A few quest. about GC and synth. oils

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Hello people. I've scimed through the older threads but haven't found a sure answer.
I have a few questions about synthetic oil. I have a 1996 Nissan Maxima 3.0 with 146,000 miles. No noticeable oil leaks or oil burning. Bought the car with 139,000. Runs strong. I believe previous owner used dino oil(not sure) and i have also.

Is it fine to switch to synthetic after so many miles? I've heard many mixed opinions.

What about GC in this particular vehicle?

Is GC good for performance driving or high revving?

BTW i live in Northern NJ.
 
As long as the engine is in good shape and not leaking or burning oil, yes, synthetic is okay to use. Last year, I bought a 93 Altima with about 214000 miles on the clock. I put 4 quarts of the green GC in it, and it never leaked or burned a drop. GC will be a fine oil for your Maxima.
 
Frankly I would save something as precious as GC for a more stressed engine. Furthermore, I believe Dino oils or just plain old petroleum based oil of good quality is fine in the majority of cars when used with a good maintenance program- every 3k with OEM/high quality filter. In fact I think they are better in a few areas than some of the synthetics. With turbo cars, engines that have a tendency to stick oil control rings (Isuzu 3.2/3.5 DOHCs etc.), or high output/leading technology engines break out the GC.


Its in the high shear, high temp, high output world that I believe GC(M03/M04)really can make a big difference.
 
Hi Konak! The VQ engines like yours turn in really good UOAs with the thicker 30-weight or light 40-weight oils. The UOAs I've seen with GC in a VQ have been quite good. Good enough, in fact, that I'm switching my VQ over to GC after my current fill of Shell Rotella T 5W-40 is used up.

GC can be hard to find, though. Another oil I'd consider is Mobil 1 0W-40 if you can't find GC. If I hadn't found a good supply of GC, I'd be switching to Mobil 1 0W-40.

I'd only use either of these oils if you're going to go for long oil change intervals (7,500 miles or more), though. They're too expensive to run for short intervals only. And before trying long intervals, I'd strongly recommend cleaning your engine with a dose of Auto-RX and getting an oil analysis done to identify any abnormal levels of contaminants.

Otherwise, if you're going to stick with short intervals (3,750 miles), use a good quality conventional oil like Havoline or Chevron Supreme in 5W-30.
 
I believer the motor in his 96 max is a VG30? In any case, GC seems to way to go for these motors. The VQ35 is basically the same motor with variable valve timing and more displacement.
 
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