i want to to do my own oil change now and i want to switch over to synthetic. do i just drain and fill with synthetic? someone told me i have to flush the old oil with synthetic, is that true? and do i use regular oil filter or a different one? since synthetic oil change is every 5k. i have 57k.

 

Just drain the old oil out and put the synthetic oil in. Use a regular OEM oil filter. Alternatively use a Purolator PureOne, Wix or Mobil 1 oil filter.

What kind of synthetic are you considering using?

 

Bobo gave you good advice. You want a quality oil filter (see his list) so that you can increase your OCI (oil change interval) to make longer use of the advantages of synthetic motor oil, before discarding it.

 

im going to use mobile 1. since theyre most popular and not too pricey. so its ok to use the regular filter for 5k? i read the stickies and it says dont use the oem ones? i have some honda filters that fit the vq. got some from a friend. wheres the list you mentioned? in the stickies?

 

Here is the stickie on oil and filters -- anything by bill99 should be good info:

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=227996

Since 2003 (when this was written) it is reported that Nissan has cheapened the construction of their recommended filter. There is no mention of the Honda filter that you have.

My son has 2 Honda's and he was disappointed that the Honda filter for his mini-van engine was much smaller than the filter that came on it from the factory. If your Honda filters are older, it is possible that they are of better quality construction. Should you use these Honda filters on your Max? That is a tough question. You might try to get bill99gxe to give his opinion by sending him a private message.

 

ok thanks, the filters that i got are new. my friend works at the dealers. ill pm him about that. i dont want to spend a whole lot doing oil changes. but i dont want to put in cheap junk. anything that does its job will be fine for me. i dont have to have the best product out there.

 

Your car is a Nissan, not a Honda.

My friend cut my used Nissan OEM filter in half about a year ago. He was truly impressed by the construction of the oil filter and the filter media.

I wouldn't use a Honda filter.

There is nothing wrong with the OEM filter.

 

if its the same filter with different names, why shouldnt i use it?

 

I have been using OEM filters for the last 125K miles. They are good for a 5K OCI and when I cut them (which I seldom do), their media and construction was good, if not the best.

Lately, I heard they are manufactured in Thailand etc (not Japan), once my stock is over I will migrate to Wix.

 

We don't know that there's anything wrong with the Honda filter, either. I will repeat my earlier advice. Get bill99gxe's advice on this question. Bobo has opinions on many topics, but on this question, I would go with the expert -- bill.

As reported by Love, there are a number of souces that say the Nissan OEM filter has been cheapened to save manufacturing costs. I can't confirm that, but I've bought my last Nissan filter -- went to Mobil 1 filter.

 

I've cut open dozens of oil filters over the years, including several generations of the Nissan 9e, and multiple honda, motocraft, land rover, M1, champion (supertech, AC delco), purolator, and fram filters.

here are my observations:
- filter construction/quality changes often. pictures you see from 3 or 4 years ago are almost certain to be obsolete and no longer valid.
- even the cheapest filter constructions are quite good.
- the "cardboard endcap" issue is way overblown. those endcaps are very tough, and very secure. in fact, they allow for more filter media in the same size can, so they might even be better than metal.
- ADBV design does vary. some are cheap & flimsy, others are strong & robust -- regardless of silicon/nitrile. I do prefer silicon, however.
- the biggest quality difference I've found is in the BPV -- which is an important device. Some champion filters still use a "clicker" type BPV, and I just don't trust them to work properly (you'd have to study one to see what I mean).

Regarding some of the specific filters mentioned:
- the nissan 9E appears to be on it's 3rd or 4th design iteration. ones from the pre-2005 era had metal endcaps and orange silicon ADBVs. 9Es from 2005-2006 had cardboard encaps and nitrile ADBVs. the most recent batch (made in China) seem to have gone back to silicon ADBVs, but I have not cut one open to see the endcap design.

- Honda filters also vary widely in construction. some are made by Fram, and are essentially identical to Frams except for the silicon ADBV and blue color. they are very good filters, despite the Fram association.

- M1 & K&N filters (both made by champion) are well constructed, but not worth $11.

- Motocraft filters are very good, if you can find them.

- the Land Rover OEM filter was perhaps the best filter construct I've ever seen. the ADBV was especially robust, it had a big strong gasket, and an overall hefty build. whether or not it makes any difference in engine protection is another matter.

other thoughts --- in my opinion, flow rate is far more important than filtration efficiency. well maintained modern cars w/ modern oils don't need much filtration anyway - but they do need quick flow at start up (think ADBV performance, BPV performance) and strong flow at high RPM (think flow rate). and think of it -- if your oil is so dirty that it needs a high efficiency filter, then that filter media will plug up very quickly and the filter will be in bypass anyway. in such a case, a higher flow/lower efficiency filter would be a better choice, I think. So I tend to steer clear of M1, PureOne, K&N and other high efficiency filters. I don't think they do your engine any favors.

I've had oil analyses with all different types of filters, and the high end/high efficiency ones didn't do any better than a $2 walmart supertech.

Having said all this -- my advice: get the least expensive filter with you can find with a silicon ADBV and a well constructed BPV that you can trust to open/close when it should. For me, that was the pre-2005 9E for $5 each. I bought 12 of them. when they are gone I'll probably use Wix.

 

mobile 1 is nice, but dont want to spend 10 bucks on oil filters. i think im gonna go with the oem ones after the honda filters.

 

Purolator Pure One oil filters are very good and don't cost a ton.

 

how much exactly?

