MobilClean 7500 10W30, 4800 miles, Infiniti G35

[chinee]

Mobil oils just do not sem to work in my G35 sedan. I've seen other reports using this engine (Maxima, 350Z, etc.) and Mobil1 and the wear numbers are far lower.

I've attached the most recent report as well as reports I've done over the last three and a half years. With Mobil1 working so well in my Sequoia and for other folks using this VQ engine, and hearing talk that this engine takes so long to break-in, I was a little reluctant to switch from the Mobil products line, but facts are facts... my VQ doesn't seem to like this stuff... it may be time to switch brands.

The first 30,000 miles were mostly highway miles and since then, mostly city. Normally run a Purolator Pure One or Premium Plus oil filter, whatever's available at the time.

There's a gap this year, March through June, where I ran a fill of Pennzoil Ultimate for 6K miles without doing a UOA.

Currently running a fill of Pennzoil Platinum synthetic and planning an interval of 5K miles. Maybe I'll pull a sample at 4K, see what the results are like and then determine whether to go to 5K or further. Any other suggestions for an appropriate interval with this oil?

What about feedback on the UOA as well as the trend(s)?

 

[Rand]

Am I missing something.. it appears your engine is obliterating the oil.... 1.5tbn after 4000 miles holy crappers!.
1.8tbn after
I think I would sample at 4k on the PP just to see whats going on. Maybe sample and change then another run of PP
while you get the results back.

you might also want to see professional UOA interpretation.

 

[chinee]

Quote:

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... you might also want to see professional UOA interpretation.

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No.. no professional interpretation needed. Even with these "poor" results, I'm sure I'll still get another 150K-200K miles (or more) out of this engine.

The feedback from the members here suits me just fine. And if a few of the more serious "oilheads" chime in, all the better.

 

[sky jumper]

you didn't say much about your driving style. yes, city -- but do you redline much? do you drive hard before the oil has a chance to warm up? might explain some of the bearing wear. if not, then I'd get off the mobil oils. another bitog member ekpolk had a G35 that got outstanding results on GC. you may give that a try next time.

I think the low TBN numbers is also a clue -- but i don't know enough to make any recommendations. like Rand said, maybe its worth another $30 to get a pro's opinion. I mean, you're spending all this money on UOAs already, might as well get some real expert feedback. the extra cost really is quite small, and you should be able to get much better results with this engine.

 

[INDYMAC]

I have a 2003 G35 sedan. My wife drives it with classic female driving habits. Most notable is her uncanny ability to already have the car in reverse before she is even finished starting the car to back out of the garage. Lots of short trips to run errands too.
I've only done one UOA since new. It was taken at 37250 miles on a OCI of 2800 miles with ML syn 5W30 SL. I don't remember why I did such a short OCI because I normally do 4-5K on this vehicle. I've been runing PP 5W30 (old formula) for the last 2 fills and plan to do another UOA when this one is cooked at 60K. It will be a 5K OCI.

Here is what Blackstone had to say:
JACK: Nothing too unusual showed up here. Universal averages show normal wear from this type of
engine after 4400 miles on the oil. All wear read close to those averages, so we don't think any major
problems are present. Lead (bearings) was mildly high and it's unusual to have it read at the same level
as iron, It's not high enough to call a problem yet and may be normal if this engine sees a lot of city
driving. Silicon could show a dirty air filter so we suggest checking that. The TBN was strong at 6.6, so
the oil still has some active additive left. Check back next oil change.
Aluminum 2
Chromium 2
Iron 7
Copper 6
Lead 7
Tin 2
Moly 203
Nickel 0
Manganese 0
Silver 0
Titanium 0
Potassium 1
Boron 5
Silicon 13
Sodium 4
Calcium 3182
Magnesium 23
Phosphorus 836
Zinc 972
Barium 0
No make-up oil (seems to use 0.5 qts per OCI now)
SUS 60.3
Flashpoint 370
Fuel% Antifreeze 0
Water 0
Insolubles 0.2

I will post a full UOA comparison between ML syn and PP on the next report (1-2 months from now). As far as I can tell, it probably won't be much different than this one or chinee's.

