Should I be worried about cheap oil change?

Crash · 02-12-2009, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by albertu

Sorry guys, but there's no such thing as too early for an oil change. 3k? 5k? even 1k depend on how you drive or how deep is your pocket. 5k is kind of the nom nowaday, but if you can do it at 3k, even better.

+1

I did my oil changes after every race day! And when I stopped racing, did them every 3000 miles on the dot.

dad · 02-12-2009, 11:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by albertu

Sorry guys, but there's no such thing as too early for an oil change. 3k? 5k? even 1k depend on how you drive or how deep is your pocket. 5k is kind of the nom nowaday, but if you can do it at 3k, even better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crash

+1

I did my oil changes after every race day! And when I stopped racing, did them every 3000 miles on the dot.

I believe albertu, is refering to every day driving.

Nikon FM · 02-13-2009, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dad

Was it "kinda white froth" looking?

The oil was it's usual color but the other stuff was darker and looked like a finer version of dark grease. I should have took pictures, sorry for the bad description. I thought that it might have come off the stick so that's why I checked the filter at the dealership. If I see it again after a few hundred miles I'll shoot the pics and post them.

Phil Wallace · 02-13-2009, 10:11 AM

It is recommended that Nissan ESTER oil is used in your Z to reduce valvetrain noise in the VVEL setup in your Z.

frost · 02-13-2009, 04:12 PM

I do all the work on my own car I can. Don't trust these a-holes. Check this vid:

ZKindaGuy · 05-16-2009, 03:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by molamann

I dropped off my car at the dealership for my first oil change yesterday and although it's somewhat my fault, I didn't quite specify what oil I wanted which was Nissan factory non synthetic ESTER oil. I just thought it was somewhat obvious and not to mention dishing out cash for quality oil.

Anyways, I went to go pick up my car and the oil change was merely $31. So I asked the service manager what oil they used and used a synthetic castro oil. I didn't mind too much at the time but now I'm getting quite concerned that they used cheap (maybe even recycled) oil since the dealership only charged me $2.71 per quart. Should I go ahead and switch it out with Royal Purple or Mobil 1 since the dealer forced me to synthetic?

Most Nissan dealers have a policy that your first oil change is 1/2 price. So are you sure that this isn't just simply what happened here in your situation?

FlashBazbo · 05-16-2009, 06:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by albertu

Sorry guys, but there's no such thing as too early for an oil change. 3k? 5k? even 1k depend on how you drive or how deep is your pocket. 5k is kind of the nom nowaday, but if you can do it at 3k, even better.

Sorry, but for the INITIAL oil change, it can definitely harm an engine to change the oil too soon. After an engine has run in on its original oil, which under normal conditions takes more than 1K, THEN there's no such thing as too early (except for the money wasting thing). An engine needs a little time run on less-than-brand-new oil to get everything sealing right and working together smoothly. (Think of it as a final machining/honing operation.) If you don't give it time to do this, you'll see high oil consumption down the road.

[At the other extreme, although I would never come close to risking this in my vehicle -- scientific testing has shown that modern oils in normally-stressed engines (probably not your Z!) are fully capable of providing "new oil" performance beyond 15,000 to 20,000 miles, depending on engine load. I'm a 3K oil changer myself -- and probably always will be -- but I know I'm wasting a huge amount of money at that. My wife's car has an oil quality sensor that tells you when it's time to change the oil. Her second oil change came about 22,500 miles after the first! I've heard that a lot of Hondas using oil quality sensors go over 20,000 routinely between oil changes with no problems.]

fly yellow · 05-16-2009, 10:11 AM

I've heard that it is good to do your first oil change after 1000 miles. It gives the engine enough time to break in and it cleans out the fine metal shavings that may have been left behind from manufacturing.

Diversion · 05-16-2009, 10:44 AM

I'm using bottom-of-the-barrel 10w30 in my car for the next 2000+ miles.. there's nothing to worry about here guys.. I've red lined it many, many times with this oil.. I do not expect anything to go awry by using "cheapo" dino oil. Do I plan to continue using the cheap oil? No.. this is what I used at my 1000 mile oil change to hold me over until Nissan changes mine under the Maintenance+ plan I added onto the Z during purchase. They state they will change my oil free of charge ever 3750 miles. And this had better be the Nissan OEM Ester oil..

Diversion · 05-16-2009, 10:52 AM

Frost, that video scares the hell out of me.. What's to say our very own Nissan dealerships are doing the same thing - you just never know unfortunately.. I've taken previous cars to Jiffylube plenty of times and always wondered if they "really" changed the oil in the first place... It's so easy to "pretend" you're draining and replacing the oil.. I always had the feeling they were pulling fast ones on me to be honest..

Forrest · 05-16-2009, 05:11 PM

I got my oil changed at 1200 Miles. I thought the same thing as everybody else. I drove like a grandma the entire time and it sucked. Then i thoght if i am gonna drive more aggressive i probably need to change out the oil thats in the engine becuase its probably got alot of "debri" in it.

