Nissan Maxima: moble 1? should I switch

habibe99 wrote: 

This is a matter of opinion. Mine is that Nissan engines run pretty much
forever no matter what brand of oil you use or how often you change it
(within reason), so why spend the extra money? Mine's at 141K currently
running on "whatever is on sale" (as long as it's SG rated) dino oil
changed every 5K. Still runs like new and doesn't use a drop between
changes.

I've randomly used Mobil 1 (typically 5-30) for years.
I typically don't buy a car new, but look for a clean one with low miles
that also has a low price. If I plan to keep the car for a long time I
will use Mobil 1.

Sold a 1989 Range Rover that I owned for 11 years & had over 325,000
miles. Still ran strong but the aluminum housing behind the water pump was
showing severe loss of metal. Sold it for $700 to local guy that said he
wanted to use it on his farm for a work vehicle. He lied, & sold it within
a few weeks to an unsuspecting guy for $5000.

Early this year sold a 1995 Aurora with about 170,000 to
an acquaintance. Probably 90 % of the oil used was Mobil 1.
Still ran perfectly & used about 1 quart between changes that I would do
between 5000 & 6000 miles. With cruise control I could get close to 30
miles per gallon at 60MPH.
At 70 to 80 would get about 24. I replaced this car with a 1999 Aurora
that will have Mobil 1.

We have a 1989 Maxima SE that my house spouse bought new.
I finally convinced her to start using Mobil 1. The car now has 230,000
miles & runs strong (except for low rpm problem) that I'm trying to fix.
She currently drives a 1998 I30 that will hopefully last us about 10 more
years.

I also had a 1978 Mercedes that had over 300,000 miles & a local heavy
equipment guy is restoring it & has no plans to do anything to the
engine.

I believe that the typical fuel mileage increase & reduced wear on the
engine plus the 'cold winter' ease of starting are three strong reasons to
use Mobil 1. Floating around the internet somewhere is a good comparison
of virtually all the available oils. I read it several years ago.
Several oils had excellent specs but I use Mobil 1 since they were one of
the first to make it commercially available.

habibe99 wrote:
 

Depends. I'm not a fan of extended oil intervals, you still have the
problems of dirt and acids etc. I think you'd be better off doing dino oil
at 3K than synthetic at 5K. For a turbo car or one used in high temp area's
synthetic is great.

--

Steve

http://www.atlantaracing.com

It is quite common in Europe to change oil on 10,000 mile
intervals... even longer if the car is equipped with an oil monitoring
system. And this is manufacturers' recommended intervals. Of course
they use synthetic oils, like Mobil1.

Europe has a much more extensive oil rating system (well beyond weight
and API rating). You select the oil based on it's rating, and then
change on intervals according to the rating. The rating tells you
thinks like: how long the oil "stays in grade", how long the oil
retains a level of corrosion protection and detergent action, etc.
(Synthetics, obviously, have "higher" ratings). It's more
complicated, easier to screw yourself up pretty badly, but you can
pick the level of protection vs. bother you want.

And then again... it's also not so common for manufacturers to offer
50Kmile+ powertrain warranties in Europe. Nor are third party
extended warranties common. So what is the risk? except to the
end-consumer.

FWIW, odds are you could safely use a 5000 mile oil change interval
even with a good quality modern petroleum-based oils without serious
problems, especially within a "normal" lifetime of use. Modern motor
oils, even petroleum oils, are far better than people think... in
fact, most auto manufacturers allow a 6000 mile or more interval with
them. And extended warranties don't squeam about it.

BuddyWh

On 05 Sep 2004 17:15:08 GMT, comnospam (habibe99) wrote:
 

On 05 Sep 2004 17:15:08 GMT, comnospam (habibe99) graced
us with:
 


I just had this discussion the other week while getting my oil changed
- due to a bad sending unit. ($35 including parts and labor.)

The mechanic, whom I trust for various reasons, suggested I keep my
money and run with dino oil for these reasons. I'll give you his and
let you make your own decision:

1. The manufacturer recommended dino oil, so why change?

2. Dino oil is cheaper than synthetic and should be changed at 3K to
5K miles.

3. Changing oil at 3K to 5K miles also changes the filter and any shit
accumulated in the oil, regardless of whether or not it has broken
down.

4. In his experience, he's seen fewer engine issues with people
running dino oil than with those running synth oil.

5. I drive mostly freeways, and don't overheat much. There's less
breakdown and can reliably go 5K miles on the dino oil. I could
probably go more but see # 3.

kai
kai at 3gproductions dot com

"friends don't let friends use windows xp"

wht is dyno oil? I usuall use a regular 5w-30 oil (either pansoil or
valvoiline)
-Slick Nick

> Depends. I'm not a fan of extended oil intervals, you still have the 

All my life I've been told to change the oil every 2000-3000 miles,
which I've always adhered to. When I used synthetic (Mobil1 or
Amsoil), I changed at about twice the miles.

But with newer cars and oils I've revised my thinking. My BMW 5281
came from the factory with synthetic and the engine computer tells you
when to change it---typically at 15,000 miles. I've gone 8,000 miles
since the last change, and the dipstick hasn't moved. So I think there
is something to modern engines and oils.

Also, while traveling with friends in the UK last summer, I learned
that their recommended oil changes for "dino" oil has always been much
higher than in the US. At least twice as much. And that they blamed US
oil companies for pushing early oil changes. Their little 1.6 liter
engines are pushed to the max on autoways, yet they only need an oil
change every 7500-9000 miles. Certainly a relatively huge US-style
engine, barely stressed at our reduced speeds, would survive with
extended oil changes as well.

I think you can use sythetic or conventional oil with no real
differences, as long as you use the recommended weight. Don't use
10W-30 or (gasp!) 10W-40 in cars that require 5W-20 or you will gum up
the rings and wear out the engine prematurely.

Matthew
01 Max SE
00 Bmw 528

"habibe99" <comnospam> wrote in message
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up 
a 
besides it 

I've been using it in my 97 SE since 65k (at 123k now). Do I think it makes
a difference? Can't tell. I always change at 3k - the age of oil is a
separate issue from the synthetic vs. dino. Basically, changing at 3k
ensures clean oil - just because synthetic can last longer doesn't mean much
to me. The only reason I'm running the Mobil 1 is because I also have a
turbocharged RX-7 which I prefer to feed synthetic, and it's simply easier
to keep stock of one oil for both cars.

If I bought a newer car which specified longer oil change intervals, I'd
consider it. But I know the filters and oil system in my Maxima is designed
for 3k changes so that's what I'm doing now.

Dave