OK, so what's the story on the "mineral-based" oil that Nissan recommends?
 

Anyone run into trouble at the dealer wanting to go full synthetic? Any dealers reluctant, or flat-out refuse to do the oil change? Anyone get the impression that full-syn will compromise your warranty?

I'm ready to do a change and would like some feedback. Thanks!

There was a post somewhere (on here or 350zforum.com) -- somebody sent NNA e-mail about it and the reply was like "although we recommend mineral based-oil, you are free to use your choice of oil provided it meets or exceeds the oil standards listed in the owner's manual" or something like that.

FWIW, I change my own oil and plan on using Mobil-1 (it's not 100% synthetic, BTW) so I'm not gonna worry about it.

Michael.

mineral based oil
 

I have used Mobile 1 and Castrol Syntec for the past decade and have had no trouble with taking it to the dealer at the time for a change. No hassles and they just note on the ticket "customer has own oil".

As long as any oil you are using meets the specs required by Nissan you shouldn't have any trouble. If in doubt, call Nissan. I think they may be concerned by the syn oil not being changed as often as the maintenance schedule calls for(some people seem to think syn oil will last forever and they wait for 15,000 miles to change, and a failure of some kind occurs. If they do that they are not in compliance with warranty requirements. I always change the syn oil and factory filter at or before 4000 miles to comply with the warranty and for my peace of mind. The extra money is worth it to me, I just buy the oil ata discount house for about $4 a quart and tell the service writer where it is.

Only once in the last 15 yrs have I waited till 7500 miles to change the oil with syn Castrol. I used 1/2 quart. I have always changed the filter with the oil.

Boomer

Not 100% synthetic? That goes against everything I ever heard about Mobil 1. What's the 411 on this?

Synthetic blend
 

I plan on using a sythetic blend, part mineral, part synthetic oil. It's a little more cost effective IMO. BTW the C-5 calls for Mobile 1 specifically.

whats the story
 

I heard on this site, that Mobile 1 was no longer full synthetic, so I visited their website. According to them, the oil is still full synthetic, just a new and improved version.

Do a search for their site, they are owned by some oil company, Exxon, Amoco, I don't remember who. I plan to use it

Boomer

P.S. I understand the C5 uses it; so does BMW, I think.

I concur. It should be full synthetic, always has been.

The Pre Production 350Z is rode in a couple months ago used Mobile 1. The nissan guy, who is also my friend, said that they run mobil 1 on all of their pre-production fleet once they have broken in the engine.

If you recall some of the earlier pictures of the pre-production car, the strut brace had Mobil 1, and the viscosity writen on it ..

Just Had Oil Change
 

I just had an oil change yesterday at the Nissan Dealership. I inquired as to why it recommends Mineral oil before hand and if that was what they used. They said this was there first 350 and they would read up on it before they changed it. 1 hour later they had finished and said the used 10w 30 Mobil 1. Me not being the oil expert thought Mobil 1 was mineral so I felt ok.. but hearing some of the remarks on this thread makes me wonder if they put the wrong oil in my car???

The service manager also said they prolly recommended mineral because new cars burn oil and syn oil doesn't burn as well. or it could be the chrome valve stems need mineral? Does this sound right to any of you mechanics out there?:confused:

how much did the dealer charge you? Typically a synthetic change costs around $50 where a standard change is $20-$25.

I Paid $25

I doubt the dealer used Mobil 1 then. 5 quarts of Mobil 1 alone costs $25.

I got the email response from NNA. They said that synth would not void the warranty as long as you have documentation of changing the oil every 3750 miles. That means that you won't get the benefit of extended drain intervals if you want to be the most secure with warranty issues. In most cases, needing this documentation will not be necessary but you could get into a situation with major engine failure where Nissan claims that you didn't maintain the engine properly. Who knows?

The receipt said Mobil 1 and the Service Manager said thats all they have in there overhead oil changers. I also inquired as to why 10w 30 and not 5w 30 as i thought i read it also requires 5w 30 soemwhere although i dont plan on driving in the winter it didnt seem to make a difference to me.

changed at dealership in NJ
 

1st oil change at 1600 miles, just after break-in, I switched to syn. I asked the dealer if they recommended it, they gave me a story about 300 and 400,000 on altimas with organic oil and told me it was a waste of money.

I insisted and watched the service tech put in 4.5 quarts of mobil-1 5w-30. He shared a great story about 185,000 miles on a Cutlass with synthetic. He gave me the left over, asked me all sorts of questions about how i liked it, he mounted my plates and hung my reg sticker (asked my where I wanted it). I thanked him for his prompt service and attention to my preferences and tipped him lunch money.

about $25 +tip

Why synthetic oil?
 

What's so good about it?

Long story short: Mobil-1 was originally fully synthetic. Then came Castrol Syntec. Castrol marketed Syntec as fully synthetic, but it was not. The basestock was merely super-refined to synthetic qualities & standards. And Mobil-1 cost much more than Castrol Syntec because of that (Mobil-1 used a chemically engineered & manufactured basestock and Castrol Syntec did not). So Mobil sued Castrol. Castrol won. Following ruling, Mobil-1 changes "recipe" to be more price competitive to Castrol Syntec and called it Tri-Synthetic; it used a super-refined basestock like Castrol Syntec.

Mobil has switched the "recipe" again and calls their new oil SuperSyn. I don't know if SuperSyn is fully synthetic, but from judging by the slight increase in cost, I'd be willing to bet that it's more synthetic than Tri-Synethetic.

I've tried to find the article(s) on google and only came up w/ these:

http://www.v8sho.com/SHO/Mobil1.htm
http://www.shoclub.com/V8chronicles/...ionlessons.htm

Search for "lawsuit" in those pages. If I find the other article (which I think is more credible), then I will post.

AFAIK, Redline and some Royal Purple brands (I don't believe the $4/quart one is fully synthetic) are fully synthetic. And they should considering they cost $8+/quart.

In conclusion, does it really matter? I don't think so. I use Mobil-1 knowing (and/or believing) that it may not be fully synthetic. What matters the most is that you change your oil every 3k miles w/ ANY oil you use. 5 quarts of Mobil-1 every 3k miles is still cheaper than a brand new long block. :)

Michael.

Re: Why synthetic oil?
 

What's so good about a synthetic oil? Well... a good synthetic would have:

1- higher flash point
2- more resistance to breakdown
3- more consistent viscosity
4- better lubrication during cold starts

Does it make a big difference? If you're not Speedracer, then, IMO, nope. Like I said in my previous post, what makes the biggest difference is if you change your oil regularly every 3k miles, regardless what the manufacturer states.

On that note, methinks manufacturers are under a mound of pressure to build a more "environment-friendly" vehicle and oil changes at 4+k miles is pushing that envelope.

Michael.

I agree that changing oil at appropriate intervals is the most important factor. From your list of advantages I think the biggest advantage of Synthetic for the average owner is the added cold start protection. Synthetic is suppossed to keep engine internals better lubricated when not in use.

When is a VQ not a VQ???
 

Synthetic should be OK in the Z... I think the manual is just wrong. If you go here...

http://www.nissan-techinfo.com/

...and look at the manuals for the Pathfinder, QX4, G35, and I35, they all recommend either mineral or synthetic.

Then look at the manual for the Maxima... It says the same thing as the Z, even though its VQ is the same as the I35.

I have a hard time believing that the VQ engine in the Z is so different that it can't take synthetic. If anything, the higher output would benefit more from better protection.

The e-mail response from NNA looks like it came from a customer support rep and not an engineer. They found the time to test synthetic in the Pathfinder, QX4, G35, and I35, but not the Maxima or Z???