VQ35DE Oil Recommendation

[GSCJR]

Hello everyone,

I will be maintaining a 2007 Nissan with the 3.5L V6 engine for the next several years. The engine has almost 140k. Kms. and is due for an oil change soon. I have no idea how it has been maintained but, when looking down the oil filler opening it looks clean.

The manual recommends 5w-30 but 10w-30 and 10w-40 are also allowed temperature permitting. Not sure if there are any trouble spots with this engine so I'm looking for advice from our members here.

Thanks in advance.

 

[danez_yoda]

Going with any good group III synthetic will be fine. Anything from the majors (M1, Pennzoil, Quaker State, Castrol, Havoline , Walmart, Amazon, Napa, Harvest King, etc.

140k meters is still like new.

up north probably stay with 5W.

 

[bbhero]

Well I have a 08 Nissan Altima VQ with 256,000 miles... I have run 14 different oils in the car. This motor has been known to shear oil a fair amount. One of our members on here had a VQ motor which showed Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 actually held it's viscosity quite well even after 11k miles. The manual allows for 7500 mile intervals if the car sees long trips etc etc... And only 3750 for severe service. The baseline API SN and ilsac gf-5 are the only approvals needed.

I think Valvoline conventional and Valvoline Advanced full synthetic and Havoline conventional plus Havoline full synthetic and Mobil Super and Peak high mileage have run the quietest in my car. Castrol magnatec was quite good has well.

 

[CharBaby]

Greetings my friend, it's been a long time.
With my two Altimas, they seemed to like anything 5W30 however any of the oils listed in the owner's manual will be suitable in dino or syn. Others will also chime in with their experiences.

 

[CharBaby]

Greetings my friend, it's Bern a long time.
With my two Altimas, mine seemed to like anything 5W30 however any of the oils listed in the owner's manual will be suitable in dino or syn. Others will also chime in with their experiences.

 

[bbhero]

Well I have a 08 Nissan Altima VQ with 256,000 miles... I have run 14 different oils in the car. This motor has been known to shear oil a fair amount. One of our members on here had a VQ motor which showed Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 actually held it's viscosity quite well even after 11k miles. The manual allows for 7500 mile intervals if the car sees long trips etc etc... And only 3750 for severe service. The baseline API SN and ilsac gf-5 are the only approvals needed.

I think Valvoline conventional and Valvoline Advanced full synthetic and Havoline conventional plus Havoline full synthetic and Mobil Super and Peak high mileage have run the quietest in my car. Castrol magnatec was quite good has well.

 

[tomcat27]

I would stay with a 5W-30. and when you change the oil make sure that the oil cooler adapter on the oil filter mount is not leaking. If you have one, the o-ring behind it can start leaking. It's a easy fix - but if your not looking for it you can lose a bit of oil.

 

[GSCJR]

My initial thought was just to use a conventional 5w-30. If the timing components would benefit; then use a 5w-40 instead.

Am I correct to think about it in this manner?

 

[Trav]

0w40 has proven itself time and time again with low wear numbers and great UOA's in these engines. I use Mobil 1 0w40. These engines are hard on oil stay away from dino oils.

 

[MolaKule]

I would stick to a severe service schedule of 3750 miles since if the VVT valve gets carbon in it, you're going to have performance issues.

The SS schedule has worked very well for our 2003 Pathfinder.

I would not use MaxLife 5W30 as I tested it one time and it sheared down to below a 20 grade within 3000 miles in this engine.

Any synthetic HM 10W30 seems to do well in these engines.

The filters I use are the Fram XX7317 series.

Also consider changing the ATF and the rear differential lube.

 

[VQ35DE]

I will get back to you on what I use on myself. LOL

 

[maxdustington]

Originally Posted by MolaKule
I would stick to a severe service schedule of 3750 miles since if the VVT valve gets carbon in it, you're going to have performance issues.

The SS schedule has worked very well for our 2003 Pathfinder.

I would not use MaxLife 5W30 as I tested it one time and it sheared down to below a 20 grade within 3000 miles in this engine.

Any synthetic HM 10W30 seems to do well in these engines.

The filters I use are the Fram XX7317 series.

Also consider changing the ATF and the rear differential lube.
Wow, talk about hard on oil!

 

[Hall]

The '07 (and '08) have the VQ35HR engine, by the way, not the DE. People here run synthetics in the HR versions 6000 miles and higher with no ill effects too.

 

[NormanBuntz]

My M35 has the same basic motor, and I've owned it for 11 years. Except for one OC with Mobil conventional and one with QSUD, it's had a steady diet of synthetic blend 5w-30 for 107,000 miles. Although the motor allegedly can shear oil, mine has run strong and smooth on the blends at 5K mile changes, and it uses less than a half quart between changes with zero oil leaks. Personally with an unknown oil change history on your car, I'd stay with a 5w-30 blend like Pennzoil or Quaker State.

 

[GSCJR]

Originally Posted by hallstevenson
The '07 (and '08) have the VQ35HR engine, by the way, not the DE. People here run synthetics in the HR versions 6000 miles and higher with no ill effects too.


Pretty sure the owner's manual says DE; I will double check that.

Thank you for responding.

 

[The Critic]

Just keep oil in it. That's the most important part. They tend to drink a lot of oil once they get older.

 

[mclasser]

My old VQ35 really liked 40wt oils. M1 0w40 & VML 10w40 very smooth & quiet in that engine.

 

[ZebRuaj]

I ran Shell 5w30 conventional in my G35 with the DE. 3kish OCI's.

 

[GSCJR]

Originally Posted by MolaKule

Also consider changing the ATF and the rear differential lube.


Thank you for your input.

As this is a FWD application, there's no rear differential lube that would require replacement. However I did inspect the CVT fluid and it looks clean; I have heard mixed opinions regarding their reliability.

My parents had a 2008 Rogue and it's CVT was reliable until the vehicle was totaled last year; about 135k kms at the time.

Any maintenance tips for this CVT? OCI is 90k kms according to the owner's manual.

 

[Hall]

Originally Posted by GSCJR
Originally Posted by hallstevenson
The '07 (and '08) have the VQ35HR engine, by the way, not the DE. People here run synthetics in the HR versions 6000 miles and higher with no ill effects too.


Pretty sure the owner's manual says DE; I will double check that.

D'oh ! When I saw the engine designation, I presumed it was an Infiniti (I think others did too) but it doesn't look like you indicated what model it is. Nissan did keep using the DE design for quite a few years. Looks like the '18 Altima still uses it !