i feel horrible when i go past 4500 miles on my oil changes, i even baby the car until i get the oil changed.

I do all my own changes, usually about every 5k and that's km's not miles. I check out oil levels frequently in between changes and use only AMSoil full ester. I have never experienced abnormal oil consumption, luckily, and I did indeed follow proper break-in procedure.

OP, you are not 100% at fault for his and I believe Nissan should pony up the new block. You WILL, however, have to be more diligent with your maintenance in the future. These engines are high performance, and require a lot more attention than mom's Taurus....

Good luck with Nissan, I am sure you will come to an arrangement with them. Consider this a learning experience!

You should be checking the oil each time you get gas.

????? really? thats a lot!

Yep. I mean its only the most important fluid in the car.

Turn the car off while pumping (you should be doing this anyway) Once your done pumping enough time would have passed for the oil to leak back to the bottom of the pan and check it. Will take all of about 1 minute. Its good insurance.

I do so more like once every 2 weeks but I have also never taken the mileage past 3k between changes.

Good advice for the little time it takes. For those guys that can't find the time because your so busy to take an extra minute at the pumps, have your mom or someone else who is responsible do it for you.:shakes head:

I follow a simple system for all my vehicles, 370Z, Twin Turbo 911, Silverado pickup. 5K miles between changes. Simple to track and remember on the odometer. Redline in the Z, Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel Truck 5W-40 in the Porsche, and plain old dino oil in the Silverado. The Chevy just passed 150K miles and doesn't use a lick of oil. I've used this system in all my old musclecars, BMW's, Toyotas, etc etc since 1980 when I started driving. NEVER had a single oil induced failure in any vehicle.

Anyone who tells you that you need to change the oil more frequently is just spending your money. Frankly, I probably don;t need to change it that frequently, but like I said, its a no brainer way to track on the odometer.

HOWEVER...I do check the oil every 2 weeks or so...checking on fill ups is not overkill, I would check at leaast every other fillup at a minimum.

I have a 2010 with only 7k miles and I change mine once a year with Redline. My Z is only a weekend car and is it ok to just change it once a year because I put very little miles on the car?

It won't hurt it...and frankly a once a year oil change isn't going to break the bank. That's what I'd do, for whatever its worth...

Whats normal operating oil temps without an oil cooler?

Here in AZ, during normal commuting/city driving, with the 2012 factory oil cooler, I ran about 230-235 normally. (Ambient air temp about 108-113).

With the Z1 Motorsports 34 row cooler, same driving conditions and elimination of the factory cooler, I am seeing 195-205 normally. Enough of a reduction to greatly mitigate the ECU driven power loss due to heat...

thx!:tiphat:

If you are averaging 3.5k a year you are ok once a year but I'd check the level... some 2010s burn oil as well.

Everyone is so worried about spending extra $$$ here yet we are driving cars where a tank of gas costs more than an oil change...
Be as conservative with your maintenance as you want but I can tell you one thing... the people that follow the maintenance requirements won't be hassled by Nissan or any other manufacturer if god forbid they have a major component failure.

Is it really worth it to save yourself say around $75 a year (2 changes of Mobil 1 plus filter)? I spend that every other week in gas.

I last changed my oil in Dec '11 and I just checked itthis past weekend...and everything looked fine, but I will check it very often. Thanks.