What oil type/brand do you use?
06-13-2005, 11:26 AM
#1
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 75
What oil type/brand do you use?
Mobil One, change every 5K.
Dumped the stock oil @500Mi. and changed to Mobil One.
I have been told (this forum) that Nissan recommends
Synthetic only after 20K miles. Don't understand the logic
to this though...Why not have the best protection from day one?
Also heard Redline in the gearbox after 15K or so miles smooths the shifting a bit.
Dumped the stock oil @500Mi. and changed to Mobil One.
I have been told (this forum) that Nissan recommends
Synthetic only after 20K miles. Don't understand the logic
to this though...Why not have the best protection from day one?
Also heard Redline in the gearbox after 15K or so miles smooths the shifting a bit.
06-13-2005, 03:34 PM
#7
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 951
I just switched to Mobil 1 full synthetic 10W30 out here with the high heat. Depending where I get stationed after Mississippi, will probably go with Mobil 1 5W30 synth if it gets colder. Dino oil will be just fine as well as long as you change it when needed. There is also Royal Purple but Mobil 1 has always been my favorite. Just my 2 cents. As far as dino oil....I always liked Castrol then Valvoline....I never liked Pennsoil....just personal preference.
06-13-2005, 04:21 PM
#9
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 951
Originally Posted by daves04smoke
Mobil 1 for me too, since the first oil change. My service advisor said no problem with it from the outright.
06-13-2005, 04:26 PM
#11
Banned
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 403
Originally Posted by marcel
Nissan recommends
Synthetic only after 20K miles. Don't understand the logic
to this though...Why not have the best protection from day one?
Synthetic only after 20K miles. Don't understand the logic
to this though...Why not have the best protection from day one?
friction exists between components. The piston rings need to rub
against the cylinder wall to break-in or finely tune the machine
mating between the two metal parts. To properly seat all mechanical
components, a certain amount of friction is required between the metal
parts. Synthetics provide such a high degree of wear protection that they will not allow a new engine to properly break-in.
this is one of the theory I found. few ppl recommend synthetics during
break-in period. I just say...it's not that big of a deal...
use whatever that satisfies you.
in my case, I used Mobile 1 fully synthetic in my previous car every 5k miles.
i felt like synthetics don't cover the engine well after 3k miles. and I don't
wanna spend too much $$$ on oil change(I change engine oil almost every
month) so i just use regular oil.
plus, If i change to synthetic, i can't no long use life time free oil changes
at the dealer...=)
06-13-2005, 04:36 PM
#12
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 951
Originally Posted by VTmaximaVT
The break-in period of the engine requires that a given amount of
friction exists between components. The piston rings need to rub
against the cylinder wall to break-in or finely tune the machine
mating between the two metal parts. To properly seat all mechanical
components, a certain amount of friction is required between the metal
parts. Synthetics provide such a high degree of wear protection that they will not allow a new engine to properly break-in.
this is one of the theory I found. few ppl recommend synthetics during
break-in period. I just say...it's not that big of a deal...
use whatever that satisfies you.
in my case, I used Mobile 1 fully synthetic in my previous car every 5k miles.
i felt like synthetics don't cover the engine well after 3k miles. and I don't
wanna spend too much $$$ on oil change(I change engine oil almost every
month) so i just use regular oil.
plus, If i change to synthetic, i can't no long use life time free oil changes
at the dealer...=)
friction exists between components. The piston rings need to rub
against the cylinder wall to break-in or finely tune the machine
mating between the two metal parts. To properly seat all mechanical
components, a certain amount of friction is required between the metal
parts. Synthetics provide such a high degree of wear protection that they will not allow a new engine to properly break-in.
this is one of the theory I found. few ppl recommend synthetics during
break-in period. I just say...it's not that big of a deal...
use whatever that satisfies you.
in my case, I used Mobile 1 fully synthetic in my previous car every 5k miles.
i felt like synthetics don't cover the engine well after 3k miles. and I don't
wanna spend too much $$$ on oil change(I change engine oil almost every
month) so i just use regular oil.
plus, If i change to synthetic, i can't no long use life time free oil changes
at the dealer...=)
This is my long term baby....lots of reports on the advantages of synth and lots of reports of dino oil is just as good if changed. Personally, I do not like the Nissan oil change schedule. But this is my baby and I am keeping it until it dies. Personal preference. I am a stickler about routine oil changes though. I am not as bad about octane levels....but than again I still stick by....if you pay over 30K for a car....give it what it needs as far as gas....I know we do have our short times in the pocket though.
One thing I will say though....regardless about what oil you use.....change the dang stuff. I am sure some of you know a few people buy a new car and never change the oil....not good.
