I was wondering if synthetic oil was worth the extra $50. And also, the guy who changed it said that synthetic only needed to be changed every 5k. What do you think? Thanks

 

You can go far longer with synthetic oil. I used to change regular oil at 3,000 mile intervals and now change synthetic at 12,000 mile intervals. When I change the synthetic oil it comes out gold, so I'm sure it's not breaking down at that point and could be used longer. I know you can probably either change the oil yourself or take it someplace else that charges less. I know of people who pay about $30-35 to get a synthetic oil change. So basically you're actually saving money going synthetic and prolonging the life of your engine parts.

 

12k miles is too long even for synthetic. I go 5k or 5months. If you drive like a granny then its a different story. The extra $20 for Mobil 1 is worth it..

 

i am glad that u guys started a thread on this one...... yesterday I just changed my oil .... I put in sythetic tooo.... I dont know how many mile before i gonna change my oil again.... will seee..... my are mobile 1 5w30.(is it a rite number???)... Autozone have this special deal now 5qts and a mobile1 filter for 29.99. then, I went to this auto place to rent a bay with hoist for $6 ....... i did it myself and cost me about less then 40 bucks.....

 

i.m using royal purple, i change the oil filter every 4K and top of, then change the oil and the filter @ 8K. This was recommended by the authorized dealer of royal purple

 

I use synthetic Mobil-1 just because you can tell that it runs smoother than normal. I still will change every 3k miles with a new filter too.

 

Synthetic is extremely good to use. It reduces wear in the engine. Even though its a bit more expensive, you save money on gas, plus if you keep your car for as long as it runs, then it will last a lot longer too. Its not unusual to get 250,000+ miles if you're running really good synthetic oil.

For synthetic oils, its also useless to replace them every 3k miles. Just a waste of money. At 5k miles is where every synthetic oil can last... easily. Some oils are even guaranteed for much higher. For example, the new Mobil 1 extended mileage lasts for 15k. Amsoil is another oil that is suppose to last for much longer periods of time. Amsoil pretty much guarantees 25k-35k out of their oils, however some people have gotten 400k... yes, 400,000 miles out of Amsoil (though, I recommend against doing it that long, but it shows what synthetic oils are capable of)

The thing to remember with synthetics is that you have to replace the filter at normal intervals (for some cars its 3k, some cars its 7.5k, and for Amsoil's filter if it exists for your car its 12.5k) but you can reuse your oil which saves you $$$ plus its better for the environment. So weither you are just looking to save about $200, or if you are an environmental nut, it benefits you to look into extended drain intervals.

And just so you know, Amsoil makes a 12.5k mile oil filter for 350zs, if you decide you want to do that.

 

12K miles and its still a gold color, Yeah Right!

 

I had my oil last changed at a dealership, any idea what kind of filter they would use? I'm assuming the cheapest one available (i.e. change at 3k).

 

Most likely they would have used a 3k mile one. Just keep in mind the next time you change your oil and oil filter that you can buy amsoil's filter online... but you should change your filter if you have to change your oil, so getting a 12.5k oil filter and getting an oil that lasts 3k miles wouldn't benefit you (except for the fact that the filter would filter out things better)

 

I probably don't drive as hard as you do.

 

There is a valvoline shop right up the street and i get my 03 pathfinder oil changes there... i have a 05 z with only 900 miles on it... is it ok to take it there? i dont even know wut kinda oil they use... im an idiot...please help me out

 

Iheartz..... my first oil change on my brandnew 05 z was 3k.... and everything is good as new you shouldn't be worry until 3k .....just my personal opinion

 

I wouldn't worry about what kinda oil to use until 6k miles. Starting oil for the first 3k miles, standard non-synthetic for the next 3k-9k, then synthetic for the rest of its life. If you don't know what kind of oil they use, just ask.

 

Its pretty amazing here that no one has mentioned that the whole 3k oil change thing is more a marketing gimick than anything. Modern autos can go 4-6k before an oil change is necessary on non-synthetic.

Just think about it, for the last 40 or 50 years this has been pounded into peoples heads. Give me a break, with the way technology has advanced, 3k is simply a waste of money.

