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I need help settling an argument. My husband absolutely insists I get the oil changed every 3000 miles while Nissan recommends 3500 miles. Which one should I do? :hmm:
Oil Changes
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Priceless
Making your husband feel like he is the king of his castle and knows what he is talking about... PRICELESS!!!
Difference in oil change price over a year $100.greengoddess said:
Making your husband feel like he is the king of his castle and knows what he is talking about... PRICELESS!!!
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LMAO!!! So true!!!
I can't belive you have to change the oil every 3,000 miles on a modern engine. My Yamaha Fazer 1000 revs twice as high and makes around 130 bhp per Ltr, my Armada would need to make around 730 bhp to match it, yet the bike only needs its oil changed every 6,000 miles???? go figure
I would think most Armadas spend most of their life below 3,000 rpm and if you change your oil every 3,000 miles you will be wasting money buying synthetic oil like Mobile 1.
I would think most Armadas spend most of their life below 3,000 rpm and if you change your oil every 3,000 miles you will be wasting money buying synthetic oil like Mobile 1.
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There is NO WAY my husband would ever let me go that long between oil changes! He'd flip!!!
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I like synthetic. My vette motor's valves look brand new with 85K on the motor. It looks like new in there. It's had Mobil 1 from the dealer till now. Change it every 5k. Synthetic oils last longer than Dinosaur oils. The molecules are all uniform in size. Dino oils have molecules of different sizes. Smaller molecules burn sooner and at lower temps, leaving behind sludge, etc. This is why you change dino oil so often. The Synthetic oils don't do this and will not degrade as rapidly. BMW says you should change their oil in the 3 series every 15000 miles. It uses synthetic oil also. I'm sticking to my 5K changes on synthetic. A little overkill, but too often can only hurt the wallet, not the motor. 
Just read the maintenance booklet for my 05 LE and it says change the oil and filter every 6000 miles / 6 months for normal use. 3000 miles / 3 months for extreme use (towing, off road, short trips etc).
You shouldn't use synthetic oil until the engine is fully run in (10,000 miles approx) as it can stop the engine bedding in properly. Its mostly for use in high performance (turbo etc) engines and is really just a waste of money in a truck. But if you want to use it and it makes you feel better, as tripleblack says you wont hurt your engine just your wallet.
You shouldn't use synthetic oil until the engine is fully run in (10,000 miles approx) as it can stop the engine bedding in properly. Its mostly for use in high performance (turbo etc) engines and is really just a waste of money in a truck. But if you want to use it and it makes you feel better, as tripleblack says you wont hurt your engine just your wallet.
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Tmation...I'm a stay at home mom (oxymoron if you ask me but that's another story) - so most of my trips are just around town - a tank of gas lasts me about 1.5-2 weeks so from your response I should be changing it every 3000 miles. My husband seems to know what he's talking about.....<sigh>
Thanks for everyone's input!!!
Thanks for everyone's input!!!
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Yeah, it isn't miles, its how many times the motor rotates. Low speed the motor rotates as much as high speed. Its just in lower gear but it wears out the oil just as much.greengoddess said:
As for the synthetic, you really need to have the rings seat. This is why you need dino oil for a while. Most vette motor builders only run dino for a hundred miles or so equivalent before changing to synthetic as it allows the rings to seat properly. You need some friction to do this. Also, you don't want to switch to synthetic oil after a large number of miles such as 100K or more. The high mileage motors have residue buildup in the gasket locations. The synthetic oil wears away the buildup, sometimes leaving gaps and allowing the oil to leak out. Only way to fix is with a new gasket. PITA.
Hope this helps.
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Its getting way too confusing, can we get a straight answer here to this. I really don't want to change the oil to synthetic especially if I have to change it evry 3500 miles, I can get by the regular oil b/c I am changing it at 3500 miles anyway, but if I use Mobil1 5w30 How often do we have to change the oil, is it 3500miles, 6000miles or 15000miles? ??????
P.S the dealer said will change it for $90.00
P.S the dealer said will change it for $90.00
I have been using Mobil 1 in all of my cars for a very long time now. It has been proven that if you are using synthetic and changing every 3,000 miles, then you are literally throwing your money right down the drain. I go every 7,500 miles since thats the longest the service interval my Nav unit will let me. I could probably go A LOT longer, but I dont want to mess with UOA (Used Oil Analysis) because that test itself costs $20. By then, your halfway to a synthetic oil change.
As far as the cost of the oil change, I found that Wal-Mart has the cheapest Mobil 1 changes around. I bought my own Mobil 1 filter from Autozone and took it to Wal-Mart. Without the Mobil 1 filter, the cost of the change was $43 including tax. So you figure with the filter is around $53 or so. If you at least double your oil change intervals to 6,000 miles or more, then the actual cost of the Mobil 1 oil compared to dino oil every 3,000 miles should be very close.
The only time you need to worry about extended drain intervals with oils is if you use aftermarket air filters because they have been proven to not filter nearly as well as OEM paper filters. Just my .02...
As far as the cost of the oil change, I found that Wal-Mart has the cheapest Mobil 1 changes around. I bought my own Mobil 1 filter from Autozone and took it to Wal-Mart. Without the Mobil 1 filter, the cost of the change was $43 including tax. So you figure with the filter is around $53 or so. If you at least double your oil change intervals to 6,000 miles or more, then the actual cost of the Mobil 1 oil compared to dino oil every 3,000 miles should be very close.
The only time you need to worry about extended drain intervals with oils is if you use aftermarket air filters because they have been proven to not filter nearly as well as OEM paper filters. Just my .02...
3K or even 3.5K for oil change is too often. I use mobil 1 and change the oil every 6-8 months. We don't drive enough to go by the mileage.
If you have the time read this page:
http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/stories/oil-life.html
If you have the time read this page:
http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/stories/oil-life.html
Consumer Reports did a oil test and said that 5000 miles was the magic number. They put new motors in NY taxi cabs and later broke them down and noticed no difference in wear at 3000 or 5000 miles. Said that the oil brand didnt matter as long as it was SAE approved.
Mobil 1 at 3-5k intervals has worked for me over the years.
Whether it happens at 3, 4, or 5k just depends on my schedule, but I wouldn't dream of going any longer no matter what some study says.
I know several people who run longer intervals (6-8k) and just change the filter at the halfway mark.
Whether it happens at 3, 4, or 5k just depends on my schedule, but I wouldn't dream of going any longer no matter what some study says.
I know several people who run longer intervals (6-8k) and just change the filter at the halfway mark.
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