06-13-2005, 05:26 PM
#13
Member
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 80
I typically use quality dino oil @ 3k untill the warranty is up so the dealers have no room to deny warranty work, then switch over to a good synthetic aftwards with 7500-10k mi or twice a year interval. I dunno what kind of schedule I will keep to on the maxima since it has a longer then typical drivetrain warranty. I havent decided if I will stick to dino oil and 3k or if i'll start on synthetic when I hit 15k with 7500mi interval since the book lists that as an acceptable interval for normal use.
There's nothing wrong with dino oil @ 3k though. I had an 88 Bronco2 that I picked up with 78k on it and kept to 301k with no trouble from the engine at all. It only burned 1qt between changes by then also. The only real reason I sold that one is I picked up a 93 Dakota dirt cheap that one of my friends was about to trade in, which I didnt want to pass up. I was with him when he was doing the paperwork for a new truck, and they werent giving him crap for his trade and he was going for it, so I offered him $500 more then what the dealer was gunna give him, on the spot. I drove that several years and about 75k miles with 10k mi interval synthetic changes since he was already feeding it synthetic. No problems with that one either untill I traded it with 160k mi for my 03 F150. Those were just my second vehicles so I could afford the risk of the high miles and long intervals and always ended up fine. My main vehicles I never keep that long anyways, just a few years and 30-40k and its time for another new car, which the max will share the same fate with also.
There's nothing wrong with dino oil @ 3k though. I had an 88 Bronco2 that I picked up with 78k on it and kept to 301k with no trouble from the engine at all. It only burned 1qt between changes by then also. The only real reason I sold that one is I picked up a 93 Dakota dirt cheap that one of my friends was about to trade in, which I didnt want to pass up. I was with him when he was doing the paperwork for a new truck, and they werent giving him crap for his trade and he was going for it, so I offered him $500 more then what the dealer was gunna give him, on the spot. I drove that several years and about 75k miles with 10k mi interval synthetic changes since he was already feeding it synthetic. No problems with that one either untill I traded it with 160k mi for my 03 F150. Those were just my second vehicles so I could afford the risk of the high miles and long intervals and always ended up fine. My main vehicles I never keep that long anyways, just a few years and 30-40k and its time for another new car, which the max will share the same fate with also.
06-14-2005, 06:51 AM
#14
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 6,190
Most of the time - Castro GTX 5W30 - 3,750 mile OCI. Contemplating switching to Mobile 1 5W-30 synthetic but don't know if its worth it to me as I only put on about 5K a year and don't want to have to change synthetic oil every 6 months.
06-15-2005, 12:32 PM
#18
Originally Posted by carcus
Yea.....is not really a problem from the factory with synthetic....all Vettes come with Mobil 1 from the factory, even a few SS Camaro and F-Bodies came with it as an option. Some people say the Maxima engine is too tight....hell if the aluminum LS1 can take synthetic....tolerance with that engine is tight and high revving also....the 3.5 is just fine. Again, just my 2 cents. I did run one dino oil, than switch to Mobil 1. Now that is what I am sticking with. The old 97 BMW did just well with synthetic. Now....understand this though. Older cars will LEAK synthetic...stuff can leak out of older car seals. That is no joke...found that out on my 93 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Had about 77K miles on it, the synth leaked....went back to dino oil...no leaks. Again, just my personal experience.
M1 5W30 from about 10K or so miles. 5K to 7K OCI. Napa gold oil filter.
06-15-2005, 04:54 PM
#21
The reason that the oil gurus in this forum recommend waiting 10-20k before switching is extensive oil analysis on maxima engines have shown that those who switch before this time show higher metals in their oil analysis for longer periods of time than those who changed over after the recommended breakin period. Someone replied that ALL cars need a breakin period before switching to synthetic. This is absolutely not true.
06-22-2005, 06:16 PM
#22
Newbie - Just Registered
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 7
Castrol synthetic since 8.5k. I have my maintenenace reminder set at 3,500 miles. I saw an article once where New York cabbies participated in an experiment and went 50, 60 thousand miles or more on no oil changes, tore apart the engines and there was minimal wear and tear. But you have to remember they were continually running their engines almost around the clock.
07-06-2005, 12:28 PM
#26
Originally Posted by Virus
The reason that the oil gurus in this forum recommend waiting 10-20k before switching is extensive oil analysis on maxima engines have shown that those who switch before this time show higher metals in their oil analysis for longer periods of time than those who changed over after the recommended breakin period. Someone replied that ALL cars need a breakin period before switching to synthetic. This is absolutely not true.
