ebrown

What type of oil due you use and why?

04SEelite

Castrol GTX 10w30 summer and 5w30 Winter for me!

ebrown

I am seriously considering switching to AMSOIL following the breakin. I have always run it on my Motorcycles. Just curious if it's worth the added expense associated with the car (much more frequent changes).

Any experiences either way?

SkoorbMax

Mobil 1 syn 5w-30 on 97 and 00. I'm thinking of switching to dyno on my 97, or extending the drain interval, because I broke down the math of it and frankly I don't think I'll ever realize what small benefits syn gets over dyno compared to the money spent, on a car of its age.

NismoMax80

iTrader: (6)

GTX 5W30 until switch to Mobil 1 5W30 @ 10k. Castrol GTX has the highest rating on this site. Switching later because of most suggestion of breaking engine in and allowing to seal properly with dyno first. 5W30 because that's what Nissan asks for. 5W covers the winter/cold and 30 covers up to summer/hot. Switching viscosities is a waste, the oil is already all season with a wide range.

When I go to syn, I'll extend the change intervals so the cost is a minimal increase.

Read up in this forum to learn a lot of opinions and facts.

talkinghorse

iTrader: (121)

Petroleum oil has definitely been proven to work, but my personal opinion is that synthetics are definitely worth the slightly higher price when you consider the cost/value of your car...but then again, that's me talking. AMSOIL and other leading synthetics allow you to extend drain intervals beyond the traditional 3,000 mile interval, and can result in less wear, lower emissions, slightly improved fuel economy and lower operating temps. For about the cost of a trip to McDonalds you can provide your vehicle with a premium product that can improve it's performance and longevity. I trust you have had good luck with AMSOIL in your motorcycles, so that should be your guide...

talkinghorse

iTrader: (121)

AMSOIL Series 2000 0w-30. Superior wear protection, fuel efficiency, engine response

Larrio

iTrader: (10)

i use mobil 1 5w30 cause its a good quality synthetic oil (from my blackstone oil analysis) and is cheaper than amsoil and more readily available at walmart or costco

Nazca

iTrader: (1)

I use Mobil 1 for these reasons:
1. I can get it at Walmart
2. I am putting so many miles a month on my car right now that one oil change a month is enough for me
3. An associate who used to design engines for Fold told me that "anything they're using in Nascar, you should be using on your car"
4. I am familiar with Mobil's technical research center and have confidence in the products they develop and test.

MaximaPolak

iTrader: (9)

Synthetic because it sounds nice....

SR20DEN

iTrader: (7)

Dyno = Dynomometer
Dino= Dinosaur

:

SR20DEN

iTrader: (7)

But always be sure of what they're really using. The stickers on the sides of their cars isn't always it.

bladerunr

iTrader: (14)

Synthetic has proven to outperform dino oil in every category. There is no question that if you want to protect your engine and get more life and performance out of it then use synthetic. Any of the major brands will be adequate.

It has also been shown that you can use a heavier weight oil when switching to Synthetic, i.e. if the manufacturer suggests 5W-30, then you could conceivably move up to 5W-40, 5W-50, 10W-40, 15W-40 or 20W-50. Synthetic flows better at cold startup and keeps flowing better at normal temps.

By the way, 5W-30 means that at startup the oil exhibits a 5 weight flowing characteristic and changes to a 30 weight oil at normal operating temps. Because Synthetic flows better all around you can use a heavier weight oil than spec'd out.

For most people, it boils down to money.

Cutler

iTrader: (3)

Amsoil is the best in the business, sorry Mobil one guys.....

Ciucca

98,500 miles on Penzoil 5w-30, since I owned the car. The car still gets performs close to the same as new, maintanied by the best mechanic I know... me!! I change my oil every 5,000 miles I spend about $8 for the oil. If I bought Mobil 1 or Amsoil the oils would cost about $30. Lets see I changed the oil about 20 times, so I saved about $440 dollars . That's all you need to know about synthetics.

schmatt

I use AMSOIL 0W-30. I drive a lot of short city trips in a hot climate. Gives me better protection for this. Also, I can extend the drain intervals. Just need to replace the filter every 5k or so. Still need to do an oil analysis to find out how long I can go between drains though.

desperado_45

I use mobil 1, its easy to get and sometimes im just to busy to change the oil when I need to, 4500K . With the synthetic I dont have to worry too much.

