66K Is it too late to go full synthetic?

mike444

I know I know, the oil threads are dreaded here. I have used that magical search button my fellow z owners, and to no avail for my question(s).

I see an ad for Pennzoil platinum which seems to get positive reviews here for $32.99 w/ k&m filter and $1.00 savings per gallon of shell fuel(check into that guys). What I want to know is, is it to late to switch over to "full" synthetic, or should I be using high milage oil like Valvoline MaxLife Synthetic ( I think thats what was put it before).

Facts: I'm the 2nd owner and from 15,800 miles onward I have used conventional oil, until my last change which I'm 80% sure was the valvoline listed above.


And since were here, already if anyone has suggestions on what else I should do at this point to maintain my lovely aging 370z, they are welcomed. Ex. If/ what spark plugs I should buy. If/what tranny fluid I should buy, and anything else.
*I can't really afford the super fancy schmancy products but a happy medium of proven products have always done me good.


I'll be checking in periodically but just incase thank you!

JARblue

I'm not sure your mileage counts as high mileage just yet, but if you have already switched over to synthetic it should be no problem.

Mobil 1 ($25 for 5 qts @ Walmart).
Redline MT-85 for transmission (should have been replaced at least twice already for your mileage)
Redline 75W90 (for VLSD if you have sport pkg)

From Mobil 1 website

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mike444

Thank you!

mike444

So im also looking to flush out and replace most of the fluids, I'm ordering:

- break pads(Front & Rear)
- Valvoline DOT 3 and 4 Synthetic Brake Fluid (32oz)
-5 qt full synthetic of mobil 1 or pennzoil platinum

Getting these from Thenismoshop.com, are the reputable?
- OEM tranny fluid (2 qt's)
- OEM Nissan drain washers( I need 3 Right, 2 for the tranny, 1 for oil)

Is changing the spark plugs a good idea?edit: just read there good for 100k
Should I also get the OEM power steering fluid, and how much of do I need? Also when changing the Motor oil do I need a new plug or is the same one ok?

Pretty much trying to do a full service, Thanks for all the input.

mike444

I'm also wondering if they have any coupons for being a member on this website , they're shipping is going to cost me just about as much as my purchase

JARblue

I assume you aren't tracking or autoXing your Z. If you are, you will probably want to rethink your choices (a quick search should give you lots of info).

Brake Pads - Centric PosiQuiets or OEM seem to be good DD pads (low noise/dust)
I only use Motul RBF600 for brake/clutch fluid. Any proper spec fluid should be fine for DD though.
I use Mobil 1 because it's dirt cheap at Walmart. Any proper spec synthetic should be fine.

The transmission fluid is 3+ quarts, not 2 quarts. I order 4 quarts and make sure it starts coming out the fill hole when filling.

3 washer is correct, but note they are different. One for the engine oil drain plug (copper crush washer) and two for the transmission (flat aluminum washer - one for fill plug and one for drain plug).

No need to mess with spark plugs unless you're having issues that you need to troubleshoot.

No need for new plug when changing oil - just make sure you use a new copper crush washer. Although many people purchase a magnetic drain plug for the oil pan.

I don't have any previous experience with the website you're asking about, but I bet you can find cheaper prices if you search around.

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jwick

I went from dino oil to synthetic after about 75k in my SC300. Car never leaked until I made this change. Synthetics tend to clean up sludge in your engine. When this happened in my SC300 it created a leak at the main seal. From an engine standpoint I see no issues with it but I will never switch to synthetics in any car I own based on my experiences with it creating a leak.

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'10 G37T 6MT Graphite/Graphite - BP - G37T Build

Fountainhead

Or, Synthetics may not be compatible with seals, and perhaps they shrink or become brittle and wear. I did one cycle of Synthetic in mine and now I'm running PYB. Changing it every 3750 miles why bother with Synthetic anyway.

chii370

because synthetics dont naturally degrade do to heat stress thats "why bother" in a perfect machine with no flaws you can essentially use synthetic oil for the lifetime of the machine. My old job had machines that used full synth oil and didnt need to be changed for 15-20 years as long as the FILTER was always changed at the interval the oil companies have padlove trained all your dumb asses into believing it needs to be changed. of course they are going to tell you it needs changed every 6000 miles. WHO POCKETS FROM YOUR STUPIDITY. they would tell you that you need to change it every 2.5 seconds if they could get away with it without someone FINALLY raising a suspicious eyebrow lol. ****, i remember growing up it used to be every 10k miles, sometimes even 15. now its 6-7500. I have actually tested this. I ran royal purple in my subi for 4 years and just swapped out K&N filters "its a bi7ch" and after all that time the oil was still as clean as ever. although I also have a RE magnet drain plug but I would never find anything on it so it ether doesn't work or the oil is doing its job.

switching from conventional to synth doesn't matter. switching from synth to conventional does. and synth eating seals ...... thats long in the past, additives have since gotten so much better. just dont put that high mileage **** in, it has weird detergents and other crap in it to fight "engine buildup"

if you dont believe me, theres plenty of googling to be done. by all means second check.

exsanity

As a matter of fact I don't believe you.

I have done many a Google search on Synthetic vs Mineral oils and how synthetic oil works. The fact is, the fundamental difference between synthetic oil and mineral oil is synthetic oil is manufactured chemically and mineral oil is natural, obviously right? But what that means is the individual molecules of oil in synthetic oil are all the exact same size due to the manufacturing process, nothing in nature is ever exactly the same.


This allows the synthetic oil to break down evenly where mineral oil has varying molecule sizes that cause the oil to become thicker the longer it is used.

Sources:
How Stuff Works: Synthetic vs. Conventional Motor Oil
Synthetic oil technology

jwick

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'10 G37T 6MT Graphite/Graphite - BP - G37T Build

FPenvy

sooooooooooooooooooooooo you're saying i can leave the same 6 quarts in my Z for the lifetime of the car but just change the filter?

i would first like to say that's retarded. have you ever seen oil at the time of change? mine usually looks like it needs it and also if you run a Z hard without a oil cooler theres a good chance you may have burned off some oil as well no matter if its conventional or full syn.

also i would like to see you drop the filter off of an oil pan that is full and put a new one on as the oil in it dumps out on you

sadly this all made sense when i saw you owned a "subie"

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jwick

Quit spreading your filth around here. I ran RP for all 140k miles on my IS300. Changed it every 5k. It never was as clean as when it went in. Went in purple came out looking like every other syn I've ever drained from a car.

OP you are better off ignoring anything Chii posts

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'10 G37T 6MT Graphite/Graphite - BP - G37T Build

exsanity

To say that any kind of oil will last the life of the engine is a gross overstatement. As Presto mentioned, as the oil heats up it boils and/or breaks down. It will also collect deposits from the combustion.

SouthArk370Z

Wrong, wrong, wrong on so many levels. All lubes, synthetic or not, break down with use. And even if they didn't break down, the essential additives do. Then there is the stuff that even the best filters can't remove.

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