Thinking of trading in the 350Z...

nelg said:
xxx,

How would such sensors work wrt synthetic oil and their inherent stability?
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What do you mean, is there any non-syntetic oil still being sold? ;)

All relatively new cars drive with synthetic oil only AFAIK, I have no idea about oil characteristics though.
 
_xxx_ said:
What do you mean, is there any non-syntetic oil still being sold? ;)

All relatively new cars drive with synthetic oil only AFAIK, I have no idea about oil characteristics though.
Click to expand...

I am the only one that I know that uses synthetic oil exclusively. When ever I get my oil changed I am the only one I see selecting it. Most everyone orders the cheapest package available which means conventional oil. So while most new cars may come equipped with synthetic, unless required by the service schedule, subsequent changes would probably use conventional.
 
I knocked 8" of snow off the Z this morning and spent about 15 minutes scraping ice/warming her up, I have GOT to clean out my garage!

A Z buried in snow looks surreal, it's just wrong somehow. :???:
 
nelg said:
I am the only one that I know that uses synthetic oil exclusively. When ever I get my oil changed I am the only one I see selecting it. Most everyone orders the cheapest package available which means conventional oil. So while most new cars may come equipped with synthetic, unless required by the service schedule, subsequent changes would probably use conventional.
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the price difference between synthetic and non is negligible. I don't really see why people use non-synthetic if they plan on keeping their car... but then again, now I remember that a lot of people don't see their car as an asset and they change them out every 2-4 years so who cares if it gets screwed up and problems crop up later.
 
xxx is that a joke?
In other words all oil is sythetically produced, but not categorized as such? I don't use synthetic myself, never seen a real reason to.
 
Sxotty said:
xxx is that a joke?
In other words all oil is sythetically produced, but not categorized as such? I don't use synthetic myself, never seen a real reason to.
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extended oil changes.. as long as you use a decent filter... not some fram crap.
There's one reason, another is that it conducts heat better than regular oil.
 
Sxotty said:
xxx is that a joke?
In other words all oil is sythetically produced, but not categorized as such? I don't use synthetic myself, never seen a real reason to.
Click to expand...

Nope, I just don't know of any car produced in the last 10 years or so which is supposed to use non-synthetic oil according to manual. But then again, I'm not that familiar with this so I might as well be totally wrong...
 
A lot of people simply aren't aware or don't care of/for the benefits that synthetic oil provides. They see the cheapo oil and think that it will do their cars just as good as more expensive.

Royal Purple is my oil of choice.

Never forget to seafoam!
 
nelg said:
So while most new cars may come equipped with synthetic, unless required by the service schedule, subsequent changes would probably use conventional.
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Which brings me to the point: if synthetic oil is required according to the manual, using anything else will void your warranty. So even if the engine goes up in flames, you'll have to pay for it yourself. High price for saving a few bucks on oil IMHO.
 
_xxx_ said:
Which brings me to the point: if synthetic oil is required according to the manual, using anything else will void your warranty. So even if the engine goes up in flames, you'll have to pay for it yourself. High price for saving a few bucks on oil IMHO.
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The manual for my WRX certainly does not require it. Although it does require using gasoline that is not available in my area (cannot have more than a certain amount of ethanol) They won't enforce that on warranties though or else no one would buy their cars since 50% of the gas doesn't meet their specs. (And I don't mean you can buy it, I would have to drive hundreds of miles to get gas in another state).
 
Sxotty said:
The manual for my WRX certainly does not require it. Although it does require using gasoline that is not available in my area (cannot have more than a certain amount of ethanol) They won't enforce that on warranties though or else no one would buy their cars since 50% of the gas doesn't meet their specs. (And I don't mean you can buy it, I would have to drive hundreds of miles to get gas in another state).
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Are you in the US? I didn't think anywhere had more than 10% ethanol, which is fine in the WRX. I know MN requires 10% ethanol, and I thought they had the highest percentage (though they are pushing for 20%).

