What oil do you recommend for my 1999 Nissan Maxima?

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I have been contemplating whether to change to another dino oil brand or to a synthetic oil for my Maxima. Reading more and more from this site, I am more inclined to switch. The car has about 85,000km(52,810 miles). I change the oil every 3 months which equates to between 3000-3400 miles. The car consumes no more then 200-250ml for the 3 months. I would say this is normal. I was using Maxlife for one oil change but used something else after. I was out of the country so I got my buddy to change the oil. I didn't know what oil he used. He loves Valvoline though. High possibility it could be Durablend 5W30. Previously, the car was using dealer oil(Esso bulk 5W30) under warranty. Have been using Nissan oil filters for the three years under warranty. At start-up, I can hear a humming sound. After, when I used Maxlife and and Purolator Premium Plus oil filter the humming sound went away. The switch to the Purolator eliminated the start-up noise. I believe this was normal for the '95-'99 gen Maximas to have this humming sound at start-up. My daily driving consists of all city driving of 40kms(25 miles) in total. The car sees the highway only on weekends which is about 40-60kms(25-37 miles). The rest of the miles are for daily errands which are city/highway. The car doesn't see high rpm's as it is an automatic and I don't push it. I do run the car to 160-170km/h on some occasions on the weekend. I really want to switch to another brand of oil as Maxlife doesn't seem to be as good as it should be from reading this website. What brand of dino oil or synthetic oil should I switch according to my driving habits and type of engine? I never had done an UOA on this car before. Recommendations by experts on this site is highly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
smile.gif
 
I had a 95 and a 98 Maxima. In both I used the AMosil 10W30 and changes it every 12,000 with a fitler at 6000. ran fine. The 95 was sold off but still going strong with over 120,000 now. Not sure of the 98 whereabouts.

Great engines.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Spector:
I had a 95 and a 98 Maxima. In both I used the AMosil 10W30 and changes it every 12,000 with a fitler at 6000. ran fine. The 95 was sold off but still going strong with over 120,000 now. Not sure of the 98 whereabouts.

Great engines.


Spector, thanks for replying. Why did you sell the Maximas? Definitely, a great engine. The new 3.5 VQ's are not as smooth as the older 3.0 VQ's. Which Amsoil? They have a few lines XL etc.. Do you have UOA on the oils you used?

[ April 13, 2003, 11:17 PM: Message edited by: Employee#08 ]
 
Hi,

Since your Maxima has moderate mileage, you
should use Mobil 1 0W-40 or Delvac 1 5W-40.
Either should serve your needs well due to their
high HT/HS viscosities.

cheers.gif


Jae
 
quote:

Mobil 1 0W-40 or Delvac 1 5W-40.
Either should serve your needs well due to their
high HT/HS viscosities.

I'd go with the above, or even M1 10w-30. Amsoil 10w-40 would be a nice choice.
 
I have owned many Nissans with the great VQ V-6. In all of them over the last 10 years, I have switched to synthetic after several thousand miles and never had an engine issue and 'feel' synthetics run well in this relatively tight clearance engine. In my 2k3 Max, I run 10w-30 M1 with about 3 oz of #132 due to warranty issues. In my '99 Max, I use to run M1 but believe it doesn't clean as well as say Amsoil or Redline and use Amsoil 5w-30 ASL in it (this car has 60,000 miles on it). I don't know if I would recommend a Xw-40 weight oil for this engine. It responds much better with a good, slightly thinner oil. A good solid Xw-30 weight is best and is what Nissan recommends. I'd go with the Amsoil after a good Auto-Rx and/or Neutra cleaning since you've been using dino up until now. You'll be pleasantly surprised on how much easier the engine revs with a good synthetic. Also, I use the Nissan OEM oil and air filters or the Bosch oil filter if I don't have the OEM. By the way, you're about at the milege where I'd suggest changing the spark plugs, coolant(use Nissan OEM) and fuel filter if you haven't already. Same with the ATF---do a drain and refill at least. These drivetrains will last forever if you take care of them.
 
Oh yeah, a strong second to Nick788's advice about the plugs, Nissan coolant, changing the ATF, and the fuel filter! Nissan coolant is expensive as h#@*!! but I have not found any comparable longlife after market coolant like it.
 
I'd also recommend the regular Amsoil 5w-30 "ASL" for this application. If the vehicle is still under warranty, you can run the maximum change interval recommended by Nissan, which I believe is 7500 miles. If it's not under warranty, I'd go 12k-15k miles, with a filter change and topoff halfway through.

I highly recommend the AutoRX before putting synthetic oil in any engine with more than 50,000 miles.

