350Z owners and not changing oil

[Bror Jace]

" ... and their cars die early and painful deaths from many different causes, no matter what the brand."

And it's never their fault.

I've seen some engines be terribly abused and not only survive ... but seem to thrive.

But that doesn't make it right.

Zardoz, why don't you join that forum and constructively engage the myth-spreaders? Why not challenge them to do a UOA and show how the same oil is holding up over the years?

I've done it on Nissanforums.com as well as the Vboard forums and an Xterra owner's group. It was a bit of effort but most people have come around and no one posts silly garbage on those boards any more without me or someone else setting them straight ASAP.

Many posters on those forums respect my approach and side with me as I point out myths and misconceptions and other half-baked opinions on lubricants.

It's rewarding.

--- Bror Jace

 

[yugrus]

I agree that somehow import cars forums became the place for wannabe ricer kids to spread the word of ignorance. Although there is a bright side to this, as to everything in this world. Ignorance helps the economy. Think how much the average kid spends on what-not they slap on their poor vehicles. Very often it is more then the car worth. When the car dies because of such abuse, they get another one, and the cycle goes on.
These people are supporting the government programs through taxes; boost the economy through continuous buying and keep everyone entertained looking at what they have to say.
Gentlemen, you have to admit the universal value or ricers.
I hope to be in car aftermarket business myself at some point, so I will HELP them to help their country.
Sorry, I didn't see the previous message before I posted.

 

[Zardoz]

Bror,

I've browsed 350zmotoring site a few times, but eh it's not worth it. Too little info and way too much bickering.

I'm a member on my350z.com & Chicagoz.com. My350z has too much info and even more bickering. I will try to get the local guys on the Chicago forum to order kits, even though I believe most of them use Mobil 1.

I just ordered my 1st UOA kit today. I figured why not? It'll be with the Chevron 5w30 dino oil I have in her which I'll have to store in a container until the kit arrives. I would assume a regular glass jar would be alright?

 

[Bror Jace]

Zardoz,
You have to pick your battles wisely. I actually opened that link and read that thread after I posted above.

Yikes!

A whole lotta clueless bling-talkin’ going on there. If that one thread is representative of the forum as a whole, I’d steer clear of that place ... maybe surfin’ in once in a while for a cheap laugh.

It looks like you are already picking your battles wisely.

The forums I mentioned above are places I feel are worthwhile enough to move in and ‘take over’ a bit ... at least to dispel myths. On Nissanforums.com other members can give you “reputation points” which sit next to your profile for all to see. You start off with 100 then move up or down depending on the inputs from others. Most people have 100 … but I’ve worked my way up to 131 and when people see this, they know enough others respect my views on matters (instant credibility) although my posts are fairly well thought out and usually speak for themselves.

I gently confront the bullies and the loudmouths on these boards with technical details ... and politely ask them specific questions I’m 99% sure they can’t answer. It’s really pretty easy to show them up. On more than a few occasions, other forum participants jump in and take my side. On the Vboard, someone made a wise remark that I was merely a newbie there (been there less than a year, just a couple dozen posts) and what I had to say shouldn’t carry too much weight. Other forum members who had read what I’ve written in the past jumped in and took my side. After I posted a very technical response, these same guys proclaimed that I “owned” this critic. It was pretty funny.

But, I still get some guff on the Vboard forum once in a while (It’s for owners of Nissan Sentras ... specifically the SpecV). Just recently, someone created a new thread asking which gear oil for their 6-speed. I suggested he do a search using the term “syncromesh” to find past discussion as this topic has been discussed at length in numerous threads.

Well, one of the moderators called me a “jack@$$” for asking the guy to do a search and the poster responded back that he was looking for gear oil and NOT syncromesh fluid.

I posted again, telling the moderator that I shouldn’t be called names and telling the original poster than syncromesh fluid IS a specific type of gear oil and he’d be best off reading those other threads (I posted some links this time in case he was ‘search impaired’).

The moderator posted again, called me the same name and said I should be nicer to newbies. I pointed out to him that I was giving useful advice and that he was violating rule #1 about flaming (I cut and pasted the text from their rules) and said he, as a moderator, should set a better example than he was.

