Coming off the freeway I had to make a sharp turn and it goes somewhat sideways my oil light came on for a sec and once the car was straight again it went off...that scared the hell out of me.

The dipstick is useless because you can never get it to come out without tugging it and then there's oil all over (unless someone figured out a trick to actually read the oil levels right, then please share)

I just ordered a new batch of AMSOil since I'm do for my 3000 mile change in about 2 weeks but for now I have no extra AMSOIl.

My questions:
1) is it ok to mix oils, the only other 10w40 synthetic you can find in this damn town is Castrol which worked well for me before and since I do not want to risk starving my engine I might have to add a quart or two.
Is that ok or would I have to do a complete oil change to castrol until the amsoil arrives?

2) has anyone managed to get accurate readings of the dipstick and if so how since I can't get this thing to work?

3) Should I be worried that the light came on on a sideways hill and why would I be out of oil (I just had a change about 1 month ago moving to AMSOil)?

 

I guess I "trust" my reading of the dip stick when I get up in the morning and the car has sat over night. I don't know the answers to your questions about mixing oil brands though. I would say ask your installer. I know Peter suggested a mineral based oil though. So I guess I will ask what made you switch to synthetic..not that I believe that was a bad choice..I'm just currious. Also on the topic of our great dip stick...where does your stick read when your car is at proper oil level?

Peace

Marc

 

well i believe since you are using the aps oil pan you are supposed to be reading at the low oil level line and that would mean that you are at the correct level.

 

I was told that I should read between the "L" and the "F" to indicate a full reading with my APS kit. Thats why I ask. Everyone one here seems to say what you just did .....so I need to clarify with my installer who in fact gave me this information. I don't want to over fill and blow my oil seals on my turbo's. I just checked my oil level tonight and I read right between the L and F.

 

Just thought I'd post this info. from someone who works in the Oil Industry and posts on350zuk.com. It is a bit long LOL so if the thread starter objects, I can remove

I read so much stuff on the internet about Synthetic Oils that is simply not true so I felt it was time to tell the truth rather than accept the myth.

So in future when you see someone state any of these, please do me a favour and point them at this thread!

Synthetic motor oils damage seals:

Complete Nonsense! Any oil seals made after 1975 or thereabouts will be entirely compatible with any type of synthetic engine oil. (The same goes for synthetic gear oils and transmission oil seals.) It must be understood that everything associated with lubrication is thoroughly tested. The major oil manufacturers do not make oils that attack seals; seal manufacturers ensure that their products function correctly with modern lubricants.

Synthetic oils are too thin:

It is true that the best synthetic blends can be low viscosity (0w-20 for example), but they do not have to be! It is also true that the latest engines are designed to run on thin oil, which improves power output and fuel consumption. Even so, thicker synthetic based grades (10w-50, 15w-50, 20w-50etc) are available for air-cooled motors, older engines, or severe high temperature conditions. These grades can also benefit rebuilt classic engines dating back to the 1940s.

Synthetics mean higher oil usage:

The complete opposite of the truth. Oil consumption in well-maintained modern engines is mainly down to the oil evaporating at high temperatures. Synthetic base oils (specially the PAO and ester types) are very resistant to evaporation loss even in low viscosity blends, so oil consumption is minimised. Obviously, engines with worn valve guides, defective seals and worn piston rings will use oil regardless, so there is no point in using expensive synthetics as an ‘old banger lube’.

Synthetic oils are not compatible with other oils:

All engine oils intended for normal road use in recent 4-stroke engines are compatible with one another, regardless of the base make-up. (mineral, PAO/ester/hydrocracked synthetic, and semi-synthetic.) There is no need to flush or strip down an engine when changing from one type to another. (…but be careful with the exception: castor oil based racing oils.)

Synthetic oils produce sludge:

Well honestly, this is just totally daft. All synthetic bases are more resistant to oxidation than mineral oil, and sludge is largely due to oxidation. In any case, all motor oils intended for road use meet the higher API specs such as SH, SJ, SL and diesel equivalents. One of the main reasons for introducing the API specs back in the 1950s was to deal with oil sludge problems. All high-spec oils run very clean, especially synthetics.

Synthetic oils cannot be used with catalytic converters:

‘Cats’ will perform more efficiently and last longer if synthetic based engine oil is used. Their lower volatility (see 3 above) means that less oil reaches the combustion chambers via crankcase ventilation, so there are less harmful ash residues from burnt oil to de-activate the catalyst matrix.

Synthetic oils can void warranties:

People who make statements such as this never define the type of synthetic, thus revealing their ignorance. Provided that an oil meets or exceeds the API and viscosity ranges specified in the handbook, the warranty will not be affected. (By law, OEMs cannot insist that a particular brand of oil must be used to maintain warranty.)

