...never in my life seen such a small oil filter...

[riceqx2]

It's micro-miniature..No wonder they need 3750 mile changes?Honestly never seen one this small. It's almost laughable.'09 G37 xcoupe.By the way, the (recommended) Ester oil is $11/qt. x 5, + $7 (filter) =$62 to do it yourself!...and their Ester oil is Dino oil with some residual magnetism.I bought Mobil1 5w30 extended performance ($26+$7=$33).That should be fine.First oil change @2.2k miles.

[pfarmer]

It's micro-miniature..No wonder they need 3750 mile changes?Honestly never seen one this small. It's almost laughable.'09 G37 xcoupe.By the way, the (recommended) Ester oil is $11/qt. x 5, + $7 (filter) =$62 to do it yourself!...and their Ester oil is Dino oil with some residual magnetism.I bought Mobil1 5w30 extended performance ($26+$7=$33).That should be fine.First oil change @2.2k miles.

Not exactly just simple dino but your Mobil 1 should be fine. As far as the oil filter it is what is inside that counts. Depending on driving habits should be able to go out further but earlier is ok as well, just probably not necessary. On a new car I usually do the first one earlier than my normal schedule. I am planning on following 5 k changes now.

If concerned about filter size then one modification I would not have any issue with an external filter and possibly cooler. This would be a fairly easy install.

Perry

[SVTCOBRA]

It's micro-miniature..No wonder they need 3750 mile changes?Honestly never seen one this small. It's almost laughable.'09 G37 xcoupe.By the way, the (recommended) Ester oil is $11/qt. x 5, + $7 (filter) =$62 to do it yourself!...and their Ester oil is Dino oil with some residual magnetism.I bought Mobil1 5w30 extended performance ($26+$7=$33).That should be fine.First oil change @2.2k miles.

I'm not sure about the G37's, but Nissan makes a larger (longer) filter that can be used on the G35's. Might want to ask next time you are in if size is a concern for you.

[biggie]

Are they using the like 3 inch long filters on the G37? That's what was on my Versa.

[smockers83]

Filter size is proportional to change interval? That's a new one on me.

Bimmer owners know nothing. How about that oil cooler?

[pfarmer]

Filter size is proportional to change interval? That's a new one on me.

Bimmer owners know nothing. How about that oil cooler?

I would not laugh too hard as change interval is proportional to media area. The larger the can the more media area could be present. This could also translate into how many ounces of FOD could be stored between changes.

The stock Nissan filter does have an advantage over many similar size filters in the total media area but it could not compete in the media area that a larger can could hold.

To see the effect go to one of the sites with a Java applet for calculating the area in a cyclinder and watch what happens with even minor changes in diameter.

Perry
Modified by pfarmer at 12:29 AM 7/26/2009

[SVTCOBRA]

If you change your oil & filter at 3K as I recommend, no problemos!!

The insides of my engine are yummy clean to prove it!

[riceqx2]

I just did the change.Like the book said, I removed the under-engine cover completely.That is a pain- not for the faint of heart...There are cutouts in the cover for the lazy, but I was worried about spilling oil on the cover and having to remove it anyway.The book calls for 5.1 qts. of oil when changing the filter.I put in 5.0 qts. started it and only let it run long enough to back the car off the ramps (30 seconds). After waiting a while I checked the level and it's just a little above the add mark. I think I may need to use 5.5 qts. for an oil change. Anyone experience this?

[Sentientbydesign]

I don't know that I would compare the Nissan Ester Oil to Mobil 1.

I agree that the Nissan Ester Oil is far too expensive for what you're getting, but Mobil dropped the price on their oil because they changed base stocks to pseudo-synthetic.

Steve will come in here shortly and bite my head off because he doesn't want to do research outside of Nissan's library, but if you wanted a less expensive alternative, I'd look into an Ester BASED synthetic like Motul or SOME of Amsoil's (be careful with their stuff as it's hard to figure out what is made with what).

[SVTCOBRA]

I just did the change.Like the book said, I removed the under-engine cover completely.That is a pain- not for the faint of heart...There are cutouts in the cover for the lazy, but I was worried about spilling oil on the cover and having to remove it anyway.The book calls for 5.1 qts. of oil when changing the filter.I put in 5.0 qts. started it and only let it run long enough to back the car off the ramps (30 seconds). After waiting a while I checked the level and it's just a little above the add mark. I think I may need to use 5.5 qts. for an oil change. Anyone experience this?

Good job!!! I think the first time I tried to use that small cut out and made a mess!!!!

[pfarmer]

I just did the change.Like the book said, I removed the under-engine cover completely.That is a pain- not for the faint of heart...There are cutouts in the cover for the lazy, but I was worried about spilling oil on the cover and having to remove it anyway.The book calls for 5.1 qts. of oil when changing the filter.I put in 5.0 qts. started it and only let it run long enough to back the car off the ramps (30 seconds). After waiting a while I checked the level and it's just a little above the add mark. I think I may need to use 5.5 qts. for an oil change. Anyone experience this?

Nissan changed my 2008 XS and came in at a little under 5.5.

Perry

[riceqx2]

Update; Drove the car and now on a level surface the dipstick reads exactly in the middle of the two holes.

Edit; BMW's don't have dipsticks. Infinity= WIN!

[pfarmer]

Update; Drove the car and now on a level surface the dipstick reads exactly in the middle of the two holes.

Edit; BMW's don't have dipsticks. Infinity= WIN!

There really isn't anything wrong with a properly designed electronic dipstick since this is actually the norm in many industries with systems far more expensive than our engines.

Now how about a transmission dipstick?

Perry

[Sentientbydesign]

There really isn't anything wrong with a properly designed electronic dipstick since this is actually the norm in many industries with systems far more expensive than our engines.

Now how about a transmission dipstick?

Perry

Any thoughts on converting to an electronic dipstick? I asked around, but nobody thought it was possible or financially feasible.

[terrycs]

It's micro-miniature..No wonder they need 3750 mile changes?Honestly never seen one this small. It's almost laughable.'09 G37 xcoupe.By the way, the (recommended) Ester oil is $11/qt. x 5, + $7 (filter) =$62 to do it yourself!...and their Ester oil is Dino oil with some residual magnetism.I bought Mobil1 5w30 extended performance ($26+$7=$33).That should be fine.First oil change @2.2k miles.

If you really want to know what is going on inside your motor and how the oil is holding up, you can get a used oil analysis (UOA). A lab eseentially tests the oil for foreign content. The report looks like this:

Yes, I still a teenie weenie M1 filter.

Contrary to popular belief ... size does not matter(in this case)!

[pfarmer]

Any thoughts on converting to an electronic dipstick? I asked around, but nobody thought it was possible or financially feasible.

Three types I have seen. One is a bubbler, essentially blows a finely controlled pressure in a tube, probably not a good idea for an engine. Another is similar concept but uses a method of looking at differential pressure between a series of ports, again probably not a good solution for a car engine. The third uses a magnetic float. The column simply picks up the floating magnet in a tube and gives the location reading. Hard to calibrate correctly if the difference is too small between high and low.

One I have not seen used for oil but to me seems possible is optical. Trying to figure out the term, but similar to opacity for a gas stream. Not sure if you could do temperature but maybe doable as well.

Perry