oil change - 3k miles? 3 months?
 

The Z is my weekend car. I only have about 2500 miles in about 6 month. I did my first oil change around 1200 miles. The owner manual suggest changing the oil 3k miles or 3 months....so....is it ok to wait until I am about 4200 miles to change my oil?

Of course it's ok. Nothing is going to happen to your car if you wait longer than three months or go over 3k miles.

You could go longer on your oil and filter change intervals with a good oil with out any problems.

Check out the search engine on here for oil. There is a lot of good info.

Enjoy your car!

If you're running any sort of synthetic, you can leave it in the engine for well over a year.
The issue I think you'll have with THAT low of mileage is you'll have a LOT of dry starts, meaning you'll start the car, and since you haven't started the car in let's say a week, all your oil will be in the bottom of the pan. And your valves/camshafts will run metal to metal without any lubrication.

On newly installed engines Nissan recommends you forcefully pump one quart of oil into the filling hole, then turn the car on ASAP.

Some of us are psychotic :hello:, and crank our car every day regardless of if we drive it that day. At the last place I lived we had valet service and I paid one of the valets to start my car every day while I was on vacation.

Wow...i can't imagine not driving my Z everyday. Even when I drive my Honda during the week I still jump in my Z and go somewhere lol. And the thought of havin to put it away for winters is jus depressing. Yowsers!

Are you sure about that interval? My 2011 manual has the lowest interval at 3750 miles or 6 months?

At least based on my UOA's and those of others, I'd say about 4K is the max interval on this motor, even with synthetic.

OEM recommendation is 3.7K for "normal" driving, so go figure.

mine 2012...it said 3750 miles or 3 months on mine

I know right?!?!?!


My 2009 says 3750 miles or 3 months, hell when the dealer changes the oil they write 3k miles and 3 months, I asked why, and they said it looks like you get to 3 months before the 3750 miles, we recommend 3 months... (I don't really care, they're prepaid, but I go 3750 +/- 50 miles

yea..storing the car for winter is crazy. I can't stand that either....but for my case..it kind of pointless to pay for parking just to park 8 hrs while I m at work. With my DD, I can park at some free but not so safe place and not worry about my car. I still drive the Z here and there on some weekdays..or whenever possible, but they are just short trips like 10-20 miles or less.....

I go 7.5K for a synthetic oil. Its my weekend car but when I do drive it on weekends I DO her at least 70 miles or 200 miles on crazy weekend.

You know like you've been away for a long time and go back to see your significant other.... thing!!!:tup:

10 to 20 miles is like having a premature E. IMHO

:icon18:hahaha...good one....:bowrofl::bowrofl:

If the oil people see this post they'll come beat you...
And LMAO!!!


To the OP, I kinda understand taking the beater to work if you're parking in a parking garage or whatnot,
But if I were you, I'd go 3750 miles, maybe 6 months whichever comes first, just because I like to have new fluids in my car...

Other thing. A lot of oil people bitch and moan about the next thing I am going to recommend, but try Lucas Synthetic oil stabilizer (Amazon sells a gallon for $31, cheapest I've seen.) it's honestly really thick oil, and if you go to any auto parts store, you'll see why the display won me over
I originally used this in my other car that I'd DD, before the swap I opened the valve cover several times to see if there was any oil left over on the cams after the car was sitting overnight, honestly there was none, it was pretty dry, I assume there was SOME in the berrings. But after switching to Lucas, swapping a quart out for a quart of oil (last car uses 5.25 qts) I noticed that there was a light film of oil in all the parts I could see.
I'd like to say I felt it smooth out the car, but that's just a feeling.

It only takes a few seconds for oil to slosh around the engine, but 10,000 starts with no oil adds up to a decent amount of time

I average 6k every 3 months, but since im running RP I can get away with just changing oil for that long of an interval. :driving:

Not trying to change topic, but how much do you pay for an oil change at your dealer(using the nissan esther).

I'm away from home so I can't really do it myself.

Pare last time the Nissan stealership quoted me almost $200 for Esther.
I said Shitna Malagkit mo!

Wow, that's ridiculous, realistically, it should be at MOST $100... You should be able to haggle to $80 though

Yes that's why I said "That's Crazy expensive" ended up with Mobil 1 Synthetic instead.

And yes they placed a sticker on my windshield my next oil change is at after 7.5K miles.

I guess different stealership has different definition of oil change intervals. Which I suppose not.
Maybe I'll just change it after 5K miles.

Yeah was quoted 107 for an oil change, thats why I do it myself. :icon17:

God bless the dealers... Infiniti and Nissan dealers state that if you use synthetic, your oil change intervals are twice as long, this practice is generally regarded as true, and 7.5k miles isn't necessarily a lot for synthetic oil... (I'd say too much for a stock filter though.
But getting back to it, Nissan's ester oil is at LEAST a synthetic blend... I don't think anyone can confirm if its full synthetic.

