Z Oil Change: Miles or Time?

ZEDHEAD · 05-13-2012, 04:11 PM

My experience with Nissan has been that they go by mileage not months, last month I had a chat with a Nissan service advisor about this. He felt as though putting on 500 miles over the last 6 months (car was in storage 5 of those) did not warrant an oil change. He told me to monitor the oil level though as it may burn off faster given the length of time passed.

Thanks for starting this thread, interesting to read the different opinions on this.

ZMan8 · 05-12-2012, 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JARblue

Did you ever get the Blackstone results here?

Good call, sir

I was kind of hoping I could do it on two jack stands, but I will be using four thanks to your comment

I don't think there is an issue with doing.it on two jackstands. I have dine it like That in the past and the amount left in there should be insignificant. The most complete.drain possible you will.probably need the car level. And while filling the most accurate measurement happens when its level as well.

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JARblue · 05-12-2012, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZMan8

The most complete.drain possible you will.probably need the car level. And while filling the most accurate measurement happens when its level as well.

I'm definitely lazy, but I'm also slightly OCD. The Z is pretty major investment, so I'll take the extra time and do it right.

IDZRVIT · 05-13-2012, 07:52 PM

Read the service manual. There will always be about a half litre of oil remaining in the engine whether the car is on two jack stands, four jack stands or upside down.

gsxr750 · 05-13-2012, 07:58 PM

If you drive less than 2k a year on the sportscar you can just change the oil, once a year.
Or before putting it away for the winter you can just put in some cheap standard oil and put new synthetic oil and a new filter in spring.

JARblue · 05-13-2012, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IDZRVIT

Read the service manual. There will always be about a half litre of oil remaining in the engine whether the car is on two jack stands, four jack stands or upside down.

My question, then, is there a difference in the amount of drained oil between two and four jack stands? If the amount left in the pan is the same, then I would guess it does not matter.

ZMan8 · 05-14-2012, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FricFrac

Uh I don't think that's quite right.... intake air goes into the combustion chamber and back out the exhaust. Precious little water gets in that way. If it was as heavily contaminated as you suggest you'd have milky oil all the time. Typically condensation is where most of the moisture comes from that gets in the oil. If your car sits for extended periods of time you're more likely to have extra water in your oil.

Water from condensation is why you should change your oil if your car is off the road in the winter - simply change the oil in the spring when it goes back on the road. In the winter turn it over every few weeks to keep the seals oiled. Putting oil in the car for storage doesn't make any sense either since you're not going to drive with the "storage" oil so just leave the oil that's in it when you park it.

From what I read and was told leaving old oil in for 4-5 months is bad as well though. Something to do with the acidic substances. Oil change is not expensive if you do it yourself so might as well replace before storage and after storage.

Regarding the op, I drove my z about 3000 miles per year but I.change the oil twice in that time period. Once whenever I take the car out or storage around april and once before I put it back in in Oct/Nov

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LinPark · 05-14-2012, 10:17 AM

I don't put mine in storage - I basically drive it about 50 miles every weekend (unless it's raining) and it sits in a garage the rest of the time. Looking forward to sharing the oil analysis with you guys once I have it.

370Z Purist · 05-15-2012, 01:06 PM

I change the oil twice a year; I've done the first oil change at a local lube station using their "full synthetic" service for 50 dollars; valvetrain noise was insane. Despite my specific instructions to leave the car alone, my father took it upon himself to change the oil. He's also driven it enough, badly enough so that my clutch noticeably softened, but that's a story for another time.
The next time was at a Nissan dealer at 5000 miles (cost me 89 dollars with a coupon! insane! this is for their special "ester oil" too) was the next one. After that, I did Redline at 7000 about 8 months later, then I did Royal Purple this winter at 10000 miles. I've had about 6-8 months between changes, average.

I have noticed that after the oil change at the lube joint that the valvetrain noise was very very loud and clicky; enough to actually hear from inside the car. Nissan's Ester Oil and Redline both significantly reduced this noise, and Royal Purple is a bit louder. I've decided to go with Redline for the rest of the foreseeable future.

Also, funny story; my friend is very mechanically inclined but his parents are not; their 09 outback sport went 40,000 miles without the VERY first oil change. Since then he has taken it upon himself to change it every season, and it still runs very well. It would appear to me that as lone as there is some oil in the car, it doesn't really seem to matter as long as it isn't driven like a track car. More or less, though, with our cars, it's probably a better option to do at least a yearly oil change, ideally every six months.

Of course, that's just my two cents, and my personal experience. The oil debate will go as long as there is anything that ever needs oil. Might as well go with what you know or what you believe.

