Hey guys I was just in Tampa, and got my oil changed at Infiniti of Tampa, they used penzoil in my sedan. Is that a good oil? I'm used to my nissan/infiniti dealer using Castrol. I also bought the factory clear lens. I was suprised to see the factory making clear lens, but they do, and it cost $51. Please let me know about the oil guys. Thanks.

 

I'm no oil expert, but my local (non-infiniti) mechanic says that Penzoil is about the worst oil you can possibily use. Lots of sludge over time.

My infiniti dealership is using a synthetic blend oil, and what bugs me the most is that Infiniti hasn't standardized the oil they use. I can understand that you will use different oil types in Alaska than you will in Phoenix, but you can all of the infiniti dealerships here in Wash/Oregon/Idaho and each of them is using something different. I would think a "luxury" dealership would use only the best oil.

I'll probably go full synthetic at 15K miles and demand either Mobil1 or AMSoil.

 

Use Mobil 1 5W/30, check oil level every other fillup, change w/filter every 7500 miles, and the motor will last longer than you will have the car.

 

Make the switch, go with Mobil

 

Since you're in Tampa, a 10W30 should be just fine.

My experience and research shows that many think the Castrol GTX (but not other Castrol oils) works pretty well for the VQ, for a regular oil. Easy to find, also, with my local Wally World having 5 qts for $8.

 

i would use 5W-30...there is no point of using 10W-30...Change your oil every 3000 miles if you want your engine to last a long time.

 

Don't let anyone knock the Pennzoil... I send my oil samples for analysis at every oil change and recently switched from Mobil1 synthetic to Pennzoil conventional,... and the Pennzoil outperformed the Mobil. I was surprised that dino showed superior results to synthetic over similar intervals of 4,000 miles. I recently posted my last analysis a few weeks ago, a search should fnd it quickly.

If you won't be exposing your car to subzero temperatures, stick with 10W30, the lower viscosity of 5W30 is unwarranted in FL... even your owner's manual makes this recommendation.

Most of what you read on internet boards, or hear from mechanics, is questionable when it comes to oil quality. If you think you'll have more than a fleeting interest in oil, visit www.bobistheoilguy.com , you can spend literally hours, days, weeks,... reading the info over there, and you still would have only scratched the surface of what oil does, how it works, which is better, how better is determined, etc, etc, etc. I used Pennzoil based on recommendations and oil analysis reports from members over there.

To determine which oil to use, consider these factors:
- how long will you keep the car... if less than 150,000 miles... dino will provide more than sufficient protection
- if you're interested in extended oil drains greater than 5K miles... use synthetic
- if you're like most and cannot bear the thought of keeping the oil in your engine for more than 4-5K miles... use dino, otherwise you'll be throwing money away using synthetic oil.

I'm not an oil expert, but I like to read up and research oil as a hobby. There are too many myths out there about oil, in fact you are guaranteed to hear more myth than fact, even from those who you think would know. Unfortunately mechanics typically spread the myths even more readily than the layman.

Sorry for the long response but like I said, it's my hobby, so I enjoy reading and writing about oil.

 

Thanks for the replies guys. Even though I'm not from FL, I'm from a hot state, SC. I would like to switch to synth, but since that was my first oil change I have a long way to go. Only 2970 on my car.