G37S - Oil...what a PITA Topic

Status
Not open for further replies.
C

Cicero

Joined
Dec 29, 2004
Messages
346
Location
New Mexico
I've read everything, everywhere...the majority written by ignorant (like me) but well meaning Nissan/Infiniti forum users. Studied every BITOG thread about this several times. I'm not going to waste time describing the reason Nissan recommends thier oil. It's covered everyewhere. Unless I learn otherwise, I think the Nissan "Ester" oil is a rip. Magic roller nanos plus "some kind of ester" but what's the rest of it? Even if their "right" it rubs me the wrong way that this engine needs something "super special" every 3,750 miles so it "runs right". (Unlike my lowly Honda Si that loves everything.)

RLI "Biosyn" at about $9, OK, I'm in!!!...BUT THEN shipping costs!!! Thats a joke, right? Calling Terry D....convince RLI that "if you ship it(cheap)they will come"....I know you love that stuff and want us to use it... but $87 shipping for two jugs! ABSURD!

REDLINE looks best to me at this time...It's certainly "ester-ish" and shipping is $9.00! (What is wrong with your shipping department RLI?...Packed in dry ice or something???.)
What else? M1, PP, CG, Amsoil? All easy to find but "uber-right" for that engine? I know you Audi and BMW guys have a strict diet...and so I want the best for this car, not just "good enough".

What would you use if it was your call? Why?
 
VQ37 requires 5W30, not 0W40.

I have a similar thread started for my mom's 2010 Altima. Nissan began recommending Ester oil for the 2010 model VQ35DE Altima as well.

Unless the wording is different in the Infiniti owner's manual, Ester oil is recommended but not required. I'd say most premium synthetics (pick your brand) will contain some esters, so I would just use a premium synthetic until you begin to develop noise issues. At that point, I would just switch to Redline.
 
Every car I`ve owned always says to use "Only Genuine Nissan Fluids",or "Only Mitsubishi Fluids",etc. It`s just a sales ploy,especially since car makers don`t manufacture oil.
 
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Every car I`ve owned always says to use "Only Genuine Nissan Fluids",or "Only Mitsubishi Fluids",etc. It`s just a sales ploy,especially since car makers don`t manufacture oil.


It really isn't a joke in this particular situation.

Nissan has been having issues with engine noise that have been successfully cured by using ester oil. I don't know the specifics of how the ester oil works, but I assume it has something to do with film strength.
 
Then I`d buy Redline if I needed an ester based oil. I bet it`s way better than the Nissan stuff. Is Motul an ester oil? I know there`s more than just Redline,right? I just can`t think of what they are.
 
Last edited:
Not really actually, it is simple.

Nissan has a 5w-30 on the oil cap so if you see an oil bottle with 5w-30 on it then use that. It is very, very simple not a pain in the 455 at all.

The only "ISSUE" is noise, not wear or damage. Any high quality oil will meet or exceed Nissan's requirements. Amsoil, Red Line and Royal Purple work very well. There are UOAs with good old Valvoline on the same VQ engine that you have and it worked fantastically.

Please, take a deep breathe and IGNORE the owner's manual word-ism because it is there to trick you into thinking you NEED their oil.
 
I checked Alldata for a 09 model year.

It simply states:
------------------------------------------
ENGINE OIL

Type API Certification mark
Viscosity SAE 5W-30
------------------------------------------

In my opinion any major player in Dino will work well for only 3,750 miles. I have yet to be convinced an engine will outlast another engine using conventional or synthetic at the interval of 3,750.

I understand the want to have the very best. So if it answers the question, any decent motor oil brand will keep your engine clean and long running at the interval 3,750 miles.
 
I would use whatever oil would help keep the oil temperature as low as possible...doesn't the 3.7 shut down the power and revs when the oil gets too hot?
 
Your dealer will most likely permit you to use the 0w40, mine does in my 06 Alti SER. Additionally, on occasion its been to 2 other dealers who have supported this. Not sure how the manuals are reading now, but 10w40 is an option given in mine. So, 0w40 will be is in spec.
 
If you're going to use an "ester" oil, why not try either Motul or Maxima? They both make very high-quality ester oils. RL has alot of moly in it.

But, I can't imagine having to use Grp V oil in a passenger car.
 
Cicero....I can feel your pain. I used Rotella T-Syn 5=40
in my last two Infiniti's with VQ35 with great results.
Like you, I read everything I could about why Nissan recommends
this oil in the new VQ37s. My reading of forum opinions quickly
turned to research on "why would a car company want to get into
the oil business???" Why would they apply for a patent" instead
of just selling their formula? SO...I read the entire patent
application and every related document that is published....
What I found was very different from the typical form opinion
that "Nissan is just trying to make money"...but it's like the
80/20 rule...80% will stand firm on their uninformed opinion
10% will actually put serious effort into getting facts and
the other 10 complain about it and try to convince everyone
else it's a big conspiricy. I've attached an article that
"touches" on many of the facts and reasons Nissan developed
this oil. This guy does a pretty good job of "summing-up"
all the technical info' that most will never bother to
research and digest for themselves.

http://www.motoiq.com/magazine_articles/...h-diamonds.aspx

BTW, I am using Nissan Ester for the next three years because
I was so upset with Nissan and what I learned that they
gave me a three year service contract to include their oil.
....otherwise I'd only be using Redline in my VQ37 engine.

