PP in Nissan Altima?

[RN89]

Hello out there! New guy here. Have been reading for a few years now and have learned so much from you oil gurus. Never knew so much could be said about oil. But I appreciate the advice and shared knowledge!

On to my oil questions. My wife's car is a 2011 Nissan Altima 2.5 with 47,000 flawless miles. She is a Music Therapist and see's her patients in house. Her day of driving consists of anywhere from 30-50 miles each day 5 days a week. Her driving conditions are mixed, as you can imagine driving all over south Houston. In the Altima's manual it states a severe and a normal OCI (which I think we fall somewhere in the middle). Up to now, the car has had dealer oil changes of Mobil conventional with an OCI of 5000mi. With this last oil change I had the dealer put in PP 5w-30 with a K&N oil filter (AAP special). What do you recommend I bump the OCI up to? I had in mind 6000 miles for the first run of PP just in case any cleaning was being done. So what do you think?
Side note: DIY is not an option as we live in an apt.

Thanks in advance!

 

[DrDusty86]

6k is fine. leave it there.

 

[sir1900]

Oil selection is good.

OCI is too short in my opinion. Should go at least 7500 unless the suggested OCI in your manual state otherwise. Whatever you do, follow the manual as long as you still have warranty coverage.

 

[Voltmaster]

No reason to take it out before 8k unless that 30 miles is going 100 mph.

Its an Japanese car, it will do just fine even with abuse. Which your not doing at all.

 

[cascivic]

Do whatever the "regular"oci is called for by Nissan. That amount of miles a day gets the oil up to temp (unless she's doing 40 one mile stops with hours of cool down I between

. And the weather you have down there also helps

 

[901Memphis]

7,500 would be a good starting point without a UOA.

 

[Coprolite]

7500 would be a fine upper limit. I don't think your driving qualifies as severe in any way. That should be the upper limit for retaining warranty, IIRC.

 

[Hokiefyd]

If the car doesn't have some form of an oil change indicator light, then I like keeping maintenance on easy-to-remember intervals. Right now, you're 13,000 miles away from 60,000 miles. I'd run two 6,500 mile oil change intervals, and then go to 7,500 miles on each change thereafter. So every other oil change will be on a 15,000 mile increment (60,000, 75,000, 90,000, etc).

 

[KitaCam]

+1 +1 to Copro and Hokie

 

[Corvette Owner]

Go to 7500 miles, that should be a standard default on your oil reminder (3750 miles is severe service).

I have switched from Mobil 1 to PP on all my vehicles (including my Murano) except my Corvette, it gets Ultra. PP has shown to be great for Nissans.

 

[Donald]

I would go 7500. Roll the front wheels on the curb and change your oil. I have done it at an apt. Did a trans flush also. Just don't make a big mess.

 

[chubbs1]

I am a former Altima owner and I love 'em. They (2.5s) are so easy on oil and PP/QSUD or any good syn at 7500 miles is absolutely fine. I would get a UOA after a couple of runs. I also think 'syn' is a good choice for her driving conditions.

 

[Doog]

If you plan on running the engine to 200,000 miles then a 5000 OCI is in order. If you will trade at 100,000 then go 7500. The longer I keep engines the more I realize 5000 mile OCI is good with a synthetic to keep the engine really clean and not consuming oil after 100k on the clock.

 

[Corvette Owner]

Originally Posted By: Doog
If you plan on running the engine to 200,000 miles then a 5000 OCI is in order. If you will trade at 100,000 then go 7500. The longer I keep engines the more I realize 5000 mile OCI is good with a synthetic to keep the engine really clean and not consuming oil after 100k on the clock.


Any objective evidence on this? If UOAs show oil is good at 7500 miles OCI, then how can it affect engine? I have had several cars with over 100,000 miles and use synthetic oil at 7500 mile OCIs without any engine problems. Most synthetics can go longer than 7500 mile OCI.

Why do you think some oil companies give warrenties, there rarely is any oil caused damage to engines when oil is changed regularly.

 

[Nate1979]

7500 miles and ask your dealer to grab a sample for UOA. NAPA has the UOA kits for $14. then if all is good don't worry about it.

 

[RN89]

Thanks for all the replies. I like the idea of 7500, just needed to hear it from someone else. The manual states that 7500 in "normal" driving conditions is appropriate. I will start there and ask the dealer to get a sample for me on the next oil change.

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: Nate1979
7500 miles and ask your dealer to grab a sample for UOA. NAPA has the UOA kits for $14. then if all is good don't worry about it.



Bingo. Try 7500 and see how it comes back from analysis. If it's being overworked, or getting too dirty, dial it back to 6k.