That doesn't mean you can't find ethanol free premium if you look hard enough. The BP in the tiny town where I live actually sells ethanol free premium. I've found that my mileage is just a bit better in my 9-2x Aero when I run the ethanol free. They also have a sign above the pump saying it's only for use in collector vehicles. I just play dumb, and if someone throws a fit, I can just say it's the only station in town with premium. :)
 
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_xxx_ said:
Nope, I just don't know of any car produced in the last 10 years or so which is supposed to use non-synthetic oil according to manual. But then again, I'm not that familiar with this so I might as well be totally wrong...
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The manual for my car just says "Use SAE 5W-20 engine oil." There's no mention of synthetic or non-synthetic.
 
JBark said:
Are you in the US? I didn't think anywhere had more than 10% ethanol, which is fine in the WRX. I know MN requires 10% ethanol, and I thought they had the highest percentage (though they are pushing for 20%).

That doesn't mean you can't find ethanol free premium if you look hard enough. The BP in the tiny town where I live actually sells ethanol free premium. I've found that my mileage is just a bit better in my 9-2x Aero when I run the ethanol free. They also have a sign above the pump saying it's only for use in collector vehicles. I just play dumb, and if someone throws a fit, I can just say it's the only station in town with premium. :)
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Hmm, I did not know about that collector vehicle thing. And btw I think I was misremembering another car. I really don't care since it doesn't actually matter except froma mileage standpoint. BTW have you read the article about ethanol and turbos? It implies that if you run ethanol in a regular car you get worse mileage because of a decrease in power, but a turbocharged vehicle can be adapted to run ethanol with basically no loss (if the change the ECU) I just thought that was kind of nifty. I think ethanol was 5-7% here. Doesn't California have high ethanol standards? (or do they have different additives?)
 
Sxotty said:
Hmm, I did not know about that collector vehicle thing. And btw I think I was misremembering another car. I really don't care since it doesn't actually matter except froma mileage standpoint. BTW have you read the article about ethanol and turbos? It implies that if you run ethanol in a regular car you get worse mileage because of a decrease in power, but a turbocharged vehicle can be adapted to run ethanol with basically no loss (if the change the ECU) I just thought that was kind of nifty. I think ethanol was 5-7% here. Doesn't California have high ethanol standards? (or do they have different additives?)
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ethanol makes your car run lean... so the ECU richens the mixture.. therefore you get worse MPG on anycar with an O2 sensor (senses the lean condition).
 
Sxotty said:
It implies that if you run ethanol in a regular car you get worse mileage because of a decrease in power, but a turbocharged vehicle can be adapted to run ethanol with basically no loss (if the change the ECU) I just thought that was kind of nifty. I think ethanol was 5-7% here. Doesn't California have high ethanol standards? (or do they have different additives?)
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You should get roughly 30% worse mpg with ethanolbased fuel but otoh you get more bhp's out of it. I think a blend of 15% gasoline and 85% ethanol has a RON number of 102.
 
Moffell said:
You should get roughly 30% worse mpg with ethanolbased fuel but otoh you get more bhp's out of it. I think a blend of 15% gasoline and 85% ethanol has a RON number of 102.
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octane does not affect power directly
Octane rating is simply an anti knock rating.
Higher compression engines need higher octane so they won't detonate and forced induction cars need it since they're forcing more air into the engine, raising the effcetive compression ratio.
Simply putting higher octane fuel into your car and getting more horsepower is one of the biggest myths in automotive :D
 
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radeonic2 said:
Simply putting higher octane fuel into your car and getting more horsepower is one of the biggest myths in automotive :D
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Yes. I know. Notice the mall dot between the two sentences.? Any modern Flexifuel car does raise the effective compression ratio when fueled with Ethanol. For example.; Saab's 9-5 Biopower for example gets a 180 bhp when using ethanol vs a 150 when using ordinary gas. How's that for a sales pitch.?
In the beginnings of the century "liquer" cars were not uncommon and it was widely recognized that they had more oomph than gasoline cars. Most people don't know this and assume that with ethanol you will get worse performing cars.

Please correct me when I'm wrong but there's no fricking need to shout.
 
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