We use a yellow pine powdered floor cleaner in our shop. I've used it at home when I've spilled a few drops. You have to get at cleaning it right away. Concrete is very pourous and if you leave it too long, it will become almost impossible to get off completely. You can find this at a lot of parts stores. Gunk makes it and their part number (in Canada) is SW2.

Good Luck AK.

Best post ever,man. Very informative. Thanks for taking the time.

I'm re posting that link cause i thought it was extremely helpful as far as deciding the right filter.

Don't Use Nissan OEM Oil Filters (Long Post - Lotsa Pics) - MyG37


Again thank you.

sucks about your driveway!! just want to say though stopped at a local dealership and the gave me a few copper washers free of charge!

I got the same thing when I went in to o'reillys to buy some royal purple for my 370z. I was around 2400 miles and a 1/2 qt low. What they told me was that the nissan z engines break in period is 6k miles. He said the royal purple stuff is thicker than the regular synthetics and won't allow the engine to properly break in if you use it before the 6k mile area. Whether that's true or not I don't know. Thought's anyone?

IT is always recommended to wait a little before switching to synthetic motor oil. Few waits 3000 miles, some 5000 and some will religiously wait 10,000 miles. I waited 3600 miles where some members here switched as early as 1200 miles. Though, the redline bottle recommended at least 3,000 miles. So, I'd recommend wait untill 4,000 -5,000 miles and then switch to synthetic oil.

Has anybody had any experience with the Nismo front bumper using these ramps(or others?).

To make sure I have the right ramps, how much should I pay? Best place to get them is online?

I did my first oil change today, and I have the sport package air dams.
I have 56" Race Ramps, and they work perfectly.
I suspect they will work on the Nismo as well.
Because of the shallow approach they are the easiest load I've ever done.
They are also extra wide so putting the car up by yourself is worry free.
They are a little pricey.
$200.00 for the pair.

They are very light... I'd say about 5lbs each.
I hang them on the wall for an out of the way storage solution.


56" Ramps - Car Ramps | Get your Car Up 8"! | Race Ramps, your best solution for Lightweight Low Profile Car Ramps!

the misinformation just keeps on coming

Here is Mobil's response to an inquiry about Nissan Ester Oil...Mobil has a very high opinion of it's generic "synthetic", I dunno about the "extended Performance" flavor, though.

https://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English...n_Engines.aspx

I just did my first oil change saturday on my Nismo. I did not use any ramps though, I just jacked up the right side of the car and squeezed up there a little bit. It wasn't the most ideal and I'll probably look into ramps for the next time. I'm spoiled having had floor jacks and jack stands until recently...

I went to the Grubbs Infiniti down the road (closer than the nearest Nissan dealer) and asked for some copper drain plug washers and the guy at the counter was nice enough to give me half a dozen at no charge. :happydance:

A couple small differences with the underbody diffuser on the Nismo btw. I'll edit the pictures later tonight to accent where the clips and bolts are.

The diffuser. Note the extra rectangle panel held in with (9) clips.
http://www.the370z.com/members/vipor...r-diffuser.jpg

Inside the fender well. (3) clips on each side.
http://www.the370z.com/members/vipor...well-clips.jpg

Another shot. Don't know what that dark spot is....
http://www.the370z.com/members/vipor...well-clips.jpg

The diffuser removed. You can see the (3) initial clips that AK mentioned, recessed into the area that the rectangle panel covers.
http://www.the370z.com/members/vipor...sassembled.jpg

All done. FilterMag and Magnetic Drain Plug in place.
http://www.the370z.com/members/vipor...-installed.jpg

Great info on the Nismo. Thanks. It almost makes me want to give in and just pay the $90 at the dealership.

^Don't give in!

The only way you'll know for sure that it was done right is to do it yourself. If ramps are an issue just use a floor jack and 2 jack stands - easy!

It will be worth it to do it yourself. For both you and the Z.

I was talking to a buddy at work today telling him about the filter mag and the magnetic drain bolt and he thought they were cool mods, but was sure that they would be "gone" after the first oil change (he takes his in). He's probably right, out of ignorance or disrespect these extra steps that some have chosen to take would mean nothing to most oil change techs.

