66K Is it too late to go full synthetic?
 

I know I know, the oil threads are dreaded here. I have used that magical search button my fellow z owners, and to no avail for my question(s).

I see an ad for Pennzoil platinum which seems to get positive reviews here for $32.99 w/ k&m filter and $1.00 savings per gallon of shell fuel(check into that guys). What I want to know is, is it to late to switch over to "full" synthetic, or should I be using high milage oil like Valvoline MaxLife Synthetic ( I think thats what was put it before).

Facts: I'm the 2nd owner and from 15,800 miles onward I have used conventional oil, until my last change which I'm 80% sure was the valvoline listed above.


And since were here, already if anyone has suggestions on what else I should do at this point to maintain my lovely aging 370z, they are welcomed. Ex. If/ what spark plugs I should buy. If/what tranny fluid I should buy, and anything else.
*I can't really afford the super fancy schmancy products but a happy medium of proven products have always done me good.


I'll be checking in periodically but just incase thank you!:tup::tup:

I'm not sure your mileage counts as high mileage just yet, but if you have already switched over to synthetic it should be no problem.

Mobil 1 ($25 for 5 qts @ Walmart).
Redline MT-85 for transmission (should have been replaced at least twice already for your mileage)
Redline 75W90 (for VLSD if you have sport pkg)

From Mobil 1 website

Thank you!

So im also looking to flush out and replace most of the fluids, I'm ordering:

- break pads(Front & Rear)
- Valvoline DOT 3 and 4 Synthetic Brake Fluid (32oz)
-5 qt full synthetic of mobil 1 or pennzoil platinum

Getting these from Thenismoshop.com, are the reputable?
- OEM tranny fluid (2 qt's)
- OEM Nissan drain washers( I need 3 Right, 2 for the tranny, 1 for oil)

Is changing the spark plugs a good idea?edit: just read there good for 100k
Should I also get the OEM power steering fluid, and how much of do I need? Also when changing the Motor oil do I need a new plug or is the same one ok?

Pretty much trying to do a full service, Thanks for all the input.

I'm also wondering if they have any coupons for being a member on this website :), they're shipping is going to cost me just about as much as my purchase:icon14::icon14:

I assume you aren't tracking or autoXing your Z. If you are, you will probably want to rethink your choices (a quick search should give you lots of info).

Brake Pads - Centric PosiQuiets or OEM seem to be good DD pads (low noise/dust)
I only use Motul RBF600 for brake/clutch fluid. Any proper spec fluid should be fine for DD though.
I use Mobil 1 because it's dirt cheap at Walmart. Any proper spec synthetic should be fine.

The transmission fluid is 3+ quarts, not 2 quarts. I order 4 quarts and make sure it starts coming out the fill hole when filling.

3 washer is correct, but note they are different. One for the engine oil drain plug (copper crush washer) and two for the transmission (flat aluminum washer - one for fill plug and one for drain plug).

No need to mess with spark plugs unless you're having issues that you need to troubleshoot.

No need for new plug when changing oil - just make sure you use a new copper crush washer. Although many people purchase a magnetic drain plug for the oil pan.

I don't have any previous experience with the website you're asking about, but I bet you can find cheaper prices if you search around.

I went from dino oil to synthetic after about 75k in my SC300. Car never leaked until I made this change. Synthetics tend to clean up sludge in your engine. When this happened in my SC300 it created a leak at the main seal. From an engine standpoint I see no issues with it but I will never switch to synthetics in any car I own based on my experiences with it creating a leak.

