# Spec V Oil...



## SpecVVixen (May 24, 2004)

I just bought my Spec V about a week ago...I checked the oil today and it seemed super low...I need to get oil, but I'm not sure what its previous owner used. I know it was full synthetic...but nothing else. Is it more likely that he used 10w-30 or 5w-30? Also is it alright to use a different brand than he used? It would probably just be best for me to call him up and ask...Thanks for the help.


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## chimmike (Oct 17, 2002)

if it's low.....take it to the dealer. What year is it?
were all the recalls done? has it had any engine replacements? 

manual recommends 5w30...but take it to the dealer before adding oil.


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## Zac (Mar 10, 2004)

Do you know if the car was broken in properly and the rings were seated properly? Correct me if I am wrong somebody but a bad break in can result in a car that eats oil.


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## SpecVVixen (May 24, 2004)

It's an '02. The guy I bought it from is religious about his cars. I know that he treated it like his own child. I didn't check the oil when I initially got the car so it might have been low in the first place. I guess I will find out if it burns oil the NEXT time I check it in about a week. More importantly, what oil do I need ot use or is that a question for the previous owner?


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## Zac (Mar 10, 2004)

SpecVVixen said:


> It's an '02. The guy I bought it from is religious about his cars. I know that he treated it like his own child. I didn't check the oil when I initially got the car so it might have been low in the first place. I guess I will find out if it burns oil the NEXT time I check it in about a week. More importantly, what oil do I need ot use or is that a question for the previous owner?


I'de ask him to be sure but I bet he used some sort of Mobil 1 synthetic 5W30. If you live in a practical tropical climate, then he probably ran 10W30. If you can't get in touch with him and don't want to change oil, add AMSOIL. I know that AMSOIL, while it is synthetic, is guarenteed to be safe to mix with other syntetics and other conventional oils. If you don't know when the oil was changed last, I say just swap the oil and filter for brands of your liking. That way you are starting fresh. I'm a little over 8k miles on my LDI of AMSOIL 5W30 and I have not really noticed any performance falls yet. It's good stuff.


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## chimmike (Oct 17, 2002)

an 02? oil is gone? Sounds like trouble to me.


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## Zac (Mar 10, 2004)

chimmike said:


> an 02? oil is gone? Sounds like trouble to me.


You always suspect trouble on the 02s! Think positive! Even thou something is probably wrong...


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## nick9871 (May 5, 2004)

(specvvixen is my girlfriend) Anywase, she called the owner and he said that he put in Quaker state 20w-50!!!!! Woah! I had an acura rsx type s and i used Mobil 1 5w-30 i burned about a 1/2 to a quart every 2+ weeks (sorry your nissans aint the only 4 banger oil burners). But whats up with the 2ow-50. My assumption would be that it was burning oil and he didnt tell us, and to slow it down he put in 20w-50. He didnt drive the car very much, and it spent most of its recent oil change (to 20w-50) in Flordia, so i guess that could be why. I think we will just switch to mobil 1 10w-30 and see if it burns it up, if so then we will go to dealer.


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## Zac (Mar 10, 2004)

nick9871 said:


> (specvvixen is my girlfriend) Anywase, she called the owner and he said that he put in Quaker state 20w-50!!!!! Woah! I had an acura rsx type s and i used Mobil 1 5w-30 i burned about a 1/2 to a quart every 2+ weeks (sorry your nissans aint the only 4 banger oil burners). But whats up with the 2ow-50. My assumption would be that it was burning oil and he didnt tell us, and to slow it down he put in 20w-50. He didnt drive the car very much, and it spent most of its recent oil change (to 20w-50) in Flordia, so i guess that could be why. I think we will just switch to mobil 1 10w-30 and see if it burns it up, if so then we will go to dealer.


WHAT!?! 20W30??? And well working QR25s dont burn oil. Mine doesn't. He doesnt sound like he was very knowledgable on the engine. Their are good chances you are going to have serious problems, especially if the rings never seated.


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## nick9871 (May 5, 2004)

Yea thats what I thought. Appearantly the car was in flordia for a while so thats why the heavy weight oil. He said he changed it over at like around 12000 miles to synthetic so im assuming the rings are ok.


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## Zac (Mar 10, 2004)

Rings are probably fine, but hopefully he just couldnt measure oil. If the QR is burning oil, it is going to indicate near future problems. Do you know why he sold the car?