Synthetic oils will last forever:

The better synthetic blends will certainly last longer*, especially in high performance or high annual mileage situations, but ‘forever’ is not on, simply because contaminants such as soot, and acid gasses from traces of sulphur in the fuel degrade the oil.
(*Provided that a very shear resistant VI improver polymer is used in the oil formulation to keep the viscosity up to spec. This point is often forgotten.

Synthetic oils are too expensive:

True, for older vehicles that use a lot of oil or are almost ready for the scrap yard. For cars that are worth maintaining, the right types of synthetic oil are a cost-effective way of retaining ‘as new’ performance, low fuel consumption, and reducing maintenance costs. (See 6 above, for example. ‘Cats’ aren’t cheap!)

 

ok, first of all I do know how to read a dip stick that was not my question.
My problem (and several other z owners that I know for that matter) is that you have to jiggle it around so much to get it out that even if you whipe it down before hand the oil is all over the place not giving you a good reading and I want to know if there's a trick to this madness...

I checked this morning with a cold engine and it did look fine. I then warmend up the engine to operating temps, shut it off, waited 10 minutes and then read it again. It still looked fine but it was harder to read.
So I figured maybe I just imagined the oil light...it was a long day.

I started driving and noticed that the oem oil pressure gauge would not go past 30 and rested around 10 on idle...now that told me that I do not have enough oil for sure. I pulled over and bought 2 quarts of castrol synthetic 10w40 and put in 1 quart ( didn't want to risk overfilling either). Checked the dipstick again and it was again pretty much unreadeble.
Turned on the engine and now it idles at 30 psi and runs at 60 psi when driving however it won't go beyond 60 no matter how hard I hit the throttle and I seem to be sure that it usually goes up to around 90 psi.

Can someone please clarify on where my oil psi should be since I believe I need to add more oil but don't know how much more.

Thanks

 

From the Service Manual (see below) and from a not-very scientific test carried out a while back (thread was about switch to synthetic from mineral)

Oil psi for factory fill mineral oil (10W-30 ?) in Blue. After changing to full synthetic 0W-30 in Red.

Engine cold

@ Idle 90 / 90

@ 40mph in 5th 90 / 90


Normal engine temp

@ Idle 20-25 / 25-30

@ 40mph in 5th 60 / 60

@ 60mph in 6th 55 / 55

 

so based on this I should be fine now

I could have sworn the pressure would go up to about 90 when I hit it hard

 

My questions:
1) is it ok to mix oils, the only other 10w40 synthetic you can find in this damn town is Castrol which worked well for me before and since I do not want to risk starving my engine I might have to add a quart or two.
Is that ok or would I have to do a complete oil change to castrol until the amsoil arrives? YES, IT IS PERFECTLY FINE TO MIX OILS.

2) has anyone managed to get accurate readings of the dipstick and if so how since I can't get this thing to work? I ALWAYS DO MINE IN SUNLIGHT SO YOU CAN CLEARLY SEE THE LINE. ITS PRETTY EASY IN DAYLIGHT TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE TRUE OIL LEVEL AND THE STUFF THE DIPSTICK PICKS UP FROM THE SIDE OF THE TUBE.

3) Should I be worried that the light came on on a sideways hill and why would I be out of oil (I just had a change about 1 month ago moving to AMSOil)? YES, THAT SHOULD NOT HAPPEN.

You mention something very interesting that concerns me. You said you added 1 quart of oil and it increased your pressure. Oil level should not really effect oil pressue. The pickup is either picking up oil or not, pressure should not change. It sounds like the pressue my have go up do to the reduced temp of the new oil going in or some other factor. After adding oil and driving a while, did the pressure go back down to those low readings?

 

once I started driving after adding the quart the pressure was around 60 when driving on the freeway and street and 30 when I idled. But prior to that it was around 10.

I was(am) afraid that maybe my oil pump has gine bad?
I'll be watching closely in the next few days.

I also checked I have no oil leaks.

I have been tracking the car a lot in the last few weeks and I drive a lot during the week (long commute to work) so it might be normal to burn some oil...
I will try checking the level in sun light maybe that will work a bit better

 

I find if ring of top of dipstick is pointing forwards and aligned longitudinally, then an 1/8 of a turn (left or right can't recall which) and it comes out fine. Warm engine then leave for 10 mins as you say also seems to be best.

 

I just tried it in the parking lot turn to the right worked...much smoother thanks!

I had to but another 1/4 quart in there and now it's fine and the pressure gauge is reading as it's supposed to read. Well, I'll be watching the next few days, hopefully it was just heavy wear and tear as opposed to damaged parts