MacLean · 05-15-2012, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 370Z Purist

I change the oil twice a year; I've done the first oil change at a local lube station using their "full synthetic" service for 50 dollars; valvetrain noise was insane. Despite my specific instructions to leave the car alone, my father took it upon himself to change the oil. He's also driven it enough, badly enough so that my clutch noticeably softened, but that's a story for another time.
The next time was at a Nissan dealer at 5000 miles (cost me 89 dollars with a coupon! insane! this is for their special "ester oil" too) was the next one. After that, I did Redline at 7000 about 8 months later, then I did Royal Purple this winter at 10000 miles. I've had about 6-8 months between changes, average.

I have noticed that after the oil change at the lube joint that the valvetrain noise was very very loud and clicky; enough to actually hear from inside the car. Nissan's Ester Oil and Redline both significantly reduced this noise, and Royal Purple is a bit louder. I've decided to go with Redline for the rest of the foreseeable future.

Also, funny story; my friend is very mechanically inclined but his parents are not; their 09 outback sport went 40,000 miles without the VERY first oil change. Since then he has taken it upon himself to change it every season, and it still runs very well. It would appear to me that as lone as there is some oil in the car, it doesn't really seem to matter as long as it isn't driven like a track car. More or less, though, with our cars, it's probably a better option to do at least a yearly oil change, ideally every six months.

Of course, that's just my two cents, and my personal experience. The oil debate will go as long as there is anything that ever needs oil. Might as well go with what you know or what you believe.

WOW...... WTF. That is insane & I have never ever heard someone going that effen long w/o changing their oil & especially their first oil change. I'm surprised there wasn't any damage from that.

JARblue · 05-15-2012, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cgmg21

WOW...... WTF. That is insane & I have never ever heard someone going that effen long w/o changing their oil & especially their first oil change. I'm surprised there wasn't any damage from that.

No crap... I thought my mom was bad when she let her mid-90s 626 go 12K w/o oil change. 40K tho?

My friend had a brand new Mercedes not two years ago whose manual recommended 12,500 oil change increments.

IDZRVIT · 05-15-2012, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cgmg21

WOW...... WTF. That is insane & I have never ever heard someone going that effen long w/o changing their oil & especially their first oil change. I'm surprised there wasn't any damage from that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 370Z Purist

My cigarette dropped out of my mouth when he told me that. The car runs absolutely fine... clearly, technology has come a loooong way.

That being said the car only has 80k miles now, so I guess we'll see long term signs of damage in the next 30k miles.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JARblue

No crap... I thought my mom was bad when she let her mid-90s 626 go 12K w/o oil change. 40K tho?

My friend had a brand new Mercedes not two years ago whose manual recommended 12,500 oil change increments.

There is a message here - 3750 mile oil changes under normal driving conditions (no tracking, etc) are not necessary. Obviously, Mercedes has a lot of confidence in their engines from not breaking down given their 12K mile oil change intervals. I have the same confidence in the Nissan engine, my 355 SBC, '03 Sport Trac and John Deere LT150. All use Mobil 1 and the oil is changed once a year irregardless of the mileage. But that's just me and my 35+ years doing my own maintenance and repairs. Hey, why pay $100/hr labour rates when you can DIY?

JARblue · 05-15-2012, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IDZRVIT

There is a message here - 3750 mile oil changes under normal driving conditions (no tracking, etc) are not necessary. Obviously, Mercedes has a lot of confidence in their engines from not breaking down given their 12K mile oil change intervals. I have the same confidence in the Nissan engine, my 355 SBC, '03 Sport Trac and John Deere LT150. All use Mobil 1 and the oil is changed once a year irregardless of the mileage. But that's just me and my 35+ years doing my own maintenance and repairs. Hey, why pay $100/hr labour rates when you can DIY?

We put enough miles on the Z that I am changing it every 6-7 months on average. The dealer did the first two cause I had some credit with their service department, but going forward, I will be doing them myself. I will say that if you do the recommended 7500 miles or 12 month increments, I think that the cost per year for oil changes just isn't significant, even if you do pay someone else to do it. We ARE driving $30K vehicles after all, so if you don't want to do it yourself, then pay the money to have it done right. I, for one, am looking forward to doing my own maintenance on the Z. It is my first true sports car and really the first car I haven't thought of as simply a mode of transportation.

Coon-azz · 05-15-2012, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IDZRVIT

There is a message here - 3750 mile oil changes under normal driving conditions (no tracking, etc) are not necessary. Obviously, Mercedes has a lot of confidence in their engines from not breaking down given their 12K mile oil change intervals. I have the same confidence in the Nissan engine, my 355 SBC, '03 Sport Trac and John Deere LT150. All use Mobil 1 and the oil is changed once a year irregardless of the mileage. But that's just me and my 35+ years doing my own maintenance and repairs. Hey, why pay $100/hr labour rates when you can DIY?

