Hi, smcallis. FWIW, recently I ran a project at Castrol's Richmond blending and distribution facility. They move thousands of cases of GTX from there. I found it most interesting to see the Chevron barge dock at the Castrol wharf to deliver a load of base oil.

<font color=blue>Dan</font color=blue>

 

The base stock may be common to most brands (educated guess), but what's unique is the additive package each manufacturer adds to the oil base (not a guess, repeating what I've read).

It might be like gasoline... it's the same gas regardless of where you go, the difference is the detergents added, Techron and the like (repeating what I've read again).



<font color=red>chinee</font color=red>
2003.5 G35s

 

"GSGNG35, one question.

I have a friend that's into American muscle classics like the two you've shown. He's also the type of guy that went for pure GM and nothing else. What made you get a G35 instead of some American sports sedan.

Just wondering".

Response

As far a I'm concerned, the 87 Grand National RWD was the LAST GM muscle car. The vettes in a league of its own. The now defunct Camaro and Trans Am, although impressive were too (HATE TO SAY THIS) youthful looking! ouch. So what else did GM have to offer. A super charged FWD Gran Prix? No thanks. So with my two muscle cars tucked away, I needed a dependable, reliable daily driver that was fun to drive with decent performance numbers. I prefered the more muscular M45 or the GS430 (sorry guys) but my budget with no trade in was low $30's so what were the choices? I owned a 5 speed Maxima for 14 years with the ORIGINAL CLUTCH that lasted 160,000 mile so I was sold on Nissan dependability. I considered the 04 Max but the front end design turned me off. Acuras are all over the place.
So the 6MT fit the bill. My only disappointment was the lack of the LSD rear, which is now available. If I have trouble this winter, I may be forced to trade up or wait for the M35!



2003.5 G35 6MT Black/Graphite Prem/Aero/Winter
1987 GN Intercooled SFI Turbo (22K original miles)
1970 GS 455 Stage 1 4-Speed (#'s matching)

 

Thanks DaveO

2003.5 G35 6MT Black/Graphite Prem/Aero/Winter
1987 GN Intercooled SFI Turbo (22K original miles)
1970 GS 455 Stage 1 4-Speed (#'s matching)

 

Yes, there is selling and swapping of base oils. It depends on where a blending/distribution facility is located in relation to a lubes refinery. All conventional base oils, and some PAOs, come from selected crudes. They are refined to remove sulfur, nitrogen, metals, unwanted HCs, etc.

<font color=blue>Dan</font color=blue>

 

You are correct in both cases.

<font color=blue>Dan</font color=blue>

 

What do you base that off of? (Castrol GTX is the best?)

'03.5 Brilliant Silver Sedan
Premium, Aero Kit/Package, Sport, Winter
Stillen Air Box, Clear Corners, Alum Pedals

 

If you live in cold climes, put a quart of 5W-30 dino and a quart of 5W-30 Mobil 1 or your favorite synthetic in your freezer, which should be about 0-10 degrees F. Let them sit overnight, then try to pour them in the morning. The dino oil is really thick and sluggish, and the Mobil 1 flows like at room temp. Makes you think.... is my engine getting oil quickly enough upon starting in the winter time?

 

Reading the oil boards, Valvoline seems to be like FRAM... great marketing, but a product that's not up to the standards of it's competitors.

Again from the oil boards, Pennzoil, GTX and Chevron are highly regarded dino oils. Oil analyses are performed to see how oils have held up after being used in an engine over a chosen interval...3K, 5K, 7K... whatever the user decides. The three above usually come back with good to excellent results, Valvoline... not so great.

