Stick with the 5w-30 unless you have leaks. The thinner oil flows quicker to the top end on cold starts. Looks like you are up north so 5w-30 covers the temp range. Besides 5w-30 is what nissan recommends in the owners manual.

 

Yeah I'm up in the northeast, ever herd of someone using the thicker oil because of mileage? That's why I asked what oil grade to use.

 

The Federal Govt. says that 5W30 oil gets better mileage than 10W30 oil, so the car companies all do their mileage numbers using that oil. And it works OK and does get very marginally better mileage - so small it is hard to measure. But in Europe Nissan recommends that you use 10W30 - not 5W30. The Feds are not responsible for that European recommendation - Nissan is. This is the oil they think you should use in most applications and ambient temperatures.

I use 10W30 and burn about 1 quart between my oil changes at 10 K miles. I use full synthetic and quality filters. Until my last oil change I used Mobil 1 - but I got such a good price on Pennzoil synthetic that I have swithched to that brand. I like the Mobil 1 slightly better, but not at a much higher price. I have 122 K miles on my 04 with 6-speed manual trannie. If I lived in a much colder location, I would use the 5W30 in the winter and 10W30 the rest of the year. If I were using dino oil, I whould change oil at 5 to 7 K miles rather than 10 K.

If you burn a lot more than that volume of oil between changes (half quart per 5 K miles), and you are using synthetic motor oil, you should abandon synthetic and switch to dino oil. The synthetic oil is much slicker than dino, so is slips past worn areas in you engine and gets burned much faster than dino oil would in the same engine.

 

I use Pennzoil Ultra , real happy with it , used M1 @ dealership before , was good too . I found that my engine makes less noise with PU tho .

 

Forgot , it s 5w-30 weight that I use in it .

 

86 maxima se 226 805 miles (365 000 kms for us Canadians) using Napa 10w30 full synthetic oil which I think is made from Valvoline and Napa Gold filter no leaks no burning.

 

I use 10w-30...165,000miles....

 

Want to see this Max, any pics....

 

I believe it's in members ride section.

 

IN THE SUMMER OR WINTER?


Mobile1 10w30 along with a Mobile1 filter on my car (5th gen) with ~136k miles.

It seems a bit heavy and I may use a 5w next time.[/QUOTE]

 

In Europe the same engine calls for 10W30 motor oil. The US Government gives extra credit on vehicle gas mileage if a company calls for a lighter weight motor oil. Vola - Nissan calls for 5W30 in the USA to get that benefit.

If I lived in an area of the country with very harsh winter weather, I would use 5W30 in the winter (only) and 10W30 the rest of the year. My Max lives in a garage and the weather here in Colorado is not harsh at my elevation. So I use 10W30 year round.

I have 138.5 K miles on my 04 and plan to keep her until about 200 K. This is the most dependable car I have ever owned. I still have original struts and rear shocks (why replace them if they work fine). SilverMax

 

I have never replaced the front brake pads or the alternator on my 95SE. Mind you it is a 5-speed, I don't use the brakes & the vehicle only has 98,100 miles on it.

 

Bobo, Mine is an 04 with a 6-speed. I had to replace the front pads at about 125 K miles due to wear. Like you, I use engine braking when going down hills or in other stopping situations.

I only want a manual trannie in my vehicles, and Maxima now requires the shiftless auto trannie. So when it comes time to replace my most dependable car I have ever owned, it will be with something else (possible even a Honda).

I would buy a Maxima again in a heart beat if they offered the trannie of my choice - which they don't. Silver

 

When you did your front brakes, did you buy new rotors or get the old ones turned?

I am eligible for collector car status in 5 or 6 years. I will likely be buried in my Maxima but may search out the newest Infiniti G37 coupe, 6-speed, with low miles on it that I can find about then or in the interim.

 

I had a friend of mine do the brakes and he said the existing rotors looked just fine. He also recommended against turning them - said the new pads would soon conform to the old rotors and end up giving me longer life on the rotors.

Isn't that funny - Nissan's Infinity brand still offers 6-speed manual trannies, but they are no longer available on the Maxima. I want an new ride some time in the future, but don't want to pay the high prices asked for the Infinity models with the 6-speed. I can understand you considering a used Infinity as your next ride. Good luck. Silver