No way....

what kind of mileage out of curiousity...sorry..

370Z Purist · 05-15-2012, 01:36 PM

My cigarette dropped out of my mouth when he told me that. The car runs absolutely fine... clearly, technology has come a loooong way.

That being said the car only has 80k miles now, so I guess we'll see long term signs of damage in the next 30k miles.

05-13-2012, 07:52 PM	#4 (permalink)
IDZRVIT A True Z Fanatic Join Date: May 2009 Location: Halifax Posts: 1,659 Drives: '13 CTS-V, '76 Vette Rep Power: 27	Read the service manual. There will always be about a half litre of oil remaining in the engine whether the car is on two jack stands, four jack stands or upside down. __________________ "America.... still builds rockets!" Vette: 355 cid, 400 rwhp '13 CTS-V Coupe: 6.2L LSA, 556HP

05-13-2012, 07:58 PM	#5 (permalink)
gsxr750 Enthusiast Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: west Posts: 443 Drives: 2012 370z man. sport Rep Power: 14	If you drive less than 2k a year on the sportscar you can just change the oil, once a year. Or before putting it away for the winter you can just put in some cheap standard oil and put new synthetic oil and a new filter in spring. Last edited by gsxr750; 05-13-2012 at 08:00 PM.

05-15-2012, 01:06 PM	#9 (permalink)
370Z Purist A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Zion, Illinois Posts: 1,873 Drives: '09 370Z-T BS M6 Rep Power: 19	I change the oil twice a year; I've done the first oil change at a local lube station using their "full synthetic" service for 50 dollars; valvetrain noise was insane. Despite my specific instructions to leave the car alone, my father took it upon himself to change the oil. He's also driven it enough, badly enough so that my clutch noticeably softened, but that's a story for another time. The next time was at a Nissan dealer at 5000 miles (cost me 89 dollars with a coupon! insane! this is for their special "ester oil" too) was the next one. After that, I did Redline at 7000 about 8 months later, then I did Royal Purple this winter at 10000 miles. I've had about 6-8 months between changes, average. I have noticed that after the oil change at the lube joint that the valvetrain noise was very very loud and clicky; enough to actually hear from inside the car. Nissan's Ester Oil and Redline both significantly reduced this noise, and Royal Purple is a bit louder. I've decided to go with Redline for the rest of the foreseeable future. Also, funny story; my friend is very mechanically inclined but his parents are not; their 09 outback sport went 40,000 miles without the VERY first oil change. Since then he has taken it upon himself to change it every season, and it still runs very well. It would appear to me that as lone as there is some oil in the car, it doesn't really seem to matter as long as it isn't driven like a track car. More or less, though, with our cars, it's probably a better option to do at least a yearly oil change, ideally every six months. Of course, that's just my two cents, and my personal experience. The oil debate will go as long as there is anything that ever needs oil. Might as well go with what you know or what you believe. __________________ -Phil "Since one of my brake light bulbs just went out, the forum told me that my piston rings are about to blow."

05-15-2012, 01:36 PM	#15 (permalink)
370Z Purist A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Zion, Illinois Posts: 1,873 Drives: '09 370Z-T BS M6 Rep Power: 19	My cigarette dropped out of my mouth when he told me that. The car runs absolutely fine... clearly, technology has come a loooong way. That being said the car only has 80k miles now, so I guess we'll see long term signs of damage in the next 30k miles. __________________ -Phil "Since one of my brake light bulbs just went out, the forum told me that my piston rings are about to blow."

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05-13-2012, 04:11 PM	#1 (permalink)
ZEDHEAD Base Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Canada Posts: 56 Drives: 09 370Z M6 Rep Power: 16	My experience with Nissan has been that they go by mileage not months, last month I had a chat with a Nissan service advisor about this. He felt as though putting on 500 miles over the last 6 months (car was in storage 5 of those) did not warrant an oil change. He told me to monitor the oil level though as it may burn off faster given the length of time passed. Thanks for starting this thread, interesting to read the different opinions on this.

05-14-2012, 10:17 AM	#8 (permalink)
LinPark A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Columbus, OH Posts: 1,077 Drives: '17 Camaro 2SS A8 Rep Power: 24	I don't put mine in storage - I basically drive it about 50 miles every weekend (unless it's raining) and it sits in a garage the rest of the time. Looking forward to sharing the oil analysis with you guys once I have it.