and the dealer is......WRONG AGAIN. The piston rings are supposed to seal within the "break-in" period (1200 miles) I changed to mobil 1 full syn. at 2000 miles. The dealer is yankin your chain as they do most people.

 

Actually, there is some evidence to support a longer break-in for the VQ engine. It may be that the seals are already seated, but the VQ engines can continue to show break-in benefits and change up to 15,000 miles on them. There are some posts by Nissan enthusiasts over the years to support this.

Several of the Nissan techs that I know have confirmed this as well, and during at least one of their educational seminars, they were told by the Nissan engineers that going to a full synth isn't recommended until 15K (24K km) to ensure full break-in of the engine.

Of course, you have to decide whom you choose to believe.

To be safe, I decided to wait until I had 12,000 miles on mine before I switched to Mobil 1.

 

i'd really like to know where you read that these were "marginal" oils as Havoline and Chevron are some of the best dino oils out there.

 

Depending on what weight you use, your two choices seem to have ash contents on the higher side

http://www.atis.net/oil_faq.html

From member test analysis above, Castrol GTX consistently out performed most other dino oils.

 

My take is why worry about a few thousand miles. Even 10,000 miles is only about 5% of the life of this fine engine? What's the hurry chief? Run a good quality dino like Castrol GTX, change it 3-4000 miles for 10k and then switch.

 

No leaks or anything. Oil drains a little slower because I use the valve with the nipple, but now I don't get oil on my hands and don't worry about the crush washers.