 

If u don't find PureOne then go with Bosch. Bosch bought over PureOne and the Bosch filters u get in Autozone,AA etc. are built by PureOne (top grade stuff) and "Made in USA".

But I like the construction of Wix filters and above all it is "Made in USA" for $1 more (I think they run to $5.99).

 

Just because a filter will screw on to your engine doesn't mean it is the correct filter for your application. There could be significant differences in the calibration of the by-pass valve that could affect oil flow in extreme operating conditions or if the filter were to become dirty. I wouldn't recommend you use it on your engine without knowing more about it. If you have the Honda p/n I can tell you the exact difference between that and a filter designed specifically for your car...maybe it's a match???

The older/larger OEM Honda filters Silvermax is referring to were made by Filtech. Honda changed suppliers a few years back and the most recent (smaller) Honda OEM filter I saw was labeled "Honeywell", Fram's parent company. I also cut that filter open and observed that it was constructed like a Fram. While this filter will work within the OEMs' recommended OCI, there's better filters out there, including those mentioned by Silvermax, Bobo and Skyjumper. Wix filters are particularly well constructed as noted elsewhere in this thread. I opt for the more expensive brands, but I'm running 10,000-mile OCIs.

 

the number is s70681 i know this because my friends altima 3.5 uses this as well.

 

Could you pls verify that and get the entire p/n? I just checked the Wix master catalog and that (Honda or Honeywell) p/n is not listed.

 

i dont know the part number its made by honey well. he said these filters are used in all their hondas, and they dont use anything else.

 

They use that model or that brand in all their Hondas?

 

yeah, thats what he told me. or majority of the hondas. he said these are used in acuras too. its blue and and its made by honeywell. this is a genuine factory honda filters. on the filter it says genuine honda parts and whole bunch of japanese letters and its made in canada. a friend of mine uses his on his 3.5 alti. he says it works fine. it might not be the best filter out there, but im sure it does the job.

 

...Yes, but is it that particular model that they use on all the cars, or just different models from the same brand?

 

Why people **** around and chintz out on oil filters is beyond my comprehension.

We are talking about nickels and dimes here.

Don't sweat the small stuff and buy a filter that is specifically intended for your Maxima.

No Honduh filter for me.

 

Did you seriously just make fun of Honda for something related to the longevity of an engine?

 

I have been using the 9E OEM filters with Mobil1 and going with 7k change intervals.

I think I may switch to Wix or Pure One.

 

I have no idea what you are talking about.

 

You said "Honduh filter". I was asking whether you meant to make fun of Honda's filter choice with that statement, which I would have thought was hilarious since Honda is pretty much beyond reproach when it comes to anything that has to do with an engine's ability to keep running properly (especially compared to Nissan).

Point being, if they choose a filter technology for their cars, as long as there's a model that fits the Maxima and has the right flow and bypass valve characteristics, it should be good enough for the Maxima as well.

 

I could care less. Volvos run forever too. Why don't we got out and see if their filters fit as well and if so, use them.

The term Honduh is used extensively on this website and I kind of like it.

 

Maybe because he's not a lemming and read this:

 

Aha, but:

So we don't know if the sample is representative, or even if the association would be meaningful in the first place.

 

So if we don't know for sure, and most evidence points to FRAM making these things, why chance it when there's plenty of proven quality filters out there?

Point being, Honda isn't exempt from cost cutting their filters.

I don't know what point you are trying to make when both posters admit that the construction is identical to FRAM. The only difference being one thinks they are made well and the other doesn't. I would tend to side with the idea that they aren't particularly made well as numerous sites have said Fram's low end filters are ****.

 

Who really cares? Unless of course, focusing on the picayune and dwelling on minutiae are your bag?

 

The point I'm trying to make has gotten lost and the matter has been blown out of proportion. All I was saying was that it's stupid to discount a filter just because Hondas use it.

Hell, we don't even know if that point needed to be made because Teufelhunden never said whether he was talking about a specific model or a brand in general...

Either way, if it's like a FRAM and you don't like FRAM, that's fine. Again, all I'm objecting to is the Honda discrimination.

 

I believe bobo was making the honduh reference after it was clear some/most/all honduh filters were OEM Fram.

He wasn't discounting the filter because Honda uses it. He was discounting it because FRAM made it.

But in the big picture, his point was "why use a honda filter when the nissan oem is just fine?". aka why ice skate uphill?

 

Fine. If that's the case, all is well.






















BTW, Amsoil EaO > Nissan OEM.

 

I hear their air filters are supposed to be good too. But that oil filter has got to be $10+ each.

I go with my $4.00 Wix aka Napa Gold anyday.

 

$12.65....

 

You da man, d00df00d, lol!

 

ok, to clear things up, yes they use this one brand, one model for many applications. he said almost all hondas and acuras use these. the reason im using them is because i got them for free. hes a technician at the dealers and knows what goes in them. ive done oil changes with fram on my previous vehicles and the engine still lasted for very long time. i know you guys dont like fram, and im not going to buy them. im just going to use up some of these free filters that i got. and maybe switch to something else.

 

I wouldn't trust your source as the part number doesn't exist. There are Honda filters numbers:

15400-P0H-305 (Filtech, discontinued)
15400-PLM-A01 (Filtech, discontinued)
15400-PLM-A02 (Champ/Fram, replaced both 004 and A01)
15400-PCX-004 (s2k filter, now made the US by Filtech, used to be made in Japan by Filtech's parent Toyo Roki)