Random VQ winter question

[kcryan]

Hey guys, my 98 I30 with an auto trans, and the VQ30de now has 95k miles on it, it has run the last 20k with mobil one, GC, and one run of PP, all 5-30 (except the GC of course) it gets some lube control all year long, and in the summer a helping of SLOB. However, with winter fast approaching, im wondering what oil to use, i usually just stuck with the M1, but iam a volunteer firefighter, and this will be the car i will take for calls, so instead of my normal, get in, start it, let it run for 20 secconds and then drive like a granny, i will be getting in, putting it in gear as i start and accelerating quite hard to make it to the station on time, in the summer this doesnt bother me, but in the winter i think it will, what do you reccomend oil wise? i was thinking 0-30 something (synthetic) no slob, some LC, and continue using good filters (M1 or Pure ones).


What all do you guys think i should do?


Thanks folks

 

[deven]

I would go with 0w20 probably M1

 

[kcryan]

Ouch, i dont think i could bring myself to put 20weight in, what about 1.5 qts of 0-20 with 3quts of of a 30 weight

 

[Ugly3]

Get a big oil pan heater and forget about the cold weather.

 

[CharBaby]

KC,
I would agree with deven. If your only going to start up the engine and run down to the firehouse and shut off the engine, a 0W20 would be the ticket. Now, if your going to run the VQ hard or long and all over town then your regular practices would be in order. But for short stints from home to station, 0w20 all the way.

 

[92saturnsl2]

What kind of temps are you seeing? There's really no benefit to a 0w-xx unless you're *REALLY* cold. Look up some viscosity charts and you'll notice that 5w30 is actually thinner at most temps than a 0w-30, this is true down to the below 0 temps.

I'd stick to a thinner 5w30 weight PAO, Mobil1 is the first to come to mind, perhaps Amsoil as well. I like Napa Gold (Wix) and Union Sangyo filters (3$ or so at www.autohausaz.com). Both are readily available for the VG30.

 

[kcryan]

10-30 degreees on normal days, below zero on some days, above 30 on others, this car will still be used for normal driving too, so it might get a highway drive to syracuse here and there...so i dont know, does mobil still make 0-30 M1? or am i better off with just 5-30?


Thanks guys, keep the ideas coming

 

[92saturnsl2]

The Mobil1 0w-30 may be the one exception to the rule, it's cold viscosity is very similar to that of 5w30 at normal temps (perhaps -10F and up), but maintains a thinner viscosity at even colder temperatures. Generally most 0w-30 oils will be thicker until you really get down into below 0F temperatures.

I think the 5w30 would more than suffice, if the extreme cold temps are really a concern you should look for 0w-30 Mobil1, but IIRC it's not easy to find. I thought mobil1 stopped making 0w-30 and went to 5w-20 and 0w-20 instead.

For the VQ engine series Nissan recommends 5w30, 10w-30, and 10w40 (according to my manual). Given the 40w recommendation I would tend to stay away from anything xw-20. But that's only me.

 

[Jim 5]

I don't know Nissan engines that well, but if your 3.0L v6 engine is based on the same architecture as the 3.5L v6's that are in current g35's (or vice-versa), then my recommendation would be Castrol Syntec 0w-30 (GC).

If you'd like some back-up for that, look in the UOA section for UOA's posted by "ekpolk". His g35 turned out some fantastic UOA's with this oil.

 

[Ken2]

5w30 syn or 0W-30 syn and an engine heater.


Ken

 

[Al]

Quote:

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5w30 syn or 0W-30 syn and an engine heater.

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Yep..stay away from the 20wt. for the VQ for sure.

 

[MKR]

Maybe a remote starter would be a good idea. That way you can start the car from inside and let it run while your getting dressed to go, might give the car 20 or 30 seconds more warmup time.

 

[Blake Sobiloff]

+1 on the oil pan heater. You'll need every advantage you can get to minimize startup wear. Stick with 30-weights, GC or M1--whichever you prefer/have on hand--to handle your longer runs.

 

[427Z06]

Code:

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Calculated Kinematic Viscosity in cSt, Temps in Centigrade



T(C) GC 0W30 * M1 5w20 * M1 5w30 * M1 0w30

-20° 2609 1922 2604 2573

-10° 1127 811 1107 1089

0° 547 388 531 520

10° 292 206 281 274

20° 169 119 161 157

30° 104 74 99 97

40° 68.4 48.3 64.8 63.1

50° 47.0 33.4 44.4 43.2

60° 33.7 24.0 31.7 30.9

70° 25.0 17.9 23.5 22.9

80° 19.1 13.8 18.0 17.5

90° 15.0 10.9 14.1 13.7

100° 12.0 8.8 11.3 11.0

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Current formulations of M1 show no big advantage of the 0w30 over the 5w30 grade, and over the GC for that matter.

A significant number of UOAs provide evidence that current Nissan engines don't need thick oil to do well.

An oil pan heater would be the best option. If that wasn't an option, I'd consider M1 5w20 for Dec-Feb. It really isn't that much thinner than M1 5w30 of 5 years ago. And if you don't beat on it continuously on longer drives, you probably wouldn't see any difference in a UOA.