So i too assumed the dealership was going to use nissan ester oil, i thought it was just someting that you have to do with a 370z. I read the forums here and some one said dealer did not put it in. So i checked my service receipt and it said "5.0 Formula Shell 10w-30". I instantly thought what the hell is this crap no way! If i was going to put a non nissan ester oil in my car, i would have put Royal Purple in it.

So i called my dealer, they at first attempted to argue with me saying Formula Shell is the "same" as nissan ester. BEcuase i told them no its not, they said ok we will do research and find out if it is or isnt the same and call you back. Told them fine they called me back and changed there tune they were no longer arguementive and said hey come in we will put ester oil in free of charge, and yes there seems to be a difference in the oils after doing research.

I went in, i argued with the man again trying to pay for it, he finaly broke down and let me pay for the oil and labor will be free. Ended up paying for the oil only at 60 dollars. I was happy, he was happy.

sensi09 · 05-16-2009, 05:51 PM

For over two years, I've been paying low ~$40 for a synthetic oil change (mobil 1 or motul) at west covina nissan in california.

It was awhile back, but I was watching them do the oil change once and instead of the big 55 gallon drum, they pulled out some 4qt bottles of motul.

I now have a different Z with the maintenance plus program and pay ~$20 for a synthetic oil change.

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02-13-2009, 10:11 AM	#19 (permalink)
Phil Wallace Base Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Connecticut Posts: 34 Drives: 1991 300ZX TT Rep Power: 219	It is recommended that Nissan ESTER oil is used in your Z to reduce valvetrain noise in the VVEL setup in your Z.

05-16-2009, 10:11 AM	#23 (permalink)
fly yellow Enthusiast Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Baltimore, MD Posts: 455 Drives: 09 yellow 370z Rep Power: 265	I've heard that it is good to do your first oil change after 1000 miles. It gives the engine enough time to break in and it cleans out the fine metal shavings that may have been left behind from manufacturing.

05-16-2009, 10:44 AM	#24 (permalink)
Diversion Enthusiast Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Jacksonville, Florida Posts: 393 Drives: 09 370Z Silver/Persi Rep Power: 284	I'm using bottom-of-the-barrel 10w30 in my car for the next 2000+ miles.. there's nothing to worry about here guys.. I've red lined it many, many times with this oil.. I do not expect anything to go awry by using "cheapo" dino oil. Do I plan to continue using the cheap oil? No.. this is what I used at my 1000 mile oil change to hold me over until Nissan changes mine under the Maintenance+ plan I added onto the Z during purchase. They state they will change my oil free of charge ever 3750 miles. And this had better be the Nissan OEM Ester oil..

05-16-2009, 10:52 AM	#25 (permalink)
Diversion Enthusiast Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Jacksonville, Florida Posts: 393 Drives: 09 370Z Silver/Persi Rep Power: 284	Frost, that video scares the hell out of me.. What's to say our very own Nissan dealerships are doing the same thing - you just never know unfortunately.. I've taken previous cars to Jiffylube plenty of times and always wondered if they "really" changed the oil in the first place... It's so easy to "pretend" you're draining and replacing the oil.. I always had the feeling they were pulling fast ones on me to be honest..

05-16-2009, 05:11 PM	#26 (permalink)
Forrest Track Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: california 707! Posts: 677 Drives: 09 370z Blk 6mt sprt Rep Power: 258	I got my oil changed at 1200 Miles. I thought the same thing as everybody else. I drove like a grandma the entire time and it sucked. Then i thoght if i am gonna drive more aggressive i probably need to change out the oil thats in the engine becuase its probably got alot of "debri" in it. So i too assumed the dealership was going to use nissan ester oil, i thought it was just someting that you have to do with a 370z. I read the forums here and some one said dealer did not put it in. So i checked my service receipt and it said "5.0 Formula Shell 10w-30". I instantly thought what the hell is this crap no way! If i was going to put a non nissan ester oil in my car, i would have put Royal Purple in it. So i called my dealer, they at first attempted to argue with me saying Formula Shell is the "same" as nissan ester. BEcuase i told them no its not, they said ok we will do research and find out if it is or isnt the same and call you back. Told them fine they called me back and changed there tune they were no longer arguementive and said hey come in we will put ester oil in free of charge, and yes there seems to be a difference in the oils after doing research. I went in, i argued with the man again trying to pay for it, he finaly broke down and let me pay for the oil and labor will be free. Ended up paying for the oil only at 60 dollars. I was happy, he was happy.

05-16-2009, 05:51 PM	#27 (permalink)
sensi09 Enthusiast Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: so cal Posts: 449 Drives: _ Rep Power: 16	For over two years, I've been paying low ~$40 for a synthetic oil change (mobil 1 or motul) at west covina nissan in california. It was awhile back, but I was watching them do the oil change once and instead of the big 55 gallon drum, they pulled out some 4qt bottles of motul. I now have a different Z with the maintenance plus program and pay ~$20 for a synthetic oil change.