Oil questions...

[shyamrox]

Hey All,

So yesterday day I discovered this deal on amazon for Royal Purple which includes a free royal purple oil filter...

Deal is Here


Anyhow this got me wondering....

I know the Nissan Manual/dealer says to change the oil every 3mo/3000 miles, but if I change the oil to a fully synthetic blend, how do I know how often I really need to change the oil?

Currently I put in the X:
Valvoline SYNpower SAW 5W-30 Full Synthetic Motor Oil
Fram Tough Guard Oil filter (Yes, now I know better, next time I will use Pureolator Pure One )


I'm at 3000miles now on it....but whats the rule of thumb for when to change it when you use better oil/filters?

If I go with the Royal Purple deal (oil & royal purple oil filter), how long could I drive on it?

Most of my driving is stop&go, occasional highway driving, but not daily.

Thanks!
Shyam

 

[obi_krash]

This could thread could go on forever. Everyone will have their own opinion of when to change, what to use, combinations, etc.

I personally go about 5k to 8k, running full synthetic, high mileage oil. For me it depends on how much driving I have been doing and the type of driving. So if I hit about 5kish and thinking back I have been really using the MX (and I have some free time) I will change out the oil.

The 3k suggestion is from the conventional oil days. Most synthetics these days can be used till 8k-10k miles. I think it's Mobil One that boasts you can go like 15k an oil change.

So really boils down to - what do you find your truck needs, what is your personal preference, and how bored are you on a saturday afternoon.

Just my two cents.

 

[shyamrox]

Haha Thanks obi_krash! Yea, I was thinking I would do the 3k change to have an excuse to get rid of the toughguard filter, and then put in the royal purple and drive it for 5k....what I don't want is excessive engine wear...if I stick with fully synthetic & a "good" filter does oil change every 5k sound safe? I want to be one of those guys who have 200k+ on thier X lol

 

[Muadeeb]

The book says if you just "go", you can do 6k on conventional. That means: trips of at least 20 miles, no stop and go, no excessive idling, no extremely high speeds (in a brick) no mountains and no dust/sand

Note: I'm doing this from memory, so I may be off on some finer details

Sent via wild ferrets on crack

 

[obi_krash]

Haha Thanks obi_krash! Yea, I was thinking I would do the 3k change to have an excuse to get rid of the toughguard filter, and then put in the royal purple and drive it for 5k....what I don't want is excessive engine wear...if I stick with fully synthetic & a "good" filter does oil change every 5k sound safe? I want to be one of those guys who have 200k+ on thier X lol

We might need some of the longer term owners of a 1st gen to speak up about if that will work. The 2nd gens are a lil different, but I we have a VAXC guy that followed the plan I do and he went over 200k miiles.

 

[Prime]

I'm doing 5-6k between changes on Mobil 1 full synthetic.

 

[Muadeeb]

Also: 230K on mine and most of that (100K+) was on 6k changes of Penzoil High Mileage oil

 

[shyamrox]

Prime - how many miles do you have on your '02?

 

[Prime]

112k

 

[Prime]

No leaks. No burning.

 

[shyamrox]

Thanks!

 

[obi_krash]

Also, by the way - that is a really good deal. No one really mentioned that part, lol.

 

[OffRdX]

I run Royal Purple and K&N filter in my 2nd gen. 5-6k intervals, like Obi said, when I get bored on a Saturday in that mileage range. I can get a 5qt jug of their 5w-30 on base for like $30.


Sent from my portable electronic device.

 

[obi_krash]

I run Royal Purple and K&N filter in my 2nd gen. 5-6k intervals, like Obi said, when I get bored on a Saturday in that mileage range. I can get a 5qt jug of their 5w-30 on base for like $30.


Sent from my portable electronic device.

$30 for Royal Purple?

I watch the Auto Zone ads and grab Mobil 1 when it's on sale b/c I use it in my X and her Alty.

 

[OffRdX]

Yup, $30. I did this on last week btw and I just want to say that I hate my X's dipstick. (Let the jokes begin).


Sent from my portable electronic device.

 

[obi_krash]

Yup, $30. I did this on last week btw and I just want to say that I hate my X's dipstick. (Let the jokes begin).


Sent from my portable electronic device.

heh, dipstick.

But on the real, those things do suck! They . . . (damn, no good one to say this) have a hard time getting in the, place, they belong.

 

[rolling rock]

I also run the valvoline synthetic. I will go 5-6k between changes.

 

[Muadeeb]

heh, dipstick.

But on the real, those things do suck! They . . . (damn, no good one to say this) have a hard time getting in the, place, they belong.

I have no problems getting the dipstick in the hole. It only needs a little hands on assistance at the end.

My problem is reading it.

Sent via wild ferrets on crack

 

[shyamrox]

Also, by the way - that is a really good deal. No one really mentioned that part, lol.

Haha - I thought so too! I was considering buying the deal a second time just to have extra....One guy on amazon was saying the filters he got from royal purple were defective...but everyone else said they are great....

 

[J Everett]

I've been doing 5k mile intervals on oil changes since my first new car in 1998. I've also used nothing but Mobil 1 since that time. Now, the only times I've ever looked at engine internals since then have been for valve cover gasket changes on my '98 Ranger at 130k miles and my wife's Focus at 90k miles. There was zero visible wear on the cams and rockers. I've also never had issues with oil blowing by the piston rings, so I would assume I'm not getting any scoring on my cylinder walls. That's all the evidence I need to continue with Mobil 1 and 5k mile oil changes. It also means I never have to guess when I last changed my oil. I changed my break in oil at 3500, next oil change was 7000, then 10k, 15k, 20k etc. After break-in, it's always on the multiples of 5k.

But, like previous posters have said, it might be possible to go longer between oil changes. I might be changing too often. But at a little over 10k miles a year, I can spring for an oil change every 5k and not feel like I'm wasting money.