Recommendation For 2011 Altima 3.5SR

[ctmnismo]

I have a 2011 Altima 3.5SR with 22k miles. Up through now oil has always been done at the dealership. Powertrain warranty is going to end soon, so looking at switching oil.

Location is Ohio (gets pretty cold), driving about 800-900 miles per month. Some trips are 15-20 miles, and some are short, its pretty mixed.

Looking for the best cost effective, performance oriented oil. Typical I would use Amsoil with a Wix filter, but have been looking at Pennzoil Platinum for the price. Wanting to change every 6 months when doing tire rotations.


Also I know older years of the VQ35DE always required premium fuel, but in 2010 it switched to regular. With it being a variable timing engine, can I use premium and it will adjust itself accordingly? My gas mileage has been awful and wanting to give that a try. I had leased a 2013 Altima 3.5 before and averaged 25.5mpg over a year, but with this one (older gen and older generation CVT, but same motor) I'm averaging under 20, and last fill up was 16. Dealership also said there were some small carbon deposits starting to appear.

 

[tomcat27]

Pp is a great choice, as is mq. I bet the big difference in mpg is due to the generation of cvt. And certainly winter does not help

 

[bbhero]

Well I have an 2008 Altima 3.5vq. I have found that Pennzoil Ultra Platinum, Castrol w titanium gold bottle, and even Sunoco Ultra runs the best in my car. I would say that Castrol w titanium gold bottle may well be your best bet due to the fact it can actually be found. This oil will quiet down the motor tick in these cars. Plus you can easily go 10k miles and its up to it. A Fram Ultra PH 7317 is a very good filter option because of its bigger size its easier to get a hold of.

Gas... Use 93. There's a reason why it was recommended on my car and should have been on your car too. Per manual its recommended and that IF 93 is not avaialable you can but USING 87 WILL lead to a loss in performance. Aka not run as well as it should. I've seen a new Altima 3.5 with a lady who had been running 87 and she was like "my car is running terrible". Wonder why?? Shell v power, Exxon or Sunoco 93 have run very well in my car. This will help with gas mileage and performance. Get some Regaine loaded with PEA and put that in your car. Then fill it up from near empty with any of the gasoline mentioned above. You may well need to do this a second time.
I got my Altima with 39k miles... Now it has 129k. Runs great,fast with good gas mileage.

 

[mclasser]

The older VQ35's don't require premium, it's 'recommended.' Unless your owner's manual recommends it, don't waste the money.

As far as oil, PP or any synthetic from Walmart will serve you well. How did the dealership determine there were carbon deposits? Unless they stuck a camera down inside the engine or pulled the intake, they can't see jack. Run a tank or two of Techron fuel system cleaner and see how that affects the mileage. Winter fuel also brings down MPGs a little. Check your tire pressures and air filter as well.

 

[ctmnismo]

Originally Posted By: mclasser
The older VQ35's don't require premium, it's 'recommended.' Unless your owner's manual recommends it, don't waste the money.

As far as oil, PP or any synthetic from Walmart will serve you well. How did the dealership determine there were carbon deposits? Unless they stuck a camera down inside the engine or pulled the intake, they can't see jack. Run a tank or two of Techron fuel system cleaner and see how that affects the mileage. Winter fuel also brings down MPGs a little. Check your tire pressures and air filter as well.

I had a CEL and took it in. They saw that, and found oil gallery gasket blown out in rear timing cover. Gasket was fixed under warranty.

I always monitor my tire pressures weekly, and I know winter gets worse mileage, but even in summer I was having a hard time getting 20mpg. I was expecting at least 22-23 in summer, and about 20 in winter.

I keep a log in my car and every fill up take note of miles, cost, fuel used, etc... to manually figure mileage.


I did fill up with premium when I got the car back and put a bottle of Lucas injector cleaner in. Only went about 100 miles so far, and used 1/4 tank which is better then usual. But Ive been extra babying it, and had 70 miles of highway.

 

[The Critic]

My mom has a 2010 Alfima V6. I run Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5w30 in it and change it annually.

Watch out for head gasket leaks. If yours has the blue coolant, it's unlikely that you will have the issue. But if you have the green coolant, beware. Either way, I would inspect the headgaskets for signs of external leakage at each oil change.

 

[bbhero]

What's the difference in the blue and green?? Obviously a chemistry difference would make sense. Mine had the green. I changed it out to Prestone 150k mile with Corgard at 100k miles...

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: bbhero
What's the difference in the blue and green?? Obviously a chemistry difference would make sense. Mine had the green. I changed it out to Prestone 150k mile with Corgard at 100k miles...


I am not sure of the differences, but it was something that was passed onto me by the folks at our local dealer. And so far, my experience has matched what they've said.

I know it doesn't make any sense, but...

 

[ctmnismo]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
My mom has a 2010 Alfima V6. I run Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5w30 in it and change it annually.

Watch out for head gasket leaks. If yours has the blue coolant, it's unlikely that you will have the issue. But if you have the green coolant, beware. Either way, I would inspect the headgaskets for signs of external leakage at each oil change.

If it has green, can it just be drained and filled with another to fix the issue?

 

[tomcat27]

green vs blue (or pink, orange, red) is a whole different chemistry - brought on by the high amount of aluminum in our engines and the desire for long life coolants. among the "non-green", there are three different variants - but basically they are similar. as far as "can I drain out the green and fill it with blue/orange/red"? yes, although try to get as much of the green out of there as possible.