Engine oil, Beaten to death but i must ask

[redex]

Its finally time for my first change, about to hit 3200+...
Questions questions questions...

so far i've narrowed it down to two choices:
Amsoil and Mobile 1.
10w30 or 10w40

First off i would like to ask what type of engine oils you guys use yourself and your change intervals w/ or w/o filters...

(I think for my ease i'm going to be using the nissan engine oil filters consistently...)

Second question: How much are you guys getting it for? and How much do you fill? (This is because in the manual it says 5 3/8 quart and i don't know how i'm going to be measuring 3/8th of a quart....

Third: Value, how do you guys who use syth, and dyno oil compare your costs?

So far i'm thinking of using Amsoil at 5,000 miles w/ filter change till warranty runs out at 30,000 then 10,000 miles w/ filter changes every 5,000 + topping off

I'm just worried still about my warranty being voided if i up the mileage too much... but still $$ is a BIG issue...
i drive relatively a lot maybe 2,000 miles a month or so, so i need to be economical...

Any suggestions or just how you guys go about this routine is appreciated!

[masteryoda13]

I use Amsoil synthitic in the weight recommended by the manual. Mobile 1 is good as well. The two best in my opinion. I change mine every 7500 miles, oil and filter. This is what my dealer told me I could max out at with the synthetic without hurting my warranty. 5K should be no problem either, though if it were mine I would take it out to 7500 miles. I have a local friend who is a mechanic and Amsoil dealer do mine for me. I have no idea how much it would be if you just bought the Amsoil from a dealer or off the website. Anyway, good luck and enjoy the Fronty...

[carphreak]

1st answer: i like to use mobil 1 or castrol. as for intervals, i like to change the oil every 5000 miles. thats because i drive around a lot and if i wait for 3 months before the next one, i'll probably end up running 8 or 9,000 between intervals.

2nd answer: on our xterra i pay the dealer 10 to change the oil with regular nissan 10w30 oil and filter. it was some kind of deal we got when we bought it. as for the measurement isn't 3/8 like hald of 1/4 and 1/2? thats what i always thought it was. if you're doing it yourself, why not put 5 1/4 and then see if the truck needs more?

3rd answer: i don't know about this one but if i was in your shoes i would definitely just go for dyno oil and filter change every 5,000 since you use it alot.
my question is, how are you gonna change the filter every 5ks when you're replacing the oil every 10? you must be really fast, otherwise oil will start flowing out of the filter hole.......

[HKYStormFront]

i'm using amsoil right now and i'd say i swear by it. i noticed an immediate increase in how fast the motor will rev, it seemed to "free" up some low end torque. i've had mine in for over 5k miles now and it still looks brand new! i defintealy recommend it. my mom's altima is running mobil 1. it started running synthetic at 30k miles and we ran it till about 40k. the oil was still clean when i drained it but i knew it probably needed to because of how long it had been in there. it's almost up to 50k miles so it's getting that time again... hope this helps. basically, you can't go wrong with either brand although i read an article in Import Tuner and they tested a bunch of different synthetics and they recommended amsoil hands down because they ran it for 25k miles in a car and it was still brown (not black). the others only lasted around 10k miles. oh and you need 5W-30 if i remember correct for my truck...

p.s. amsoil makes a 25k miles oil filter too, to match their oil so if you used the amsoil products, you could probably safely get 10k miles out of both your oil and filter. that's my plan once i'm out of warranty. also keep in mind our bumper to bumper is 3 yr/36k miles, but our powertrain warranty is 6/60k miles.

[mike]

Originally Posted by carphreak

my question is, how are you gonna change the filter every 5ks when you're replacing the oil every 10? you must be really fast, otherwise oil will start flowing out of the filter hole.......

umm... No it will not.

[WildFrontier]

Oil changes by the manual are every 7,500 miles. As long as you don't exceed it, it doesn't matter what oil you use as long as the viscosity is what the manufacturer says it should be. Personally I do mine every 5,000 miles and rotate tires at 10,000 mile intervals. It's easy to remember that way. I looked at the oil filter location and it looked extremely difficult to get out with it's cover and all. Anybody else feel the same way?

[shift_this]

Originally Posted by carphreak

my question is, how are you gonna change the filter every 5ks when you're replacing the oil every 10? you must be really fast, otherwise oil will start flowing out of the filter hole.......

i dont know about your frontier, but on mine, the pan site lower than the filter. there shouldnt be any more oil that comes out than what normally does when you change it with the oil drained.

[mike]

Originally Posted by shift_this

i dont know about your frontier, but on mine, the pan site lower than the filter. there shouldnt be any more oil that comes out than what normally does when you change it with the oil drained.

On any car the only oil that will come out is that is in the filter. The only way for all the oil to drain out throw the oil filter mount the engine must be turning.

[redex]

Originally Posted by mike

On any car the only oil that will come out is that is in the filter. The only way for all the oil to drain out throw the oil filter mount the engine must be turning.

that wouldn't be so great...
Ic ic, thanks for all your guys inputs
helping me decide.... btw, you say 7500 per manual? cause i swear i saw 3750 on mine.... o_O

anyone else using synth oils?

[carphreak]

Originally Posted by shift_this

i dont know about your frontier, but on mine, the pan site lower than the filter. there shouldnt be any more oil that comes out than what normally does when you change it with the oil drained.

hmmm i never thought of that. and apparently i have never attempted it before. i was always told to replace my filter every time i change the oil and i never really had any cause to change just the filter only. thanks for the heads up i will definitely look into this in the future