No Full Synthetic Oil in the Z?
 

So, I went to get an oil change at the dealership where I bought my 370Z. I asked the service advisor about using full synthetic oil instead of the regular oil they use. He informed me that the 370z cannot use full synthetic oil. I asked why. He then said that Nissan engineered that engine that way. Anybody else know about this? It doesn't make sense to me. I've used full synthetic oil in all my cars and motorcycle.

dudes full of shyt, been running full synth since my first change at 1500 miles.

It's recommended, at the very least, to use Nissan's Ester Oil for the first oil change, especially if you're doing it during the break-in period for the car. Nissan Ester Oil is recommended, but not necessary.

Many members have switched to full synthetics such as Redline, Royal Purple, or Mobil 1 at the 3k, 5k, and 10k marks, none of those with any issues.

What is the logic behind that statement? How could one build an engine to only work with a blend?

He's an idiot.......:shakes head:

I hit "submit" a little too soon. So anyway, engine parts are still engine parts, it produces the same heat, so if it's all the same, I don't see how this statement holds water.

Just another example of people making things up and overstepping their knowledge base.

I know ALL engines in the WORLD can use 100% synthetic oil EXcept the Mazda RX-8 Rotory engine..

Don't try to find logic in stealerships' requirements, dude. Their only "logic" is $$$---as much as they can get from you! Synth' oil is THE best choice for any engine (see previous post for the exception). Period. Some cars even leave the assembly line with it (i.e. by the manufacturer). So, ignore that nitwit's comment and go synthetic!

I'm not planning on going back to that dealership. I found the DIY oil change sticky and it doesn't look that bad. I'm going to see if I can get my money back for that stupid Maintenance Plus that I bought.

I have a '99 Mercedes-Benz...MB advised me not to use synthetic oil until at least 5000 miles on the odo. I have no idea why. But I followed the rec and now have 138000 trouble-free miles on that engine. I have only used Mobil 1 for the life of this vehicle.

Changing the oil on the 370Z is VERY easy and it is worth the effort knowing that it was done right. I ran the initial oil up to 3500 miles then went to Mobil 1 full synthetic and the car runs fine. :tup:

Never rely on a service adviser. Next time talk to the service MANAGER or at least a mechanic. Service advisers are customer service reps, nothing more, and most are clueless about mechanical issues beyond the minimal items they were taught in a customer service training class.

I've used Mobil 1 on my '01 Montero Sport since the first oil change and I've never had any issues, it now has 202K miles on it. This is the reason why I asked about it with my 370z.

If that was the answer I had gotten from the 'service advisor' when I took mine in for it's first oil change, I would have gone directly to both the sales and service heads and told them that I will not do business with a dealer that has so little respect for their customers that they will just fat out lie to them like that.
That would have landed that service jerk on the hotseat and started a whole lot of a$$ kiss'n to make me happy.
What happened in my case was I was told that "while the ester oil was recommended, using regular oil would not void the warranty so the choice would be up to me". I already knew that so that was the right answewr. Then he added.... if I wanted to go to synthetic they would simply charge me for the difference in cost of the oil and if I want to save some money, he recommended I buy the synthetic by the case at some place like Walmart and they would put it in for me at no charge.
Obviously.... some dealers are better than others.

There are two types of stealerships: The bad and the worse. No two ways about it!

The dude is full of crap. I had to top off my oil, and the local Nissan dealership told me that all they used was Moble1 synthetic.... How can a car not be designed to run on synthetic?? Did you mention to him that factory oil is part synthetic??

No use arguing with 'em; they look down on their "valued customer$"!

I've changed my oil at 1400miles to Redline synthetic and have had 0 issues and the drive is smoother.

I thought Mobil 1 isn't a full synthetic.

Roger that!

At one time Mobil 1 was fully synthetic but they lost a lawsuit to Castrol who advertised their oil as fully synthetic but was using an organic base. Mobil then changed their formula and started using an organic base which is cheaper to produce. A few years ago Mobil came out with their extended performance synthetic oil which is fully synthetic.

Using Mobil 1 full synthetic, which was recommended by my dealer. No issues.

hahha man that guy is full of crap.... swtich to full synthetic.... at 3000k runs smother than before.... ahhaha and no problem man if i dealer said that to me.... ill tell him straight to his face his a idiot hahaha

Something like 90% of break-in occurs when the engine is first fired up, and most japanese manufacturers strap it to a dyno and run it all the way up to redline under load to prove it's a good engine.

So, taking that into consideration, there isn't really any "break in" that needs to be done with conventional oil. Plus, with our cam system, we need all the lubrication we can get. If you feel the need to break in your engine, and you put in synthetic oil, figure you just need to hammer the throttle a bit harder than the guy driving like a 90yr old grandma with a reaction time measured in minutes, to make up for the lubrication property differences...

The dealership where I bought my motorcycle tried to tell me the same thing - I spent 2 minutes arguing with them on why that recommendation is BS, and they finally said something to the effect of "it's your bike, we're just saying..." and I finished their sentence with "a load of ********", and I walked out...

