# Best oil for 05-07 frontier?



## Nissan4x4 (May 9, 2005)

What wieght and type oil is the most popular being run in the 05-07 Nissan Frontiers? I saw a few post for mobil one synthetic. Anyone run castrol sythetic?


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## joefrontier (Apr 26, 2007)

Nissan4x4 said:


> What wieght and type oil is the most popular being run in the 05-07 Nissan Frontiers? I saw a few post for mobil one synthetic. Anyone run castrol sythetic?



(1) Jug of Mobil1 synthetic 20$ 5 quarts @ walmart
(1) Nissan OEM filter @ Courtesyparts.com - Genuine Nissan Parts, Accessories, NISMO and Nissan Motorsports
(1) DIY oil change - priceless-


Cheers


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

That's always a loaded question because everyone has their preferances and there the constant debate of conventional vs. synthetic.

Nissan recommends 5W-30 in both the 4 cyl. and V6 and has for most of their models for a long time, so I would stick with that.

I don't think there's much argument that synthetic is a better oil vs. conventional as far as its physical properties, but some would argue the advantage vs. the cost of the oil. I used the cheapest 5W-30 conventional oil I could get and genuine Nissan filters for over 200,000 miles in my '97 HB KA24E. I changed it every 3700 miles +/- per the manufacturers recommendations and the engine still runs like day one with no engine repairs (knock on wood) yet and no "infamous" KA24 chain rattle (knock on more wood), yet. It also doesn't smoke. Would I have had better fuel economy with synthetic...enough to make up for the $4/qt. differance in price to use synthetic? Who knows, but I doubt it? Conventional oil has certainly served me well, so far. FYI, I bought a 12000 mi. '04 Tacoma 4WD a year ago w/ the 2.7 I-4. I noticed Wal-mart has their "house brand" sythetic at $13 a jug, which I've been using. I change it at the manufacturer recommended 5000 mile intervals and use either a Toyota or Purolator Pure-One filter. I'll see how it goes!

Is Mobil 1 good oil? Yes. Is it as good as Pennzoil's or Castrol's synthetic? I guess you'll need to look at Consumer Reports to find out. WHich is best for you?....You'll have to think that one over. Today's oils are far superior to what was available 20 years ago and more. The most important thing, IMO, is to change your oil at the recommended intervals and use a quality oil filter.


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## nissanmadness (Sep 18, 2006)

My choice is 5W30 Castrol Non synthetic, and a factory oil filter. Works for me.


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## joefrontier (Apr 26, 2007)

I will agree with the rest of these guys good oil is in the mind of the beholder. All of my cars I have had: (GM) malibu, (3) s10, corsica, and a olds ciera. I have used 5w30 valvoline and changed the oil and filter & 5000 miles religiously. All of these vehicles never had problems with engine wear, they mostly failed for other reasons. 

However, with my new frontier my attitude is a bit different. I figure I change my own oil and parts and save money so I can spend a bit extra on what I feel is better oil. 

Synthetic oil is proven to have better qualities than regular oil. Will those qualities make a big difference over 100000+ miles is hard to tell. You'll find out when the engine starts burning oil. 

I think the best answer to your question is no matter what you use is change the oil and filter at least every 5000 miles.


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## 02 4X4 (Jun 4, 2005)

I just recently changer mine to royal purple full synthetic 20W-50W and my truck runs much smoother and during acceleration not near as much engine noise


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## azrocketman (Oct 5, 2005)

I have 103K on my 2001 4 cylinder with no lubrication related problems (noise, oil consumption, leaks). I use Chevron 5W-30 and change it every 4 to 5K miles. 

I use synthetics when I want its superior properties (e.g. heat resistance). An example is in air cooled engines (like my 1966 Corvairs). I agree with the previous posts that for most applications you'll see minimal added value for the added cost of synthetic.

Steve


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## trainwreck (Aug 6, 2007)

I have a 07, if I want to change over the synthetic what weight should I use?


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## azrocketman (Oct 5, 2005)

Look at your owners manual. 5W-30 is typical (other weights might be called out for use in temperature extremes).

Steve


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## My98Front (Dec 31, 2006)

I noticed people are saying to use factory oil filter.
I have always used a Wix filter or Fram filter.
Is there enough difference in the quality that I should use the factory fliter???

Thanks
My98Front


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## joefrontier (Apr 26, 2007)

The factory price filter vs the off the shelf filter is really not that much. 

I pay about 5$ for the OEM from courtesy nissan. You can also get them cheaper if you go with a 3 or 5 pack from other online services.

I change my oil (mobil 1) and filter for around 20$. I do it and not a service center. Can a service center do my oil change cheaper? yes, but I get a better oil and filter and get it done quicker by not having to go there and wait.


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## trainwreck (Aug 6, 2007)

so the weights are the smae from original from synthetic?


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

Yes, the type of oil doesn't change the viscosity index. 5W30 is recommended by Nissan on most of their engines.

As far as aftermarket filters, Wix are okay...Fram's are garbage! 

One of the best oil filter studies I ever read was at Minimopar.net. If you're interested, here's the link:

Engine Oil Filter Study

It tells you everything you ever wanted, or did not want, to know about oil filters.


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## trainwreck (Aug 6, 2007)

Can I drive longer on synthetic oil than regular oil between oil changes?


