Just had the oil changed on my wifes Nissan 370Z (first change free from dealer ) Labor + parts was $120 USD.... Turns out they used an "Ester" oil that is $10.50 USD / quart. Nissan Ester Engine Oil 5W-30 So now I am curious... Here comes a poll:
I usually send it to the shop while on warranty. But for the older cars out of warranty cars, I'll get down and dirty and change the oil (and tranny fluid if applicable) myself. And nice on linking Z1 motorsports. They are one of the premier fairlady parts dealers/tuners in the US (another one that quickly comes to mind is Stillen).
I use semi-synthetic and pay the man. It's pretty cheap here to pay someone to do it. RM 10 (US$ 3) usually for the service. Wow.. I didn't know the 370Z can take 5W-30 engine oil. I used to use that for my 2.0 L Hyundai Sonata, but my mechanic advised me that it might be too "thin" for the engine. I'm using 15W-40 now.
5W-30 is quite common here I run 5W-30 all year round, but there are people who advise me to run 0W-30 for winter & 5W-30 for summer. Oh ya, you don't need 5W-30 since its much warmer in Malaysia.
Hmm.. It must be the ambient temperature over here. Since it's much hotter here, I suppose we need a more viscous engine oil, although a less viscous oil reduces fuel consumption. Yeah, I think you need to run 0W-30 during the Winter. The W rating is for winter.
Hmm.. How often do you guys change your engine oil? Over here, they recommend an oil change every 5,000 km. But I read that it's perfectly alright to do 10,000 km or more on a single change. Apparently, it doesn't matter if the oil is black in colour, as long as there's sufficient oil and there's no change in its consistency.
For me I'm doing about 6-7K before changing it mainly to maintain the warranty with the Nissan workshop till the car's warranty is over. I think it's perfectly ok to stretch to 10K even on mineral oil. The quality of the engine oil and also the design of most modern engine is pretty good these days unlike the yesteryears.
My car cannot take mineral oil AFAIK. Have to use semi-synthetic at least. I'm thinking of stretching it to 9-10,000 km.
Don't they put a plastic sticker with the mileage numbers on the windshield? I always use that to keep track of my next oil change.
If you have the old plastic sticker, just rub off the old numbers and fill in the new ones. An alcohol swab should do the trick.
