What oil for a 2007 Nissan Maxima?

Pennzoil motor oil
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mtgrs737

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Guys, I am new to Nissan's and I have a low mileage 2007 Maxima (53,000 miles) with the v-6 DOHC engine. When I got the car about 1000 miles ago It needed an oil change so I put in Castrol Edge 10w30 and a wix black filter. I have read that these engines have plastic cam chain guides that can wear if you don't use the right oil and change it often. So, what do the rest of you Nissan owners use and is there an additive that is good for the cam chain guides?

Thanks in advance.
 
My M35 has the same motor, which purportedly can be tough on motor oil. Since new I've used major brand synthetic blend 5w30 at no more than 5K mile intervals, and I have no issues so far and negligible consumption between oil changes. Hopefully your engine has a good maintenance history. I believe oil additives are a crap shoot. Regular changes with quality oil and filters is the real key.
 
I don't think there really is a bad oil for this engine as long as you stick to one of the major brands, or oil with GF-5 rating. How much do you want to spend? If money is no object, buy a premium synthetic like Mobil 1, Amsoil, Pennzoil Platinum, etc. The Castrol Edge you are using is a fine oil.

If you want to save some coin, a good synthetic blend will do the trick. Something along the lines of Phillips Shield semi-syn which can be purchased for around $2 a quart here.

If it were me and I lived in KS, I would run 5w30 year round or even 0w30 if you experience a lot of cold temps in winter.
 
Well I have a Nissan Altima VQ with 280,000 miles...

I got the 39,990 miles.. So I have put 240,000 miles on this car/motor.

I have run 19 different oils in it...

Quietest has been Mobil Super, Havoline Pro DS, Cam2, Amalie Carquest High mileage, and Pennzoil Ultra. .

Big thing is not running a oil in these motors for super long runs.
 
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Originally Posted by bbhero
Well I have a Nissan Altima VQ with 280,000 miles...

I got the 39,990 miles.. So I have put 240,000 miles on this car/motor.

I have run 19 different oils in it...

Quietest has been Mobil Super, Havoline Pro DS, Cam2, Amalie Carquest High mileage, and Pennzoil Ultra. .

Big thing is not running a oil in these motors for super long runs.

I too have noticed the Mobil Super to be a great oil. Running the conventional 5w30 in a Kia Rio and it's noticably smoother than Quaker State Advanced Durability 5w20. Picked up two jugs of the mobil super for like 6 bucks total at rural king on sale and rebate.
 
Regardless of oil used, the secondary chain guides in that year model VQ35DE are faulty and wear through prematurely. See the TSB regarding it and try to figure out if that has already been performed on your car or not. If not, it's only a matter of time before the whine starts. In my personal experience, it started a few thousand miles past the original powertrain warranty(60K) on an engine that had Mobil 1 in it from the time the factory-fill was changed out.

Copy/paste this link to see how a worn guide vs. a proper one supposed to look. New on the left, worn on the right.
http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/ac167/uzbekuz/Timing Chain VQ35DE/timing20chain20guides.jpg
 
OK guys, Thanks for all the great input, I have the service history on the car and it got the oil changed often. I plan on keeping up with that also, I figure about every 4-5000 miles depending on the weather. I usually run 5w30 in the really cold months of late December thru Febuary, but like to step up to 10w30 for the rest of the year here. This car is a hoot to drive, it has some great acceleration when passing simi's on the interstates, sure makes my other car's 4 cyl. seem pretty punky. I will check out the service TSB, thanks for all the replys.
 
Originally Posted by mtgrs737
OK guys, Thanks for all the great input, I have the service history on the car and it got the oil changed often. I plan on keeping up with that also, I figure about every 4-5000 miles depending on the weather. I usually run 5w30 in the really cold months of late December thru Febuary, but like to step up to 10w30 for the rest of the year here. This car is a hoot to drive, it has some great acceleration when passing simi's on the interstates, sure makes my other car's 4 cyl. seem pretty punky. I will check out the service TSB, thanks for all the replys.



Here's a complete copy of the TSB I mentioned: http://ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/fixurnissan/2010-04-12_184712_Timing_chain_complete_bulletin.pdf
 
Thanks for the TSB! I don't have 60,000 miles yet on the engine but I am not the original owner so I doubt the factory warranty will be fixing my Maxima. I bet the local dealer will want a grand or more for the replacement so I suppose if I can get the tools then I will be working on my maxima. I will call the dealership with the VIN to see if my car has had the fix.

Again, thanks for the great info, you guys are great!!
 
I had 5 Maximas (97, 2002, 2003, 2009 and 2011) in the past and always use 5w30. Why 10w30?
 
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Castrol 0w30 is popular in these cars (still available at Pep Boys and Amazon)

Another good choice is T6 5w30, or any equivalent 5w30 HDEO (Castrol Elixion, etc)
 
The 07 Maxima had the VQ35DE, as did the 03-06 M/G/Z/FX35. The 2007-2008 Z/G/M/FX got a new rear drive platform specific VQ the VQ35HR engine,which is very similar to the later VQ37VHR but without VVEL. Both were designed with much stronger castings then the DE as well as sporting numerous internal upgrades to sustain the 7300-7600RPM factory redlines. They generally do not suffer from timing chain guide failures.
 
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