What oil are vq37 owners using?

[Japanese]

Head over to your local Walmart and pick out any name brand SQ,GF-7 5w-30 synthetic and it will serve you fine change out every 5 thousand miles and good filter

I would say:
Head over to your local Walmart and pick out any name brand A3/B4 5W-30 synthetic.

 

[Hall]

I've heard good things About magnatec. We used gtx for a bit on the first gen Highlander but went mobil1 high mileage which cut back on the oil burning there

Magnatec is no longer offered by Castrol. Thought is they simply renamed it to the "GTX Full Synthetic" you're seeing. I buy my oil at Walmart and it seemed like GTX just swapped space with Magnatec.

 

[Hall]

I would say:
Head over to your local Walmart and pick out any name brand A3/B4 5W-30 synthetic.

Either are fine. The VQ engine design is rock-solid reliable and almost 25 years old. Real-world has proven it's not picky about oil.

 

[kschachn]

I would say:
Head over to your local Walmart and pick out any name brand A3/B4 5W-30 synthetic.

With it being A3/B4 there’s no reason it needs to be a 30-grade. I’d just buy the least expensive one you find which is likely to be a 40-grade.

And wouldn’t worry about the winter rating either.

 

[droid]

Either are fine. The VQ engine design is rock-solid reliable and almost 25 years old. Real-world has proven it's not picky about oil.

I have heard Ester based oils quiet it down a bit but it's minor and not a reliability concern from my understanding

 

[kschachn]

I have heard Ester based oils quiet it down a bit but it's minor and not a reliability concern from my understanding

There aren’t any ester based automotive engine oils.

 

[scrllock]

M1 0w40 FS. Cheap, widely available, high quality. VQ engines aren't picky but it's the factory fill for the VR38.

 

[droid]

There aren’t any ester based automotive engine oils.

Thought the group v stuff was ester based. Nissan sells a ester oil but I hear it's exaggerated

 

[GR_CoB]

My VQ35 and VK56 have been pretty happy with 5W-50 in NC. This time it's Amalie Elixir 5W-50, but I use plenty of other 40/50 grade oils. SuperTech Synthetic 15W-40 is my favorite.

 

[kschachn]

Thought the group v stuff was ester based. Nissan sells a ester oil but I hear it's exaggerated

Some oils utilize small amounts of various esters in the formulation but there are no ester based automotive engine oils.

And just so you know, Group V base stocks are anything that doesn’t fall into Group I-IV, so it’s not just an ester compound.

 

[scrllock]

Thought the group v stuff was ester based. Nissan sells a ester oil but I hear it's exaggerated

It's mostly Group III. Which is fine. But the ester thing is mostly marketing. I wouldn't pay the double motul/nissan markup for it.

 

[Hall]

I have heard Ester based oils quiet it down a bit but it's minor and not a reliability concern from my understanding

There aren’t any ester based automotive engine oils.

Thought the group v stuff was ester based. Nissan sells a ester oil but I hear it's exaggerated

Nissan does "recommend" an ester-based (no idea what that means, nor do I care) engine oil in the owners manual, but the only easily available oil is Nissan's own, at least that I know of. I've never looked for it anyway.

 

[Turbo Actual]

Not a VQ37 owner, but a VQ owner non the less. When I had my Pathfinder and Xterra equipped with the VQ40 I used Mobil 1 0W40 almost exclusively. I put a combined 400k miles on them without issue. Can’t go wrong with M1 0W40 in my opinion.

 

[droid]

So what about stuff like motul and liquimoly? I always saw liquimoly as gimmicky but idk

 

[Japanese]

SuperTech Synthetic 15W-40 is my favorite.

What do like about that oil, besides the price?

 

[GR_CoB]

What do like about that oil, besides the price?

When used hard (spirited driving, or towing, etc.) my timing chain engines start to get more audible as the oil gets thinned down. Or simply due to miles on oil interval.
With 15W40 that doesn't happen.
And being synthetic it also doesn't rattle on cold startups. Non-synthetic Mobil or SuperTech oils do rattle a bit more when cold, for example.
Also being an HDEO - it usually comes with higher ability to keep soot and combustion byproducts in suspension, compared to most PCMOs. So higher MOFT, better shear stability, and better cleaning abilities are what I love about it, and my wallet loves the price.
I used to be an "M1 0W40 in everything" guy, but in my usage, climate, and equipment I have yet to find a case where M1 0W40 outperforms ST synthetic 15W40.