Synthetic vs. Dino Oil Change Intervals

[SideWinder4x4]

First, I just have to say that this is an excellent site with lots of great information about the many different types of oil and should prove very helpful should anyone ever need help.

My question is....would it be better to run AMSOIL 5W-30 or AMSOIL Series 2000 0W-30 for 20,000 miles or to run regular Havoline, Castrol, or Chevron 5W-30 for 5,000 miles before an oil change? I would run AMSOIL oilfilters if I used the AMSOIL....otherwise, I would use Bosch brand filter with dino oil. Keep in mind that I don't plan on spending the extra money for any type of oil analysis ever. Also, I drive a 2000 Nissan Frontier SE-V6 4x4 Automatic with the VG33 engine. My driving style is very aggressive and I drive about 20,000 miles per year with about 90% of them being highway miles.

Thanks for any help!

 

[MikeW]

My $0.03

Split the difference, M1 5w30 or Castrol Syntec 0w30. M1 or Pure One filters. 7,500 mile OCI.

 

[rg144]

Then dino it is. AMSOIL + extended drain = UOA. But after you have trends you can stick with the program. Besides, the reason for UOA is find out how the vehicle behaves with the oil of your choice.

For a cheap, semi-extended drain, you might think about some SuperTech synthetic.

Oh, and

 

[Mamala Bay]

Depends on your driving condition, run down the dino and it needs to be changed as synthetic. Get a shear stable oil if you drive it hard, dino or synthetic...

 

[bythabay]

As an amsoil user, I can tell you that your driving style sounds like it would be great for amsoil series 2000.

That oil will hold up exteremely well; you could easily put on 20k on that oil (with an amsoil filter change at 12k or 6months (whichever comes first). The reason this oil would do so well is due to its extremely high tbn. Since you're doing a lot of highway driving, it would hold up even better becuase the moisture would be able to burn out of the oil. Do an amsoil flush and then switch to the s2k.

good luck!

 

[FordSVTGuy]

Since either the dino or shelf brand synthetic would call for more regular oil changes, you would be sure that you are regularly removing any of the combustion byproducts that build over time.

As previously suggested Mobil 1 2x per year or

Any of the dinos that you listed 4x per year

It really depends upon your affinity for changing oil???

I have opted for the more frequent oci's mostly because I like to do maintenance on my cars...

Either way, I am sure that you will get long life from your engine...

 

[Spector]

The S2000 can do the trick however, it does not always live up to its 35,000 or one year claims. You need to do at least one UOA maybe around 12,500 to see how it is holding up as every engine and driving condition is different. You simply cannot assume up front that it will protect well at 17,500 etc.

 

[haley10]

Sorry, but unless your willing to spring for a uoa or two, your stuck with following Nissan's recommended oci intervals to be sure.

I think spending 20 bucks to show you exactly where your at and the state of your engine is well worth it in the long run.

I think the Amsoil 5W-30 changed every six months sounds good to me. There's some good Amsoil reps.on this site that can help you out on applying their products.

 

[darkdan]

Extended OCI without UOA is like walking down a dark alley in a bad neighborhood.

Sure, you might be able to blindly go down it and nothing bad happen, but at least a UOA is a streetlight.

If you're not up to spending the extra $18 on a UOA or two then you shouldn't be worrying about spending $6 to $8 a quart for oil.

 

[Boeing 757 Pilot]

I have been going 10,000 OCI with Mobil 1 for the last 10 years no problem. No need to change it every 3000 miles, unless its a turbocharged engine.