[floaty98]

I took my car into Grease Monkey this weekend to get my 3k oil change, they have been putting in regualr oil but the gentleman said I should be using synthetic in the MO... I was curious what everyone else uses, regular or synthetic?

Synthetic costs soo much more than a regular oil change $30 vs $55 is it really worth it though? Id love to hear your opinions.

 

[Kris]

Look here: oil questions

 

[ekaxel]

IMHO, it is a matter of personal preference. I use synthetic because I think it technically superior to petroleum based lubricants.

 

[Eric L.]

Changing the oil regularly (every 5000 miles) with normal motor oil will be just fine for your vehicle. Synthetic oil does perform better than normal oil, especially under extreme cold startup or extended high temperature driving. I personally use Mobil One synthetic since I change my own oil.

 

[SugarRushMurano]

I know it has been discussed severaL times...

Some ppl dont care whether it is regular dyno oil or synthetic.
Some ppl dont care whether it is changed every 3k (jiffy llube), 4K - 5K (typical japanese cars recomendation) or 7K - 10K (typical German's car recomendation).

The first premise above is OK.
The second premise, at minimum, should be follow per the manufacturer recomendation. Of course, if do it more often, it will not give you any advantage.

Synthetic does last longer that dyno oil. But this is not the reason to extend the drain interval.
Synthetic does protect better than dyno oil.

If you want to safe money, use dyno and change your oil diligently per the car manufacturer recomendation. Learn to do it urself, save you lots in the long run.
If you want a better protection, use synthetic and change oil per car manuf recomendation as well.

I use mobil1 supersyn for my other car and valvoline syncpower for the mo, so far so good.

 

[Mr3Putt]

The MO has got to be the easiest self oil change on the planet. I just cut the wheel to the right, lift that little inner wheel well flap, and have total access to the filter. The car sits high enough that even my big a$$ can wiggle under there and get to the drain plug. Without a jack or ramp.

Mobile 1 from Costco, Fram filter from Pep boys, Heineken from the garage fridge, 20 minutes of my time and she's all changed for under $30.

I finally stopped at Nissan and picked up crush washers. I didn't use them for the first two changes with no ill effects. I'm not pressing my luck any furthur though...

 

[Eric L.]

The MO has got to be the easiest self oil change on the planet. I just cut the wheel to the right, lift that little inner wheel well flap, and have total access to the filter. The car sits high enough that even my big a$$ can wiggle under there and get to the drain plug. Without a jack or ramp.

Mobile 1 from Costco, Fram filter from Pep boys, Heineken from the garage fridge, 20 minutes of my time and she's all changed for under $30.

I finally stopped at Nissan and picked up crush washers. I didn't use them for the first two changes with no ill effects. I'm not pressing my luck any furthur though...

I would not worry about the copper crush washers. If you have them, change them every other oil change (I think thats the official recommendation from nissan). To keep track, I just put a washer on every other oil filter box on my garage shelf. However that said, I doubt the dealer actually changes these things when you take the car in for service anyways.

 

[MarkY]

I would not worry about the copper crush washers. If you have them, change them every other oil change (I think thats the official recommendation from nissan). To keep track, I just put a washer on every other oil filter box on my garage shelf. However that said, I doubt the dealer actually changes these things when you take the car in for service anyways.

You're probably OK doing what you propose, but as cheap as crush washers are, coupled with the fact that I HATE oil leaks, I use a new crush washer every oil change.

I'm curious about Nissan's recommendation. A crush washer by design is only good once. I'm not saying you'll have any ill effects if you use one a second (or even a third) time, but they are really made to be used once.

 

[dklanecky1]

I actually had the last change on my 00 Maxima SE (with 143k) on it start leaking oil from the drain plug (for the first time ever) because the dumb oil jockey put a new crush washer on but forgot to remove the old one.

Apparently two washers isn't better than one since as soon as we went to one washer, the leak stopped.

 

[Stoker]

Synthetic or regular oil

I have been using Mobil one in all my cars for over 15 years and usually drive my cars till they almost have 300,000 Km on them before I sell them. I have never had an engine failure while using synthetic oil.