TooSlick
Dixie Synthetics
 
quote:

Originally posted by Employee#08:
Originally posted by Spector:
[qb]Why did you sell the Maximas? Definitely, a great engine. The new 3.5 VQ's are not as smooth as the older 3.0 VQ's. Which Amsoil? They have a few lines XL etc.. Do you have UOA on the oils you used?
Yes, I have results on the Maximas, will look them up tonight. Actually, they were company cars and when they get to about 60,000 we sell them as the resale value seems to drop tremendously post 60,000, regardless of make but these held value very well. . No other reason other then that. I used the full synthetic 10W30 not the XL line. The 95 never used a drop the 98 used about 1/2 quart between changes since birth. I also used the larger Amsoil filter in lieu of the thimble sized OEM replacement on this engine.
 
quote:

Originally posted by nick778:
I have owned many Nissans with the great VQ V-6. In all of them over the last 10 years, I have switched to synthetic after several thousand miles and never had an engine issue and 'feel' synthetics run well in this relatively tight clearance engine. In my 2k3 Max, I run 10w-30 M1 with about 3 oz of #132 due to warranty issues. In my '99 Max, I use to run M1 but believe it doesn't clean as well as say Amsoil or Redline and use Amsoil 5w-30 ASL in it (this car has 60,000 miles on it). I don't know if I would recommend a Xw-40 weight oil for this engine. It responds much better with a good, slightly thinner oil. A good solid Xw-30 weight is best and is what Nissan recommends. I'd go with the Amsoil after a good Auto-Rx and/or Neutra cleaning since you've been using dino up until now. You'll be pleasantly surprised on how much easier the engine revs with a good synthetic. Also, I use the Nissan OEM oil and air filters or the Bosch oil filter if I don't have the OEM. By the way, you're about at the milege where I'd suggest changing the spark plugs, coolant(use Nissan OEM) and fuel filter if you haven't already. Same with the ATF---do a drain and refill at least. These drivetrains will last forever if you take care of them.

Nick, thanks for your recommendations. There is a lot of information to digest. I know M1 is available everywehere which is why a lot of people go with them. The price is pretty good also. Isn't the 5W30 and 10W30 from M1 a little on the thin side for a synthetic? Amsoil and Redline seems to be the way to go. I have to find dealers in Toronto that supplies Am and Red at a decent price. The dealership changed coolant, and the transmission fluid just before the warranty was up last year in May. Is it a little premature to change the plugs at this time? The NGK platinum lasers should last a little longer. It would be good to check them at this time though. Fuel filter I will definitely change. Nick, did you notice after the car turns over with the oem oil fitler that there is a humming sound that lasts a few seconds a goes away?

[ April 15, 2003, 06:11 AM: Message edited by: Employee#08 ]
 
quote:

Originally posted by Roger:
Oh yeah, a strong second to Nick788's advice about the plugs, Nissan coolant, changing the ATF, and the fuel filter! Nissan coolant is expensive as h#@*!! but I have not found any comparable longlife after market coolant like it.

Does the '95-'99 Maximas use long life coolant? The coolant is green which would indicate just the standard coolant. What is so special about the Nissan coolant? Can Prestone be on par with the OEM coolant?
 
quote:

Originally posted by TooSlick:
I'd also recommend the regular Amsoil 5w-30 "ASL" for this application. If the vehicle is still under warranty, you can run the maximum change interval recommended by Nissan, which I believe is 7500 miles. If it's not under warranty, I'd go 12k-15k miles, with a filter change and topoff halfway through.

I highly recommend the AutoRX before putting synthetic oil in any engine with more than 50,000 miles.

TooSlick
Dixie Synthetics


Tooslick, are you referring to the Amsoil in the pic below?
 -
 
The Nissan (and othe OEM Asian like Toyota and Honda) coolant is silicate free. I have not found any domestic coolant that is silicate free. The Nissan water pumps are said not to be designed to use silicate type antifreeze and using it will shorten the water pump's life. Nissan recommends changing the plugs at 60,000 miles but I think they are pretty well worn by 50,000 miles. As far as oil, I don't think you could go wrong with either M1 10w-30 (especially if you add some Shaffers #132 to it) or the Amsoil 5w-30 ASL (which has a higher, high temp viscosity than the M1 10w-30...No, I don't think either is too 'light' at all. IMHO, I think anything 'thicker' than a Xw-30 would be counterproductive (more friction, heat and less mpg and power/response). Again, these engines are tight and well made.
 
Oh yeah....No humming from any of the Nissan cars I owned after start-up whether I was using the OEM filter or not. Not sure what to advise you on this. Are you sure it is oil filter related vs a worn belt or something else? Also, don't forget the Auto-Rx or Neutra cleaning before changing over to whichever synthetic you decide on.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Spector:
Yes, I have results on the Maximas, will look them up tonight. Actually, they were company cars and when they get to about 60,000 we sell them as the resale value seems to drop tremendously post 60,000, regardless of make but these held value very well. . No other reason other then that. I used the full synthetic 10W30 not the XL line. The 95 never used a drop the 98 used about 1/2 quart between changes since birth. I also used the larger Amsoil filter in lieu of the thimble sized OEM replacement on this engine.

Spector, do you have the larger Amsoil filter #? I want to be able to cross reference to a Wix. Thanks.
 
quote:

Originally posted by nick778:
Oh yeah....No humming from any of the Nissan cars I owned after start-up whether I was using the OEM filter or not. Not sure what to advise you on this. Are you sure it is oil filter related vs a worn belt or something else? Also, don't forget the Auto-Rx or Neutra cleaning before changing over to whichever synthetic you decide on.

This humming sound started the first day I picked up the car. I talked to the tech that has been a Nissan tech for 18 years says that he has heard the humming sound lately with the Maximas. I went back to the dealership after I changed to Purolator and let the tech hear for himself. He doesn't know why and he is doing some investigation work himself.
 
Employee#08

He's recommending the Amsoil 5W30 product code ASL. An especially good oil for cold weather and infrequent driving.

Your picture is that of the Amsoil product code ATM 10W30.
 
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