RaTgoesMaX

[QUOTE=Ciucca]98,500 miles on Penzoil 5w-30, since I owned the car. The car still gets performs close to the same as new, maintanied by the best mechanic I know... me!! I change my oil every 5,000 miles I spend about $8 for the oil. If I bought Mobil 1 or Amsoil the oils would cost about $30. Lets see I changed the oil about 20 times, so I saved about $440 dollars . That's all you need to know about synthetics.[/QUOTE

I totally agree, unless you are in the NASCAR circuit use Dino oil. Nissan doesn`t recommend synthetic or additives. I use what the manual
recommends and change at 3000mile intervals and use Castrol GTX 5w-30.
Excellent for your engine and the over $400 savings isn`t bad either.
.

talkinghorse

iTrader: (121)

[QUOTE=RaTgoesMaX]There's a big difference between not endorsing or requiring a product versus recommending against or prohibiting it's use. My owners manual specifically states that either mineral or synthetic oils can be used as long as they (are of the correct viscosity) and meet the minimum API standards...from that standpoint, they don't recommend petroleum oil either. Nissan is affirmative in their position, however, against additives. Petroleum oil works but no one can dispute the fact that synthetics offer better protection, especially under extreme operating conditions...it's a matter of preference and budget.

aminus21

iTrader: (14)

90k miles... i use penzoil 10W-30.. cheap (in price), and good quality

njmaxseltd

iTrader: (19)

Castrol GTX 10W-30

I've used it since I've been driving and never had any engine issues. All my cars usually see upwards of 200,000 miles before I sell them. Blackstone Labs get a sample every now and then and my ware characteristics are excellent.

I briefly switched to Amsoil, a Blackstone labs report made me switch back. Sorry Amsoil gurus, the ware on an Amsoil extended run was worse then Castrol GTX at a normal change interval. The data is up on the spreadsheet on this forum, see for yourself. I dumped the Amsoil and went right back to Castrol. I'll never use anything else.

talkinghorse

iTrader: (121)

Am I reading the spreadsheet wrong, or were you using Castrol Syntec?

talkinghorse

iTrader: (121)

You're going to have to help me out here, as I looked at the spreadsheet and I don't see what you're talking about.

Unless I'm missing something, the oil you are comparing to AMSOIL is Castrol Syntec (classified as a synthetic), not Castrol GTX (a petroleum based oil). Second, with the exception of lead, the lab results show higher wear readings as follows: Iron, 7 ppm AMSOIL vs 4 ppm Castrol or (75% higher), and Copper 7 ppm AMSOIL vs 3 ppm Castrol or (130% higher). Other wear metals were equal. While these numbers when considered alone might lead you to believe you were experiencing increased wear with AMSOIL, it is important to note that the difference between the two samples is that the Castrol sample was taken after only 3400 miles, whereas the AMSOIL sample was taken after 9600 miles...an increase in your oil drain interval of nearly 300%.

Therefore, the wear you were experiencing with AMSOIL was actually less per mile than it was with the other product...and this is the correct way to measure it. Also, the AMSOIL sample returned a higher TBN than the other product and it's viscosity at 100 deg C was at the higher end of the (30-wgt viscosity) spectrum where the other sample barely qualified as a 30-wgt after only 3400 miles of use.

I expect that your wear metals would have continued to go down had you continued with AMSOIL...unless the crankcase had been flushed prior to the introduction of AMSOIL, it is possible that some of the wear metals were left over from the previous oil.

Let me know if I've missed the mark here... :-)

Torkaholic

The best starting point method of comparison is to divide the amount of wear metal by miles (ppm/mile). Do this for each of the key wear elements (iron, lead, aluminum, chromium, etc.). Also look at how much silicon (dirt) is building up per mile, although this typically says more about air filtration than oil quality. When you do, Amsoil is far from the magic potion so many think it is. It's not bad, just not much better than a good solid dino. More disturbingly, many of the Amsoil products (which I've tried, btw) also show a pronounced tendency to thicken out of grade. That should not be a big issue for VQ engines (the VQ35DE in my G35 allows the use of 10w-40, so I'd not be too alarmed at my 30 wt oil oxidizing into a 40). I am still a die hard syn user, but I don't think they are as superior as I did before I started studying used oil analysis results. At the moment, I use the lone German made Syntec product, their 0w-30 (caution, older stock was made in the US and is not the same thing). This is not the usual hydrocracked "phonysyn" you find in all the other Syntec bottles, and it turns in the best UOA results of any oil I've studied. It pumps with the ease of a 0w on start, but keeps its hot weight at the high end of the 30 wt range even at OCIs approaching 10k miles.

sagamax

iTrader: (5)

castrol gtx high milage 10w-30

Cheezwiz

Because they pay off lots of "little" people to advertise?

Cheezwiz

Talk to us if that Dino oil takes you to 300k. I'd rather pay $880 over the course of 200k miles than the cost of the new motor you'll need by then going 5k on crap oil. IF you can even get it THAT far.

