quasidynamic

iTrader: (2)

I've heard that if i want my engine to last long (> 250k miles) (which i do) then i need to change to synthetic oil and get it changed every 3-5k miles. I also heard that doing so after theres a lot of life on the motor could be bad... which is true? Also, is it worth the money (~ $400/ year) in a the VQ 3.0?

Devin

1997blackmaxima

Honestly, all you need is any basic oil, as long as you change it when you should, you will be fine

sislen

I don't think it would be a good idea to change to synthetic after 125k miles.
(Only my opinion).

You can search on the web for a lot of information regarding the switch from regular oil to synthetic in older engines.

Some web sites indicate that if you have a bad seal or cracked gasket on your engine, it might be filled with oil sludge that is preventing it from leaking. Some synthetic oils have better detergents than standard oil, therefore switching to a synthetic oil could carry away the old oil deposits, so it would be possible to cause a leak.

I've used Mobil 1 Synthetic in my '97 Maxima since the beginning. I have 110,000 now and the engine still runs like new. So I highly recommend synthetic, but I would probably wait until you get another vehicle with lower mileage. Unless you don't mind the possibility of having oil drops on the driveway.

mzmtg

iTrader: (11)

I switched to syn at 195k miles. I change the filter every 5k and the oil every 10k.

No leaks, no burnoff, no problems

quasidynamic

iTrader: (2)

if the only "drawback" is my engine getting cleaner and revealing problems that should be fixed anyway, then i think i will go ahead and do it...

i also heard once you switch to synthetic you can never go back to regular oil, is that correct?

Thanks for the responses..
Devin

mzmtg

iTrader: (11)

That is not correct, and makes no sense at all if you think about it. Synthetic oil isn't some magical fluid. It's just oil.

quasidynamic

iTrader: (2)

So much nonsense floating around these days, makes ti so hard to know wtf to do...

The reasoning on that statement was because the detergents and stuff in synthetic oil coat the internals of the motor. Then if you switch back to regular oil then it won't bond to engine parts and thus it doesnt provide a good lubrication... It made sense at the time... so this is total BS???

Devin

SkoorbMax

Go to mobil 1's site and they say you can put it in whenever and switch back without issue. AFAIK with our vehicles if you want syn you can go to it whenever.

Of course if you plan on changing it every 3k you might as well flush your money in the toilet. Synthetic has no business being changed less than 5k. I go 7.5k personally and plenty of people do 10k or more, without any problem.

It's not magic. In our non-turboed cars that are not revving that high it will add some life to the engine (or rather, detract less over time), but the main benefits of it are simply extended intervals.

In reality if your car is going to hit 250k it probably will whether you're doing syn every 7500-10000 miles or a decent dino juice every 5k.

In all cases, except with severe driving, changing oil every 3k (even dino juice) is a definite waste of money.

FWIW my 97 I took to synthetic at 77k and at 93k it's showing no issues.

I only do synthetic so that I can change the oil less often.

joebangaa

iTrader: (3)

some people say synthetic gets dirty just as fast dino...i have no answer nor am i gonna bother trying

mzmtg

iTrader: (11)

Some people have done real world tests: http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/stories/mobil1.html

deezo

iTrader: (3)

Getting "dirty" has nothing to do with the oil's performance.

Ammi

iTrader: (26)

Just because oil is black, it doesn't mean you need to replace it. It just means that your oil is doing its job.

Pit5Bull

Wow! That real world test is pretty startling... To think I've been wasting $$$ by changing oil so frequently may have actually been damaging my engine rather than preserving it.

I'm thinking to switch to synthetic after I Seafoam - I have no idea when this oil was last changed, so I'm planning to move to synthetic @75K & change it every 9-10K miles.

Thanks for the info!

SkoorbMax

Not just there. COnsumer reports debunked the 3k change as well. It's just total drainage of money.

jome80627

iTrader: (1)

It's not a waste of money to change your oil. They mean it when they say to change it every 3000 miles or 3 months. It doesn't matter whether you're using regular or synthetic oil. It will damage your engine if you don't. I guess if you're trying to save a couple bucks, you can experiment. I wouldn't dare do it though. How much money are you actually going to save in a year??? Not as much as you may waste doing a engine rebuild, that's for sure

maximaboi

iTrader: (1)

I work at a jiffy lube and let me tell you, if you saw what your standard oil looked like after 4k or 5k you would shet yourself. we get cars in all the time that dont think that you have to change your oil every 3k and Im telling you that oil is so nasty. sometimes it litterly comes out in clumps! no joke. I have seen oil so bad that it litterly turns into gel.

first it will start to break down. then it starts to get thicker and clump up into little *****. then after that it will start to gel. then after that it wont be able to lubercate anymore and then bye bye engine. and I have seen this in cars that have gone 5k on standard oil changes.