You'll have to decide for yourself, but it sure does help
to know all the reasons "why?" Nissan developed an oil
as their FF instead of "sourcing-it-out" at a much
lower cost. Good luck
 
Originally Posted By: JonfromCB
Cicero....I can feel your pain. I used Rotella T-Syn 5=40
in my last two Infiniti's with VQ35 with great results.
Like you, I read everything I could about why Nissan recommends
this oil in the new VQ37s. My reading of forum opinions quickly
turned to research on "why would a car company want to get into
the oil business???" Why would they apply for a patent" instead
of just selling their formula? SO...I read the entire patent
application and every related document that is published....
What I found was very different from the typical form opinion
that "Nissan is just trying to make money"...but it's like the
80/20 rule...80% will stand firm on their uninformed opinion
10% will actually put serious effort into getting facts and
the other 10 complain about it and try to convince everyone
else it's a big conspiricy. I've attached an article that
"touches" on many of the facts and reasons Nissan developed
this oil. This guy does a pretty good job of "summing-up"
all the technical info' that most will never bother to
research and digest for themselves.

http://www.motoiq.com/magazine_articles/...h-diamonds.aspx

BTW, I am using Nissan Ester for the next three years because
I was so upset with Nissan and what I learned that they
gave me a three year service contract to include their oil.
....otherwise I'd only be using Redline in my VQ37 engine.

You'll have to decide for yourself, but it sure does help
to know all the reasons "why?" Nissan developed an oil
as their FF instead of "sourcing-it-out" at a much
lower cost. Good luck


Jon:

Just a quote from that article:

Quote:
Nissan chose an ester called PAO; an ester often found as a friction modifier in oil.


PAO is not an ester. It is the group IV base stock and is the primary base stock of AMSOIL, Royal Purple and (at least many) Mobil 1 grades.

It is also NOT polar, and why esters are added to these oils to MAKE them polar. There is a big difference between PAO and POE.

Quote:
The Nissan oil's bottle lable says petroleum oil under contents, a bottle of Mobile One doesn’t say this


They've also managed to misspell "Mobil".
 
I read the article and the long comments...groan. Who is Will? ..."Be careful when considering an ester base...oil...as even Nissan found that a TMP concentration of over 3% had solubility and stability issues (as most esters are susceptible to hydrolysis) and a concentration of .4 to 1.5% was ideal." Will says Redline doesn't work well either...Somebody shoot me.

Engines that cannot be lubricated properly with a wide range of traditional OTC oils...brilliant!
 
Originally Posted By: Cicero
I read the article and the long comments...groan. Who is Will? ..."Be careful when considering an ester base...oil...as even Nissan found that a TMP concentration of over 3% had solubility and stability issues (as most esters are susceptible to hydrolysis) and a concentration of .4 to 1.5% was ideal." Will says Redline doesn't work well either...Somebody shoot me.

Engines that cannot be lubricated properly with a wide range of traditional OTC oils...brilliant!


Nissan uses M1 0w40 for the GT-R. That would be good enough for me.... But I am a Mobil fan.
 
OVERK1ILL, I agree, This stuff is definitely not "ester
based", but a semi-syn at best. After realizing it was
a "semi", I started asking "why", including why does such
a seamingly small amount of ester seem to do the job that
needed to be done in the VVEL valve train, but also why
Nissan went with the nano particle friction modifiers
in their plasma coated engines. After much reading,
Nissan clearly found a unique way to suspend the
nano particles in the ester and it's my opinion that's
precisely why Nissan emphasises the word "Ester" in
labelling the product. It's clearly not about the
amount of ester in their oil, it's about what
is in that small amount of ester and how it works
with the coatings in their engines. The nano particles are
at the core of what makes this oil unique, not the ester.
Nissan was "all about" reducing friction in their
VVEL in a very different way than any other oil so they
could increse their fleet mileage and reduces polutants
by using inert(nano particle) friction modifiers which
are much cleaner and greatly reduce the bad stuff
the "CAFE Police" want to reduce. In short, it's all
about friction reduction in the VVEL system which
generates alot of heat. Will other oils work in these engines?
Yes they will, The question is, how long? and is the price
worth the increased mileage users are getting.

This issue reminds me of the Royal Enfields and BSA motorcycle
engines in the 60's that ran like [censored] until they were
shot at 30K because american consumers were using their
popular brands and weights of oil instead of what the British
manufacturers were actually recommending. We'll see
when we start looking under the valve covers on some of these
VQ37s after 40 or 50K.
 
Last edited:
Royal Purple is not mostly Grp IV -- it is mostly Grp III. Nobody's posted any evidence to the contrary on BITOG yet.
 
Last edited:
Johnny, Exactly! Many folks have bought these cars
with VQ37s which in many cases is "more car than
they can afford" and then they complain about what it costs
to maintain their expensive performance car. They refuse to
use the oil Nissan recommends and then have major problems
.....go figure

Unfortunately there are so many issues (noise, overheating,
engine replacements, and engines repeatedly going into
limp mode) that these issues have already greatly reduced the
residual value of these cars which previously held among
the highest resale values. If you want a 330 hp 3.7L
performance car that gets 25MPG on the highway and does
0-60 in 5 seconds, and pulls .94Gs in a turn, it's going to cost some money to buy, drive, and maintain.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

D
Does the oil brand actually matter? Is this all just hyperbole?
2 3
Replies
49
Views
9K
wareze
9
Best oil for a 3rd gen 4Rnr w/261k on it?
2 3
Replies
43
Views
8K
ARB1977
celicaxx
98 Camry 1MZFE oil change interval
2
Replies
26
Views
4K
BAJA_05
JTK
My 2019 Nissan with timing chain issues
2
Replies
35
Views
4K
MalibuRam65
D
6th Gen Camaro LT1 Oil - Lots of Confusion
2
Replies
21
Views
11K
LDM
Back
Top