How many miles should you wait before switching to synthetic oil. What grade and brand should I look to use?

 

good question... i was wondering about synthetic oil myself. i stayed away so far because its so expensive and im just not sure if its worth it. hopefully we'll find out soon.

 

I waited until 10k miles before going with Mobil1 5W30 Pure Synthetic.

 

valves and seals along with engine break in are done long before 10k miles. Do it....... I have done it at the 1st oil change on my last three cars and luckily, never had a single large repair. I swear by Mobil 1.....even my auto tranny fluid gets a dose of synthetic fluid.

 

My car always gets Mobil 1 synthetic oil and Mobil 1 oil filter.

I just had my tranny flushed and changed and put Mobil 1 synthetic ATF in it. It feels pretty cool, but no major difference noted in driving. But it's nice to know it's there.

 

At my 2500/5000/7500 mile change, my car was still smoothing out. Mostly that starting issue. After 10K I noticed it pulled about as strong as it was ever going to and I no longer had any starting issues. Also, my idle seemed to smooth out a bit (at same RPM). I was in a hurry at the 10K change and did a dino/dealer change, but did it on the next one.

I still think Nissan engines take longer to settle in than any others. Of course they last longer than most.

 

I switched to Mobil 1 10W30 after the 2nd oil change, at 4K miles. The engine seemed broken in, the synthetic just made it a touch smoother.
Regards, David Burnette

 

I been using 5W30 all year round. This oil is energy saving(See manual). Thicker oil makes your oil pump works harder. I would definetly stay away from 10W30, since your car is new. WHen it's older then you can try thicker.


Regards,
DEVEN

 

I switched at 3k of miles...no problems.

 

I didn't have the right tools for the oil filter so i had to take that $hit out with my bare hands but it was worth it!
The whole thing ran me $30... 4quarts & a Moblil 1 filter.. I would've payed over $50 at a shop...
I can feel a big difference over castro sythec non syntheic that I was using until today... The car runs much smoother now..
You don't necessarily have to use 5w30 unless the temperature is really low where you live but it doesn't hurt to go with something better..

 

I plan to switch at 7500, second oil change. Thought you guys might find this some interesting reading.

http://www.vtr.org/maintain/oil-overview.html

I agree that you should probably use a 5W-30 oil for a while in a new vehicle, but I don't think you should wait as long as most people have once thought.

Looking at the article, you can see why so many people are using Mobil 1.

Here are two quotes from the article:

"Always use a multi grade with the narrowest span of viscosity that is appropriate for the temperatures you are going to encounter."

"Mobil 1 uses no viscosity improvers in their 5W-30, and I assume the new 10W-30"

 

I assume this has probably been discussed here, but being a newbie I haven't seen it anywhere. I think there is darn good info in this study, unfortunately he's a Mopar guy so he didn't test Nissan filters.

However, if I can save just one person from problems from using a Fram, it's worth it!

http://members.nbci.com/minimopar/oilfilterstudy.html

 

Thanks for all the info, I think i am going to change to mobile1 right away.

 

Been using Mobil 1 5w-30 synthetic and Purolator Pure One filter since 1st oil change at 3000, after breakin. instantly gained 3 miles per gallon, at first from 22 to 25, and now average 26+ depending where, how, and how fast I drive. Yes it's expensive, but it stays cleaner longer, better for your engine, lasts longer, and makes you think you're babying your car as much as you can. But I think I'm now going rediculous with it. Now at 21,000 miles and 11 months later I'm switching to Amsoil synthetic, amsoil hd oil filter, air filter, and synthetic 75w-90 gear oil. Yea, kind of crazy, just spent $100 on that. Hmmm, seems like the stupid 15000 mile service that the dealer tried tricking me into doing. And doing it myself, I think it will still cost less and I'm using better stuff.

 

Can you guys tell me if there is anything more I need to do for breaki-in of the car besides what's in the maunal. Cuz, I've been following that, and I've only got 150 more miles until the 1000 miles break in is over. Will it be safe to lay the hammer down a few times or do I need to keep babying it or what. Any info would be much appreciated.

 

I've changed my oil religiously every 3,000 miles. I just broke 13,000 and switched to Synthetic. I have noticed no differences in the performance of the car or the gas mileage.

I read someplace that you should wait until after the "break in period" before you switch to synthetic, but do it before 30,000 miles. I do not know the reasons why.

As for put'n the hammer down, I did that on the test drive, so I guess I violated all laws, rules, and regulations of the vehicle right away.

I would wait for 150 more miles, just to be safe.

 

The reason for not waiting to around 30k miles is because by that time, petroleum oils will have made deposits in your engine. And using synthetic at that time will cause those deposits to come loose (engine being cleaned) and possibly reducing the life of the synthetic oil or some other things. So you would need to flush out the motor first then use synthetic.

 

I don't know much about Nissan engines, but I do know this. I have a 95 Ford Escort with the cheap Ford 1.9l engine in it that I have driven hard for 150K miles so far with zero mechanical problems from day one and I have used Mobil one synthetic 5W-30 ever since the 1500 mile break in. I plan to do the same with the new Max...My $.02

 

This seems like a related question, hopefully someone can help.

I have a 2001 Max, I want to change the Automatic Transmission and the Differential fludid if possible.

Has anyone done this? If so, are there any instructions anywhere on how it's done? Is it difficult? ANd lastly, what are the best replacement fluids. Mobil 1 for both?

Thanks.

 

On autos, the tranny and diff lube is the same in front wheel drive cars. Anyone correct me if I'm wrong in anything here. To change the oil in Automatics will be a little more messy. Make sure you have a large drain pan because you have to take the whole oil pan for the tranny off. Loosen all bolts and pry one corner out a little, let it drain and work your way around. Unless the max has a drain plug that I don't know about, but that's how I used to do it on my mom's taurus and other cars. Since you may be doing an oil change on that, might as well replace the auto tranny filter. The other thing is that it is almost impossible to completely drain all of the tranny fluid because some of it stays in the diff. So it's messy, and unless you really want to do it yourself (my props to you) you might want a shop to do it, and just give them the synthetic oil that you may want to use. Synthetic can't hurt. Just make sure you use auto tranny oil. What does the max use? Dextron II or III or similar?

 

I didn't do it myself, I paid someone to do it.

Changed my ATF to Mobil 1 synthetic ATF. Feels good, but not major diff. Just nice to know it's there.

 

That sounds good, I wonder what local shops I can trust to do it properly.

 

Using these synthetic blends would ease the transition from dino oil to full synthetic?

Are there any disadvantages in using the synth blends first (after changing out the dino oil) before switching to full synthetic?

 

I doubt it... Sythetic blends are cheaper than full synthetic because they are a blend of synthetic and petroleum. Don't know what the point is. Why not just use synthetic right from the beginning? Unless you can't afford it, then... I would say synthetic blend would be the next best thing. Dino Oil? what's that for? The factory fill oil is "Premium engine oil" According to Nissan so it didn't have to be changed earlier. Maybe you meant break in oil...

 

I have always changed to Mobil-1 at the first chance I get. In my most recent car, 2000 I30, I changed at 700 miles! Did the same with my '95 max and no engine problems. (my sister has the car now)

STEVE