Oil Smells Burnt

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Dubai, UAE, Middle East
Hi,

I own a 2008 Nissan Versa.
I live in extremely hot desert climate.
I used to use mineral 20W50, but just recently switched to semi-synthetic 10W40.

Whenever i take oil from the dipstick and put it in a tissue and i sniff it, there is some sort of burning smell in the oil.
I thought it should go away after oil change. So after a recent oil change putting 10W40, the burning smell is still there on the new oil.
Driving style is very hard.


Just for a comparison, on my friends Yaris (2009), his oil was coffee colored (passed half of its life), yet it didnt smell burnt on the tissue.
He drives hard as well.

What could be the reason behind this.
Are my pistons filled with sludge?
Or they require some cooling by detergent additives?
 
Unless the oil itself is severely oxidizing due to the type of driving you do, I would look at the PCV system. Perhaps you have excessive blow-by.

...or your engine is just beat to death.
 
I'd recommend using the appropriate weight of oil first and foremost for this Versa, which would be a 5w30 or 10w30.

Then you could see if there is still a perceived smell.
 
Originally Posted By: Hyde244
I'd recommend using the appropriate weight of oil first and foremost for this Versa, which would be a 5w30 or 10w30.

Then you could see if there is still a perceived smell.


5W30 and 10W30 are almost non-existent in this region due to the extreme desert summer climate all year round.

The common oil grades used are 10W40 and 20W50.
 
10W40/15W40/15W50/20W50 are probably oem spec weights in your climate. Did your car have that burning smell with the 20W50?
 
Color is not an indication of oil life and is not a property to judge an oil by.
 
Originally Posted By: RF Overlord
Unless the oil itself is severely oxidizing due to the type of driving you do, I would look at the PCV system. Perhaps you have excessive blow-by.

...or your engine is just beat to death.


There is a person on this site from Kuwait who posts quite often, named Falcon_LS. He seems to have experience with lots of different vehicles and driving them hard in Kuwait. It looks like he uses 5w30 & 5w-40.

It seems to me he often comments that the oils available in Kuwait are of atrocious quality, I think he even said that the locally bottled Castrol wasn't to be trusted.

In my opinion, it's probably due to poor quality oil. 20w-50 is probably the most popular viscosity in U.A.E. due to quality issues, attempting to use viscosity to cover serious shortcomings, just like here in Mexico.

Why not try a good quality imported 10w30, 5w-40 or 15w40, some kind of Castrol, Mobil or Shell product?
 
Honestly, it is not that much hotter than in parts of the USA. And with a liquid cooled engine the operating temps are about the same. So do yourself a favor and buy some oil on the internet, use 10w30. It may be more money but your car will last longer.
 
How many miles?

Have you had a used oil analysis performed? The chemistry will speak more loudly than the smell.
 
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