All I know is that my car runs a LOT better/cooler with their oil.

If you DO want to run it, tell the parts department to match almost any other dealer for $10/qt, buy a filter of your choice from your nearest Walmart for a max of $9, or $12 if you go for Bosch, and then pay the dealer to swap your oil, most have some BS $20-30 promo all the time, and just say look, labor on a $30 oil change is at MAX $20, charge me $20 to be a happy customer, and you'll pay $80 for your peace of mind Nissan Ester Oil

(If you're content with Mobil 1 (great stuff in my opinion, don't like it for this car though, but to each his own) go to Walmart, buy a nice 5 quart jug for... I think they're up to $25, for regular and $27 for extended performance, buy the filter and do the same thing with the dealer, you'll get your Mobil 1 oil change for a max of $60, and hopefully you can talk them down to $50)

Oil opinions are like arse holes.... :D

KISS folks. Use what you want (and bring it to the dealer if you like. I bring them 5.125 quarts of Pennzoil Ultra), and follow the maintenance guide while under warranty.

Use Nissan Filter. Its easy...they have them. Don't over think it.

If you want to use Ester oil, ask them to use it. If you don't like their list price for it, buy it from another parts department or more then likely they will match the price if you show them and nicely ask.

I follow schedule 2, 6 months 7500 miles and visit my dealer 2x a year at this point.

If you are hyper anal about it, run it at 3 months (schedule 1) and call it a day. To me if doing that, I think synthetic is a waste of money for a street car but that is my opinion :).

- b

So is it a must that we use ester oil in our 370Z? There is another thread on here stating that the Gtr is the only one that requires the ester oil. The 370Z isn’t a requirement but more of a suggestion. Can anyone confirm this. Thanks

I Also called around on oil changes with ester highest in my area $89.99 cheapest $69.99.

No, it is NOT a requirement, it CAN help with valve chatter, that's about it... valve chatter is not going to hurt your engine...

Now, I don't want to make it an oil debate because we'll be nowhere... But I PERSONALLY like and believe in their Ester oil. Just coming from a chem background, I like it...


There is a SUGGESTION from Nissan. It's more pushed on the 2009's because they are more prone to consuming oil. (At 3 of the 4 dealers I have taken my car into, they give me free Ester oil changes with my Nissan service plan because I have a 2009, if I had a 2010, regular oil would go in.

Thanks for the 411:tup:

Mine has had 4 oil changes in 4 months and I'm at 9000+ miles... I drive the piss outta my Z so I take extra good care of her

It is right in you manual: ester is a suggestion not a requirement.

DEpointfive0: have you had UOA's performed? With your stated background you are likely more well informed then 95%+ of non-chem folks regarding the blends and requirements of the lube :D Curious how its performing for you. Few UOAs I have seen don't do too well with a few measurements.

If it was an excellent base stock and performed well I have no problem spending a few more washingtons on the oil change, but to date I have not seen it being special. Other group IV/V base stocks from the likes of Redline etc...appear to perform much better.

Not trying to debate the better oil: just see how yours is performing and how you personally feel. I am awaiting my first report from my 5/30 PU sampling :)

- b

I'm waiting on it actually. I sent in a virgin sample as well even though someone on the forum has already

I did run a sample at work myself (yes, we have a GC machine for anyone thinking I'm talking out of my ***), but since I don't have parameters set up, all I pretty much saw is that my oil is oil and had no gasoline or water in it, LOL
So I am anxious about Blackstone's results

Honestly, I'm not sure if Nissan's Ester oil has a better base stock than others like Redline or Motul, because its a 50/50 whether Nissan's oil is synthetic or a blend. I am 99% sure it IS a grade IV oil, and that's good enough for me! (And hey, we used Dino oil for...... 50+ years without problems, a blend should be OK)


At the end of the day, YES, Nissan IS sticking it to us with their own oil, I know that, that's why even the dealershits have to buy them by the quart.
BUT, accepting that fact, don't we think that they are formulating this oil to our cars, and they designed it because of our cars???
That's my opinion on it, ONLY the 2009 Maxima and 370Z HAD a requirement for Ester Oil at one point, it wasn't a requirement for long, but it was there... And still dealers out there will give you an Ester oil change with your factory maintainence agreement ONLY if you have the 2009, like mine/me, lol

Another blatantly obvious example of it being more tailor made is that when you run a normal synthetic you might get valve chatter, while its "not bad" for the car, I don't want that sound, it's not supposed to run or sound like that IMO, lol


Just my 2, or maybe 4 or 6 cents now with all that info/text, lol

Oh, and if we think the factory's recommendation for oil is BS, why do we bother following their recommendation for 5w30? (This next comment is thick, but it's only for "argument's" sake) But why not run 20w50, less prone to burning! Or straight 50? Lol... Or if you're worried about drag, run 0w20!