I can understand where you are comming from on not changing your syn oil until 5k or so. I dont think I would be able to go even on syn 5k or more. we are traned on all of this stuff and they tell us that syn oil has cleaning agents in it that will bond to any buildup or anything and clean it out. they said that with our syn oil at least that after 3k that cleaning agent begins to break down and then everything that it had bonded to and cleaned up will then be deposited back into the engine and not drained out.

I cant speak for every syn oil but thats what they tell us about our syn.

personally I change my syn oil every 2,500 but thats because it only costs me about $6.00 to do it with my discount.

SkoorbMax

It's not a waste to change oil. It is a waste to do it every 3k or 3 months. "They"--who is they? Jiffy lube? Think on the source, and how they make their money. If you want to look at third parties you can look at the people who've studied this stuff themselves, or even go to your owner's manual, which specifically does not state the requirement to do it every 3k/3 months. It's money in the toilet, and yeah it can add up.I bet, but if a car with only 4-5k miles on the oil is spitting out oil that comes out in clumps, it's not the oil's fault; that engine has some real issues. It's also difficult to determine age/quality of an oil based upon a visual inspection. Oil can blacken significantly with quite little actual wear and crap in it. Carbon is dark

It's in jiffy lube's best interest to tout the poor quality of oil and the necessity of frequent changes. That's their bread and butter, so naturally they will dwell on the worse case scenarios, or anything that makes it look like oil needs frequent changes. I've been doing 7500 miles for a good long while and my oil drains out beautifully. Others here go 10k and have the same thing. My dad's late model jaguar, pursuant with factory recommendations, receives a change every 10k miles or one year (whichever comes first). No problems with its engine.

maximaboi

iTrader: (1)

I didnt say that the oil was black I said that it was clumpy. trust me Im not out to make jiffy lube any money I dont care if our store gets no cars all day long I am just telling you what I have seen with my own eyes. I would never ever ever ever go 10k on an oil change I dont care even if its the new mobil 1 that will run 15k. like I said I can understand going maybe 5k on synthetic but I still wouldnt do that.

what does it really cost you to change your oil if you do it yourself and are using synthetic? it cant be more than $20.00 or $25.00. why not spend that every 3k to 5k miles? is it really worth pushing it?

flthere

iTrader: (2)

Does this mean that Nissan's R&D is wrong in specifying (for 4th gen) 3,750 miles or 3 months interval for oil change ?????? I don't think so!

I don't think the lab analysis of engine oil (dyno/synthetic) that those guys here and in BITOG is wrong either !

joebangaa

iTrader: (3)

i thought it's been established, the distance is simply unit conversion from km...

maximaboi

iTrader: (1)

I hate that more than anything when people try to say "ooh my engine is made to go longer than 3k on an oil change" people need to understand YOUR ENGINE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOUR OIL BREAKING DOWN OVER TIME!

hey its your car do what you want to with it. like I said is it really even worth the chance? its not like changing your oil soo expensive if you do it yourself.


I know and Im sorry

turboast4

I worked at a Valvoline oil change shop. I changed oil on cars with "overdue" mileage. I've NEVER SEEN OIL COME OUT IN CLUMPS. Oil change shops would make half the money if everyone changed the oil at double intervals. They have everything to lose. Nissan has everything to lose as well. Suppose you're right, and oil turns into maple syrup after 3,001 miles. What would happen to your brand-spanking-new Maxima's engine if you changed the oil every 7k? 4,000 of those miles, you'd be running clumps through your engine. If oil breaks down as fast you say, I'd doubt any Nissan would last past 70k with chunky oil. Although I don't know for sure, I'll go out on a limb and suggest that perhaps it's in Nissan's best interests to make cars that run with over 70k on the engines.

If delaying oil changes past 3k has such an adverse affect on engines, why do ALL manufacturers recomment 7.5k oil changes? In the famous words of Judge Judy, "if it doesn't make sense, it isn't true."

maximaboi

iTrader: (1)

you must have not worked there for very long. next time I get a car in that the oil has started to clump up I will take a pic of it just to show you.

