Just wondering when I should do the 1st oil change, and the oil & oil filter brands you gurus use. Just got my 20 inch Rials wheels on,.....Ill have pics soon.

 

i did at 1400 miles, went w/ Mobile1 Synth 5w30 and regular nissan filter

<font color=green>-Rambo</font color=green>
G35c 6MT DG/Willow/Grounding Kit

 

Check out the FAQ/DIY section. There is a nice post done by the dog-lover gsedanman that covers the whole sha-bang. It seems the Mobile 1 filter is the best one you can use. There are varying opinons on this though. It is not a hard job at all.

Danation.com - G35C CB/GR/NAV/PREM

 

1200 miles was end of break in and oil/filter. changed out, stayed with stock stuff. again at about 5500 miles, and then next oil change stayed with nissan filter and changed to mobil one 10-30.

BONDg35c

 

Bondg35c, I am just curious why you went with the 10W30 instead of teh 5W30 like the manual says? Is there a reason? Are you in a hotter environment? I heard the Mobile one was good stuff too...next time I will put that in.

Danation.com - G35C CB/GR/NAV/PREM

 

5w 30 is good for all temps, 10w30 is good for 0degF and above. Since I live in CA, 10w30 would suit me better and will never see anything that cold.

2003 G35 Coupe 6mt Diamond Graphite

 

Can anyone explain why my dealer put in 5w50 synthetic (castrol they said)?!

 

I wish my Dealer would put in synthetic. I just had my 3700 mile oil change and the Dealer said Infiniti recommends regular oil and they don't even have synthetic at the Dealer. Since the oil change was free, I can't complain!

 

Aquinas, sorry it took so long to answer your question. I'll also give you the long answer. The answer is yes, I do live in a warm climate, SoCal. In addition to that, I drive thru the desert on occasion.

Finally, I know that oil technology keeps changing but a long time ago I heard that it's better to keep the "spread" between the top number and the bottom number as close as possible ('course, I'm not looking for 29w-30w oil....). And this bit of news is from a person like me who used to regularly run 10w-40w Pennzoil, but at that time I was changing oil every 2500 miles with filter.

It also depends on the type of weather I'm going to be in; if it gets down to/and below freezing I'll probably go with a 5w of some kind. Again, I'd like to keep the upper and lower spread as close as possible. However, part of that concept (oil viscosity "spread" and ambient temperature) I believe is mitigated by synthetic oil and its benefits over regular (as they call it "dino") oil.

Yes, Mobil One is a good synthetic, but it's not the only good one. There are others; some are much more costly and some are about the same price. But even Mobil One has evolved and changed its method of manufacture in the twenty or so years it's been around. Plus, I'm an old Corvette owner from years past and I still remember 'Vettes being the first American car to put in synthetic from the factory and recommend its use---the brand used and recommended? Mobil One. Guess what year?

Enjoy the drive!

BONDg35c

 

I think there's a bit of confusion of what the oil weight numbers mean here.

The first number in "5W-30", the 5, is the weight of the oil (or viscocity) at nominal temperature, i.e. during startup for the first time of the day. The lower the number, the thinner the oil is. The second number, the 30 in this example, is the weight of the oil at full operating temperature (i.e. when the engine is warmed up). The higher the number, the thicker it is. These are multi-viscocity oils, meaning they have different thicknesses depending on whether they are cold or warmed up.

Most engine manufacturers these days recommend 5W-30 for most applications because it offers low viscocity when cold so the oil can flow easier and reach all critical engine parts the quickest during startup. Then, during normal engine temps, it changes to a standard 30 weight oil.

So, the only difference between a 5W-30 and a 10W-30 oil is during cold startup, the 5W-30 will flow easier. At engine operating temps, they are the exact same weight. So if you think you're protecting your engine from high temps better with a 10W-30 versus a 5W-30, you're not. All your doing is making it more difficult for the engine to pump the oil when cold.

You should always go with the recommended oil weights as listed in your owner's manual. Switching to a radically different weight such as 20W-50 could damage your engine. If you're going to be operating in severe heat or under race conditions, you're better off using a full synthetic 5W-30 rather than a thicker dyno oil of 20W-50. The synthetic won't break down under heat, while still providing the needed viscocity.

2003 G35C, 6MT, DG/G, Aero/Nav/Premium
2002 Corvette Z06, Electron Blue/Black

 

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr>

'Vettes being the first American car to put in synthetic from the factory and recommend its use---the brand used and recommended? Mobil One. Guess what year?

<hr></blockquote>

1989, with the Corvette ZR-1. It's LT-5 engine required Mobil 1 synthetic. Am I right? [img]/w3timages/icons/smile.gif[/img]

2003 G35C, 6MT, DG/G, Aero/Nav/Premium
2002 Corvette Z06, Electron Blue/Black

 

Geee, Z06, you're up on history. OK, you're right and just technically of course, the ZR-1 was a '90 model (produced and shipped beginning in '89), I think. Also, technically, since it was such a limited production model, that wasn't the one I was thinking of. I stand ready for correction, but I think the first, mass-produced American car to have synthetic in it was the '92 Corvette. Don't ask me why Chevrolet waited from the '90 model year to '92, but I think that was it? Any corrections to this are appreciated. Good going, Z06-man!

BONDg35c