# switching to synthetic motor oil.



## erik2282 (May 17, 2005)

I'm wanting to switch to synthetic motor oil in my 97 altima with the 2.4L ka24de motor. My odometer broke about 4 years ago so i dont know how many miles it has. anyway.... When I start up the motor in the morning to go to work (or even it been sittin up for more than about 30 minutes) it sounds like valves tapping but only for about 2-3 seconds. I guess long enough for the oil to start circulating thru the engine. Anyway, it's my understanding that synthetic motor oil 'sticks' to engine components leaving a film of oil so you wont have 'dry' start, correct? I've never used any kind of synthetic oil in any of my cars before so I'm not sure which kind to use. I have always used Pennzoil 10w40(non-synthetic) in almost all my vehicles. Should I use semi-synthetic or full-synthetic. Which brands do you guys have experience with and what do you guys recommend? thanks for reading, appreciate comments and responses...


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## enjoy_incubus (Aug 26, 2004)

i recommend mobil 1 synthetic..this is all i use in my altima


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## Bror Jace (Apr 26, 2003)

Real synthetics (Group IV & V) are good stuff ... but conventional oils have come a long way and for short duration use in moderate-to-warm temps, they're just as good at preventing wear as synthetics. 

Don't drive in near-arctic conditions? Change your oil every 4,000 or fewer miles? Save your money and stick with a less expensive mineral base oil.

But a lot of people have bought into the idea that 'synthetic' oils have near-magical properties and will find the above hard to believe.


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## gfriedman (Oct 12, 2005)

...I believe


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## LONDONDERRY (May 19, 2004)

gfriedman said:


> ...I believe



I use syn on my 96 and 03 Altimas & 96 Sentra. Ever since I switched to syn on the 96 cars, I've have small oil leaks.

Hey while where on the oil subject I got a pondering question. My wife drives the 03 Altima. Being a stay-home mom she bearly uses the car, 20-30 miles a week if that. So is it still required to change the oil every three months even though the milage in that time frame is 1,000 -1,500 miles?

Frank


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## mzanubis (Feb 19, 2003)

LONDONDERRY said:


> I use syn on my 96 and 03 Altimas & 96 Sentra. Ever since I switched to syn on the 96 cars, I've have small oil leaks.
> 
> Hey while where on the oil subject I got a pondering question. My wife drives the 03 Altima. Being a stay-home mom she bearly uses the car, 20-30 miles a week if that. So is it still required to change the oil every three months even though the milage in that time frame is 1,000 -1,500 miles?
> 
> Frank


i'd still change it every 3 months. i don't put that many miles on mine either, but i just hate leaving oil in for more than 3 months.


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## Darktide (Jul 29, 2004)

I've found that in my 00 Altima Se that my oil gets dirty after 4k miles anyway so I change it at that but I use Mobil 1. I live in NH, the weather is warm during the day, freeze your nuts off at night no matter what time of year so I prefer something a little better than the old stuff.

Normally you'd switch to 10w40 weight to bring down valvetrain noise. But you're already using it which isn't good. Changing to synthetic probably will not help you much in this regard. I'd say something might be wrong with the valvetrain that might need to be looked at. 

As far as time/distance traveled, all repair/owner's manuals say that its 3k or 3months whichever comes first. After 3k miles non-synth oil has tendancies to start to break down if I remember correctly. So I would still follow every 3 months. 

Darktide


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## Bror Jace (Apr 26, 2003)

The UOAs I've seen show that oil, with few miles on it in vehicles that are seldomly driven, holds up fairly well over time.

What's more important is the pattern of trips in that 1,500 miles. Are they a bunch of 5 minute trips? The QR25DE runs quite rich upon start-up and fuel fouls the oil a little with each trip 10 minutes and under. Oil with a lot of gas (a powerful solvent) in it is bad for the motor.

However, if that 1,500 miles is mostly 20+ minute drives, I bet the oil is fine. I'd change it twice each year and sleep just fine.


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