Niku-Sama

iTrader: (1)

i'm pretty sure amsoil doesent feel the need to advertise alot like the others due to the fact theyre the oldest synthetic company in the business.

i use valvoline synpower though, i dont like much other things, i havent tried amsoil on my car but i dont think for my 87 its going to be enough to change, i'd use it in something high end but valvoline is my oil, i know it works, and its not pensoil or quacker.

is it just me or does quacker regular seem less refined?

i work in a lube shop we use quaker all the time and it just seems dirtier

joew

for the syn user, what is your oil change interval?

Max Atlanta

Red Line 10-30 and a K&N oil filter. 152,xxx and still counting

johnny2kgle

I have used Amsoil ASL 5w-30 in the past but I am now using the Castrol Syntec 0w-30 imported from Germany. This is a thick 30 weight oil that is not API rated, i.e. no starburst, and it meet the European A3 standard on long drains, VW 500 specs, as well as BMW Longlife.

I believe that Amsoil make a great product, but this stuff is available for $4.75 at my Atlanta area Autozone. It is capable of 10k miles interval/one year intervals with no filter change at 6 months like Amsoil requires.

Jeff92se

iTrader: (82)

If it's 30 weight, how can it be any "thicker" or more correctly more viscous than any other 30 weight? Because if it's thicker, it would no longer be a 30 weight

johnny2kgle

When measured in centistokes (cSt), there is a range within a particular weight/viscosity. For instance at 100 deg C, Mobil 1 x-30 is 10.2 cST and Amsoil xw-30 is 11.8 cSt. Mobil 1 oil run on the thin side of their viscosity rating; Amsoil and Redline run on the thicker side of their viscosity ratings. 30 weight oil have a range of 9.3 to 12.49 cSt.

Here is a chart for a better explanation.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/visc.html

Dave Holmes

Same here, been using Castrol GTX (either 10w30 or now 5w30 in this Maxima) for years. With the exception of 2 intervals of Mobil 1 5w30, it is all I use. And the 2 intervals with Mobil 1 (for 3700 miles and 4800 miles) analyzed by Blackstone Labs made me switch right back because of high wear levels. Castrol GTX changed every 3000 miles shows consistently excellent results in many of the analysis I've seen.

I'm doing a run with the Castrol GTX Start Up 5w30 to see how it fares. And it was on sale for $11.46/6 qts at Advance Auto, so it cost the same as GTX. It will get changed out at 3000 miles and analyzed. I'll decide from there whether to continue running it or go back to GTX. But for me, synthetics do not provide any measurable benefit when I change oil every 3000 miles (which for me also coincides with 3 months). And changing oil that frequently guarantees I always have good oil and gives me the opportunity to get under the car to do any other maintenance/checks.

For those getting a good oil analysis from synthetics, stick with them. And if you get a good analysis from dino, stick with that. But I get the best results from Castrol GTX changed every 3000 miles (and my wallet thanks me, too).

Dave

talkinghorse wrote:
You're going to have to help me out here, as I looked at the spreadsheet and I don't see what you're talking about.

Therefore, the wear you were experiencing with AMSOIL was actually less per mile than it was with the other product...and this is the correct way to measure it. Also, the AMSOIL sample returned a higher TBN than the other product and it's viscosity at 100 deg C was at the higher end of the (30-wgt viscosity) spectrum where the other sample barely qualified as a 30-wgt after only 3400 miles of use.

His lead spiked using the Amsoil, even when figuring it by miles (.001875 for Amsoil compared to .001470 for Castrol). This alone would make me think twice about the oil. As for TBN, both were still relatively high, with both showing plenty of active additive left. Theoretically, this would mean both oils could have been used longer (according to the TBN fanatics), but the wear metals from the Amsoil show it just wasn't protecting the engine the way it should and needed drained. Personally, I don't care if my oil has a high TBN if it also has higher wear levels. And as long as it stays in grade for my change interval, I'm not too concerned with that, either. To me, the important thing is how well it is preventing wear. I fully expect my oil to be about worn out when I change it. That's why I do it...

Dave

eric93SE

iTrader: (1)

My first car was a Plymouth Relient, real peace of junk, but it ran great, original tranny, original exhaust system including cat. convertor. Sold it at 240K miles (ran great, needed a little engine work), the only oil it saw was Penzoil and FRAM FILTERS!

My mothers van is almost 20 years old and only gets Penzoil and Fram filters.

My maxima however, gets Mobil 1 5w30 syn, and mobil 1 filter.

Just goes to show you dino is good enough, but I'm a sucker for performance and technology.

dkotanto

iTrader: (1)

AMSOIL 5W-30 ASL and AMSOIL SDF-20 oil filter

NOCturnalI30

iTrader: (1)

how is agip??????????

NOCturnalI30

iTrader: (1)

how is agip??????????

Ammi

iTrader: (26)

Amsoil 5w-30. Nothing but the best.

SSurfer

any syn. when funds are low I go blend