What Oil and Oil Filter do you use?

[WhoDey456]

I use;

Mobil 1 oil - 5W-30
Mobil 1 oil filter - M1-110

So what do you use?

[mexillis]

royal purple oil 5-30 and filter

[rgb129]

Oil: Amsoil Dominator 10W-30 Racing Oil
Filter: Wix

[tigerclaws1318]

Oil : Castrol Edge 5W-30
Filter: Royal Purple

[Ilya]

Oil: AMSOIL 5W-30
Oil Filter: Napa Gold or Mobil 1

[HiMiler]

Quaker State 5W30 and a Super Tech filter from Wally World. Change every 7500 miles. Worked well on my 06 M35 for 140K miles. Will continue on the 09 M35. Why spend more money?

[loystock]

Mobil 1 Synthetic oil, preferably the TRUE synthetic 0W-40 and Mobil 1 oil filter (preferred) or OEM filter. I tried Wix one time...never again. AMSOIL, Royal Purple and German Castrol are true synthetic oils. Most synthetic oils in the market are just synthetic blend (a mix of Group III hydrocracked 'dino' oil and Group IV PAO - synthetic oil). It's only in the USA that a synthetic blend can be marketed as synthetic oil - no thanks to Castrol and Supreme Court ruling.

Take note that per federal standard, the maximum level of Phosphorous (anti-wear additive together with Zinc) is now limited to 400 PPM (down from original 1600 PPM then 800 PPM) to prolong the lifespan of catalytic converter. However, European car formulation such as Mobil 0W-40 and German Castrol have over 1000 PPM of Phosphorous. So for the buyers, it's a matter of choice - better engine wear protection or longer 'cat' life.

IMO, for as long as you change the oil every 3000 miles/3 months, a good quality 'dino' oil will do the job. I use synthetic oil so my original OCI was 4000 miles/4 months. I changed it to 6000 miles/6 months OCI after UOA (Used Oil Analysis) from Blackstone came out good for the 03Q45 and 97I30.

[wizard8873]

Amsoil 5w30 synthetic oil and Wix filter.

[wingFeather]

Quaker State 5W30 and a Super Tech filter from Wally World. Change every 7500 miles. Worked well on my 06 M35 for 140K miles. Will continue on the 09 M35. Why spend more money?

Amen. I actually splurged & went with Royal Purple, but sold the car off so all that extra "care" was just wasted money...

[WhoDey456]

So I take it that Royal Purple is the best synthetic for your engine? I live in Iowa and I still go with 5W-30 even in these harsh winters...should I consider changing to an 0W-40 during the winter? Whats the pro's and con's of doing so...Thanks guys!

[RAGTPZ]

Oil: Mobil 1 5w-30 Extended Performance
Filter: Purolater PureOne

[szh]

Oil: Mobil 1 Synthetic 0W-40
Filter: OEM
OCI: 3750 miles

I agree with loystock that if you use a 3000 to 3750 miles OCI, then any good dino oil of 5W-30, will do just fine. Castrol GTX 5W-30, Chevron Supreme 5W-30, Pennzoil 5W-30 (among others) are good dino oils.

My choice of Mobil 1 0W-40 is simply because it is a darn good oil, with a wide range of temperatures that it can be used in, for pretty much any car with good results.

Z

[szh]

Quaker State 5W30 and a Super Tech filter from Wally World. Change every 7500 miles. Worked well on my 06 M35 for 140K miles. Will continue on the 09 M35. Why spend more money?

That is a fine oil for a normal 3750 OCI, but I don't have a clue about the filter.

In most cases, an oil change every 7500 miles - if done with regularity - will do fine for most people. But I guess I am glad I did not buy your 06 car!

Z

[CPJ LB]

....Mobil 1 5w/30
...OE oil filter

used Mobil 1 in current and prior cars...no complaints. longer intervals for oil changes.

[wingFeather]

Have you looked inside the factory filter? I'd say it doesn't matter which aftermarket filter you use - compared to OEM it can't be any worse (not to mention most of the filters are all made by the same company these days).

[myother45isalesbaer]

Dino Quaker State 5-30w and OEM. Change every 3K or 6 months. Not many miles driven so I like to dump it more often than not. Total miles on 2004 M is 25K and no issues.

[mexillis]

here's a clip from royal purples process of oil filters.

http://www.royalpurple.com/

I did a paper on oil filters not too long ago and mobile one's extended performance filter has an efficiency of 99.2% and 10 microns for filtering, just fyi. The more money spent on a good oil filter will help keep your engine clean even from the smallest particles.

