Oil Recommendations for a Nissan Titan

[JetForeman]

Hi all, I was lucky enough to be able to acquire a new Nissan Titan a few days ago. I'm now pondering on what to use for oil in it. For some odd reason the owners manual specifically recommends a mineral based oil (not sure what's up with that) ranging in weights from 5W-30 to 10W-40 depending on expected temperatures. I would like to use the Mobil Delvac 1 5W-40 or Mobil 1 10W-30 in it but am open to suggestions. What do you all think??? I live south of Atlanta so I don't expect too many extremely cold temps. (although I froze my butt off today)!!

Also if you all are interested I can do an oil sample on it when I drain the factory fill at 1K miles.

 

[sbc350gearhead]

I would stick with a 10w30. I wonder about the petroleum oil requirement though.

 

[GSV]

Cool truck!

Delvac 1 would probably be great in that V8. The Pentosin 5w-40 mentioned here Passat W8 UOA might be good stuff too if you can find it.

It seems like Nissan put more thought into marketing a full size truck in the US than Toyota did. I hope it sells and prompts all the other makers to respond. Now if only the Japanese offered it with a turbodiesel...

 

[mikemc]

Unless you are towing a lot, I would think that 5w30 in cold weather and 10w30 in warm weather would be ideal.

 

[JetForeman]

The engine in this thing is impressive to say the least. Nissan built it all aluminum, block and heads. 6 bolt main bearing caps with a forged micro-polished crank, 4 micro-polished cams along with moly coated pistons. I'm anxious to see how the oil sample looks.

I'm kind of leaning towards the Mobil 1 10W-30 just because it's so readily available at wally mart but I'm sure I could be swayed into buying the Delvac 1 if you all think that would be a better route to go.

 

[sbc350gearhead]

Delvac 1 is a good oil, but so is mobil 1. I would try the mobil 1, do a UOA, and go from there.

 

[JetForeman]

thanks gearhead, will do

 

[Silverado]

I might sound stupid, but exactly what does Nissan mean by a "mineral based oil" Doesnt that mean non-synth? I love the Nissan truck, and looks like it will smoke the domestics (even though I drive a domestic) Congradulations!!!!!!

 

[shortyb]

quote:

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Originally posted by Silverado:
I love the Nissan truck, and looks like it will smoke the domestics (even though I drive a domestic) Congradulations!!!!!!

---

I saw one at the car show recently. If I were in the market for a full-size, that would be it. Check the February 04 Car and Driver, they did a 5 truck comparo and the Nissan came out on top.

Me personally I would do the 10w-30 warm and 5W for cold. My favs right now are Chevron Supreme for dino and Shaeffers Supreme for synth (blend).

[ January 08, 2004, 08:55 AM: Message edited by: shortyb ]

 

[vvk]

If the manual says mineral, use mineral. You will surely get better wear, albeit with shorter drain intervals. I would say, 10W-30 in the winter and 10W-40 or 15W-40 in the summer.

As something to think about, consider this. Subaru recommends non-synthetic oil too. I have been using Mobil 1 in my two Imprezas. After I switched to non-synthetic, I got much lower wear, according to UOA I have done on both. In fact, lead went to ZERO with the non-synthetic. On both cars.

 

[n8wvi]

vvk - We've owned 5 Subarus since 1989 and I've never seen in the owners manual that mineral oil is recommended. Where are you getting this info?

Dave

 

[haley10]

Would not a "mineral based" oil actually include most all synthetics??

They did not say "don't use syn's", right??

I doubt that they actually meant not to use GpIII, IV and V oils.

 

[haley10]

Jetforeman, since the Titan engine is made here in Tenn., you should be able to get a clarification from Nissan on this.

Since this is a new design and you live in Atlanta, I would personally want to go with a syn after some run in.

Atlanta driving isn't particularly easy on oil anyway and M1 10W-30 seems like the ticket to me.

What is the oil capacity by the way??

 

[John in the ATL]

JetForeman,

I would start with the 10w-30 dinos du jour. Chevron/Havoline, Pennzoil, and Castrol GTX. Being in Hotlanta, the 10w-30 will work year round and is generally more shear stable than dino 5w-30.

I would start with dino and go 10,000 miles with 3,000 mile OCI. Start at 1,000, 4,000, 7,000 and 10,000. This has worked well for Maxima V6 owners for a good break in model.

[ January 08, 2004, 01:30 PM: Message edited by: John in the ATL ]

 

[JetForeman]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. After reading everyones responses I think I'm going to drain it at the 1K mile mark and put in some M1 10W-30 and see how that does for a couple thousand miles. After that I'm going to try some Chevron 10W-30 and see what the difference in oil samples look like. Thanks again for your suggestions!! I do love this truck and want it to last as long as possible. Here's a link to some pics I took of it the other evening.

http://community.webshots.com/album/109774161HkljBb?563

oh yeah, to answer an earlier question it has a 6.5 quart sump.

[ January 08, 2004, 01:54 PM: Message edited by: JetForeman ]

 

[JetForeman]

quote:

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Originally posted by haley10:
Would not a "mineral based" oil actually include most all synthetics??

They did not say "don't use syn's", right??

I doubt that they actually meant not to use GpIII, IV and V oils.

---

That's exactly what I was thinking Haley and no it didn't say anything about not using synthetics of which I believe to be a mineral based oil as well. Right????

 

[Whimsey]

JetForeman
Just out of curiosity what is the oil change interval recommended by Nissan for your Titan? Especially if they are "strongly suggesting" using dino oil.

Whimsey

 

[haley10]

Wow, I like the 6.5 quart sump. Good deal.

 

[JetForeman]

3750 and 7500 depending on what conditions you operate in.

 

[Green Max]

quote:

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Originally posted by JetForeman:
Thanks everyone for your suggestions. After reading everyones responses I think I'm going to drain it at the 1K mile mark and put in some M1 10W-30 and see how that does for a couple thousand miles.

---

I would not experiment with M1 that early in the engine life. I've had 5 Nissans (2 trucks, 2 Maximas/Infiniti and a Sentra) and have noticed increased oil consumption if you switch to synthetic before 10k. If I were you, I would use a high quality 5W/10W-30 (Chevron Supreme, Pennzoil or GTX) every 3-4k until 10k. Even afterwards, I would think seriously whether synthetic oil is necessary or otherwise justified.