YES YES YES, its because of the trend of elevated silicone levels, sure vettes XLR's and a bunch of other cars come from the factory with M1, they may or may not be broken in on an engine dyno before leaving, however none of these cars that come from the factory have VQ's. will switching early kill your engine and if you've already done it should you sell your car? Of course not, but if you go buy a new car why not wait?
For me its M1 5-30 with PureOne filters for aprox 5k(i know i could go longer but i dont
)Also to adress the Royal Purple topic, as best as we (BITOG) can tell RP is actually a group III oil and not a PAO oil, Grp III is a highly refined dino that allows it to be very close to a synthetic(Castrol syntec is this as well(Not GC but US syntec)) These are still great oils just not as great as a PAO (M1, GC, amsoil etc) in my opinion.
07-11-2005, 03:53 PM
#28
I never understood what the big deal was about waiting a few extra miles until switching to a full synthetic?? Let's say you wait 10,000 miles before swapping. Now a good running VG/VE/VQ can go well over 200,000 miles easy. So even if you wait, you only run the engine on dino for 0.5% of it's usable life.
07-11-2005, 03:56 PM
#29
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 6,190
I have now changed my mind about switching from Castrol GTX 5W30 over to Mobil 1 of the same weight after recently joining bobistheoilguy.com (BITOG). I am picking up 12 litres of Esso XD-3, 0W30, from an Esso bulk plant and switching over after my 4,000 mile AutoRX clean and rinse. Following a 3,000 mile XD-3 OCI, I hope to extend the drain intervals to 1 year as I only drive the Max about 5 or 6K/year presently.
The XD-3 is only available in Canada. I understand that Wal Mart carries the OW40 i the U.S. A number of members of BITOG are making the switch from Mobil 1 to Esso XD-3, both in Canada and the US. It is a full synthetic, PAO, and one of the strongpoints is that it lends itself to longer OCIs and is cheaper than Mobil 1.
The XD-3 is only available in Canada. I understand that Wal Mart carries the OW40 i the U.S. A number of members of BITOG are making the switch from Mobil 1 to Esso XD-3, both in Canada and the US. It is a full synthetic, PAO, and one of the strongpoints is that it lends itself to longer OCIs and is cheaper than Mobil 1.
07-11-2005, 04:00 PM
#30
How are going to tell if all of this cleaning did anything?
Originally Posted by rmurdoch
I have now changed my mind about switching from Castrol GTX 5W30 over to Mobil 1 of the same weight after recently joining bobistheoilguy.com (BITOG). I am picking up 12 litres of Esso XD-3, 0W30, from an Esso bulk plant and switching over after my 4,000 mile AutoRX clean and rinse. Following a 3,000 mile XD-3 OCI, I hope to extend the drain intervals to 1 year as I only drive the Max about 5 or 6K/year presently.
The XD-3 is only available in Canada. I understand that Wal Mart carries the OW40 i the U.S. A number of members of BITOG are making the switch from Mobil 1 to Esso XD-3, both in Canada and the US. It is a full synthetic, PAO, and one of the strongpoints is that it lends itself to longer OCIs and is cheaper than Mobil 1.
The XD-3 is only available in Canada. I understand that Wal Mart carries the OW40 i the U.S. A number of members of BITOG are making the switch from Mobil 1 to Esso XD-3, both in Canada and the US. It is a full synthetic, PAO, and one of the strongpoints is that it lends itself to longer OCIs and is cheaper than Mobil 1.
07-11-2005, 04:29 PM
#31
Originally Posted by Jeff92se
I never understood what the big deal was about waiting a few extra miles until switching to a full synthetic?? Let's say you wait 10,000 miles before swapping. Now a good running VG/VE/VQ can go well over 200,000 miles easy. So even if you wait, you only run the engine on dino for 0.5% of it's usable life.
can i get the filter tested like the oil to see if it will go 7500?
07-11-2005, 05:46 PM
#34
Originally Posted by Jeff92se
I never understood what the big deal was about waiting a few extra miles until switching to a full synthetic?? Let's say you wait 10,000 miles before swapping. Now a good running VG/VE/VQ can go well over 200,000 miles easy. So even if you wait, you only run the engine on dino for 0.5% of it's usable life.
07-12-2005, 06:28 AM
#37
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 6,190
Originally Posted by Jeff92se
Well since you don't have any quantative data from the beginning, no one will know ever.
07-12-2005, 08:09 AM
#38
Why?? 
Originally Posted by rmurdoch
Precisely, and no one will be the wiser. But I'll be happy and that's all that counts. And if it doesn't work for me, I'll buy up all the Seafoam in the Pacific Northwest and store it deep underground and guard it zealously.
