Thread: Oil - when to change and brands? for all engines.

i used the search function but nothing related came up.

hiyA there . i have an SR20DE RR i was wondering when i should change the oil . im told every 3k or 3 months , now i don't really drive my car too much . i had the engine rebuilt . so i want to make my thing last. so need some advice on when to change and what brand to get. it was rebuilt maybe a little over 6 months ago and i've only put maybe 200 - 500 miles on it and yes the same oil from 6 months ago is still in it.

with a fresh build or rebuild you always want to do a few changes right away to get the crap out of there from break-in

First things first, you should do an oil and filter change on that "break-in" oil, and then another soon after. AFter your 2nd and 3rd oil changes, you will have a better sense of how your engine is running.

As far as the RR SR20DE engine, the typical oil change intervals still apply (for conventional motor oil). The FSM states to change the oil at 6000km/3750 miles or 3 months, whichever comes first. Personally, I wouldn't go more than 3000-3250 miles per oil change until the motor is fully broken in. After that, the FSM suggested interval of 3750 is fine.

There are other factors to consider though, such as, type of oil used, weather, driving conditions etc. If you use a semi-synthetic or full synthetic oil, you can go longer in between oil changes. It all depends on the type/brand of oil. Another thing that determines oil change intervals is weather. Things like repeated cold starts and extremely hot temps can affect oil break-down as well. The more extremes your engine faces, the less time you should have between oil changes. The last consideration that I mentioned is driving conditions. If you do a lot of city driving (idling) with constant or escessive start/stop cycles, you might want to change your oil on a more regular basis. However, if you do a lot of low-load highway drving with minimal start/stop cycles, and your oil doesn't appear to have degraded at all, you can go longer in between oil changes than standard intervals.

There are alot of factors to consider but in all honesty, if you use a quality oil/filter combo and you check your oil levels regularly to make sure it is topped up as well as check the oil condition, there really isn't anything exciting about the SR20DE that requires special maintenance.

mmkay. so which brand of oil should i use for the break - in changes?

Barring a rebuild.. the "change your every oil 3,000 miles or 3 months" is a scam.

A scam.

It is a scam to get you into the service bays so they can find more things wrong with your car. "Oh no your windshield wipers are streaking, we can replace and install them for only $40!"

If you use Mobil-1 synthetic, or a similar type of oil, you can safely go 8,000 miles.

3m/3,000 is a good rule of thumb. 5,000 at most with synthetics. Many oils claim to go further or longer, but don't have data to back it up. It's all bad advertising to get you to buy their oil.

My RR SR20DE in the G20 gets straight Dinosaur oil!! I change it every 3-4k miles depending on how I'm feeling. Every once in a while I will add a zinc or similar anti-wear additive during an oil change. I usually get Penzoil or Castrol on sale. Nissan oil filters.

Also, the manufacturer suggested guidlines are just that, guidelines. The rest is all just using common sense and paying attention to your engine. There are also, two different "change schedules", straight from the manufacturer. Nissan states that with light use you can change the oil every 12,000km/7500 miles or 6 months. They will not come and arrest you if you go over the three months! Use your best judgement. Personally, I would never go more than 6000 miles, even on a fully synthetic oil, but different strokes for different folks!

As far as break-in oils, there are many out there. Usually you want to shoot for a labeled "break-in oil" as these oils are designed with higher levels of zinc and phosphorus. These two additives help with protecting the rotating assembly and are special anti-wear additives. Here is a good one and another. Since you've already put 200-500 miles on the engine, I would just use a conventional oil with a break-in additive added to the mix, for the next couple of oil changes. The additive will have the higher levels of zinc and phosphorus as well. Here is a good brand.

On a continual basis beyond the break-in, if you are just going to use regular conventional oil, any of the big names will be fine. Mobil, Castrol, Penzoil, Shell etc. If you are are planning on going the full synthetic route, the better oils (depending on popular opinion) are Motul, Valvoline VR1, Royal Purple, Mobil 1, German Castrol, etc etc. Another popular choice is Rotella Triple T diesel motor oil. It is popular because of the high zinc content.

I will be switching to a Conventional oil next (for the RR G20) with an added synthetic "wear guard". We'll see what happens.

update so i checked my car miles so the odometer when it left the shop was 159381 now it has 160812 ! so did i miss the break in period? what to do?

I wouldn't worry about it too much. If you haven't already done that oil/filter change, I would do it ASAP and add some ZDDP additive, like I mentioned above. Then do another oil change (you can re-use the filter if you want) after about 1000 miles and add the other half of the bottle of additive. 2000 miles later, do an oil/filter change and then just follow your regular maintenance routine.

You don't have to do it exactly this way, but this is what I would do.

For engines made since like 1994 the 3k mile thing is sort of a scam. It's all to get you in the service bay so they can find more things wrong with your car "you need new wipers, you need a new belt, you need a new air filter" etc.

But if you just rebuilt it then yeah I'd do a few changes early on. Other than that, you can safely go 8k between changes with synthetic oil. Unless your drag racing every weekend. But keep an eye on the dipstick.