Nissan VQ35 -> Different Oil Recommendations In Europe vs. N.A.???

[Craig in Canada]

il_signore97:

I'm in the same neck of the woods as you. Wal-Mart, Canadian Tire and PartSource all have GC. GC bottles look like all the others, except say 0W30 on the front and "Made in Germany" on the back. Check the GC FAQ in the GC/import forum for pictures.

Of course I'm still worried that one day someone will change their mind and stop carrying it and I'll have to shop for a new oil again.

XD-3 is supposed to be great. 0W40 is found in 4L jugs at WM. 0W30 may be harder to find, but seems directly viscosity comparable to GC.

Craig.

 

[il_signore97]

Thanks Craig.

I found the GC at a Partsource near my work, and also at Canadian Tire. My local Wal-Mart doesn't have it though.

 

[Primus]

Oil weight impacts mileage mainly in city cycle, but at high speeds other factors like aerodynamic perfomance, tyres including their pressure, start to prevail. Besides, don't forget gasoline quality may improve fuel economy and vice versa: bad gasoline may offset economy from a light weight oil.

 

[bobo]

I've been running Esso XD3, 0w30, PAO full synthetic since February in my 95 Maxima with the 3.0 litre VQ engine and it loves it. Although it is not rated as an energy-conserving oil, I have not seen any adverse effect on fuel economy and in fact it might be better than when I ran Castrol GTX 5w30 dino juice.

I ran an AutoRX trial before making the switch to synthetic and now I literally can not hear the engine idle with the windows rolled up and at 65,500 mostly highway miles I am still running the original laser platinum spark plugs that are almost 12 years old.

 

[Blake Sobiloff]

quote:

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Originally posted by Ron AKA:
If there is going to be a difference in performance of the oil that is going to happen within a minute or two of starting the engine after you change the oil.

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Actually, no. The additive packs interact with the metal surfaces inside the engine, and a different oil/add pack will need to displace the old oil's add pack. This process requires heat, pressure, and time. During this displacement process the engine is not protected to the same degree.

Best practice is two normal OCIs before add pack change-over is complete and UOA results are reflective of the performance of the latest add pack.

 

[1sttruck]

"I'm usually cruising between 135-150 km/h."

Extended drains, potentially much higher extended speeds, and no CAFE pressure are why heavier oils tend to be designed for / used outside of North America. Mt wife got back from a trip to Europe this summer, and she said that her friend was typically crusing at a bit over 120 mph in Germany. Her friend isn't a wacko speed freak with a convoy police trailing her, as would be the case in the US, she is just a middle aged housewife driving around in a typical manner.

 

[il_signore97]

quote:

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Originally posted by 1sttruck:
"I'm usually cruising between 135-150 km/h."

Extended drains, potentially much higher extended speeds, and no CAFE pressure are why heavier oils tend to be designed for / used outside of North America.

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The change in my daily driving routine was pretty much what got me thinking about all this (as well as that European owner's manual exerpt).

I used to drive downtown Toronto almost all the time, at low speeds, frequent stops, etc. Mind you, my daily drive was still 45 km each way (total of 90 per day min), but almost entirely in the city. With that driving regime, I would have never thought anything about my current 0W30 oil.

But now that I'm driving 50 km each way (100 km total per day) all high speed highway driving, with frequent passing and high load / high speed conditions, I thought I should give some 40 weight a fair shot to see how it performed wrt the current S2K 30 weight I use.

Either way, from the looks of these responses, it looks like I'm going to have to spend a long time testing the 40 weight! I'll have to cover two full OCI's next summer prior to doing a UOA to get the best results (as it seems from the reponses anyway). So, it'll be a while before any of the results are available!