hwj

To Itzted350z:

So, what's the mechanics of keeping the "used oil" and re-running it with a new filter? Are you filering it before throwing it back in?

Stinger1

I would recommend that a regular motor oil be used for about the first 15,000 miles to let the engine break in. Changing it of course every 3,000 miles or more often in extreme conditions. I have found a Synthetic called Royal Purple which I have been using for a few years now and love it. I let it go about 6,000 miles between changes. It actually feels like it gives the car more power. You can check out their website at: http://royalpurple.com/

No, I don't work for them but, I don't mind recommending products I have had good luck with.

zPilott

iTrader: (3)

I dont know what other cars are like this, but in my friends 98 M3 you can change the filter without draining the oil. It is accessable from the top of the engine, and you just pull it out and drop in a new one. He changes the filter ever 3k or so and flushes the Mobile 1 every third change.

samw1978

Anyone of you tried Castrol Full synthetic 5W50? heard it's pretty good oil too

flipity101

amsoil does some awesome stuff, ive used it personally and been more then satisfued. they also have their own filter out which are something else to. they have a full synthetic which they say you can get 20K between changes and they have a 7500 mile one to for a little less. about the oil filter, if you get an oil filter reloaction kit, i know like Perma-Cool makes one you can mount your filter higher in the system therfore not having to change the oil everytime you change the filter.

lew f

I plan on service (oil (Mobil 1) and filter) every 5000. I have talked to my dealer's Service Manager and he will work with me on it. Why would ytou want to go motre than 5K. Oil is the most important factor in the life of an engine.
L

n8vz

Castrol Syntec 5W-50 is good stuff. It is advertised to flow like 5 weight oil in the cold and the protection of 50 weight oil when hot. In my area, they typically run a little bit more then Mobil 1 or Valvaline synthetics.(but not as expensive as Redline or Motul)

hwj

Interesting point, I just purchased both Castrol's syntech and Mobil 1. The Quest got the Syntech; the Z got the Mobil 1.
Price of the Castrol was about 30 cents less that Mobil 1 per quart.

Gadgetman

I will be changing to Mobil 1 at next change. Did first change at 2kmi. You want to break engine in with dino oil ( Castrol GTX in there now) and this will take ~ 5 kmi to do it. If you put synthetic in too early, your engine will take longer to break in completely, and may not even get to it's full potential if you drain and change to synthetic right from the start.
Once converting, I plan to keep within factory intervals... probably sooner. If you don't, you'll void your warranty coverage should somethng go wrong w/ engine (which may not even be oil elated) down the road. At least that's what Nissan told me in an e-mail on the topic.

2002 Maxima SE

I use Valvoline synthetic 5w30. I waited until 10k then started using the synthetic.

I have also started draining/refilling the transmission every 5k with Mobil 1 Synthetic ATF. I will do this 3 times then wait until 30k or 40k and do it again.

syf0n

I use Mobil1 0W-40. I have this in every car I drive, mostly Porsche. Only the best

Of all the blends that Mobil1 makes, it is my understanding that 0W-40 is best for performance cars. Have a read of the list on their site, I'm sure it will help some of you out...even if you don't use Mobil, it will give you and understanding of what all the various weights do for your engine:

http://www.mobil.com/USA-English/Lub...Collection.asp

syf0n

I use Mobil1 0W-40. I have this in every car I drive, mostly Porsche. Only the best

Of all the blends that Mobil1 makes, it is my understanding that 0W-40 is best for performance cars. Have a read of the list on their site, I'm sure it will help some of you out...even if you don't use Mobil, it will give you and understanding of what all the various weights do for your engine:

http://www.mobil.com/USA-English/Lub...Collection.asp

03SilverstoneZ

Only oil in my book is Royal Purple 5W30. Ever since I ran their products in my WRX I have been sold since. I used their synthetic oil, transmission fluid and Rear diff in the Subaru and gain 8awhp and that is what sold me. Don't use anything else.

Mobile 1 in a good synthetic oil also, this is what we use at Huffines Chevy-Subaru when vehicle owners ask what synthetic oil we run.

