Best oil for G35 Sedan?

[splatjeff]

Hello all, I'm new to this forum and have been very impressed with the level of knowledge demonstrated in some of the old posts I've looked through.

I have a 2004 Infiniti G35 automatic sedan with about 4500 miles on it. The car is owned (not leased) and is used as my daily driver. I typically drive about 15K miles per year in about 70/30 highway to city driving. I often drive the car aggressively and don't mind pushing it to near redline when the road conditions are good. I drive in cold conditions a significant portion of the year (live in Michigan). I currently plan on keeping the car for 6 or 7 years. I'd like to use the longer end of the manufacturer's recommended drain intervals (7500 miles) and still maintain excellent protection for the engine. I don't mind the extra cost of a full synthetic if its warranted to safely protect my engine under the above conditions.

Anyone have any recommendations on which oil to use? Need any other info on how the car is used to better answer that question? Thanks for any thoughts in advance.

 

[John in the ATL]

There are a few VQ30DE & VQ35DE (Maximas, G35, etc.) on the board. I drive a 2K Maxima GLE that I inherited from my wife.

I would stick with conventional 5w-30 (Castrol GTX, Havoline, and Chevron Supreme) until you reach 10,000 miles if you are considering synthetic. The Nissan V6 seems to break in better if you wait this point.

The owner's manual calls for a 5w-30 or 10w-30. Since you are in Michigan, a 0w might be a good option for you during the winter.

As for 7,500 mile/6 month intervals, Mobil 1 will work. If you want 10,000+ miles intervals, Amsoil will be a better choice.

Check out the maxima dot org fluids and lube section for used oil analysis spreadsheet on several VQ30 & VQ35s as well as BITOG used oil analysis section.

[ February 01, 2004, 04:17 PM: Message edited by: John in the ATL ]

 

[TSoA]

A strait forward question deserves a strait forward answer. As you mentioned, price is no object, I would say a really good oil for your car would cost just $2 a quart, Syntec Blend 5w-30. If you want to spend the money, Mobil 1 5w-30 is basicly the best you will need, no matter what others say. They would sell Amsoil to their Grandma for her Chevy Citation. If you can find GC or D1, you can use it a lil longer, but you need to meet mfg oci anyway. My best tip would be to schedule changes 6 months apart on 2 convenient dates like state inspection and 6 months later. Forget about checking miles and wondering what amount of miles on an oil change is ideal. In reality, 6 months is ideal and 2 new filters a year is perfect. I use GC 2x a year and drive 22,000 miles in PA.

 

[haley10]

TSoA, if I may play the devil's advocate, why have you recommended Syntec Blend?

 

[TSoA]

Syntec Blend has great UOAs, better than regular Syntec, and it is cheap. I have used it in a few cars that usually only get dino with great results. A Mitsu, a Saturn and a Maxima. It's a fallacy that you need some synthetic oil for great results and protection. Like I said, if you can get the GC or D1, use it because it is worth the $5, but Mobil 1 is barely woth the extra money, I would use M1 probally, but 2x changes of Syntec will do you very well for about $30 a change. M1 would cost about $45, a toss-up but I want to offer a cheap SB option which would be good to stock-up on in advance so You can use the same oil for a coupla years, instead of going on and off Mobil 1 like a lot of people do.

 

[haley10]

TSoA, I have not seen enough uoa's on any Castrol product on this site to draw a meaningful conclusion.

I actually use Syntec and I have not been persuaded that the blend is better. The few Syntec uoa's are meaningless.

Syntec cold starts great and my throttle response is better than M1.

Specs. on the blend look rather anemic, which is not meaningful in itself.

Just thought you might have some good info to share.

 

[John in the ATL]

splatjeff,

GC is the German made Castrol Syntec 0w-30. It has red instead of yellow on the Syntec black bottle and has no API starburst.

Just clarification since the BITOG board loves acronyms.

 

[TooSlick]

I'd run the regular Amsoil 5w-30 (ASL) and their SDF-20 oil filter, and change both every 10,000 miles....This application calls for the tiny SDF-13 oil filter, but those small oil filters are better suited to garden tractors and not a $35k car ...!

If you want something cheaper and that is more widely available, the Mobil 1, 5w-30/10w-30 would be fine as well ....

