What Motor Oil is best for the Pathy?

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hfrez
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What Motor Oil is best for the Pathy?

Postby hfrez » Wed Oct 26, 2011 5:17 pm

I have now researched sme information about what motor oil to use and there is a lot of conflicting info out there.

The one that makes the most sense is to use the recommended oil from Nissan's manual, which simply is SL certified oil with 5W-30; 10W-30 or 10W-40 weight pending on climate zone.

I read that most major oil companies that produce high quality oils (like synthetic) have superior additives that will keep any engine running at its best efficiency. No other additives are necessary and could sometimes be harmful if used (like Slick50, Prolong, ZMax aso.)

But in another research test they determined that synthetic oil breaks down the seals over time and can cause leakage; however, this information is older and was found to be true in older vehicles.

So what is your opinion? What are you using? Did anyone end up with seal damage and leakage?


Npath
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Re: What Motor Oil is best for the Pathy?

Postby Npath » Wed Oct 26, 2011 5:22 pm

I use mobil1 5w30 weight @ the dealership. I change every 3 months when I bought the oil change package from them.

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Postby skinny2 » Wed Oct 26, 2011 5:31 pm

The synthetic seal issue was typically on older engines (high miles) that were switched to synthetic. I've been running synthetic in my diesels since the 90's and all have gone 200k-300k range with no problems.

I like the synthetics simply for the longer oil change intervals (OCI). The problem is historically vehicles came with standard oil and had OCI's based on that. So you have a potential warranty issue if you tried to run synthetic for longer than recommended. A lot of vehicles are now moving to synthetic along with extended drain intervals right from the factory. My wife's Sienna is 10k between changes. The PF book calls for 7,500 miles on the least conservative schedule so I run Mobil 1 at that interval. I had it tested and it was WELL within specs at that point. Lab recommended going 10k miles however I've been sticking to 7,500 but now that the warranty is up I'm going to 10k.

A lot depends on how much you drive. If you're doing 10k-15k miles a year, plain old oil on a 5k mile schedule would be fine. You can do the cost analysis. I'm doing about 25k miles so I save myself a couple turns under the the PF.

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hfrez
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Postby hfrez » Wed Oct 26, 2011 5:36 pm

I would only run my PF about 8000 to 9000 miles a year and change my oil maybe every six months or so.
On occassion I will pull our Travel Trailer in the Summer and add an extra 1000k miles.

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Postby skinny2 » Wed Oct 26, 2011 6:21 pm

With 1,000 miles of summer towing, I'd probably run the synthetic for extra protection and go 7,500 mile intervals. You might prefer the more conservative approach and change it at 5k.

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hfrez
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Postby hfrez » Wed Oct 26, 2011 6:51 pm

Well here is another question then. If I go with sythetic could I get away with buying SuperTech WalMart brand synthetic (made by Pennzoil/Quaker-State) for 5k intervals? Or would a best brand like Mobil 1 be more advisable?

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Postby skinny2 » Wed Oct 26, 2011 7:25 pm

I refuse to shop at walmart, so I can't recommend that :lol:

I haven't paid much attention to the "off" brands but I think going to a shorter interval with them would be more than safe. Just make sure they have the required ratings and you should be fine.

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JAHBLESSINGS
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Postby JAHBLESSINGS » Thu Oct 27, 2011 4:49 am

i also use synthetic and i do 3k intervals. i get the oil really cheap and most of the time free so i take full advantage of it. one of the perks for working at a dealership. :D

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hfrez
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Postby hfrez » Thu Oct 27, 2011 5:51 am

My Maintainance Book tells me to do oils changes every 3750 miles. It does not give me any other options using synthetic oil. Where did you get this information from, skinney2?

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Postby skinny2 » Thu Oct 27, 2011 6:19 am

It doesn't directly address synthetic oil. The maintenance guide has three service schedules: Premium, Schedule 1, and Schedule 2.

-Premium and Schedule 1 are essentially the same as far as oil changes are concerned, which is 3,750 miles if you drive the criteria they specify.

-Schedule 2 is if you don't drive in those conditions and has a 7,500 mile interval. I use schedule 2 with synthetic because I KNOW the synthetic is perfectly fine for my driving style (as mentioend, lab suggested 10k intervals) and if there is a warranty claim Nissan would have a hard time proving I don't meet Schedule 2.

Maybe JAHBLESSING could send you his used oil and you could run that for 5k miles?? :lol:

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Postby rtcaravan » Tue Nov 01, 2011 5:00 pm

i an using mobil1 also, i change my filter every 3000 and the oil every 10,000. i am going to switch to conklin oils soon. i ran them in my ols freestyle and it stopped the crank seal from leaking. you can only get it from private dealers. i love all of conklin products. www.conklin.com they have 7 different product lines.

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hfrez
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Postby hfrez » Tue Nov 01, 2011 6:14 pm

Well, I have decided to go with a K&N oil Filter (I found them for less than $10 on Amazon.com which is what you would pay for a Mobil 1 filter) and I will use Pennzoil Platnum Full Synthetic 5W-30 which is cheaper then Mobil 1 but seems to match its quality. I will start with intervals of 5000 miles for my oil changes and see what happens in the future. I usually wait for sales then buy a larger quantity of what I think I will need. If I'm too lazy or don't have the time WalMart will change your oil for $15 if you bring the oil and filter with you. That is reasonable $15 for the work, $25 for the oil and $10 for the filter that is $50 and my PF is well taken care of.

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Postby Npath » Wed Nov 02, 2011 7:14 am

hfrez wrote:Well, I have decided to go with a K&N oil Filter (I found them for less than $10 on Amazon.com which is what you would pay for a Mobil 1 filter) and I will use Pennzoil Platnum Full Synthetic 5W-30 which is cheaper then Mobil 1 but seems to match its quality. I will start with intervals of 5000 miles for my oil changes and see what happens in the future. I usually wait for sales then buy a larger quantity of what I think I will need. If I'm too lazy or don't have the time WalMart will change your oil for $15 if you bring the oil and filter with you. That is reasonable $15 for the work, $25 for the oil and $10 for the filter that is $50 and my PF is well taken care of.
I've heard Wix, Nissan and Purolator are the best oil filters. I'd consider Wix as I've heard it also from others on the internet and @ work.

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Postby thehumphries » Wed Nov 02, 2011 8:24 am

I am using a local shop that offers AMS Oil. LOVE IT. I do the 10k setup. For $60 can't beat it!

So far in my opinion AMS has helped with MPG for my small city driving. Wife transports the kids around town. Previous to oil change, we got about 12-14 MPG, since then its been 15-16.

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Postby disallow » Wed Nov 02, 2011 11:55 am

hfrez wrote:Well, I have decided to go with a K&N oil Filter (I found them for less than $10 on Amazon.com which is what you would pay for a Mobil 1 filter) and I will use Pennzoil Platnum Full Synthetic 5W-30 which is cheaper then Mobil 1 but seems to match its quality. I will start with intervals of 5000 miles for my oil changes and see what happens in the future. I usually wait for sales then buy a larger quantity of what I think I will need. If I'm too lazy or don't have the time WalMart will change your oil for $15 if you bring the oil and filter with you. That is reasonable $15 for the work, $25 for the oil and $10 for the filter that is $50 and my PF is well taken care of.
I usually buy my Mobil 1 full synth and a Fram filter from Walmart (if I don't have time to go to Nissan) and change every 4000-6000 miles.

t


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