i know oil has een talked about over and over again. i searched and asked ini the tech forum but no answer. If i change the oil every 3k, is there any negative to using regular instead of synthetic? thanks

 

depends on how hard you drive the car, for me i redline every gear so synthetic is the way i went. got my first oil change at 1700 to syn. just had my second a few days ago at 6800. Only lost about 1/2 qt. of oil in the 3 weeks between changes.

'04.5 Diamond Graphite/Graphite
Premium, Aero, Tire Package
Corners, Windows up mod,
BelTronics Rx65 Radar

 

I'm sure regular dino is fine, and after all, it's what the manufacturer recommends.
I think what's more important is changing the oil/filter on time.

There are many here who use synthetic (yes me too) and feel that it gives an extra measure of protection.

There are many here, too, who feel the regular oil is sufficient.

<font color=red>GSM</font color=red>
<font color=red>GSM</font color=red>
<font color=black>Silverstone Coupe</font color=black>

 

thanks for the replies.

the infiniti recommends reg? i didnt know that! my dealer keeps pushing synthetics.

i plan on changing my oil at 3k with regular. i have used synthetics in every car ive ever owned, but i just dont want to with the rumors of issues in the g.

 

I'm not sure if the requirement has changed on more recent Coupe models, but on page 10-5 of my owner's manual (mine is an '03) it states "Infiniti recommends mineral based oils...."

I guess that could be construed as just a recommendation and not a necessity, but none the less it's there.

I find a lot of dealerships sell the synthetic also, so apparantly they see nothing wrong with it.
So long as they don't quibble over warranty work..

I'm sure regular oil is fine, and 3k changes are fine too.

C.

<font color=red>GSM</font color=red>
<font color=red>GSM</font color=red>
<font color=black>Silverstone Coupe</font color=black>

 

great thanks alot! i appreciate it, you jsut gave me piece of mind.

 

I just switched back to using dino... my synth UOAs with 7500 intervals were disappointing. I plan on running Pennzoil 10W30 every 4K, and will be posting my UOAs.


<font color=red>chinee</font color=red>
03.5 G35s

 

This is out of the '05 manual:
"INFINITI recommends mineral based oils.
These oils must however, meet the API
quality and SAE viscosity ratings specified
for your vehicle."

2004.5 AT Sedan DG/Willow Premium Sport

 

thanks for the info guys.

Chinee, why switch back?

 

The oil analysis results with Mobil 1 showed wear metal numbers too high for my comfort, lead especially, followed closely by iron.

I could always continue with M1 and simply shorten the interval, but I suspect that on a short interval of 4K or so, dino oil will protect as well as synthetic. The quality of dino oils have improved so much over the last few years that they can typically protect up to 5K miles or more. I'll be using analyses every step of the way to validate the oil use and interval I've chosen.

Additionally, synthetic oils can cost more than twice that of conventionals. If my UOAs indicate that dino will do the job just as well... why spend more for the same results?

I also switched back to dino support my habit. I'm hooked on oil analyses, so I wanted to see how the dino would fare in the VQ in comparison to synthetic.


<font color=red>chinee</font color=red>
03.5 G35s

 

My 1991 Nissan 300ZX has 163,000 miles on it on the VG30DE engine, and you ought to see the Blackstone that I just had done on it. Blackstone said "NICE ENGINE!" The car runs perfect and it doesn't drink any oil. I've used Castrol GTX regular dino oil and religiously change the oil every 3,000 miles. Blackstone said I could extend the interval up to 5,000 miles, but I'm going to stick with every 3,000. Seems to me that synthetic only has a benefit if you want to go more than 3,000 miles between changes. Infiniti recommends regular oil as well.

2004 Coupe 6MT / Caribbean Blue / Willow / Premium / Navi / Aero Package / Aero Kit / Splash Guards / Clear Corners / July 2004 build

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought I read somewhere on this site that synthetic oil is mineral based however it is refined until all the impurities are removed unlike conventional oil. If this is true then synthetics are mineral based.

 

Castrol Syntec was highly refined dino (mineral) oil. Other synths like Amsoil and Mobil 1 are (and I believe always has been) truly 100% synthetic. That's why you'd see mention of GC (German Castrol) on the oil boards; apparently the Syntec from Germany is fully synthetic. However, I do not know for certain whether (American-made) Syntec's formulation has changed to fully synthetic, or if it's the same ol' stuff from a few years ago.

To find out specifically which oils are truly synthetic I'd check in with the oilheads at BITOG.


<font color=red>chinee</font color=red>
03.5 G35s

 

Chinee, thanks for the right up... much appreciated.

Gspotter, thanks sounds like a good example og reg oil doing the job. thanks again/