I will post pics of the dyno run that I had from just changing the fluid to RP products, as soon as I find it

just my .02

-David

hwj

What's the cost of Royal Purple per quart vs Mobil1 [which I've used for 15 years] and vs Red Line ?

I've considered Royal Purple but haven't heard about cost or about change intervals. Red Line's - change the filter regually with an oil change once a year, more or less, scares me and seems very tricky/dangerous.

Additionally where can it be purchased?

03SilverstoneZ

Royal Purple is going to cost you a bit more than you Mobil 1 does. I get mine from my buddies Dads shop at cost so I am not sure what the resale goes for I can find out that is not a problem.

As far as intervals of how often to change even when I run synthetic I still change oil out every 3,000 miles. I do my first oil change at 1,000 miles to get all the metal shavings out of the motor ,but when I go to put in oil I use the same oil that came with the car from the factory, then finally change over to synthetic at 3500-4000 miles.

Just the way I have done it and seems to work since every time I dyno one of my cars it some how serpasses the so called "stock Horsepower".

Like in my WRX the average awhp on a stock motor was somewhere in between 167-176. Mine a Whopping 189.6 awhp. There is only one other person I know that had a WRX that made more power stock than me, an he came out with 191.4 awhp, go figure

To find a retailer near you go to www.royalpurple.com and you can find some one near you.

just my .02

-David

Resolute

iTrader: (2)

M1 is as good as anyone would need. RP and Redline make good products, and so does Amsoil but they are not readily available for most people, and as I remember- Amsoil does not have proper certification on most of their engine oils. The drain intervals can only be determined by an analysis from a company such as Blackstone Labs. It'll cost you 15 bucks and give you all the info you could want on how your engine is running and how well your oil is holding up. M1 0W-40 is screamin stuff, and Castrol Syntec is garbage for the price. Castrol Syntec is not a true synthetic, it is a group III oil, while M1 is the only true PAO oil you can buy off a shelf. An exception is the rare german bottles of Syntec, they are yellow I believe, and they are sold here in only 0W-40. This is an Esther base oil, so it is group V and seems to be prefered over M1 by a lot of people. However, I have not found any and M1 is cheap where I work @ 4 bucks a quart. Most of this info and more that you might want to know is discussed every day at theoildrop. It's a forum run by an engineer named bob. I'm typing this from a friends computer and don't have the adress, sorry. Try going to the site, bobistheoilguy.com, and thereshould be a link to the forums.

hwj

M1 is the only true PAO oil you can buy



What is PAO oil?

max350

It costs about $40 a year for me to change oil. I change it approximately every 3 to 4 months. I use either Castrol or Pennzoil 5W-30 (5 quarts at $1 each); Nissan oil filter (the bigger one at $4.47 each). I change the filter at every oil change.

I don't see that the gain of synthetic oils justifies the cost; especially in the VQ engine. People can argue that synthetics protect better, lubes better, etc. But the VQ is designed to take regular oil as the E46 M3 is designed to take synthetic. So I believe feed her what she needs, not what you think she needs.

Inova

can someone please explain what the numbers and letters mean for synthetic oil

0w-40
10w-30
10w-40

i know it has something to do with temperature and weight. btw i live in houston texas = very hot and humid weather. i bought mobil 1 synthetic 10w-30 for my first oil change.

dr_gallup

Hey www.bobistheoilguy.com is a cool site. You are right about Castrol Syntec not being a true synthetic. They had to go to court to get a ruling allowing them to label it a synthetic. It is just super refined dino oil. The courts F*CKED UP again. I used it for a while till I learned the truth. You can get Amsoil through a large independant dealer network or direct from them. It's available almost everywhere, just not at Wallmart, etc. Most of their oils have multiple certifications and are totally compatible with street engines and warranties. I use their ASL 5w30 in my Z. They have a very good web site also, www.amsoil.com Just avoid their XL-7500 series, it is group III like Syntec. I guess they figured if you can't beat em join em. The group III oils are just a little cheaper than the PAO oils but can not be used for the extended drain intervals.