 

I was told by the mechanic at the dealership and another mechanic to use partial synthetic for normal driving. I'm not a racer, and they both said that you get 90% of the performance of full synthetic at much less cost. I usually go to Walmart and pick up a 5 qt bottle of 5W-30 for $10-$12, and then $10 for the oil change at the dealer, so I'm out less than $25. Also, I don't know how long partial synthetic holds up, but I still get mine changed every 3000 miles.

 

this all depends on your driving and climate. I have 90% city. At 3500 miles, my fuel dilution (from running rich with short trips) is high enough to make a change necessary. I send my oil to Blackstone Labs every 3rd or 4th change. I can tell you, as other peoples Blackstones will to, the VQ's filtration will not do well past 5K in most circumstances. Other filters dont really make much difference.

The main reason to run syn is its resistance to sludge under high temps. Temps you'd be hard pressed to reach in a VQ, but still raises the margin in which your engine is protected. And it's slightly more resistant to fuel dilution.

I've seen Blackstone reports all over the web on the VQ35 (like Maxima.org). There are many trends you can see. There is no need to listen to myth and conjecture about oil. Alot of people have dropped their $20 bucks to provide you with more precise info. Its sad how much misinformation the dealerships can spread. Or the internet for that fact. I will say this, if you do go to bobistheoilguy.com (or other sites) to educate yourself, dont draw conclusions on any other engines but the VQ.


http://www.g-owners.com/pic_display.asp?id=330

http://www.g-owners.com/pic_display.asp?id=694

and other blackstones
http://www.g-owners.com/pic_showall....lackstone+Labs

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=100060

 

I'm only telling you this for your own benefit, so please don't misinterpret this as being a jerk... but, thats not a smart move. Lets say you spend $8 for 5 quarts of that oil, then $10 to get it changed every 3000 miles. Then lets say you get Amsoil and spend $40 (kinda close to what it would cost) and it costs you $20 to change it.

Synthetic Blend oil at 12,000 miles cost: 4 oil changes is $8 x 4 for oil, and $10 x 4 for changing. Total = $72
Amsoil oil at 12,000 miles cost: $40 x 1 for oil $20 x 1 for the change. Total = $60

That assumes that it actually costs more to change the Amsoil oil... which it wouldn't, but might as well. Plus it assumes you got your current oil for cheaper than you actually do. So... which would you rather have? 100% synthetic oil for 100% the synthetic efficiency, or "90%" the synthetic efficiency (which is total bull by the way) that you have to spend time getting changed more often for $12 more? We didn't even factor in better gas mileage (next paragraph will go into detail), plus that assumes you get just 12,000 miles out of the amsoil oil, which is basically guaranteed for 35,000 miles! If you ran it for 35,000 miles you obviously would save a lot more money.

Gas mileage. Its very important when choosing oils. Full synthetic can yield as little as 2% increase in gas mileage, but as great as 5% when compared to synthetic blends. Assume $2 a gallon. Assuming you got 25 MPG, we can at least assume .5MPG increase, right? If you drove 10,000 miles a year then you would spend this much on gas:

Synthetic Blend: 400 gallons a year = $800
100% Synthetic: 392.15 gallons a year = $784.3
You save an astounding earth shattering $15.70

Sounds Stupid? Well, with the combined money saved ($27.70) you can buy a movie. Plus you save time from waiting for your oil changes and sitting at the gas pump. Plus, later, when your engine is old, you'll see the real benefits. For example, an engine with over 500,000 miles on it running synthetic looks like an engine with 80,000 miles on it running regular oil (or 140,000 miles running synthetic blend)

And like one of the above posters said, the whole 3k mile changes is just BS. Basically, you're killing the planet faster for no reason. Environmentalists should be on that like a hobo on a ham sandwich!

So, whatcha gonna use next oil change?

 

I just got my 350Z a week ago. I only have about 500 miles on it now. I want to run synthetic oil in it. At what point is it safe to make the switch to synthetic oil?
Joe Gaines
350Z Performance
Silver Chrome

 

Like I said above, about the 6k-9k mark is best. This allows all the engine parts to wear properly so they are basically mated together. Where many people make their mistake with synthetics is that they believe that they should change to synthetic at the 0 mile mark. The fact that synthetics decrease the wear means that the engine may not be fully broken in until as high as 12,000 miles if you did that! 3k is usually when the engine is "fully broken in" but you should have the engine slightly more worn in than that before you switch to full synthetic to make sure. So, approximently 6k-9k is my recommendation.