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## nick9871 (May 5, 2004)

yea he sold it because he had a brand new house, new job, 2 other cars, and wanted to restore his old camero. He had rebuilt engines, and such so I assume he put 20w-50 in it when he was in flordia and that it has been sitting for a long time and perhaps he just missed checked the oil cause it was 2 quarts low, which is a lot to burn in just 1500 miles.


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## Zac (Mar 10, 2004)

nick9871 said:


> yea he sold it because he had a brand new house, new job, 2 other cars, and wanted to restore his old camero. He had rebuilt engines, and such so I assume he put 20w-50 in it when he was in flordia and that it has been sitting for a long time and perhaps he just missed checked the oil cause it was 2 quarts low, which is a lot to burn in just 1500 miles.


Wow. 2 quarts low???? That is like working on missing half the oil! Did he put the filter on correctly? Maybe he messed that up?


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## Bror Jace (Apr 26, 2003)

Running for a short period of time while the oil is low will not damage most engines. Was it showing on the dipstick at all?

My Mom had a 2.0 Mitsu Eclipse and I checked her oil aftre she had just driven 2 hours and it was _completely off the stick._ 

Had to add ~2 quarts to get it full. Still, the engine was fine afterwards.

20W50 is far from ideal for our cars ... but I can't imagine using it for a year or so would do damage I'd most fear that the rings might stick. Best to get 5W30 or 10W30 in that thing ASAP. In warm weather (above 40F) there's little difference between the two. Once hot (operating temp), they are theoretically the same weight. 10W30 should be more stable as it should be less reliant on polymer viscosity index improver (VII) which begins to break down in just a couple thousand miles.

No, you don't have to worry about mixing oils. There are no engine oils I know of which are mix intolerant. The craziest concoction I ever saw someone use worked surprisingly well and he had the lab report (showing low wear metals) to back it up. 

Only "PAGs" (glycol based lubricants ... used in refridgeration, some compressors and a few other rare applications) are bad to mix with typical passenger car motor oils. 

Amsoil is a good oil ... but it isn't miracle stuff. Don't buy the hype. It's no better than the current versions of Mobil 1. 2+ years ago I would not have said that but SuperSyn with an improved additive package is impressive stuff.

Red Line Oil is also very good stuff ... but I'm more and more convinced typical users will never see any benefit from this $8 per quart lube. Best to use Red Line MT-90 in your tranny and that's it. 

I use Schaeffer synthetic blend in my QR25DE and my fuel economy went from 28.3mpg to 30.6mpg in about 2 weeks.


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## Zac (Mar 10, 2004)

Bror Jace said:


> Running for a short period of time while the oil is low will not damage most engines. Was it showing on the dipstick at all?
> 
> My Mom had a 2.0 Mitsu Eclipse and I checked her oil aftre she had just driven 2 hours and it was _completely off the stick._
> 
> ...


We'll argue more on AMSOIL all day. lol. I still stick to it. It hasn't changed much in years and just recently has Mobil gotten as good as it. Do tell more about the Schaeffer synthetic?


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## Bror Jace (Apr 26, 2003)

*NickZac*: _"We'll argue more on AMSOIL all day. lol. I still stick to it."_

I'm not an Amsoil basher ... but I used to be because some of their dealers are/were irrational zealots who totally turned me off. Found some decent and even helpful dealers on BITOG's forums and they managed to turn me around. 

_"Do tell more about the Schaeffer synthetic?"_

A very small, old blender working out of St. Louis, MO. Probably the best kept secret in lubrication. They advertise very little and instead rely on the person-to-person contact of sales reps servicing commercial accounts. I have a few "issues" with this approach ... but they didn't consult me. 

Their motor oils which most people use are the Supreme 7000 synthetic blend(product numbers #700 - #703). It's a Real Group II+ mineral base stock with 10-20%+ PAO blended in. The stuff flows nice in most conditions and stays in grade well ... and has one of the best additive packages available anywhere. Stuff costs about $3 per quart. Perfect for 3,000 - 5,000 mile drain intervals. UOAs show very, very low wear.

Their website is just "OK":

http://www.schaefferoil.com/

Click on the link called "Technical Data" to get a listing of their products. Click on each product name to pull up a specification sheet.

Ordering stuff is a bit difficult unless you want to order $250 case lots and they'll drop ship it free from the plant. I have contact info for the dealer I ordered from last year.

There is also a stocking dealer in Arkansas who will FedEx Ground any single items you want ... but it's a bit pricey because of the shipping.


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