How many miles for oil change

VCuomo · 08-22-2009, 01:31 AM

It's incredible how much BS is out there relating to oil.

Let's see, Corvettes, Porches, and a bunch of other high-end autos come from the factory with 100% synthetic (and supposedly Nissan uses a synthetic blend, not a "break in oil", as its factory fill). You can switch to 100% synthetic (like Mobil 1, Amsoil, Redline, Royal Purple, Nissan's ester oil, etc.) whenever you want. You can do your first oil change as early as you want - but I'd wait at least 2K to 3K miles to get some use out of the factory fill.

And you should use the viscosity that Nissan recommends - 5W30.

ZKindaGuy · 08-22-2009, 07:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VCuomo

It's incredible how much BS is out there relating to oil.

Let's see, Corvettes, Porches, and a bunch of other high-end autos come from the factory with 100% synthetic (and supposedly Nissan uses a synthetic blend, not a "break in oil", as its factory fill). You can switch to 100% synthetic (like Mobil 1, Amsoil, Redline, Royal Purple, Nissan's ester oil, etc.) whenever you want. You can do your first oil change as early as you want - but I'd wait at least 2K to 3K miles to get some use out of the factory fill.

And you should use the viscosity that Nissan recommends - 5W30.

If you are saying there is no such thing as a "break-in" oil then this is not accurate. It has always been for as long as SYNTHS have existed that for a new engine it is best that a natural mineral oil be used as an engines first oil for at least the first 3000 to 5000 miles rather than using a SYNTH when breaking in an engine.

The reason is entirely based in that using a SYNTH (with its extra friction-preventing additives) for break-in does not allow the kinds of internal cylinder pressures required to FULLY expand and set the rings properly against the cylinder walls. In fact even Royal Purple has a specific "Break-In" oil (and named just that BTW: Royal Purple Engine Break-In Oil ) that is a blend of natural mineral oil and SYNTH. It in essence provides the best of both worlds.

Being that Nissan Ester Oil is a natural conventional oil then in essence when the Nissan service people said that the engine had a "special break-in" oil they were technically telling the truth. They are in essence keeping the SYNTH out of the engine until after the 3750 mile "break-in" period has been met.

VCuomo · 08-24-2009, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZKindaGuy

If you are saying there is no such thing as a "break-in" oil then this is not accurate. It has always been for as long as SYNTHS have existed that for a new engine it is best that a natural mineral oil be used as an engines first oil for at least the first 3000 to 5000 miles rather than using a SYNTH when breaking in an engine.

The reason is entirely based in that using a SYNTH (with its extra friction-preventing additives) for break-in does not allow the kinds of internal cylinder pressures required to FULLY expand and set the rings properly against the cylinder walls. In fact even Royal Purple has a specific "Break-In" oil (and named just that BTW: Royal Purple Engine Break-In Oil ) that is a blend of natural mineral oil and SYNTH. It in essence provides the best of both worlds.

Being that Nissan Ester Oil is a natural conventional oil then in essence when the Nissan service people said that the engine had a "special break-in" oil they were technically telling the truth. They are in essence keeping the SYNTH out of the engine until after the 3750 mile "break-in" period has been met.

Where did I say that "there is no such thing as a 'break-in' oil"?

But I stand by my assertion that you do not have to wait any particular mileage before switching to 100% synthetic. Here is some info straight from Mobil (Mobil_Oil_Myths):

Quote:

Myth: You should break in your engine with conventional oil, then switch to a synthetic oil like Mobil 1.
Reality:
You can start using Mobil 1 in new vehicles at any time, even in brand new vehicles. In fact, Mobil 1 is original equipment (it is installed at the factory) in:

Acura RDX
Aston Martin
All Bentley Vehicles
All Cadillac Vehicles
Chevrolet Corvette C6 and Z06
Chevrolet TrailBlazer SS
Chrysler 300C SRT-8
Cobalt SS S/C Coupe
Dodge Caliber SRT-4, Charger SRT-8, and Magnum SRT-8
Jeep Cherokee SRT-8
Mercedes-Benz AMG Vehicles
Mercedes SLR
Mitsubishi Evolution
Pontiac Solstice GXP
All Porsche Vehicles
Saturn Ion Red Line and Saturn Sky Red Line
Viper SRT-10

One of the myths surrounding synthetic oils is that new engines require a break-in period with conventional oil. The fact is, current engine manufacturing technology does not require this break-in period. As indicated by the decisions of the engineers who design the high-performance cars listed above, Mobil 1 can be used starting the day you drive the car off the showroom floor.

Redline recommends waiting 3,000 miles primarily for rebuilt engines - not fresh engines from major manufacturers; here's a quote from Road & Track Technical Correspondence Column (9 years ago, emphasis below added, link is Redline_break-in_link):

Quote:

Redline, on the other hand, has found it best to recommend a mineral oil break-in. Occasionally an engine will glaze its cylinder walls when initially run on Redline, they say, so by using a mineral oil for 2000 miles, verifying there is no oil consumption and then switching to the synthetic, glazing is eliminated.

Cylinder-wall glazing is not a deposit left on the cylinder wall, but rather a displacement of cylinder-wall metal. This happens when the high spots of the cylinder wall crosshatch are not cut or worn off by the piston rings, but rather rolled over into the valleys or grooves of the crosshatch. This leaves a surface that oil adheres to poorly, against which the rings cannot seal well. Compression is lost and oil consumed, and the only cure is to tear down the engine to physically restore the cylinder-wall finish by honing.

Why is glazing not a problem for the major manufacturer? Because they have complete, accurate control over their cylinder-wall finish and ring type. Redline deals with a huge variety of engines and manufacturers, both OEM and from the aftermarket. Cylinder-wall finish and ring type thus vary greatly, and glazing can therefore occur, albeit rarely.

Another interesting tidbit from the same link:

Quote:

Exxon/Mobil's official policy is that their synthetic oil may be used at any mileage, including factory fill, unless otherwise stated by the vehicle manufacturer. Mobil pointed out, as you did, that all Corvettes, Vipers, Porsches and Aston Martins are factory filled with Mobil 1 synthetic. We can only conclude that improvements in cylinder-wall finish and ring design or materials makes this possible.

It is also likely that vehicle manufacturers not using synthetics as the factory fill are also not optimizing their cylinder and ring packages for the slippery synthetics, in which case approximately 1000 miles on mineral oil should prove ample break-in time. In fact, in modern engines a very high percentage of ring break-in takes place very quickly, probably in the first 10 to 20 minutes of engine running. Certainly, some final lapping of the rings and cylinders takes place over several hundred miles after initial break-in.

Just to add some confusion, Porsche dynos all of its engines before installing them in the chassis. We were unable to determine what oil is used for the dyno session, but would presume it's Mobil 1.

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08-22-2009, 01:31 AM	#1 (permalink)
VCuomo Track Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: SoCal Posts: 887 Drives: BMW 335i Sport Rep Power: 19	It's incredible how much BS is out there relating to oil. Let's see, Corvettes, Porches, and a bunch of other high-end autos come from the factory with 100% synthetic (and supposedly Nissan uses a synthetic blend, not a "break in oil", as its factory fill). You can switch to 100% synthetic (like Mobil 1, Amsoil, Redline, Royal Purple, Nissan's ester oil, etc.) whenever you want. You can do your first oil change as early as you want - but I'd wait at least 2K to 3K miles to get some use out of the factory fill. And you should use the viscosity that Nissan recommends - 5W30.