Pennz Plat 10W30, 5,897 miles, Infiniti G35

[chinee]

Almost four years and 76,000 miles of UOAs on this engine.

I got tired of less-than-stellar results with carefully selected oils, so I just went with the synth blend on sale at Walmart. Currently have a fill of Valvoline Durablend 10W30 in the oil pan. I plan on changing it at 4500 miles, in a couple of weeks or so, and will give Mobil 1 a try once more.

Any comments on the latest UOA, noticable trends... anything? Feedback is always great!

Thanks!

 

[98LSC32V]

To me the Mobil 1 supersyn looks like it gave the best results, the TBN gets too low with any other oil you used. What oil filter are you using?

 

[Terry]

chinee, no offense but this is a great example of a near perfect lubricant fighting in the face of bearing wear totally uncorrected for.

If you do not correct the source of the problem why blame WHATEVER oil ?

Measured TBN means nothing if wear control is un contained in every M1 test.

Insolubles is consistently too high.

I think you may have damaged a bearing for good by sandblasting it over the 76,000 miles.

Platinum was by far the best performer in a bad setup.

When was the last time you checked plug gap and condition,PCV valve, air filter and associated tubing/plumbing? Injector function,coil operation ?

You are wasting your money on oil analysis if you don't correct from it.

TD

 

[buster]

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great example of a near perfect lubricant

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Hmmm, am I wasting money on ASM?

 

[Al]

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I think you may have damaged a bearing for good by sandblasting it over the 76,000 miles.

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Well I have to say though that you can look at hundreds of UOA's on the Nissan VQ and one thing sticks out. High lead numbers. Are all of these engines somehow defective, considering it has been in Wards best engines since forever?

 

[Gene K]

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Insolubles is consistently too high.

I think you may have damaged a bearing for good by sandblasting it over the 76,000 miles.

TD

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Terry, this isnt my car but I know every once in awhile you give a "freebie". I really would like to know. If this is from the silicon, where is it coming from? The number doesnt seem super high but it may be for these engines. I see no signature from the rings. I would not think its from the air filter, air intake duct, or intake manifold gasket. If the silicon is high for this engine are you thinking PCV? If not are you thinking high insolubles and bearing wear from excess carbon particles from incomplete combustion? Hint please! Carbon, silicon, or both?

 

[Gene K]

Okay Ive looked and looked and the only thing that seems out of line for a Nissan 3.5L is the lead. Copper, Insolubles, and Silicon all look normal for this engine to me. Anyone want to point out what Im missing.

 

[Pablo]

How different is this 3.5L from the 3.5L in the Altima?

 

[INDYMAC]

I have similar UOA numbers to these for my 2003 G35, except my Pb popped a 40ppm on my last sample of PP 5W30 with 5K mile OCI. That sample was taken at 60K. A previous UOA of ML syn 5W30 (SL) was done at 37K miles with a 3K OCI that showed 7ppm Pb. I currently have a fill of GC gold in there with the usual Pure One oil filter (14612) and OEM air filter (new at 60K). I've eliminated the use of Techron. At 65K, I will submit a sample to Terry for analysis. I have my fingers crossed in hope that Pb levels will trend back down. My wife likes this car and wants to keep it for awhile!

 

[Terry]

silicon in this is BOTH dirt and bearing material, SCHAZAM you are now an expert.

 

[98LSC32V]

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How different is this 3.5L from the 3.5L in the Altima?

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They are basically the same except different intake manifold, tune, intake plumbing and cams. There are probably other minor differences but they are both VQ35DE motors with the same block and heads. I don't think there is nothing wrong with this motor in particular, I bet it will go 200,000 + miles easily. I think it's ridiculous to look at an UOA and come to a conclusion about the state of the engine unless something looks way out of wack.

 

[D189379]

So the Penzoil conventional gave the best wear numbers?

 

[Pablo]

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So the Penzoil conventional gave the best wear numbers?

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Kinda sorta. Statistically they are all quite close. Then you look at something like this:

http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/s...ge=0#Post903362

 

[unDummy]

Silicon-- coated, infiltrated, sprayed, or infused bearings.... I've seen the 'replacement' Nissan bearings advertised as such. If the aftermarket builds to OEM or better then OEM specs, one could assume that the OEM bearings are Si coated. If so, Si would be equivalent to a wear metal, and not necessarily dirt ingestion. The Si PPMs don't look to bad. If it hit a couple hundred PPM during a run, I would think you ruined a bearing and
might hear it at startup.

 

[Gene K]

Thanks Terry. Thats all I wanted.

If Terry sees something I believe him. Hes seen a lot more UOA's on various engines than the rest of us. Hes proven his worth to me.

I really dont know what to think when I see three basically similar engines with similar numbers for everything except lead 0, 8, 72. If it was mine the 72 would scare me to death. However at 8 on this vehicle I would not be as concerned if it was not for Terry's comments.

Getting away from engine condition. Really the Pennzoil Conventional and Platinum look the best to me on this engine although Conventional seems to be done at 4,000 mi.