All I was ther for was for a couple crush washers =/

Now jpit's got me wondering 'bout the cases and cases of "regular" Mobil 1 I purchased some time back! I've been using "regular" Mobil 1 since 1998 or '99, with fine results, so far...Rats! I've got something like 6 or 7 cases of 5W30 oil stored for the next round of oil changes (my 350's in January '10, and my wife's Pathfinder in February of the same year). I'm just NOT gonna worry 'bout it, 'cause I ain't gonna dump the stuff into Pep Boys' used oil drums! Only time will tell...

Listen guys they are a Nissan dealership if you have a problem with nissan's policy on the ester oil call nissan. YOu both aren't informed correctly read your owners manual and your warranty and you will find out that the current standing from nissan is that the ester oil is best for the engine (arguable personally i don't think it is and it's a scam) this is what they tell the service department to do. It is a dealer service department not regular shop so they follow the book and company policy. If you read your warranty book they will not void the warranty if you do not use ester oil just like they won't if you install a cat-back but do me a favor buy a F.I. Exhaust and try to have a nissan dealer install it and see what they say. Not that you can't do it, they just won't. Service departments that will put in an oil other than the ester oil ARE NOT FOLLOWING NISSAN RECOMMENDED SERVICE PROCEDURE good or bad it's not how NISSAN rolls.

Edit: Take your car somewhere else have them put in the oil that makes you happy and keep the receipt in with your warranty book that is all nissan requires you to do.

Where do you come up with this schitt? :icon14:

:bowrofl:

Sorry, I assumed it was a standard industry-wide practice, but I guess I was referring to motorcycle engines as the basis of the second half of my comment.

The first half is just plain common-sense. Maybe the percentage is off...but whatever.

Yeah... you're totally wrong. Anyone doing an oil analysis at the first change, bike or car, will show you that there are metal shavings in the oil from break-in. I actually subscribe to the fast break-in method, but to say it's all broken in on the test stand is just misinformation. It's no wonder that the bike shop laughed at you.

Also, during break-in, your car burns oil, so synthetic is not desirable (it doesn't burn well). I actually think this Z just burns some oil as part of normal operation, so I'm going to stick with the Nissan Ester, but I think people with good synthetic will likely be fine.

And: for those excited because their motor hasn't seized up in with ~15K miles - that's not exactly a ringing endorsement of any oil, no matter what it is. You could not change the oil at all and get 15K miles trouble free. Not saying your oil change is wrong, just that that data point is pretty much useless.

From a purely logical standpoint, the fact that there are metal shavings in the oil from the first oil change does not in itself disprove what he's saying. The oil that is drained during the first oil change is the original factory-fill oil, right? So those metal shavings could just as easily be from the first engine fire-up and test stand shakedown. I'm not saying I agree with what Kannibul is saying, mind you. I'm just pointing out that the logic isn't quite airtight here. It's not like the dealership changes the oil upon taking delivery of the vehicle, thereby draining out all the factory-fill (at least not that I'm aware of).

Fair enough on the logic; I realized after I posted. However, cars usually burn oil for the first 1500-2500 miles. I have also seen cases where people did a drain after 100 miles another at 1500 and still got the majority of the shavings at the latter change. The point remains: no one (but Kannibul), has ever even tried to argue that 90% of break-in occurs on the test stand, except for RC plane engines. If anyone has any other evidence, I'd love to see it.

Metal shavings...no ****. Physics...man, physics...

Your cylinders are honed into a file-like crosshatch pattern when new, and when the engine is first fired up (with oil in it), they "file" down everything and get the rings seated.

And where do those shavings go? Into the pan, with the oil, that ships with your car that you drain out at your first change, and some shavings stay in the engine because you can't get them all out...so they're there until you're ran enough oil through the engine and filter...

Also numerous cars come with synthetic oil from the factory...nothing wrong with using synthetic from the moment you get a new car home, drop the oil out of the pan, and refill it...


Also, in chosing the correct oil - if it meets Nissan's spec in the manual (I don't remember what it is, but it's common) - Nissan can not deny a warranty claim over it. You don't have to use Nissan's oil. There is no "but I think it'll be fine" - fact is, it will be fine.

Nissan can recommend you use Nissan air filters and oil filters too, but that doesn't mean anything - they're just trying to get you to buy something they have a mark-up for, instead of what could potentially be better for your car.

Case and point - Nissan Ester oil - is it synthetic or not? Is it Group III, Group IV, or Group V...?


And the bike shop didn't "laugh" at me...they wanted me to buy their oil, and take OUT the synthetic. Sound familiar?

Your 1300 Honda was run up through the gears on a Dyno, Period. This took 2 minutes at most. Hardly a serious break in.. It is common knowledge that some engines take longer than others to hit their sweet spot. The Honda VFR really doesn't come into it's own until it hits 5K miles (I've had 4 of them). Seems the VQ engine has similar characteristics.....Even the Magazine testers have commented on this..

That's why I said 90% of it happens there on the dyno, and why I said the percentage might be off a bit, but not a lot. Maybe it's 80%...either way.

Huh?

How about we just say some of it happens on the dyno and leave it at that? ;)

^^^ i agree with sem