99 SE-L

Hey guys i jus got my 2002 Maxima and on the window sticker it says it had a oil change 3.5k ago using Mobil 1 Full synt. Im wondering if 15W30 is good as im gonan change the pil soon even tho i got like 1.5 k to go.

2002 Maxima SE

iTrader: (3)

5w30
12345678

NismoMax80

iTrader: (6)

you should really read up on all the info in this oil forum.

"stickies teach much to you, indeed they do"

cliff notes:
*purpose of Syn is for longer drain intervals 5k, 10k, 15k... up to you. read first to determine your intervals.

*what is wrong with what Nissan recommends: 5W-30? living in MD, you need the range as low as 5 for when the temp. gets low.

SkoorbMax

Awful for our cars (unless a cold start for you is the result of having parked on an active volcano). Use 5w-30, as per manual, or 10w-30, if you think that that's fine. Nothing else should be used!

Torkaholic

He needs to refer to the specific manual for his year and engine version. Recent versions of the VQ are also spec-ed for 10w-40, in addition to the more typical 5w-30 and 10w-30. I've had great used oil analysis results using the German-made 0w-30 Syntec. This product runs at the thick end of the 30 range when hot, so it's almost a 40 wt itself. Also, its HT/HS rating is ~3.6, so shear down is not an issue. Since a cold 0w is still more viscous than a hot 30 or even 40 wt, it should be pretty evident that no harm will come from running a good 0w-30 or even 0w-40 oil in the VQ. Not surprisingly (to me, anyway), this is precisely what my lab results have proven.

EDIT: in retrospect, I should clarify the comment with respect to "shear down". Whether an oil experiences a loss of viscosity as a result of "shear" is not really a function of the HT/HS rating. In plain english, I should have said, " with a HT/HS rating of ~3.6, this oil protects well even in high-temp and high-shear situations, which the VQ is very capable of generating."

Torkaholic

One more thing. Maybe before this thread goes any further, we should have 99SEL clarify whether he's talking about 5w-30 or 15w-50, both commonly available M1 grades. Either way, an unfortunate typo is present, and as a result, there's no way to be sure which he means. . .

SkoorbMax

I had wondered that in thread title, but when he repeated it I thought he was talking about 15, but I don't know ;0

99 SE-L

Iam talking about 15

Torkaholic

So to be clear, that's 15w-50, right? If it's that, you would likely not get the best performance from either oil or engine.