I shudder at the thought of taking my Z to someone else for the basic maintenance that I am capable of doing myself. I still hate taking it in even when it's something I haven't yet learned to do. I just know that no one is going to be as careful or thorough as I would be with my stuff.

Rant over. :twocents:

Keep in mind I definitely did it the hard way, only jacking up the right side of the car. I just learned the hard way (not too hard) that next time I'll get my floor jack and stands out of storage. Now that I know exactly what needs to be done I can knock out the next oil change in less than an hour for sure.

Sidenote: my factory oil filter was on unbelievably tight. I used some oil filter pliers that I'd had for a while and some shop rags to get it off. I ended up having to hammer in the "tongs" on them to be able yo grab the tiny little filter. I crushed in the sides of the old filter pretty badly too, oh well.

Copper Washer - Used as a crush washer between the engine and the drain plug. You torque the drain plug down over it, and the soft copper metal will smash between the two harder metals, and fill the gaps, creating a seal. EVERYTIME you tighten the drain plug, you will need to use a New copper washer.

Tight Oil Filter trick - If your stock oil filter is on too tight, and you can't seem to take it off, and you don't own an oil filter wrench, I stab a screwdriver all the way through the filter, and twist it off that way. Make sure you have already drained the oil though, otherwise oil will SPEW!

Good idea, but yes, it sounds messy for sure. +1 :tup:

To AK370Z Good morning to you fine sir wait it's night What The BEEP . . . Are you still using the RedLine oil products ? If so how is it working out for you ? If not what are you using now ?

Yes sir, I'm still using redline synthetic motor oil. Just did my 2nd oil change at 9,000 miles and I'm currently at 11,xxx. Car runs VERY smooth. No valvetrain noise at idle. Redline has polyol ester which is recommended (not required) by Nissan. Fantastic product. :tup:

AK': I'm gonna sell you a story, like it was sold to me about a year ago; you have the final say on the issue, dude. Some engineer (forgot his name) decided to test all the oil filters on the U.S. market, so he went ahead and bought a sample of each. He then proceeded to split 'em open and check for quality in the materials used to manufacture them. The clear winner was Purolator's Pureone. I know, I know, it took me by surprise, too! Afterwards, I've read even more reports by other engineers backing the original guy's claims. So, I kept checking the local auto stores, and when they had the Pureones on sale, I purchased 6 of 'em!, 'cause my wife's P'finder uses the same one as my '04.5 Touring Coupe ($4.99 each!, from their regular price of $6.99). BTW, thanks for the DIY post, dude!

there is a link if you search around where they cut them all open, i do prefer pureone too as a result of that webpage.

Jonn: If you're not using ramps, at the very least use jackstands. Safety 1st., dude.

I agree, like I said, I wouldn't recommend doing your oil change the way I did. I used the factory scissor jack so I wasn't concerned with it lowering while I was doing the work. Still, I had more than a shoulder (and arm) under the car only once, for a short period of time. Kept my head in the clear. Getting that effin stock filter off was a bear though :P

Next time: Jack + Stands = Win

hey man this looks alot different than changing the oil on my previous car. how long did this take you?

Lets see :

Bring the car up on ramp = 1 minute

Take all 16 bolts and 3 clips off = 5 minutes (thanks to motorized screwdriver)

Drain and fill = 15 minutes

Put the bolts and clips back = 5 minutes

Go out for a test drive = 2 hours :D

I'd say good 30 to 40 minutes for the oil change :hello:

Just wanted to say thanks for making my first oil change on the Z easy. It was nice to know what to expect. I tried draining the oil by removing the 4 bolts and folding the flap but I didn't have much room to work with (used 2 jacks :-x). I ended up removing the whole cover and it was cake. The z had 3738 miles :) I know I shouldve done it sooner but I barely lost oil, it still looked good, and times are tough to have done an oil change at 1000 or whatever. Engine is definitely quieter..