<font color=red>chinee</font color=red>
2003.5 G35s

 

Anyone interested in a good technical analysis of various oils, see this link:

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

Synthetics do provide notably superior performance to conventional oils; whether or not you need this level of performance is debatable. I offer the following anecdotal evidence regarding cheap, off-brand conventional oil:

I had a 1991 Sentra SE-R, in which I installed a mechanical oil pressure gauge. Once, I decided to be cheap, and bought a case of 5W-30 Mobil conventional oil at $0.79/qt or so. Within 500 miles, I saw a significant drop in running oil pressure once the engine was warm. New oil would show close to 10psi/1000 rpm; with good (Castrol, Valvoline, Pennzoil etc.) oil, this would fall off to about 7 psi/1000 after 3000 miles. With the Mobil, within 500 miles the pressure would peak at a little over 30 psi at 7000 rpm. This was no fluke; I couldn't bring myself to throw away the oil, but I short-changed it at 1500 miles, and all 3 fills with the Mobil gave the same results.

Moral: beware of the sub-$1.00/qt "bargain" oils, especially if you run 5w-30 or lighter grades. In my experience, they break down very quickly. Of course, your mileage may vary.

<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small"><EM>Edited by gsedanman on 10/05/03 02:03 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

Thanks for the heads-up bro. I'm always up for a good article on oils and their merits.
GSM

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

 

Starting using Mobil 1 Syn. oil this weekend, at the 2nd oil change at 5850 miles. Noticed a 1-2 MPG improvement over a 1000 mile trip taken over the last 5 days (this is compared to a similar 1500 mile trip taken -- with both trips after engine break-in and after the recommeded 3000 mile mark where MPG improvements are seen according to the dealer). However, one MPG of this 1-2 improvement could easlily be due to wind/weather conditions, and I did have one person more in the car on the first trip. So possible that the difference is 0 to 0.5. Will continue to track MPG religiously, and report later.

Under hard driving, noticed slightly faster revving (hit the rev limiter for the first time in 1st gear racing somebody out of the Nissan dealer, as I wasn't used to the new rev timing). Big reason for the change though was peace of mind driving short distances in soon to be cold weather of IL. Found that my local Nissan dealer will change my oil for $7 labor, and $6 for the OEM Nissan/Infiniti filter (saw both my old filter and the new one from Nissan dealer -- same Nissan part number). I supply the Mobil 1 and watch them change my oil in the shop. This will easily make up for the incremental oil cost, while providing adequate documentation of changes for warranty purposes. Bought the Mobil 1 at Walmart for about $4.10 per quart, so $20.50 in oil plus $13.50 for filter and labor is $34, or $1 cheaper than my infiniti dealer (Lisle of IL) using regular oil. Infiniti dealer in Nashville wanted over $50!!! , and wanted at least $7-8 per quart of synthetic oil.

Plan to change the Mobil 1 every 4000 miles. The oil may last longer, but these dinky filters will not. The older, experianced Nissan technician confirmed this. My '95 E300 Merc Diesel oil filter has over 5 times the capacity measured in volume, and they recommend 4-6,000 oil changes with regular oil. They have a very stout, heavy duty drop in filters that go into a large permanant aluminum canister -- the best design and quality I have ever seen. We have had three of these diesel Merc's in our family over the last 20 years -- all have reached 300,000 miles, with the body rusted through, but the engine going strong. Over-engineering for most poeple though. Most don't have the patience to keep a car that long.

 

I switched to Mobil1 last week at the 7500mi change. Found it at WalMart for 3.99/qt. Picked up a Mobil1 oil filter at AutoZone for 12.99 (the M-110 long filter, not the M-108 puny stock-size filter). Changed the oil myself. Stuck the receipts in my car paperwork folder. I plan to change the oil every 7500, but swap out the filter every 3750. I sent the used Pennzoil that the dealership put in at 3750 to Blackstone Labs to see how the engine's doing.

Didn't notice any difference in revving or gas mileage or the way the engine sounds. I figure, since I autocross my car 1-2 times per month, it needs a little extra TLC. [img]/w3timages/icons/smile.gif[/img]

2003.5 G35 Sedan Desert Platinum/Graphite Premium/Sport/Aero/Nav/Winter