No one posted after that.

Anyway, it was either Blackstone or Titan that told me I could store an oil sample in a clean bottle until the UOA kit arrived. I would do so ... but use an immaculately cleaned and RINSED & DRIED bottle ... then be sure to rotate it daily so particulates don’t settle out.

What part of Chicogoland do you live in? I spent a year and a half in Lombard, right off Roosevelt Road and S. Finley, about 15 years ago. Worked at Mid America Plaza in Oakbrook Terrace during that time.

--- Bror Jace

 

[ekpolk]

Ahhhhhh, the Wild, Wild, West lives on in cyberspace. Only here, it's just e-flames that people blast each other with, instead of real flying lead. Gee, we've come a long way in 150 years. . .

Oh by the way Bror, that gear oil guy was probably a prime candidate for the old "blinker fluid" gag -- a little effort and you probably coulda hooked him!

 

[Tosh]

Bror Jace,
You are a saint for edumacating those fools over there. I've long left the Acura owners' forums for the swamp of misinformation and p-ing contests that they constitute. Sometimes I go back to check on the latest in the auto transmission real world soap opera. But I don't think their members are any more humorous than Beavis and Butthead, and I don't want any of them over here on BITOG.

 

[Mike94SE]

yugrus, 55, Fastride95; Grand Am owner's club pretty much went the same way as your sites have.

For me quad 4 forums is friendly (we're joking if we seem ******) and never tolerated the "tuner" attitude

 

[brianl703]

The corral.net Ford Mustang message board is pretty attitude-free and even the posts about adjusting your TPS for more power get corrected with facts (it doesn't do anything) most of the time.

I once posted there asking if anyone used Rotella 15w40 and someone replied that it reduced oil consumption on their Mustang.

On some of these other boards, I doubt anyone knows what Rotella is.

 

[Bror Jace]

Thanks Tosh, I've never considered myself a 'saint' ... more of a 'crusader.'

It all depends on the board, I guess. I try to give boards a chance and have been pretty lucky not to spend too much time on any of the silly bling-fests.

Truth is, I've been here at BITOG since the very beginning, having met Bob on the Edmunds forums, followed him to his old board ... and was #20 here on the 'ne' forum. I've talked lubes to death over the years and have come to the conclusion that basically, most specificed lubes are basically good enough for the intended purchase. And, over time, lubes seem to becoming more and more similar as industry standards get tighter and tighter.

So, I spend more and more time 'out there' on other boards trying to get others up to speed. I like showing up know-nothing blowhards as well as dispelling the myths that we all run into.

I find it rewarding.

I also get to publicize BITOG while I'm at it.

--- Bror Jace

 

[Animal]

B.J.,
Just wanted to let you know that I finnally joined. I had been to this site a while back, before you mentioned it over at the "know-nothing blow-hards" nissanforums, but honestly, posts like some in this thread turned me off.

There seems to be some knowledgeable folks here, but you don't need to put others down to make youself look better. Doing so only makes you appear petty.
On the forums I participate in, I offer my opinion, advice and experience. If someone doesn't want to hear it, that is their option. Still, I try not to put others down because that doesn't help anyone.
Youth is ignorant, we were all there once. (I did my share of stupid stuff, though it seemed like a good idea at the time.) Some grow out of it, but not without help.

 

[ikarus1]

I have been involved with many import and domestic tuner boards over the years (and cars). I currently own mostly Mazda's and I find that most of the newbie import fans smack of a character called "TAAAAANK" on Mad TV.

"Yo mama, you want to check out my DAE-WOO WOO WOO"

LOL what a trend. I am glad I pre-date the import craze by a decade =) It let's me have perspective on things. I do love import performance in all it's forms, and my KL V6 is enough to overcome most of the negativity I feel when I hear a **** can on a D16 blaring down a residential neighborhood @ midnight

But I do enjoy doing exactly what Bror Jace is talking about - it's evangelizing basically. But people have to respect the knowledge that most BITOG'ers have accumulated over the years...especially when discussing the finer points of HTHS between seemingly identical SM oils (!!)lol.