[HiMiler]

Quaker State 5W30 and a Super Tech filter from Wally World. Change every 7500 miles. Worked well on my 06 M35 for 140K miles. Will continue on the 09 M35. Why spend more money?

That is a fine oil for a normal 3750 OCI, but I don't have a clue about the filter.

In most cases, an oil change every 7500 miles - if done with regularity - will do fine for most people. But I guess I am glad I did not buy your 06 car!

Z

Why would anyone be afraid to buy this car? It had been strictly maintained by Nissan's own schedule using oil and filters the met their requirements. All Highway miles. The inside of the engine was clean as new (Yes I looked under the valve cover). It was consuming no oil during the OCI. That car has many more miles left in it. I only let it go because I found a good deal on an '09 M35.

[szh]

Why would anyone be afraid to buy this car? It had been strictly maintained by Nissan's own schedule using oil and filters the met their requirements. All Highway miles. The inside of the engine was clean as new (Yes I looked under the valve cover). It was consuming no oil during the OCI. That car has many more miles left in it. I only let it go because I found a good deal on an '09 M35.

If you were truly methodical about changing the oil and filter (never exceeding the 7500 miles) and it was mostly highway driving, then my comment is probably "over-concerned", yes!

However, if I was in the market for a used car, then I would still prefer one where the owner did a 3750 mile or less OCI (among other things). So, maybe it is a personal thing.

FWIW, I plan to keep my car for a while longer (now at 7 years and 95k miles), but I can assure the next owner that it got the best of treatment for all standard maintenance items to ensure longevity:

1. Transmission fluid flushes at approx 10k, 30k, then every 30k miles.
2. Oil and filter changes at approx 500, 1700, 3750 and then every 3750 (or so) miles. Synthetic after 10k miles.
3. Power steering fluid changes at approx 10k, 30k, then every 30k miles.
4. Brake fluid changes every 2 years.
5. Differential fluid at approx 10k, 30k, then every 30k miles.

Overkill? Probably! but I want my cars to give my cars all the opportunity to last a long, long time - particularly if I keep them for my own use. And, given the unique looks of the 2003 Y34, I suspect I will keep the car even if I replace it with a daily driver M56 (or equiv) some years down the road!

Z

[szh]

Have you looked inside the factory filter? I'd say it doesn't matter which aftermarket filter you use - compared to OEM it can't be any worse (not to mention most of the filters are all made by the same company these days).

Perhaps you are right.

But, given that I change them every 3750 miles, using a filter that I know was intended for the car and has no possibility of an issue with bypass valve design, etc., and the manufacturer cannot question its use at all, makes it an obvious choice as far as I am concerned.

In other words, with frequent enough changes, this is not an issue ... but, as always, YMMV.

Z

[noelbenzamen]

Most vehicle manufacturers recommend changing the oil once a year or every 7,500 miles in passenger car and light truck gasoline engines. For diesel engines and turbocharged gasoline engines, the usual recommendation is every 3,000 miles or six months.

If you read the fine print, however, you'll discover that the once a year, 7,500 mile oil change is for vehicles that are driven under ideal circumstances. What most of us think of as "normal" driving is actually "severe service" driving. This includes frequent short trips (less than 10 miles, especially during cold weather), stop-and-go city traffic driving, driving in dusty conditions (gravel roads, etc.), and driving at sustained highway speeds during hot weather. For this type of driving, which is actually "severe service: driving, the recommendation is to change the oil every 3,000 miles or six months.

For maximum protection, most oil companies say to change the oil every 3,000 miles or three to six months regardless of what type of driving you do.

A new engine with little or no wear can probably get by on 7,500 mile oil changes. But as an engine accumulates miles, blowby increases. This dumps more unburned fuel into the crankcase which dilutes the oil. This causes the oil to break down. So if the oil isn't changed often enough, you can end up with accelerated wear and all the engine problems that come with it (loss of performance and fuel economy, and increased emissions and oil consumption).

[M35 Sport]

royal purple oil 5-30 and filter

Same here.

[WhoDey456]

royal purple oil 5-30 and filter

Same here.

What is the part number for the Royal Purple oil filter?

[Noel J]

Valvoline Full Synthetic 5W-30

Bosch Premium filter

Oil changed every 7500 miles