You're welcome. I'd glad my diy helped you during your oil change. I bought a motorized screwdriver from ebay for $10 shipped and I can take all those bolts off in like 3 minutes! Great tool to have. :tup:

Hmmm, I'll keep that in mind for the next one. For some reason I just figured it was more than that so I didn't even bother looking. I used Nissan oil, oem filter and the magnetic plug from courtesyparts. I'm sure it's some other brand but I liked the chrome bolt (? Lol, no one sees it, I know) and the magnet seems to have more surface area than the one you have here (probably makes no difference). I'll probably go with redline/k&n on the next :)

I dont like you use the Aquafina water bottle for pouring oil. It makes you look cheap. Next time, I'm going to use Fiji water bottle instead.

Looks like you spend two hours with about $20 worth of goods for an oil change. Why not take it to the dealer and have them do it for $39 under one hour? That's what i do for my oil change anyway.

Also i pay $50 total for an oil change and 4 wheel tire rotation. Looks like no-brainer to me. Why do it yourself? you can't do tire rotation yourself anyway.

can't rotate Z tires anyways (cept base 18s)

Some people like to change their own oil. At $39, I doubt they're using the Nissan ester oil. I like to change mine because I know it's being done right and I don't have to worry about some kid tech at a Nissan dealer dogging my car while running errands. I've had dealer friends in high school and they would show up in my house with customer cars. The less I leave my car at the dealer, the better.

I completely agree with you. You don't know what the tech there are doing to your car half of the time. I rather do it myself and have that peace of mind knowing that I took my time on it instead of "just another oil change."

:confused: $20? The oil by itself cost $70 and the filter is about $15. Lets also not forget the 1 time fee of $24 for Magnetic plug and $40 for the filtermag. I'm also coming up on my third oil change in 9 months (I drive quite a lot).

If I try to rotate my staggered directional tires on my Z, I'm sure the forum members here will ban me!

May I ask what car you drive?

I've heard of shops (usually kwikkar type places) forgetting to add oil, forgetting to put in the drain plug, or put it in all the way. Paying for synthetic and receiving conventional is probably commonplace. At the very least I suspect you will not be getting the copper crush washer replaced or even reinstalled. Chances are, you and your car will be fine, but I've always worked on my cars myself, so changing oil is a minor task and I handle it myself.

They (PEPBOYS) forgot to tighten the drain bolt of my dads honda few years back. At that time, we parked our car in an attended lot. If it wasn't for the parking attendant to discover the oil leak, that engine would've been blown in the middle of the highway!:rolleyes: I have had dealer overfill and underfill my previous car(s) during oil change! :mad:

when you do it yourself you already have (and don't have to buy) the extra oil to top it off between fills and after the initial change.

^ Jason, Jake, and AK

I think you guys worry too much. I leave my car in the dealer for one hour and I could see them work on my car from the waiting room. Are you guys afraid they're going to take your car for a joyride if they finish your car early?

I went to the Nissan dealer and talked to the service manager yesterday. He said an oil change on a Z costs $39. No need to use ester or synthetic oil. Its way cheaper than changing the oil yourself.

I would not take a Z to pepboys to local gas station for an oil change. A cheap car, yes, but not a Z.

Do you think i could try using RedLine synthetic in my 86' Z31?
I currently have 177k miles on it as well.

There is never a need for synthetic, although it is supposed to be better for your car and definitely does allow more driving between changes. If you stricktly adhere to the 3k rule then conventional oil will do just fine. The way I look at it though is if the oil is double the price, but you're changing it half as often, you aren't just breaking even, you're saving the price of a filter per 6k miles. :twocents:

Ridiculous noob question here. I always thought you were supposed to change the oil when it was cool?

Usually you just need to warm the car up for a few minutes for regular oil change BUT if you're taking sample for laboratories to do oil analysis, you have to follow this Gas Sampling :hello:

i just usually go to the store let it be to pick up the oil or filter or grab some food. making sure the temp led is around the 1/3 point and the oil temp is up near 160ish. this is when some "thickies" gloves come in handy. i've been burned by oil before, not fun.

Thanks guys.