Now, some may run 10w30 which is OK as long as your battery can crank through the pain of 5w vs 10w, LOL, and some may run 5w40 with no adverse affects... YET...


It's still all user preference obviously, and it's taste and belief... I like Jack and coke, you might like Crown and coke, but if I'm drinking it straight I'd rather have Crown, or Gentleman Jack or something else, but to mix, Jack
Same with let's say cigarettes, there are 200 different kinds, all slight variations from each other, they all pretty much have the same effect at the end of the day.

I really like Mobil 1, run it in all my other cars... Not this car though... Just personal preference based on application

I'm going in tomorrow for an oil/filter change - I'll post when I get home.

That is why we created the Oil Change package a few years ago for DIY Z owners. Labor rates can be a bit pricey or they will charge you a ridiculous amount for the oil/filter. Dealerships are great, but there is a certain satisfaction KNOWING that your oil is genuine NISSAN BRAND OIL and not some unknown brand oil being pumped out of a 55 gal drum.

There is also a certain satisfaction knowing that you did the job yourself and it was done to YOUR standards.

As far as oil change intervals, the whole 3 mo/3mile is just an old standard which was created way before some of the newer oils we have out today like the Ester or most Synthetics. You should be fine going longer since you do not drive it as much.

To your weight point, most cars still run over a range fine and its buried in the manual. Fuel efficiency will go down a tad with heavier weight oils of course hence the push for 0/20 amongst the 4 banger fuel sippers of the world.

M-1, while blasted on BITOG.com for meh results by oil snobs, has been a solid product for a very long time. Reformulated? Sure a few times. But 350K+ combined miles on 3 cars I have owned in the last 17 and it did perfectly fine by me (including a dozen or so UOA's). Sure group 4/5 oils are very nice and if I really wanted to run 10K+ OCI's I would spend more for a PAO based oil. But I don't....and 6mo/7500 mile while in warranty means the 'cheap stuff' works just fine.

I am using the PU in the Z based off some good UOA's I have seen and to try something new. Honestly M1 0/40 Euro is one of the most well rounded blends out there as well and I would consider using that as well...and simplify my garage oil storage system (zee german car we recently got takes it).

Based on how I drive, I can use every MPG aide I can get...so 5/30 stays in the Z. :D

- b

IMNSHO
Take everything DEpointfive0 said and dial it back a notch for the average daily driver. Everything he said is spot-on if you want to squeeze every last bit of longevity out of your engine (or you are an obsessive Chemist heehee), but how many are going to keep their Z for 10-12 years?
I put it in the same category as the does-downshifting-wear-out-the-drivetrain-faster question - running less than perfect lubrication/driving habits decreases the life of the engine/drivetrain slightly, but it doesn't do enough damage to really matter (as long as you are reasonable about it).

Once the warranty runs out, I plan on using a full-synthetic and a high-quality filter with changes at 6000-7500 mile intervals. Just about any modern, name-brand oil will do a great job, but I think synthetic is cool. I wouldn't be afraid to run a top-quality petro-based oil, but would shorten the change interval to 4000-5000.
Probably overkill, but I can be a bit obsessive, too. :)

PS: I change the oil/filter in my pickup truck, but not the Z. The car is too close to the ground and I don't want to mess with that shield. Well worth the $20-30 just to avoid the aggravation and I don't have to buy ramps.

Still can't tell you how much. Went to pay and they said "It's on us". :happydance:

It's what's recommended by Nissan and I'd like to preserve my 8 year warranty with them. Is this good enough reason to continue using 5W30 ?

I posted that just for argument's sake, if you used 0W30 or even 5W40, I doubt Nissan will really deny a warranty claim, but I think it was designed for something, and that's what should be used...


I have an 8 year warranty and cherish having it, lol...

As long as you prove you have done oil changes, even at YOUR house (by showing receipts for buying oil/filters) they won't turn you down for warranty issues...

I think you only need to show receipts usually for the last 3 oil changes if you do them outside the dealershit

one year since last oil change and one thousand miles driven !!! Crazy winter (car was in the garage for 7 months) and I'm ready to get the Z on the road again. When I looked at my odometer I noticed I only put 1,000 mile this past year. So my question is should I change my oil ?? or should I clock another 2,500 miles which I will be doing this summer for sure. Thanks for your response

This fact make me nervous cause i buy the Z as an collection car. In my city the street is horrible so i also feel bad while the rock destroy my Z

run metal to metal just after leaving it 1 week ? Now i have another reason to start the loud engine everyday :roflpuke2::roflpuke2::bowrofl::bowrofl:

Im gonna try some 40W oil next time around.

i only put a few thousand miles on my Z as well each year. i only change the oil once a year in the Spring using mobil1 silver cap 5w30. :) you can get a 5qt jug at walmart for like $25.

sure beats paying $90 for the same oil in japan. :ugh2: