unless the engine calls for it.

SilverMax_04

There is a general belief that to properly break-in a new engine, you should use dino motor oil for the first 10 K to 20 K miles on that engine. I believe that is no longer the case with some of the newer engines sold today (that come from the factory with synthetic motor oil in them). But for an older engine (before about 2013-14), this break-in with dino may well have been the case, or at least a best practice.

In your case you are at 47K miles, which in the life of an engine that should last longer than 200 K miles of normal driving, it is less than 25% of engine life. So, it is your call whether to switch. If you know that the engine is burning some motor oil now running dino, you can plan on burning more oil with a switch to synthetic (the syn oil molecules slip past engine parts more easily than dino molecules). My 04 burned about a quart of syn oil between oil changes every 10K miles, which to me was just fine.

You may wonder why I only changed oil every 10K miles. Well, I sent in used oil samples for lab testing and they told me that even at that mileage, the motor oil still had remaining usable life. I do not believe that even the very good oil filters have a usable life beyond about 10K miles, so the oil change was really to change the filter. Even with dino motor oil, you should not be changing oil until about 6 K miles or so. The old recommendation of changing oil every 6 months or 3 K miles was valid when gasoline contained more sulfur than today's gasoline. Back about 2000 the Fed Govt mandated that oil refineries remove more of the sulfur that had previously been present in gasoline. That has happened, and has not been widely publicized. Bottom line, motor oil retains its properties much longer than it did with the higher sulfur gasoline.

Hope this helps.

TBlazin

sorry as im new, I have a mint 55k plus engine, was a grandmother's car who passed away, so literally no beating on engine, OK, so here's the newbie question I have a 2005 sl edition, I want to go with synthetic, what's a good viscosity, and I will change after first 1k to remove sludge etc, I live in N.J., were heading towards winter soon, not there yet but in the pipeline, also what motor do I have, I keep seeing Q this and Q that, again sorry, I imagine its fully loaded as sunroof, heated leather seats, its got the works, but a cassette player? really Nissan ? i'in 2005? lol how freaking ugly, and which is the best oil filter to go with the selection, thanks I plan on getting under hood this weekend picked up a hour ago, ordered full tune up set, plugs wire etc,I have plans for this beauty, but I want to start off on the right foot, thanks in advance guys
tommy

SilverMax_04

Tommy,
- Well 04 and 05 Maximas had cassette players because they were still being used back then. Just let the beast lie there, it won't cause you any problems.
- The engine in all Maximas in this time frame is the Nissan 3.5 Liter VQ engine - ranked one of the 10 best in the World for many years by Wards Automotive.
- Nissan recommends changing plugs and the wire harness at 110 K miles, so 55 K miles is way too soon as many on this site report going past the 110 K miles with no problems. I took my 04 to 125 K miles before changing plugs. I would consider a good dose of Techron or other quality fuel system cleaner to get rid on any carbon that may have built up on the plugs due to your grandmother driving so slowly and probably not revving the engine at all.
- Oh, and Tommy, changing some of the back spark plugs on this engine is really a btch. They are very hard to reach. I did much of the work on my 04, but paid to have the plugs replaced because of the difficulty getting some of them replaced.
- If your grandmother changed her dino oil regularly (like every 6K miles or so), I would not worry about any sludge in the oil pan (so don't change good synthetic motor oil after only 1K miles - would be a waste of good oil).
- In a NJ winter & parking the car outside, you should go with the Nissan recommended weight of 5W30. If you park in a garage that keeps some warmth, I would use 10W30. I used 10W30 year round in my 04 because of the garage.
- You are long past warranty so I would change any synthetic oil at 8 K to 10 K mile intervals.
- Back when your car was new the Nissan oil filters were great, but since then they cheapened them. I use NAPA Gold 1381 filters for their quality.
- Don't forget to also change the air filter (or at least check it to see how dirty the existing one is).
- You did not say, but the car probably has an automatic tranny. I would go to that section on this site and see what they recommend for keeping that puppy working properly. My experience with the 6-speed manual won't help you at all.

Good luck with this low mileage gem that you got from your grandmother.

TBlazin

thanks for reply, one last Q, the plastic tape that protects the chrome trim on sides of car from trunk to hood, well the trunk part they took tape off, but the tape was left on over door and when you look from the front you see the tape on right and left, its killing e as I know there some nice chrome under there, protected for years, at work I pulled a piece back, it on there, any recommendation's for getting it off, as if I try now, it will be in pieces and look like crap, as for the trans, I tried the auto shift, she never did, its smooooooooth as butter man, really is!!! also what's a good drop in filter, air filter? thanks again

SilverMax_04

Tommy,
I remember back when my 04 was new, that those with the auto tranny (most of them on this site) were having problems with the tranny. Because I had the manual, it did not impact me, so I tended to ignore what the problem was. But suggest you check and see what they were.

