Been away for a while, friends. Long story short, the Audi repairs have monopolized too much of my time, although it's dirt cheap to fix with OEM parts. I had no time to work on it, much less come here. So, it's resting and I picked up a 2008 G37 coupe with ~44,000 km.
OM recommends 5w30 year round, SM/GF-4 or better. They recommend, but don't require, Nissan's Ester Oil, a grossly overpriced, underperforming conventional which makes boutique oils look like a bargain.
My climate ranges from over 100F in the summer to below -40F in the winter. It sees a mix of highway and city driving; however, the oil and coolant almost always come up to temperatures during driving, though not necessarily an extended period at operating temperatures. In winter, it will be stored in a heated garage. I don't drive it terribly hard, perhaps a little flog once in a while, but only when everything is nice and warm.
It calls for 3750 mile OCIs for severe service, into which category I undoubtedly fall. Some of you may be aware that these engines are notorious for shearing oil. I recall one UOA where M1 5w30 was sheared way down in under 2,000 miles, and haters aside, M1 5w30 is far from a substandard oil.
Those that know me also know I'm a "fan" of synthetics, but tend to use conventional oil, having run a fleet with combined mileage in the millions all on QS GB 10w30 and Wix filters year round for many years, with no oil related failures.
I don't know what is speced for this engine around the world. Only U.S. and Canadian manuals are available online, and they are the same. Some of the G/Z forums have a few recommendations for a 40 weight or a heavy 30, with preferences for M1 0w-40 and GC. However, reading some of their posts, I'm surprised they didn't grouse about wax in PYB yet (or I missed that post).
I'm out of warranty, so am free to make my own choices, with your suggestions welcomed. I don't have the luxury of an oil pressure or oil temperature gauge in this thing, unlike the Audi, so that complicates matters. I also don't do UOAs, for better or for worse.
The Aussie subforum of one of the 370Z forums seems to indicate a lot of them there use 10w30 or 5w30, which I didn't quite expect. Doug Hillary: I'm looking at you! Have you heard anything?
When I got it, it was overfilled with Canadian Tire oil of some sort, with a Canadian Tire Fram filter. I replaced that with SM QS GB 10w30 and a Wix.
In my stash, I still have a bunch of QS GB 10w30 and 5w30. I also have a boatload of Delvac 1300 15w40. I don't see a problem with the 40 side of things, but not sure about the 15w side, even in the summer, with this vehicle. I can't say whether or not it consumes oil yet, either.
For synthetics, if I did have to go that route, Delvac 1 5w-40, M1 0w-40, GC, and RP (now in SN) are about the easiest and most cost effective for me to obtain, with 0w-40 possibly being the cheapest. I also wouldn't be averse to M1 5w30 or RP 5w30 year round. However, the shear is disconcerting, but we don't really seem to know how much of an issue the shear really is from a lubrication standpoint.
My first inclination is to stick with QS GB, with perhaps 10w30 in the summer, hoping for more shear resistance, and 5w30 in the winter, and just sticking to very conservative OCIs. Mobil 1000 conventional is also another option that is attractively priced here.
This car would also fall under QS GB's engine warranty, for what it's worth.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
OM recommends 5w30 year round, SM/GF-4 or better. They recommend, but don't require, Nissan's Ester Oil, a grossly overpriced, underperforming conventional which makes boutique oils look like a bargain.
My climate ranges from over 100F in the summer to below -40F in the winter. It sees a mix of highway and city driving; however, the oil and coolant almost always come up to temperatures during driving, though not necessarily an extended period at operating temperatures. In winter, it will be stored in a heated garage. I don't drive it terribly hard, perhaps a little flog once in a while, but only when everything is nice and warm.
It calls for 3750 mile OCIs for severe service, into which category I undoubtedly fall. Some of you may be aware that these engines are notorious for shearing oil. I recall one UOA where M1 5w30 was sheared way down in under 2,000 miles, and haters aside, M1 5w30 is far from a substandard oil.
Those that know me also know I'm a "fan" of synthetics, but tend to use conventional oil, having run a fleet with combined mileage in the millions all on QS GB 10w30 and Wix filters year round for many years, with no oil related failures.
I don't know what is speced for this engine around the world. Only U.S. and Canadian manuals are available online, and they are the same. Some of the G/Z forums have a few recommendations for a 40 weight or a heavy 30, with preferences for M1 0w-40 and GC. However, reading some of their posts, I'm surprised they didn't grouse about wax in PYB yet (or I missed that post).
I'm out of warranty, so am free to make my own choices, with your suggestions welcomed. I don't have the luxury of an oil pressure or oil temperature gauge in this thing, unlike the Audi, so that complicates matters. I also don't do UOAs, for better or for worse.
The Aussie subforum of one of the 370Z forums seems to indicate a lot of them there use 10w30 or 5w30, which I didn't quite expect. Doug Hillary: I'm looking at you! Have you heard anything?
When I got it, it was overfilled with Canadian Tire oil of some sort, with a Canadian Tire Fram filter. I replaced that with SM QS GB 10w30 and a Wix.
In my stash, I still have a bunch of QS GB 10w30 and 5w30. I also have a boatload of Delvac 1300 15w40. I don't see a problem with the 40 side of things, but not sure about the 15w side, even in the summer, with this vehicle. I can't say whether or not it consumes oil yet, either.
For synthetics, if I did have to go that route, Delvac 1 5w-40, M1 0w-40, GC, and RP (now in SN) are about the easiest and most cost effective for me to obtain, with 0w-40 possibly being the cheapest. I also wouldn't be averse to M1 5w30 or RP 5w30 year round. However, the shear is disconcerting, but we don't really seem to know how much of an issue the shear really is from a lubrication standpoint.
My first inclination is to stick with QS GB, with perhaps 10w30 in the summer, hoping for more shear resistance, and 5w30 in the winter, and just sticking to very conservative OCIs. Mobil 1000 conventional is also another option that is attractively priced here.
This car would also fall under QS GB's engine warranty, for what it's worth.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
