Question new owner
 

Have a 2012 touring.

Dealership wants me to come in at 3750 milesI believe, or July 15th'ish, etc for first scheduled maintenance(whichever comes first).

However on the forums I am seeing people talk about an oil change at 1200?
Is this something the dealership didn't relay to me?

I'm not a big time innards/mechanic type, but I keep on top of everything technical, and learn on the go.

Is the 1200 oil change recommended, or is that not taken care of at the 3700 scheduled appointment? Some of the threads talk about ester oil first, then later on at the 5700 range, go synethetic.

Just need some good guidance, to keep it in tip top shape!

I just bought my '12 Nismo almost two weeks ago & I have 240 miles on it. I have seen in the forums today in some threads that people recommend changing the oil after 24 miles & then 1,000 or 1,200 miles. Then from there you can go 3-4k b/w oil changes. I am thinking about getting the oil changed sometime this week with less than 300 miles on it.

Welcome Diablo3.

I recently bought my Z as well and will be in at service on the same interval in May or whichever comes first.

The guys dropping the oil at 1200 are doing so to get any of the shaved metal that will accumulate during the first miles put on the car. Or they are wanting to go to synthetic quicker. Is it necessary...no. Is it a good idea...yes relative to newer oil is always better than older but at what cost?

One word of advice if you go synthetic you cant go back or at least not recommended. Ester is a a type of synthetic. Full synthetic blends have ester in them. So if you dont want to keep up with the price of putting the more expensive blends in your engine then you may want to consider sticking with the regular stuff.

Enjoy your Z and probably see you around on the roads. :tiphat:

this is an endlessly debated topic. you will get 1000 different opinions. bottom line imo, if you at least follow the manufacturer recommended maintenance, they won't deny you warranty repairs.

It honestly doesn't matter to me.
I try to optimize costs in general, but what is ideally recommended for someone that isn't a hard driver?

I have about 800 miles on it now.

Go by the maintenance schedule that Nissan recommends and you will be fine.

+1....... You will not go wrong & if so, you did what the owners manual stated.

What about the temperature gauge?

It seems to consistently hover around the 203-205 range.

just a thought... dealers make money from service.

look at your owner's manual and decide whether to follow schedule1 or schedule2. i follow schedule2 and only do oil changes recommended by the manufacturer, not my local dealer wanting my $.

and i dont really do early oil changes. imho, waste of money, time, and more contamination for the environment.

ibtl

:bowrofl:

that is fine, if you are above 250-260, then get worried

:icon17:

I did my first oil change after break in for the aforementioned reason of getting shaving sand little bits form the break-in period out. It's probably not necessary, but I am taking extra good care of the Z. After that, I am going by the Nissan manual recommendations. I did the first change with the Nissan ester oil and switched to a synthetic after that. you can read neverending threads on which synthetic to use, but almost everyone does recommend going synthetic.

A word of advice, though, do not have the dealer do your oil change unless they'll do just the labor for cheap if you bring your own oil. If it's a free first oil change or seems very inexpensive then they're not giving you the esther oil that Nissan recommends (if you're not going full synthetic, that is).

I noticed that it "slowly" hovers up over time....Usually maxxing out around 203-205farenheit. Longest I've driven was 1.5 hours straight, never eclipsed the 205 mark.

Clearly not driving it hard enough :tup:

The VQ's run hot and prior to the '12 models did not come with an oil cooler and temps would go even higher and cause it to go into limp mode...sadly even on the '12 models the factory oil cooler only keeps the temps down just enough for daily driving in traffic...still no where near optimal perfomance temp. All the pre '12 model guys go with aftermarket oil coolers that do the job and especially if they are running on the track.

To all new owners: Buy the maintainence plan. Do the math on Ester oil changes and you'll see why. $500 buys an oil change every six months for five years, plus inspections of all else.

If its not purchased ....future Oil changes costs
Will eclipse $500? First I've heard of this being recommended?


Anyone else agree?

not doubting what your saying.....I'm a cost optimizer by default....


Scuse the iPhone typage.....

huh?

Read the fine print on the maintenance plan. Some don't include synthetic or Ester oil. I skipped the Ester on mine anyway and went straight to Mobil One

my dealer is giving me every other service for free. negotiated as part of the purchase. i paid ~$75 for the 2nd oil change recently (first was free). no doubt i could save some by doing the oil changes elsewhere or myself, but i plan to stick with the dealer until the warranty is up at least.

Hey this is why these services are there. If you feel confident in your dealer to give u great service? Get the plan. If u want to deal with the oil changes yourself? Kool. Its corny when these discussions end up which is better cuz there is no better or worse. Its personal preference, what you can afford or what you prefer. Either way you win.:tup:

In my personal situation. I got the synthetic plan, but I refuse to put Mobil1 in my car. So everytime I want Royal purp. I have to call a day in advance so they can order it. I still have to pay $40 because Royal purple cost too much to be fully covered in the plan. Something they didn't explain. In hind sight. I rather would have let different companies compete for my business or do the change myself when I was in the mood.

So the moral is. If you are fine with Mobil1 synthetic or another budget synthetic. More power to you and get your money's worth. But if you like to have more control over your business and your oil. I recommend against it. I am renegging the Z plan and getting a refund for the unused amount but keeping the plan on the altima. :) The maintence was a great deal on my altima. Mobil1 is fine for that car. But my Z only gets "the finest petros with cambodian breast milks added." hahaha!:tup::bowrofl: