I use 5w30 Castrol Magnatec with OEM filter in my Fronty. About $26 for an OC. Magnatec has had some great UOA's. Run a flavor and do a UOA to see how it holds up.
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Recommend Oil For 2012 Nissan Frontier
- Thread starter JettyLife
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Originally Posted By: JettyLife
Nissan Frontier….2012 V6, automatic trans 4x4.
Nissan recommends 5w30 and a Nissan genuine filter or equivalent.
Driving:
I live in southern NJ. I live .9 miles from work and live in a small town. I do a lot of small trips throughout the week with a lot of cold starts. I try to do a longer drive (30-40 minutes) once a week or so. I drive about 7k miles a year.
The weather is mild throughout most of the year but can get down to 0*F in the winter occasionally and over 100*F in the summer.
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Originally Posted By: JettyLife
The reason I'm leaning towards Castrol is because I bought the car from Carsense and they have an engine life guarantee if you use Castrol products for the life of the engine. Now, I don't expect to have any issues (these engines do have occasional timing chain whine) but other than that they're pretty robust. I figure "why not" if they're going to cover the engine forever for me to use Castrol I might as well.
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Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
If you're under any Nissan warranty,you definitely need to stick with the 3750 mileage range and/or time Nissan suggests.
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Originally Posted By: tojo1968
I use 5w30 Castrol Magnatec with OEM filter in my Fronty. About $26 for an OC. Magnatec has had some great UOA's.
Nissan Frontier….2012 V6, automatic trans 4x4.
Nissan recommends 5w30 and a Nissan genuine filter or equivalent.
Driving:
I live in southern NJ. I live .9 miles from work and live in a small town. I do a lot of small trips throughout the week with a lot of cold starts. I try to do a longer drive (30-40 minutes) once a week or so. I drive about 7k miles a year.
The weather is mild throughout most of the year but can get down to 0*F in the winter occasionally and over 100*F in the summer.
+
Originally Posted By: JettyLife
The reason I'm leaning towards Castrol is because I bought the car from Carsense and they have an engine life guarantee if you use Castrol products for the life of the engine. Now, I don't expect to have any issues (these engines do have occasional timing chain whine) but other than that they're pretty robust. I figure "why not" if they're going to cover the engine forever for me to use Castrol I might as well.
=
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
If you're under any Nissan warranty,you definitely need to stick with the 3750 mileage range and/or time Nissan suggests.
+
Originally Posted By: tojo1968
I use 5w30 Castrol Magnatec with OEM filter in my Fronty. About $26 for an OC. Magnatec has had some great UOA's.
You're changing your oil at 3,750, or about twice a year. There is no point in spending money on Syn's for this short a change interval. A good premium conventional oil will go that long in a heart beat.
The point with all the short trips is to change more often to get the acid formation under control from the lack of heat and the condensation being formed ... More changes with a good dino would be better than trying to stretch anything ...
The point with all the short trips is to change more often to get the acid formation under control from the lack of heat and the condensation being formed ... More changes with a good dino would be better than trying to stretch anything ...
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For the short OCIs, and if you want to use Castrol, GTX 5w-30 would fulfill the requirements to the letter and would do the job just fine.
Thanks guys, you're the best!
It seems like a smart idea to stick to Nissan's spec and just change it every 3750. That would work out to be twice a year anyway with my driving habits. I can get it at the local Walmart for $18.00 for a 5 Qt. jug so that works.
I was thinking the Castrol Magnetic was more marketing than anything but if the UOA's are good maybe I'll give it a shot.
I'll start with that for 3500 miles with a Fram ultra filter. Might be over kill, but it's not that expensive especially since I'll be doing it myself.
It seems like a smart idea to stick to Nissan's spec and just change it every 3750. That would work out to be twice a year anyway with my driving habits. I can get it at the local Walmart for $18.00 for a 5 Qt. jug so that works.
I was thinking the Castrol Magnetic was more marketing than anything but if the UOA's are good maybe I'll give it a shot.
I'll start with that for 3500 miles with a Fram ultra filter. Might be over kill, but it's not that expensive especially since I'll be doing it myself.
Quote:
I was thinking the Castrol Magnetic was more marketing than anything but if the UOA's are good maybe I'll give it a shot.
Ford V6 Twin turbo Ecoboost UOA Castrol Magnatec
Doesn't get a much tougher environment than this.
I was thinking the Castrol Magnetic was more marketing than anything but if the UOA's are good maybe I'll give it a shot.
Ford V6 Twin turbo Ecoboost UOA Castrol Magnatec
Doesn't get a much tougher environment than this.
Originally Posted By: tojo1968
Quote:
I was thinking the Castrol Magnetic was more marketing than anything but if the UOA's are good maybe I'll give it a shot.
Ford V6 Twin turbo Ecoboost UOA Castrol Magnatec
Doesn't get a much tougher environment than this.
Yeah, that was a great UOA
Quote:
I was thinking the Castrol Magnetic was more marketing than anything but if the UOA's are good maybe I'll give it a shot.
Ford V6 Twin turbo Ecoboost UOA Castrol Magnatec
Doesn't get a much tougher environment than this.
Yeah, that was a great UOA
Just did my second change with Castrol Edge Full synthetic and a bosch filter. I went a little longer than I wanted to, like 4200 miles.
I moved further from work too, I'm now driving 20 miles each way, So I think my engine should live a long happy life now with proper heat cycles and 4k mile OCI's with Full Synthetic.
I did not do a UOA on this change but I will on the next one.
I moved further from work too, I'm now driving 20 miles each way, So I think my engine should live a long happy life now with proper heat cycles and 4k mile OCI's with Full Synthetic.
I did not do a UOA on this change but I will on the next one.
Originally Posted By: JettyLife
Thanks guys, you're the best!
It seems like a smart idea to stick to Nissan's spec and just change it every 3750. That would work out to be twice a year anyway with my driving habits. I can get it at the local Walmart for $18.00 for a 5 Qt. jug so that works.
I was thinking the Castrol Magnetic was more marketing than anything but if the UOA's are good maybe I'll give it a shot.
I'll start with that for 3500 miles with a Fram ultra filter. Might be over kill, but it's not that expensive especially since I'll be doing it myself.
If you've decided to do 3,750 mile oil changes, why not run the Fram Ultra oil filter for two intervals? That's well within their design limits. The 6607 and 7317 filters in Fram Ultra and Fram Pro Synthetic are available on eBay for less than $6 each including shipping. I'm using the FPS7317 in the wife's M35.
Thanks guys, you're the best!
It seems like a smart idea to stick to Nissan's spec and just change it every 3750. That would work out to be twice a year anyway with my driving habits. I can get it at the local Walmart for $18.00 for a 5 Qt. jug so that works.
I was thinking the Castrol Magnetic was more marketing than anything but if the UOA's are good maybe I'll give it a shot.
I'll start with that for 3500 miles with a Fram ultra filter. Might be over kill, but it's not that expensive especially since I'll be doing it myself.
If you've decided to do 3,750 mile oil changes, why not run the Fram Ultra oil filter for two intervals? That's well within their design limits. The 6607 and 7317 filters in Fram Ultra and Fram Pro Synthetic are available on eBay for less than $6 each including shipping. I'm using the FPS7317 in the wife's M35.
Originally Posted By: JettyLife
Hey everyone, sold my car and got back into a Nissan Frontier.
This time around it's a 2012 V6, automatic trans 4x4. The first time I had a 2010 Frontier I went to quick lube places and didn't pay much attention to the maintenance of the truck. This time around I'm older, wiser, and more active in the maintenance of my vehicle.
Nissan recommends 5w30 and a Nissan genuine filter or equivalent.
Driving:
I live in southern NJ. I live .9 miles from work and live in a small town. I do a lot of small trips throughout the week with a lot of cold starts. I try to do a longer drive (30-40 minutes) once a week or so. I drive about 7k miles a year.
The weather is mild throughout most of the year but can get down to 0*F in the winter occasionally and over 100*F in the summer.
I'm not too concerned with lengthy oil change intervals because I do the changes myself and I really don't do that many miles.
I need help choosing what oil to run, what filter, and when to change.
After doing some reasearch I'm leaning towards a Castrol product (not sure which one yet) full synthetic with oil changes in November and March. Not going by mileage necessarily.
Any advice for me?
My driving habits are almost like yours.
I drive 4 miles round trip each day (Mon-Fri) for work. Weekends might see 40 miles on the hwy and another 10 around town. I use Castrol Magnatec 5w30 with an OEM filter. OEM filters are about the same price here as after market and they give me peace of mind while under warranty. My OCI is 4k (Cue the torches and pitchforks about wasted money and resources) because Nissan specifies that a less than 5 mile trip qualifies for the severe service schedule. You will be pleased with this oil and filter combo.
I bought this truck new and after 13 months I only have 9700 miles on it.
Edit: BTW I also use OEM filters because some foreign vehicles are finicky about the filter bypass and can make a racket on start up. My wife's 08 Kia Sportage and son's 09 Sentra are perfect examples.
Hey everyone, sold my car and got back into a Nissan Frontier.
This time around it's a 2012 V6, automatic trans 4x4. The first time I had a 2010 Frontier I went to quick lube places and didn't pay much attention to the maintenance of the truck. This time around I'm older, wiser, and more active in the maintenance of my vehicle.
Nissan recommends 5w30 and a Nissan genuine filter or equivalent.
Driving:
I live in southern NJ. I live .9 miles from work and live in a small town. I do a lot of small trips throughout the week with a lot of cold starts. I try to do a longer drive (30-40 minutes) once a week or so. I drive about 7k miles a year.
The weather is mild throughout most of the year but can get down to 0*F in the winter occasionally and over 100*F in the summer.
I'm not too concerned with lengthy oil change intervals because I do the changes myself and I really don't do that many miles.
I need help choosing what oil to run, what filter, and when to change.
After doing some reasearch I'm leaning towards a Castrol product (not sure which one yet) full synthetic with oil changes in November and March. Not going by mileage necessarily.
Any advice for me?
My driving habits are almost like yours.
I drive 4 miles round trip each day (Mon-Fri) for work. Weekends might see 40 miles on the hwy and another 10 around town. I use Castrol Magnatec 5w30 with an OEM filter. OEM filters are about the same price here as after market and they give me peace of mind while under warranty. My OCI is 4k (Cue the torches and pitchforks about wasted money and resources) because Nissan specifies that a less than 5 mile trip qualifies for the severe service schedule. You will be pleased with this oil and filter combo.
I bought this truck new and after 13 months I only have 9700 miles on it.
Edit: BTW I also use OEM filters because some foreign vehicles are finicky about the filter bypass and can make a racket on start up. My wife's 08 Kia Sportage and son's 09 Sentra are perfect examples.
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MolaKule
Staff member
I too a 4X4 frontier 2012. Any name brand OTS mineral or synthetic will work fine.
I use a 10W30 in summer and a 0W30 in winter because of winter temps.
I would be more concerned about the tranny, especially if it has the original NissanMatic S.
Originally Posted By: MoleKule
After I purchased my used 2012 Nissan Frontier (~ = 33,000 miles), I immediately changed all fluids including the ATF (described elsewhere on BITOG). Tranny shifted fine.
The fluid on the dipstick appeared only slightly off color, but what came out of the transmission sump looked similar to a thick 5W20 mineral oil that had been run in an engine for 20k.
Much darker than the OP's fluid pic.
After a complete fluid replacement, the tranny still shifts well and of last check, the fluid is still cherry red. I sampled it recently so a UOA is forthcoming.
www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/4109902/ATF_brown_color,_smells_sweet;#Post4109902
I use a 10W30 in summer and a 0W30 in winter because of winter temps.
I would be more concerned about the tranny, especially if it has the original NissanMatic S.
Originally Posted By: MoleKule
After I purchased my used 2012 Nissan Frontier (~ = 33,000 miles), I immediately changed all fluids including the ATF (described elsewhere on BITOG). Tranny shifted fine.
The fluid on the dipstick appeared only slightly off color, but what came out of the transmission sump looked similar to a thick 5W20 mineral oil that had been run in an engine for 20k.
Much darker than the OP's fluid pic.
After a complete fluid replacement, the tranny still shifts well and of last check, the fluid is still cherry red. I sampled it recently so a UOA is forthcoming.
www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/4109902/ATF_brown_color,_smells_sweet;#Post4109902
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Going to do my next change this coming weekend. Castrol Edge 5w30 has been working great I believe. I've been trying different filters however because I think I'm getting some extra noise on start-up.
This change will be about 5k miles on the nose, hoping to see consistent numbers, and then extend the OCI. I'm going to get an extended life filter and hopefully be able to make it 10k miles on 1 filter. This will get me about 1 a year. Anyone who knows Nissan, knows their filters are the worst part of the oil change.
Oh and we're still in the new house so 40 miles round trip to work, about 30 minutes. I'd say 15-20 of that is cruise control between 65-75mph depending if I'm running late or not. Then some shorter trips on my days off.
This change will be about 5k miles on the nose, hoping to see consistent numbers, and then extend the OCI. I'm going to get an extended life filter and hopefully be able to make it 10k miles on 1 filter. This will get me about 1 a year. Anyone who knows Nissan, knows their filters are the worst part of the oil change.
Oh and we're still in the new house so 40 miles round trip to work, about 30 minutes. I'd say 15-20 of that is cruise control between 65-75mph depending if I'm running late or not. Then some shorter trips on my days off.
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I'd run a good synthetic, with OEM or FU filter, and change once a year. Synthetics today are more than up to the task of handling it, and the 4.0 found in your Fronty is pretty easy on oil.
I change the oil in my Tacoma twice a year, but put about 14k annually on it. Right around 7k per change, using the OEM filter and Pennzoil Platinum synthetic 5W-30.
I change the oil in my Tacoma twice a year, but put about 14k annually on it. Right around 7k per change, using the OEM filter and Pennzoil Platinum synthetic 5W-30.
not true, Nissan OEM filters are actually pretty good.
The newer filters are made in mexico and are built better than the previous ones. I shared the same concerns and have swapped brands, but the 4.0 is a noisy engine at start up. tensioners, timing chains, etc rattle especially after sitting a few days. the truck will still go the distance regardless.
in my experience, Valvoline SnyPower was the quietest oil, if that makes any sense.
Napa Gold filters seem to be "one" tick quieter.
however nissans OCI schedule is 7500 for normal and 3750 for severe service. personally I was going 5k oci`s on any filter regardless of it will go longer. The 4.0 likes fresh oil earlier than later.
The newer filters are made in mexico and are built better than the previous ones. I shared the same concerns and have swapped brands, but the 4.0 is a noisy engine at start up. tensioners, timing chains, etc rattle especially after sitting a few days. the truck will still go the distance regardless.
in my experience, Valvoline SnyPower was the quietest oil, if that makes any sense.
Napa Gold filters seem to be "one" tick quieter.
however nissans OCI schedule is 7500 for normal and 3750 for severe service. personally I was going 5k oci`s on any filter regardless of it will go longer. The 4.0 likes fresh oil earlier than later.
Here's my last change, everything looking good, I may go 7k on this change, not sure yet, the 5k OCI isn't killing me, it gets me about 6 months out of the oil. I used a 10k mile Mobil 1 filter and Castrol Edge 5w30. But it depends on how much beach time the truck sees.
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Started off running M1 0w40 in my 2005 4.0L V6 at 20K. Switched over to Castrol 0w40 and have been running that for quite a while. Approaching 270K on the clock with no problems. Do an oil analysis here and there and they always come back looking good. Saw no noticeable change in mpg when switching from 5w30 at 20K,
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