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## azrocketman (Oct 5, 2005)

trainwreck said:


> Can I drive longer on synthetic oil than regular oil between oil changes?


Maybe. Oil changes are intended to do two things; they are removal of the "worn out" lubricant and removal of contaminants from the engine. Synthetics excel at resisting wear as their molecular chains are optimized against shearing and oxidation. That is a reason for their longer suggested interval between changes.

You also change the oil (and filter) to remove contaminants from the engine. Combustion creates water, raw gas, and acids that find their way to the crankcase. If the engine is not allowed to warm up completely, e.g. lots of short trips, the oil gets more rapidly contaminated. The rate of contamination depends on your driving habits (short versus long trips) and not on the goodness of the oil base.

So, if you drive the vehicle in a manner that allows the engine to always completely warm up (not just the temp guage coming up to normal but the oil warming up and having time to evaporate the water and raw gas) and not a lot of dust and dirt then you might go longer between changes. If you are a short trip driver where the engine never completely warms up and there is a lot of dust and dirt I'd stay with the factory severe service schedule for oil changes.

Steve


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## rbo1577186 (Jan 16, 2005)

Valvoline used to be Factory recommended (still is to the best of my knowledge). Probably just marketing, but Valvoline and Castrol seem to make my engine sound a little quieter than Pennzoil, - probably just me thinking too much.....


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## trainwreck (Aug 6, 2007)

Thanks for all the info!!!


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

rbo1577186 said:


> Valvoline used to be Factory recommended (still is to the best of my knowledge). Probably just marketing, but Valvoline and Castrol seem to make my engine sound a little quieter than Pennzoil, - probably just me thinking too much.....


Valvoline? Since when? Genuine Nissan oil is made by Amoco.


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## rbo1577186 (Jan 16, 2005)

It was in my owners manual. I'll double check but I'm pretty sure it was Valvoline.


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

News to me, but I guess it's possible! Maybe that's who they switched to when they stopped making the genuine Nissan oil available? I know the genuine Nissan oil was made by Amoco because it got ordered directly from Amoco rather than through the Nissan parts warehouse.


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## WeeHooker (Sep 17, 2007)

My 2 cents:
Wall Mart has reciently dropped the price of Castrol Syntec down to $19.xx/5 quart which make it _close_ to the price of conventional oil. Given that I extend now my dumps from 3500 to 6000 mi with the synthetic, I believe it's actually cheaper to run the synthetic. Now if I could just find a larger capacity filter :-(


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## rbo1577186 (Jan 16, 2005)

Well I looked and I can't find it in any factory documentation. It doesn't recommend any particular brand, including "Genuine Nissan" oil. For some reason I wanted to say it was Valvoline, maybe I saw a Valvoline ad at the dealership or something..... Maybe it was the red/white/blue colors of the Nissan logo/Valvoline logo....


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## rbo1577186 (Jan 16, 2005)

While we're on the topic, Does anyone have any opinions on the "High Mileage" oil. This is a product I've only seen for a couple of years or so (Normally advertised for cars with over 75k). I'm sure it just has some more additives to it, but is it any better than non "high mileage oil"?


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

Supposedly "high mileage" oil has conditioners to soften the engine seals. Whether it works or not, I can't say. To be honest, I encounter very few Nissans that burn oil to any concernable degree. 

Wal-mart's house brand synthetic is at $13 and change for 5 qts. I figure some brand name has to be making it for them....Change it every 5000 miles w/ a factory filter and works well for me!


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## rbo1577186 (Jan 16, 2005)

smj999smj, 


Have you had many problems switching from dinosaur oil to synthetic on higher mileage cars? 

On a couple of Jeeps I've seen.. we went from factory dinosaur oil to a synthetic (redline mt-90) and shortly afterwards we have had to replace seals. Some of these weren't high mileage - one as low as 48k.


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## WeeHooker (Sep 17, 2007)

Seem to remember reading somewhere that many 90's vintage ( and earlier) vehicles contained seals that did not like synthetic oils. Don't recall the details but FWIW, I run standard engine oil in my 92 and 96 vintage family vehicles and synthetic in the newer/post 2000's.


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## azrocketman (Oct 5, 2005)

I run synthetic in my 1966 Corvairs and my 1995 Windstar with no leakage problems (yes, even in the Corvairs).

Steve


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

rbo1577186 said:


> smj999smj,
> 
> 
> Have you had many problems switching from dinosaur oil to synthetic on higher mileage cars?
> ...


I haven't seen any problems switching from dino to synthetic. I have seen a couple of cases where engines that were running on synthetic oil started to smoke when they were switched back to dino and stopped smoking when switch back to synthetic. My advice is that if you want to go with synthetic, fine, but stick with it.


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## WeeHooker (Sep 17, 2007)

I see alot of refference to sticking with a OEM filter. Any particular reason? 
I generally use Bosh.


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## trainwreck (Aug 6, 2007)

I hear that purlatior one is perty good.


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

The big issue is the drain back valve. Most filters have it but some don't. There are several variables in filter construction. Nissan filters are made very well and a good choice to use. Pure One and Motorcraft filters, both made by Purolator, are also very good. Frams are pretty low on the totem pole as far as their construction.


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