Like Cleric said approx 1/4 quart between changes although I change mine every 10-12K Miles. Engine still runs strong with nearly 120K on it. Only mod K&N drop in panel filters.

One thing to keep in mind however is oil dilution, on some vehicles if there is a strong smell of gas when you check the dipstick, chances are the level is actually over the high mark.

 

Cool deal, you have about the same mileage as my 08'. What type of oil and filter do you use for 10-12k changes?

If the rings won't seal at higher mileage and you can smell gas in the oil it would be best to change your oil more often so you don't damage the main and rod bearings. It would be a good thing to watch out for on anyone running full synthetic oil that doesn't change their oil as often. Like Serge just said about dilution or contamination, when it starts breaking down the oil and doesn't lubricate the rotating parts it starts wearing everything prematurely. The only fix is a hone and ring change or early oil changes for the rest of it's life.

I have had the 08' in the garage all week fixing the little things before we start driving it. I am replacing the brakes, rotors, adjusting / tweaking the driver side fender, replacing the bumper and foam, fixing headlight mounts that are broken, and replacing all of the mag lugs that someone used a 22mm instead of a 21mm and rounded off.... I'm definitely going to watch the oil level and also for contamination the first couple of oil changes. I doubt at 125k miles there will be any issues especially since it was maintained at the dealership like clockwork until it was wrecked.

Good input guys - Keep it coming!

 

You are brave ! And mind you, I believe that modern synthetic oils are perfectly capable of providing excellent protection at intervals like this too. Fact is, Infiniti says 7500 mile oil changes for regular driving and they spec conventional oil, not a blend or full synthetic, so 10k isn't really that much of a stretch. Yeah, yeah, everyone wants to class their driving style as "severe" but it's probably not. If there was any doubt, automakers would just eliminate the two distinctions and only list the worst case. Looking at Infiniti's terms for the two, they don't help either....

Schedule 1 (3750 miles)

• Repeated short trips of less than 5 miles in normal temperatures or less than 10 miles in freezing temperatures
• Stop-and-go traffic in hot weather or low- speed driving for long distances
• Driving in dusty conditions or on rough, muddy, or salt-spread roads
• Towing a trailer, or using a camper or car-top carrier

Schedule 2 (7500 miles)

• Highway driving in temperate conditions

To me, there's a lot of in-between driving conditions that wouldn't force you into one or the other.

 

My wife used to work as a caretaker for mentally disabled folks and they were all these GIGANTIC people. Initially she was driving them around in a Camry and the struts were shot within the first year, she drives like an old lady but I would still consider that to be SEVERE conditions since there was over 1000 lbs of extra weight on it. Upgraded to a Suburban and that same load is definitely not taxing the suspension/drivetrain at all.

 

I use Castrol Edge Extended and Mobil one filters. Both indicate they are good for up to 15,000 miles, I only push it to 12K max.

Re: oil dilution, I recently purchased an '07 Honda CR-V as a workhorse / backup vehicle as Ive been putting a lot of miles on my G in last couple years.

I noticed the oil level on the CR-V was a bit high and quite a pronounced gas smell. Good news is even at 240,000 miles it doesn't burn much if any oil. I bought it off a buddy that used it for highway commuting and he basically drives like a granny. Surprisingly fuel consumption is not that much better than the G! It obviously runs on 87octane but only manages 20/27mpg. In the power department it's leagues behind, makes me really appreciate the G when I take it for a spin, however, and I hate to say this, but the steering is better on the CR-V. Much more communicative and sporty feel.

 

I'm surprised the Honda is that close in MPG's! I noticed when I put gas for the first time in my 08' G35x that it says "Premium gas only" but I filled it with 87 oct since it was just easy highway miles back home. I'll have to hook my laptop up to it and watch the knock and timing retard between fuels to see if it changes much.

 

I'm surprised to. Its only a 2.4L 4-cyl and not that heavy (~3200lbs i think)

I've looked at timing advance using torque, but did not see knock count anywhere.

 

The owner's manual only "recommends" 91 octane gasoline (for the sedan). There is a big difference between recommend and require but many fail to grasp this. I see people all the time insist over and over that these cars require premium fuel and it's simply not true. That said, I have noticed a slight difference under acceleration with regular fuel. When I first got this car, I put regular in it a few times out of habit (from old car).

 

Nissan tunes their motors to run right on the ragged edge of pinging and they rely heavily on the knock sensor when you're pushing them hard. If you drive normally and are not WOT it will make absolutely zero difference, if you push the car hard it will pull a few degrees of timing every so often. Not a huge deal, use whatever fuel you prefer.

 

I'll add that I've tried mid-grade (89) a few times and did not notice any decrease in "feel" (performance) under acceleration. With 87, under decent acceleration, I could hear a tiny bit of pinging. I won't say it was slower as that's too judgemental in the cases I was in but it could have been.

 

I'm going to datalog 87 oct for knock. I know on my 04' it gets quite a bit with cheap gas. It's hard to tell sometimes but when you look at the log it's there. E15 or 91 solves the issue, I guess I'll find out on the 08' if it's the same.

Oh, to answer Serge: I think Uprev is the only way to monitor knock. I thought about making a arduino based LCD with some of the important data monitoring for those that don't want a laptop in the car.... Just haven't got to it.

 

Cool, I only run 91 or 93 octane with a splash of Lucas upper cylinder lubricant. If memory serves timing advance goes as high as 50 under light accel, and around 20-25 degrees under heavy load (75% throttle or more) uprev would be neat to play around with, although it seems Infiniti optimized the power band to about 95% already. Most are only seeing 10-12whp gain after doing boltons.

As far as CR-V vs G35x. I listed the official fuel economy figure. After further checking what I'm actually seeing real world is 23mpg vs. 19mpg.

 

If you really want to know about ANY dilution, get a sample kit from Blackstone Labs in Indiana. They send you the kit for free, and when you send the sample in you pay for it then. They can do a full analysis of the oil, you just need to let them know how many miles the oil has on it and what oil it was that you put in. They'll also give recommendations on your change interval. I did this with my Jeep (7500 mile intervals) and they said I was good to 10k. I changed at 10k and sent a sample to them again. They said that I was technically good to 11-11.5k, but that I should stick to 10k so that I had a cushion in case I was delayed in changing it out. Really good customer service too.

 

I typically run 87 or 88(E15) and haven't noticed any knocking under normal driving. I run 91 through it from time to time and noticed a little bit better acceleration and throttle response (but it easily could have been all in my head)

I'd definitely be interested in this, I tinker with electronics and have been looking for an excuse to get some arduino stuff.

 

How much do they charge for the oil analysis?