Oil Change - Does It Really Matter The Type?

First off, I'm new to owning a 370Z and new to owning a real sports car. Sure, I had a Mitsubishi Eclipse, but let's face it, the Industry doesn't really consider the Eclipse a sports car. By definition, it has two doors and thus it's branded a sports car; however, anybody who is a car enthusiast knows the Eclipse is not.

Sorry big Grip, love your ride, just saying though. 

In any case, I'm a noob when it comes to a real sports car and so when the "Maintenance Oil" light came on yesterday, it worried me. After all, according to the dealer where I bought the car, it wasn't due for an oil change for another 2K miles.

One other tid-bit for you guys - my car is a used vehicle with low mileage; actually, the owner of the Car Max I bought it at was the original owner of it and took excellent care of it. That said, Car Max stated that at 19K an oil change would be due - not at 17,002 where I am now.

The light came on this morning again and then again when I got to work - so what gives?

Well, I spent the morning thinking I needed an oil change, so I call the Nissan dealership and a few other places.

My findings were as followed:

• Nissan - $84.95 (they wash the car when done - pseudo wash)
• Other Place #1 - $25-$30
• Other Place #2 - $45-$65 (depending on whether I went Full Synthetic or not)

 The dealership told me the Nissan 370Z and Maxima's required a special kind of "ester" oil. Also, the oil must be 5W-30 type; however, "other place #2" said I could go with 5W-20 until I hit 30K miles, then afterward I would get "thicker". 

Umm...last I checked, I'm thick enough - not trying to get "thicker" thank you very much Mr. Mechanic.

Truth be told though, I did some research and it is true, the more miles a car gets, the thicker the oil must be. Shucks! All along I thought he was complimenting me on how thin I was.

Any who, let's get back to that light that went on. As it turned out, I don't need an oil change, the sticker which stated I'd need one at 19K was and is correct. I'm such a noob, I didn't know the 370Z has this "timer" on it that I can set manually. It's actually pretty cool. I can set it for any amount of miles and when it hits that, it notifies me that an oil change is needed.

In the end though, I'm still not convinced that this "ester oil" truly is more valuable and needed than say a 5W-20 oil as "other place #1" had suggested. After all, paying $25-$30 is much nicer than paying $84.95. I prefer to wash my car myself anyway.

This brings me to the question of the night - Does it REALLY matter the type of oil I put in my car?

Holla!