 

[ekpolk]

Animal:

I didn't read Bror's attitude as a put down of others or his being petty at all. It's perfectly natural to be surpirsed and/or frustrated when others make nonsense statements claiming them to be fact. If someone makes an incorrect statement, being corrected is not a matter of ego or personality, it's a matter of correction, no more, no less. If the person who's incorrect feels threatened personally, or offended when they're "called" on an incorrect statement, then they ought to do their homework first, and make sure they're correct before they open their mouths (or start typing, as the case may be). Sure, the person doing the correcting ought to be respectful about it, but again, if someone makes factual statements, then they need to either back them up, or stand down when shown to be in error.

 

[ekpolk]

And in addition to my last, I should add that it's my opinion, backed up by my own used oil analysis on my VQ35DE, that an attempt to use even good, synthetic oil in this engine, permanently deserves quick and decisive disagreement. Whether or not this guy listens is up to him. He can hear it from other people, or at some point, he will hear it from his engine. What bothers me is that some gullible reader may actually follow his "advice."

 

[Animal]

ekpolk,
I didn't intend for that portion of my post to be directed specifically at Bror or anyone else for that matter. I deliberately kept it vague, "posts like some in this thread turned me off", to avoid pointing a finger a anyone.
If I am the only one who sees a tone of "put down" rather than "lift up" through this thread, perhaps it is me.
Besides, I know to cut anyone from NY some slack.

 

[Al]

Hahahahahaha..Only one guy one that forum had a brain:

"bwaaahahaha OMGWTFYOUDIOT dont listen to this tool save yourselfs!!

 

[Animal]

Yeah, that's what I am referring to - sort of.

 

[ekpolk]

Earlier this evening, I dropped my G35 off at the local Infiniti store for some routine things and a couple minor wty tweaks. I got talking with the advisor, and he told me that they have a couple customers who insist on following the same plan. I mention this, since the G35 is built off the same platform as the 350Z and has the same VQ35DE engine, in a very similar state of trim. He said one lady, who claims her husband is in the "oil business" did a couple dino changes, refusing to spring for even a new filter (someone in the "oil business" who's buying new Infinitis...), then put in synthetic, and refuses to change it ever again.

He said they just document that they've advised the customer to change oil, then they stand back and hope for the best. I bet these are the same folks who will blame the engine, its design, whatever, when it finally melts down.

So I guess the interesting question, which we've danced around with here before, is, just how far can a typical engine go on one good fill of synthetic, never to be changed again??? This is one experiment I won't be trying on my G!!!

 

[Audi Junkie]

"in the "oil business" did a couple dino changes, refusing to spring for even a new filter (someone in the "oil business" who's buying new Infinitis...), then put in synthetic, and refuses to change it ever again."


Wow, there is something to hang your hat on!

Likely, subscribers to this "trend" are not up on current events with other car mfgs and sludge. lol

That fable reminds me of how a few Mercedes' owners think their car is "superior" and "different" so they neglect maintenance, devoling into the indestructible mindset.

Remind me to Google "Infinity and Sludge" a year from now.

 

[ekpolk]

This just occurred to me -- I wonder if word about "Synlube" is getting around, and is being mis-applied to the more mainstream synthetic oils?

Take a look at Synlube.com (of course, you should only go there is you can tolerate the goofy synthetic music that comes down with most of the pages...

). I personally don't buy into the "permanent oil" thing, but apparently some folks do. My very naive estimation is that synlube's theory is to replace the chemical AW capability, which will exhaust with time/miles in even good syns, with graphite and/or other "physical" AW agents that won't deteriorate. I still don't see how you can contain internal contamination "forever", though. Again, I'll let others take the lead on this stuff, thanks.

 

[toocrazy2yoo]

Well, in these cases where people are extending oil changes to "Never", are they installing Bi-Filtration systems? How far would that carry them? The main on those screens out 1 micron particles? Or is it 1/10?

Either way, once exhausted, these filters can't put your additives back. Aren't they a critical component?