Tooslick
Dixie Synthetics

 

[Joe1]

15k miles per year multiplied by the 6 or 7 years you plan on keeping the vehicle will put you at about 100k miles. Any oil will get you there, but for the 7500k intervals, a synthetic is better suited for it. Mobil 1 5-30 or 10-30 is widely available and will easily meet your criteria. There is no need to buy an exotic lubricant or hunt down the latest 'oil of the week' discussed on this site if you objective is only to put on 100k miles at 7.5 k intervals.

 

[DonCT]

My Y2K Maxima SE had noticable tapping on cold starts when the temps dropped below freezing with Mobil1 5w-30. At the last change I switched to GC and starts are much quieter even though it has gotten even colder. Just my $.02, but to be fair, M1 is by far the most popular oil on maxima.org.

 

[newtoncd8]

GC is the German made Castrol Syntec 0w-30. It has red instead of yellow on the Syntec black bottle and has no API starburst.


Just to clarify, when I was at AutoZone, they had "Red label 0W30 made in the USA" and "Red label 0W30 made in Germany".

There was no yellow label 0W30.

 

[GSV]

Mobil 1 5w-30 is basicly the best you will need, no matter what others say. They would sell Amsoil to their Grandma for her Chevy Citation.

I think this is the one site where the Amsoil guys are providing good info and don't turn each thread into a BIG AL singalong.

splatjeff, nice car!

 

[TooSlick]

The primary advantage of Amsoil in street applications, is the ability to safely run MUCH longer drain intervals than you can with a petroleum lube.

If you insist on changing oil every 3000-5000 miles, ANY decent petroleum oil will work just fine....Do a search of my posts and you'll find I consistently say that.

Tooslick
www.lubedealer.com/Dixie_Synthetics

 

[Roger]

quote:

---

M1 is by far the most popular oil on maxima.org.

---

I think you are right. But a carefull read of what is reported on that site's oil spreadsheet and uoa posted on this site, show that while Nissan V6 engines do well with M1, they do slightly better with plain old Castrol GTX or Amsoil synthetic.

 

[pscholte]

quote:

---

Originally posted by GSV:
Mobil 1 5w-30 is basicly the best you will need, no matter what others say. They would sell Amsoil to their Grandma for her Chevy Citation.

I think this is the one site where the Amsoil guys are providing good info and don't turn each thread into a BIG AL singalong.

splatjeff, nice car!

---

OK GSV, You've "baited" me with the reference to the singalong, so I can't resist...

All together now

GC ist ein zehr gut öl,
Your engine it vill never shpoil,
So take das grün und pour it in,
Und vatch your engine freely shpin.

Eat your heart our Johann Sebastian Schumacher

 

[Al]

quote:

---

Originally posted by pscholte:

Originally posted by GSV:
[qb] All together now

GC ist ein zehr gut öl,
Your engine it vill never shpoil,
So take das grün und pour it in,
Und vatch your engine freely shpin.

Eat your heart our Johann Sebastian Schumacher

---

Hahahahahaha... good one

And as GSV said: The Amsoil folks on this site are indespensible-they put out good information without bashing other brands. They are extremely fair and if they recommend a specific grade of Amsoil-I think it is probably good advice.

Make sure you use the larger Nissan Filter intended for year 2000 Maxima and earlier. I personally use the K&N HP1010 in my 2L Sentra.

 

[splatjeff]

Thanks for all your thoughts (and quickly!). I'm going to look into it a bit more, but my tentative plan based on your posts and others I've read is to run two more cycles with a good dino oil (until about 10K) then switch to M1, GC, or Amsoil at 7500 mile change intervals thereafter. Any other thoughts on the matter?

 

[TSoA]

Dn't bother with the dino break-in, another fallacy.

 

[John in the ATL]

quote:

---

Originally posted by TSoA:
Dn't bother with the dino break-in, another fallacy.

---

Not with the Nissan V6 based on the maxima dot org UOA spreadsheet.

 

[TooSlick]

I think it's a very good idea to use petroleum lubes for the first 6k-10k of engine life. I have practiced this for over twenty years and NEVER had an engine burn oil after this break in procedure, including the infamous 2.0L, VW engine ....

Tooslick
Dixie Synthetics