With air filters, I always stuck with the Nissan original - could not see any change in the quality over time, like there was with the oil filters. And I knew that they would always fit properly.

Old tape that was not removed is always a problem. My recommendation:
- try to pull off as much as you can without anything else.
- get a cloth cloth (not paper towel) and use paint thinner to remove any sticky residue that does not come off.
- if that does not work and get it all off, there is a product called "Goop Off" that should remove anything that remains.

You want to follow these steps in this order because the Goop Off is stronger than paint thinner and it is always best to use less strong products before having to go to more strong products.

vball_max

iTrader: (5)

Is the Goop Off different from Goof Off? I personally would avoid goof off. I used it one time to remove a sticker from a plastic container and it etched the surface leaving a very cloudly appearance. I would be concerned what it might do to the plastic trim.

I think you would be better off using Goo Gone. Its a much safer product.

SilverMax_04

Always start with the mildest of the cleaners first. Thus paint thinner is the preferred product. I warned that Goop Off was strong. Above is an indication of how strong. Have not used Goo Gone - but vball says it is easier on what is being cleaned, so I would try it first, if paint thinner does not do the job.

Silver

oldcapri

I've been looking up the Mobil 1 M1-105 and sites say it doesn't fit my '03 Max. I find this strange. I was looking it up because the original poster recommended it.

bumpypickle

iTrader: (1)

I don't have a vq35 but if bill says it fits then it fits lol. If you just want to be safe, then get the m1-110. It fits both vq's. Or get the oem filter he reccomends

Edit: just looked up on mobil 1's website and it only mentions fitment for the m1-110...hm, start your own thread in this section or search and see what you find on the forum for personalized help

talkinghorse

iTrader: (121)

Physically the M1-105 might fit, but the calibration of the by-pass valve is higher than what is specified...and that's not a good thing. Mobil recommends the M1-108 for your car...the M1-110 is slightly longer but it has the same by-pass calibration as the 108.

BareFooTxx

my motor currently has 56k, i normally would do my oil change at the dealers, but I'm about to switch it up and go to my local shop. I'm not to sure what oil the dealer was using but i wasn't getting the synthetic. on my next oil change i will would the mobile 1 10w30 be good to use or the 5w30?

SilverMax_04

The answer to that question is -- it depends -- on how you answer these questions:
- Is your car outside at night in Albany or in a garage? If outside, the 5W30 is a better choice, if in a garage then the 10W30 should be OK.
- Are you currently burning any oil between changes? Synthetic is more likely to burn in an engine with 56K miles on it because it slips past the worn spots in your engine more easily than dino oil. But if the answer is no, then use 5W30.

If I lived in Albany, I would most likely use 5W30 in the winter and 10W30 in the summer, all things above being OK. Here in Colorado (somewhat warmer than NY) I used 10W30 year round because the Max was always kept in a garage at night (unless I went on a trip).
Silver

talkinghorse

iTrader: (121)

Nissan recommends 5w-30 year 'round. If you check your owner's manual you will probably see that 10w-30 is an acceptable alternative down to zero deg F but the advantage of the 5w-vs the 10w is that the 5w-30 will flow better on an initial start (winter or summer) and will therefore provide ~some~ degree of better wear protection and fuel economy....that's why it's recommended.

I use 5w-30 in my vehicles in San Antonio...current Nissan has over 170K and doesn't use a drop of oil between (extended) drain intervals.

gizzsdad

Agreed. Also know that, for my 8th gen Maxima, Nissan recommends 0W-20 year round. Nissan has been slow to adopt the lighter weight oils, and has not back-spec'd. them yet like other car makers have. Oil analysis has proved the 0W oils to very robust.

Yes to me, who grew up on 10W-40, the oils seem very light, but there are thousands (and more) of vehicles with hundreds of thousands of trouble free miles on them.

BareFooTxx

Awesome, Thanks! Happy Holidays!

BareFooTxx

eBay has specials on the MOBILE 1 5W-30 Fully Synthetic oil. 6 quarts would normally run me about 72 bucks. For the holidays eBay has deals for 6 quarts as low at 27 bucks!

Anthony032704

Has the info been updated? I use the mobile 1 5w-30 and have been using the m108 filter but I see on this thread it says the m110 works as well. I have a 2014 Maxima and would like to go with the m110 if possible because t is bigger. Will this filter work for me and do the same job as the m108? Thanks in advance for the help.