 

[chinee]

Feedback I've received before never indicated as critical a problem as Terry seems to be alluding to. I'm no expert... far from it... but Terry's feedback is the strongest I've yet received. Makes me think my engine is about to fail.

What is the real skinny here with the lead wear? What kind of condition are my bearings in? What consequences am I facing?

 

[Gene K]

Chinee... If you are concerned a consultation with Terry is only around $30. I am sure he can lead you in a direction that will get you better results. I know many people have had good luck with his advice and I would not hesitate to hire him for consultation if I felt I had an issue on a vehicle.

I personally dont see anything that unduly alarms me but I am no expert. I also dont have access to the trends on thousands of these engines like Terry. I do know we do have another vehicle with a very similar engine on this site that is throwing lead between 0-2 and has similar numbers in other ways, Makes me wonder where your lead is coming from.

Bottom line is my advice is worth what you pay for it. Terry's is often worth more than you pay for it.

I really dont know what Terry is seeing but I dont doubt he is seeing something that concerns him.

 

[NissanMD]

I also own an 05 G35 (Coupe) and I recently changed the air filter at 25K. It was the worst I've ever seen. There was black "gunk" roughly one square inch that accumulated on the lower right corner (towards the left turn signal). Generally, I change the air filters at 30K and they are dirty but on the G, it was NASTY at 25K. I just checked since I've read on forums of how ppl were recommended to change the filters way before 30K. Since the air filter is "exposed" and not contained in a plastic housing like the rest of the toyotas, hondas and nissans I've maintained, it seems to get dirtier quicker. For the G, I plan on changing the air filter every 20-25K. The reuglar purolator filter is around 9 dollars at AA and the DIY is pretty easy and the instructions are readily avaible online. From some of the posts by BITOGers, they really emphasized changing the air filters earlier than recommended and I think the G is a very good candidate for taking such measures. It's only 9 bucks and 20 minutes of your time. I mean, you're already saving yourself 70-80 dollars from the dealership by doing your own oil changes (as they are charging 99.99 for the engine oil "service" in the baltimore area). FYI: the cabin air filters are very easy as well, just get the cabin filters on ebay for 10 dollars, not 30 from the dealership.

 

[CBR.worm]

I would be interested to know how the car is driven. I have an '06 G35 6MT Sedan (just up the road about 10 miles from Chinee in Jupiter). I beat the car senseless which I know most people on this board would think is a bad thing, but I run 93 octane gas and the car pings nonstop everyday under most conditions. I had an '05 which did the same thing. IMO this would cause bearing damage over time since the rod and crank bearings and crank would be taking a pounding with all the detonation compared to an engine that isn't tuned to ping nonstop. I only did one oil analysis on my '05, the iron and lead were high. I attributed it to running M1 10w30 and towing a trailer with the car and didn't think about it again.

I ask how the car is driven because on the G35 forums people who drive these cars hard see high oil consumption and higher wear levels. It is a 7,000 RPM V6 that has evolved from a
My '00 and '95 Maxima SE's I could keep the pedal to the floor all day and never get bad wear numbers or use any appreciable oil between changes - I would only check it a couple times between oil changes. Both of my G35's I will check and be surprised that the oil is low. I typically run 7K on the best M1 10w30 available at the time.

I typically drive cars over 200K - the '05 was an exception due to some circumstances beyond my control, I expect this car to last as long as the others, even though the wear numbers may not be as low as with my 220K Tundra V8 (which also showed high iron over the couple of samples I had tested)

 

[chinee]

I don't beat the car senseless, but I am pretty aggressive. I use the manumatic everyday and enjoy the power when I have the opportunity to do so (always safely).

Even though I don't believe I drive really hard, there are two factors that may not support my belief:
1. Tires last me typically 16-19K miles, whether they be Falkens, Kumhos, Goodyears or Bridgestone, and I only use the sport touring tires, not the super soft sticky stuff like the Mich PilotSports or the GYear GSDs.
2. My MPG is consistently in the 17s, city driving, (EPA rated 19/26) but city driving from Wellington to West Palm Beach (13 miles) is mostly traffic-free with very little stop and go.

Oil consumption is approx 1/2 - 3/4 qt per 3K miles, consumed oil at this rate from day one. I use typically 89, with a "treat"of 93 every 4 fill-ups or so. Never heard pinging, but maybe my hearing isn't tuned in to that sound.

I've always posted that my 96 Altima went over 200K miles and I only used the on-sale dino in it. Wasn't in the know then so went anywhere from 5K to 8K between oil changes, and rarely topped up the oil. I remember how thick the old, used engine oil was back then. Never had any oil related problems, and at the end, I began checking the oil level more often... didn't consume oil either. Given that experience with the Alty, there's been a little gremlin in the back of my mind that's always whispering... "Oil changes aren't that important... UOAs are overkill and a waste of money... these discussions on BITOG is a waste of time."

But looking at, analyzing and discussing UOAs is just too much fun, and I feel like I'm learning something. So if I'm wasting money, so be it. And I'm not wasting time if I consider this a small hobby.