Or, Synthetics may not be compatible with seals, and perhaps they shrink or become brittle and wear. I did one cycle of Synthetic in mine and now I'm running PYB. Changing it every 3750 miles why bother with Synthetic anyway.

because synthetics dont naturally degrade do to heat stress thats "why bother" in a perfect machine with no flaws you can essentially use synthetic oil for the lifetime of the machine. My old job had machines that used full synth oil and didnt need to be changed for 15-20 years as long as the FILTER was always changed at the interval the oil companies have padlove trained all your dumb asses into believing it needs to be changed. of course they are going to tell you it needs changed every 6000 miles. WHO POCKETS FROM YOUR STUPIDITY. they would tell you that you need to change it every 2.5 seconds if they could get away with it without someone FINALLY raising a suspicious eyebrow lol. ****, i remember growing up it used to be every 10k miles, sometimes even 15. now its 6-7500. I have actually tested this. I ran royal purple in my subi for 4 years and just swapped out K&N filters "its a bi7ch" and after all that time the oil was still as clean as ever. although I also have a RE magnet drain plug but I would never find anything on it so it ether doesn't work or the oil is doing its job.

switching from conventional to synth doesn't matter. switching from synth to conventional does. and synth eating seals ...... thats long in the past, additives have since gotten so much better. just dont put that high mileage **** in, it has weird detergents and other crap in it to fight "engine buildup"

if you dont believe me, theres plenty of googling to be done. by all means second check.

As a matter of fact I don't believe you.

I have done many a Google search on Synthetic vs Mineral oils and how synthetic oil works. The fact is, the fundamental difference between synthetic oil and mineral oil is synthetic oil is manufactured chemically and mineral oil is natural, obviously right? But what that means is the individual molecules of oil in synthetic oil are all the exact same size due to the manufacturing process, nothing in nature is ever exactly the same.
http://www.kewengineering.co.uk/Auto...ineral_oil.jpg

This allows the synthetic oil to break down evenly where mineral oil has varying molecule sizes that cause the oil to become thicker the longer it is used.

Sources:
How Stuff Works: Synthetic vs. Conventional Motor Oil
Synthetic oil technology

:iagree:

sooooooooooooooooooooooo you're saying i can leave the same 6 quarts in my Z for the lifetime of the car but just change the filter? :facepalm:

i would first like to say that's retarded. have you ever seen oil at the time of change? mine usually looks like it needs it and also if you run a Z hard without a oil cooler theres a good chance you may have burned off some oil as well no matter if its conventional or full syn.

also i would like to see you drop the filter off of an oil pan that is full and put a new one on as the oil in it dumps out on you :shakes head:

sadly this all made sense when i saw you owned a "subie" :ugh2:

Quit spreading your filth around here. I ran RP for all 140k miles on my IS300. Changed it every 5k. It never was as clean as when it went in. Went in purple came out looking like every other syn I've ever drained from a car.

OP you are better off ignoring anything Chii posts:tiphat:

:iagree:

To say that any kind of oil will last the life of the engine is a gross overstatement. As Presto mentioned, as the oil heats up it boils and/or breaks down. It will also collect deposits from the combustion.

Wrong, wrong, wrong on so many levels. All lubes, synthetic or not, break down with use. And even if they didn't break down, the essential additives do. Then there is the stuff that even the best filters can't remove.

Well he might be kind of right. There is one machine I have ran synthetic in for it's entire life without changing....

MY LAWNMOWER:roflpuke2::tiphat:

I wouldn't even think of running synthetic in my mower lol. It's just a mower :-P

Hey, besides, I like touching my car! Changing the oil every 3750, I know all about that, (it's not your grandpa's oil anymore) blah, blah, blah, but hey, if I wanted to be prudent and penny pinching I would have bought a CRZ hybrid thing and ran 0W-20 synth.

Yeah...I did it mainly as a joke. I had a spare bottle or RP on the shelf and figured it had to be better than the crap they included in the box. Sold that mower to my brother several years back. Still runs perfectly.

no reason to get hostile because you disagree. Would appreciate you not badmouthing me. just saiyan. If you wanna bad mouth, come on out to manassas park VA I would be happy to teach you some manners free of charge "except your inevitable hospital bill".

Bitch comments from others aside, it seems I was wrong. oh noes, end of the world. oh wait, how about I just admit to it and we move on. No need to be childish cunts about it. defense justified.

