Guys,

Just curious how often you change the motor oil when using synthetic?


Tony

 

every 2500 to 3000 miles

 

IMHO, faaar too often for everyone, except the synthetic oil salesman! Every 5000-7500 for me, Mobil 1 oil and filter; no probs. w/any of three current vehicles, or any of last 4 vehicles owned previously. Even @ 7500 mi., Mobil 1 comes out looking clean and light brown, rather than "dirty". And we both (wifey & I) drive like maniacs!!

 

every November- just before winter storage, which works out to be about 7000 miles. Amsoil 5W-30 and K&N filter.

 

The oil is not the problem. The problem is the oil filter. While synthetic oil will last longer, the filter element can still only catch so much. I do 3 months / 3,000 miles cause my car deserves it.

 

Yeah it really depends on how and where you drive your car. There are many general times of changing your oil, but if you want specific times you must do oil anaylsis. Many oils today are doing very well at extended intervals. I'm still old school and enjoy changing my oil every 2000-3000 miles. I have other issues. I live in a dusty enviroment. I drive a little hard. And i usually time out before mile out.

I'm on my way to BC so i changed the oil at 2000 cause its going to be a 1300 mile round trip. First roadie with the Z i'm excited

 

I plan on doing it about 3 times a year.

 

As King Tut says, it's not the oil...it's the filter. I use Mobil 1 syn with Nissan oem filter & change them every 3k miles.

 

Go to Bob the Oil Guys Website, he has all the dope on your questions with science to back up his recommendations.

 

I think its overkill at 3months or 3k miles for synthetic. I use Mobil 1 and after 3k the oil is still clean. Unlike reg oil which turns dark. The experts say max for synthetic is 5months or 5k miles. But in 5months I put about 3k miles. So the oil gets changed.

 

Not that I'm knockin your thought process, but what would a dusty environment have to do with your oil change interval? The oil system is never exposed to the environment.

 

Im talking about the real small dust less than 15 microns the air filter is good at taking out the dirt but after all it is a air filter not a hepa filter its good but if it was too good it would be restrictive. Look up the severe service.

The oil is exposed to a much worse enviroment then that of the outside world.

Burnt hydrocarbons can make some pretty nasty byproducts.

Bottomline there are two service classifiacations.

Regular service= Light city driving, longer trips, mostly highway. That is ideal.

Severe service.= Short trips, Dusty dirty enviroment, light highway, stop and go city driving, And long sitting periods.

Its much harder on the vehicle no matter what brakes wear faster and on and on.

I failed to do a UOA on this change Flame if u will but it was brand new and i really don't need to see it cause i know the wear would be up slightly simple to break the engine in and so forth.

Next change is on a strict PM schedule of UOA's

I like the criticism so don't think im being too defensive but i guess we all have our reasons for why we do things.

Thanks for the reply

 

There is no right answer to this. Not only do we have less than great filtration, we also run very rich for the first 8-10 mins. Youre fighting fuel dilution. I run M1 to help with fuel dilution due to my short trips and mostly city driving. Its not to extend my drain interval. Unfortunately, when pushed out past 4K, I dont like how the VQ trends (unless youre doing almost all hwy).

spend the $20 and make sure you are within acceptable wear levels. If youre doing really well on the oil, Blackstone will recommend you extend the drain accordingly. Not so much for me tho...

my last blackstone:
http://www.g-owners.com/pictures_ima...on_vehicle.jpg

 

Here's an example of the VQ on 7K ODI. I've seen several like this (from VQ Maximas) at 7000+ miles on various syns.
example:
http://www.g-owners.com/pictures_ima...on_vehicle.jpg

Keep in mind, this engine would still be fine for a long time. Might even make it to 120-150K without problems. Probably not 200K+ tho. Its a choice only you can make. But staying in the averages is probably your best bet.

 

tware,

Getting 120-150k for a japanese car is low dude. I still have my '93 camry that has 160k miles and still runs smooth.

btw, all i do is oil change the camry plus timing change, etc.


Tony

 

I did 3000 but the oil guys say 6000; so to save money I am going to do 6000!

 

notice that even Mobil 1 is coming out with an "extended Performance" formulation. 5-7.5K is fine for a clean engine running on synthetics. (providing you are using a good oil filter... NON-Fram)

 

speaking of oil filter, which one is good beside OEM? and where to buy them? Thanks

 

exactly.. so push your drain out to 6-7.5K without making sure you dont have high bearing wear like the second example, see what you get.

Seriously peeps.. there is no recommendation for going out past schedule 1 that anyone can make to you. You need to go out to 4500-5000 and blackstone. They may tell you that youre golden til 7500.. They may tell you that youre at the max of wear levels for your conditions. If you love your car and intend to keep it for awhile, you'd be nuts to endanger your engine because you read it was ok on the internet. Think about that. If you needed a warranty repair, it would be like going to the doctor for chest pains and saying that a guy on WebMD forums said it was ok to eat 5 hamburgers a day.

 

I use OEM filters (the larger size for Titans ..fits the Z just fine). Cost $5 each at performance nissan. If you want to use aftermarket and don't mind the extra cost (K&N and Mobil 1 oil filters are pretty good). Stay away from FRAM (total pieces of crap)

Search online and look for cut out photos of various oil filters and you will know why.