 

[addyguy]

For the same interval as the other oils (4,000-4,500 miles), you got the best results out of the Pennzoil 10W-30. On the 4K run, you had an acceptable TBN of 1.5 at the end. So I would keep it simple and cheap: Pennzoil 10W-30 (or maybe even 10W-40, for summer) at 4K intervals. It is cheap, easy to get, and is giving you the best results from an engine that sees to be hard on oil. This isn't the first time I've seen someone get better results (for short drains) out of conventional Pennzoil than more-expensive synthetic oil.

Just my 2 cents......

 

[tripleM]

Does it seems that the MobilClean 5k & 7.5k line never seem to give an easy feeling after UOA's?

 

[AndyH]

Quote:

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For the same interval as the other oils (4,000-4,500 miles), you got the best results out of the Pennzoil 10W-30. On the 4K run, you had an acceptable TBN of 1.5 at the end. So I would keep it simple and cheap: Pennzoil 10W-30 (or maybe even 10W-40, for summer) at 4K intervals. It is cheap, easy to get, and is giving you the best results from an engine that sees to be hard on oil. This isn't the first time I've seen someone get better results (for short drains) out of conventional Pennzoil than more-expensive synthetic oil.

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Agreed, pretty tough to argue with the results of the Pennzoil conventional. It will be interesting to see how the Pennzoil Platinum performs.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Run Pennzoil.

 

[Jim 5]

If the search function was working you'd be able to search UOA's by username. EKPOLK had a G35 that he ran on Castrol Syntec 0w-30 (german castrol) with extremely good UOA's (and quite a few consistently excellent UOA's on this oil).

It seemed to be the perfect fit for his VQ35 engine.

 

[chinee]

Yeah, I've seen polk's UOAs.. he's even got a Sequoia in the family like I do. Maybe I will try the GC... I've never really paid attention to this oil, not even sure if it's over the counter, but I'll take a look at it if my next UOA is questionable.

 

[JAG]

My wife has a G35 Coupe and we agreed GC made it feel a little sluggish. Castrol Syntec 10W-30 was better in that respect. Oil consumption was about the same. Next up: Mobil 1 0W-40. Yes it may feel sluggish too but am trying to see if different oils cause less oil consumption. If this oil doesn't it will back to 30 weight oils. This engine taxes oils hard so wouldn't use dino oils in it. I wouldn't let the TBN drop below 2 to 3 to insure a clean engine and happy engine seals.

 

[AndyH]

Quote:

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Maybe I will try the GC... I've never really paid attention to this oil, not even sure if it's over the counter, but I'll take a look at it if my next UOA is questionable.

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Yes, GC is available over-the-counter in the U.S. at AutoZone stores. Make sure it states "Made in Germany" on the rear label.

 

[Tones]

This engine is not going to wear like your Toyota. I think the Silicon is high and I would work on that to see if it improves the wear levels.

 

[Al]

[quote No.. no professional interpretation needed. Even with these "poor" results, I'm sure I'll still get another 150K-200K miles (or more) out of this engine.

The feedback from the members here suits me just fine.

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I agree. This engine will run forever. This engine does spit out higher leads. Pennzoil did a bit better.

 

[chinee]

Quote:

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This engine is not going to wear like your Toyota. I think the Silicon is high and I would work on that to see if it improves the wear levels.

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Very few engines display wear numbers as low as this Toyota engine... gotta love it!

The silicon is high but there does not appear to be a correlation between the silicon and wear. One of the highest silicon numbers appeared with Pennzoil, but accompanied by lower lead and iron. If there appeared to be a direct relationship between silicon and wear, I'd be more concerned.

 

[INDYMAC]

I'm thinking about trying to find some GC for my 2003 G35 too after my recent UOA. The lead was 40PPM after only 5K miles with PP 5W30. Some speculate that it was due to using a bottle of Techron fuel system cleaner during the OCI, but I doubt it. Are you getting close to doing another UOA yet? Please post again if you do.

 

[TeeDub]

Since you live in Florida, I'd try a thicker xw-30 or a "thin" 5w-40 like one of the European synthetics. For example, since I'm an Amsoil guy I'd try either their 10w-30, Four Stroke Marine oil (HT/HS of 3.65 Cp), or their 5w-40 European oil (HT/HS of 3.7 Cp), in this motor.

Look for something with HT/HS viscosity in the range of 3.5 Cp-4.0 Cp @ 150C and I believe these results will improve. The slightly thicker oil will also reduce the Fe levels from the chain driven camshaft design.

TD

 

[Auto-Union]

Just a random thought, to try Shell Rotella T Synth 5w-40.