Quoted and reported

Thanks. I like this site and want to keep coming here :tup:

so is it better to run mineral or synthetic? isnt it better just to follow the instructions of the owners manual?

uhhh... guys lol?

i thought mineral oil is just distillation from crude oil which means that its thicker than synthetic? wouldnt you want thinner oil especially cuz our car gets hot?

From what I've read, and this is just my opinion, it seems like synthetic is the way to go, the only disadvantage is the cost increase.

It's thicker than synthetic because of the varying size of molecules. Synthetic is engineered to coat engine parts, so the viscosity doesn't change throughout the life of the oil.

thank you very much exsanity... synthetic is what i use, just wanted you guys to clarify

So, not trying to turn this into a synth vs. conventional here..theres plenty of that already.

Let me start off by giving facts about my car and where I live and my driving style:

- I live in south fl, so its hot/humid virtually year round
- Manual 09 Z
- Drive like a granny(not an understatement lol)
- No tracking or racing(if you do thats cool)
-Sport pkg

So, from what I read, looks like I might experience some leaks but only for the first change because its "cleaning" the gunk out.. w.e that means. I just don't want the car to take a step backwards by switching I understand it better for the car but the whole point of the thread was to see if you guys have any input on if its a step forward by changing now at 66k. Anyone dare to give a straight answer?

Also as for the tranny fluid, I have also read and been told "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" I have never changed the tranny oil as mentioned above, I find the shifting normal but maybe I'm just a dummy lol what are some symptoms of our Z's screaming "I need a tranny oil change please!"? Same question refers to the VLSD.

As for brake pads I ordered: "Wearever Platinum Premium Ceramic Pads", if theres any reason I should return it and get something else by all means let me know.

This! Anyone think this could be a consistent problem in a Z with 66K?

The way you drive and assuming you change on normal internals (3750 for engine oil) recommended by Nissan, I don't see any reason to change to synthetic. I run synthetic in every car after the first engine break-in oil change. It should be noted that I drive my cars hard. Maintain them well, but definitely drive them as intended. After all they are sports cars.

I highly recommend changing all drivetrain fluids as per manufacturer recommendations at a minimum, whether that's the oil or car manufacturer recommendation. I change my tranny oil every 30k, well I'm going to 15k now but only because changing the fluid requires me dropping the turbo. After I dropped the rear diff the first time and saw how filthy it gets I made the decision to change it every 15k too.

All in all the way you drive, I would just use Nissan OEM replacement fluids/parts.

I'll start by saying this is all speculation and I have no facts or backup for this statement but I would hope that this type of leaking is a thing of the past. My SC300 was a '96 and synthetics were not as common back then. I kind hope that there have been improvements in both the seals used to account for synthetics and in the actual synthetics themselves.

That being said I'll never switch to a synthetic later in a cars life just because it bit me in the past.

Are you serious right now? am I really sharing oxygen with people like you. :shakes head:

No reason to get hostile. Threatens to put you in the hospital.

unfortunately its pretty status quo for him

Why is this BS tough guy garbage allowed to continue on here? I guess it is just par for the forum course. But it gets old. As the great philosophizer guy Jay Z once penned, "You know the type... loud as a motorbike but would bust a grape in a fruit fight." I am sure I am not alone in being annoyed by it. I hope I don't get threatened now to. I would surely live in fear.

I'm trembling:tup:

where a mod when u need one.

From 32 years oil experienced 370Z driver something you should all know
 

Engines produce byproducts of combustion regardless of the oil it should be changed at regular intervals. I've seen conventional oil outperform in the racing circuit over synthetics. I run 5w 30 full synthetic in my 370Z and I don't consume any oil at all whatsoever, I change it though every 5,000 miles. Because of the byproducts of combustion such as hot cold hot cold creates moisture that's why we put dispersants in there to keep everything suspended. There's a whole list of others but I'll just leave it at that