The one reason I use synthetic is the fact that you get instant oil pressure in your car regardless of the temperature. In Calgary it does get very cold ( down to -40C), at this temperature you know that your oil will still flow, pour point of this oil is -65C. Considering when we start the Mo's they seem to want to idle up around 1000 rpms. We all know that you can damage your engine if you do not have oil pressure and that can happen when you start up for the first few seconds. With synthetic oil you will always have instant oil pressure.

The same is true when you are operating your Mo during the height of summer and driving up and down mountain passes. Synthetic oil does not break down under high engine temperatures ( loss of viscosity) which leads to low oil pressure regardless if you are at normal oil level.

I do not know if Mobil show this commercil in the US, but it showed what happen to regular oil if you put into into frying pan and heated it up, it showed the oil start to smoke and bubble, whereas when the Mobil synthetic oil was heated up the same way it was fine. The actor then asked which type of oil do you want to use in your car.


:29: :29:

 

[SIM]

Nissan recommends mineral oil in the owner manual.

This being said, here is why I use 100% synthetic oil instead of mineral oil:

* mineral oil degrades very fast, sometimes as early as 2500 km(viscosity factor).

* mineral oil is subject to very easy contamination when water is present (condensation). A little gas from flooding and it looses all its lubricant properties.

* mineral oil becomes molasse at -30 and the engine head runs dry for quite a while before the temperature raise high enough for normal oil operation. This is a killer for many expensive parts, oil pump, etc...

* A good 100% synthetic (Amsoil, Mobil 1, Bardhal, Red Line, ...) will keep its viscosity and lubricant properties much longer than mineral. Amsoil with any regular oil filter is recommended for 25,000 miles. If you use their special microfilter system (a $500 addon), you can change your oil every 100,000 miles with a yearly oil analysis from their labs.

* Synthetic oils are not degraded by water and they remain liquid even at -40.

But, pay attention to the sticker. Many cheaper syntec are not 100% syntec, as they have a small percentage (+/-5%) petroleum base content. Although these behave better then pure mineral oils in extreme conditions, they offer inferior standards compared with 100% syntec.

 

[ekaxel]

The Amsoil "microfilter" system, a combination bypass and full flow filter package, retails for about $200US. I have it on my MO. The installation was a little tricky, but it works well. I don't go for the 100k oil changes. I change oil and full flow every 8-10k miles, and the bypass every other oil change.

 

[andy]

..... I finally stopped at Nissan and picked up crush washers. I didn't use them for the first two changes with no ill effects. I'm not pressing my luck any furthur though...

i was wondering what "crush washers" were.
anybody knows please?

 

[Eric L.]

The crush washer is a metal gasket you screw onto the drain plug, to keep the plug secure in between oil changes. Its not necessary, but its nice to have.

 

[Stoker]

Synthetic or Regular

The crush washer is a metal gasket you screw onto the drain plug, to keep the plug secure in between oil changes. Its not necessary, but its nice to have.

My Dealer supplies a copper crush washer to ever new filter you buy. I agree it may be not necessary, but it is cheap peace of mind

 

[Eric L.]

Yes I also purchase a washer with each filter I buy, I just tape it to the filter box as a convenient reminder. Nissan technically recommends replacing the crush gasket every other oil change.

 

[bruno]

I asked two Nissan dealers the same question "When can I switch to synthetic oil" and they both had the same answer. Wait until about 12,000 miles, until breakin is certain.
So I did.

 

[mozman]

The Amsoil "microfilter" system, a combination bypass and full flow filter package, retails for about $200US. I have it on my MO. The installation was a little tricky, but it works well. I don't go for the 100k oil changes. I change oil and full flow every 8-10k miles, and the bypass every other oil change.

Does this mean you're spending $200+cost of synth oil every 8-10K? That's a lot more expensive than simply changing synth oil and a regular oil filter every 3K. It's a little over the top for most Mo owners here.

Would self-installing the Amsoil system void your warranty?

 

[zebelkhan]

Does this mean you're spending $200+cost of synth oil every 8-10K? That's a lot more expensive than simply changing synth oil and a regular oil filter every 3K. It's a little over the top for most Mo owners here.

Would self-installing the Amsoil system void your warranty?

I think the initial investment is $200. Then it is cost of oil and filter every 8 to 10K.

 

[Jay]

How do you get fasteners out?

When I want to change the filter in my new Mo, how do I get those little fasteners in the wheel well out to access the oil filter? Pry them with a screwdriver?