I hope that your not talking about going 7.5k on a standard oil change!? I would like to see proof where because that is not true!

Bobo

I have recently started to drive my 95SE (5-speed) a little more than in the past ( a highway round trip of 46 miles.) In the past few year, I have put on as little as 2800 - 2900 miles in a 9-month period and changed the oil. I have never gone more than 4,000 miles between oil changes.

Recently a stealership suggested I not go beyond 6 months between oil changes as he warned that moisture can get in the oil. He said nothing about restricting myself to 3 month change intervals which I feel is utter BS. Any opinions on change intervals where time is the factor not mileage.

I am strongly considering switching to synthetic at the next change. How often, in months, should Mobil 1 be changed, eg. say 5,000 miles is after 8 months. Should it be changed before then?

maximaboi

iTrader: (1)

I do agree with you on the fact that the 3 months time is BS. we get some old people that come in that dont drive 3k in a year. I usually tell them that they should get there oil changed ever 5 months or 3k miles. I think that the time period is dumb. you should base your oil changes off of the miles not the time unless like I said your going like 5 months on the same oil.

turboast4

I stand corrected on the all vehicles thing.

joebangaa

iTrader: (3)

if you rack up highway miles like crazy i dont think milage should restrict you. I too have seen 7500 on many oem recommended maintenance schedules...don't accords????

gsleve

The Lube industry has now conceded within their industry magazine that the 3/3 change interval against the synthetic industry is not necessary given the fact that manufacturers are suggesting longer oci with dino, additionally the synthetic market is extending oci out to 10k even more. If one believes that changing oil sooner than what an analysis states given the technology at hand, appears to be a closed minded spectro analysis is very reliable.

Just because someone says I see clumps indicates something else is wrong with this engine meaning coupled with the longer drain there may be other factors causing this adverse condition which the owner has not investigated however you the individual changing it should aprise them of this so they can look into this further, just suggesting to change the oil more frequently doesn't solve the underlying problem an analysis is in order and can pin point a problem if such conditions as describe do exist in the oil, this individual should have a sense of responsibilty to inform his clients.

maximaboi

iTrader: (1)

Im not saying that you need to change your synthetic oil every 3k miles even though I do. Im saying that you should change your standard oil every 3k. I dont deal with synthetic enough at work to say yeah you need to change it at XXXXX miles.

and besides that the synthetic that we use is prob different than another synthetic. most synthetics are all made differently to last longer different amounts of time and to protect under all different driving conditions.

Bobo

I call BS to the every 3 months. That is a ploy perpetrated by the oil manufacturers and the looby-loos.

maximaboi

iTrader: (1)

thats what I said

SkoorbMax

Why? Because wasted money is wasted money. I know for a fact that the 3k oil change is money down the drain, so I don't need that "peace of mind" that some people who don't know this get from wasting money every 3k miles.That's under harsh conditions (their schedule 1, whereas many fall under schedule 2, which calls for 7500 miles), and using dino oil.One place to start is in your car's manual. It's written out quite clearly that under schedule 2 nissan recommends, on non-synthetic (ie. cheap stuff) 7500 mile change intervals.Really, that flushing money. There is absolutely no reason to change it that frequently. The synthetic manufacturers, as well as our car's manufacturers all say we can go much longer.

maximaboi

iTrader: (1)

do you even know how to change your oil? because if you do change your own oil and you use standard oil and go 7,500 miles on it I find it hard to beleve that you would still be doing that. I would bet everything that I have that your oil is soo nasty and clumpy when you drain it that it takes 20 minutes to completly drian it.

hey its your car I will just be sure to never buy a car from you. hey if you want to blow up a great engine just keep on doing what you are doing. if you want your car to have a long and trouble free life then I would STRONGLY suggest that you change your standard oil every 3k miles.

this is the last time I will say it in this thread. everyone now knows where I stand and if your to cheap or dumb or both to not change your oil changed at least every 3k then you will have no one to blame but yourself when your having to buy a new engine.

dont say I didnt tell you so!

gsleve

The current OCI now for many cars is 5k or 4-5 months 3/3 is unecessary due in part oils have come a long way in technology and testing and are able to handle longer durations even under severe conditions ie: stop and go traffic, given this and if one has kept on the industry's oil technology even basic maintenance oil's will do well into the 5k realm no adverse conditions will result for following this OCI, I believe that you'll get good longevity from the motor, that evenn being equal to a 3/3 OCI.