Heat

iTrader: (1)

And that link seems like a real reputable report.

Umm...yeah, you keep doing your own oil change and when you have to get your engine warranty because of that ticking noise and they deny your claim because they say you dont have proof that you ever got your oil changed and you are going 10,000 miles on the same oil, dont start crying on the forums.

w0ady

iTrader: (1)

got my first oil change at 2154 miles with nissan ester. it was free, just used the tsb for knocking hehe.

i got a sample to send out to blackstone. my next change will be at 5000 where i switch to motul 300v. ill be sending out that sample as well as my first synthetic change at 10000.

NACZ3

iTrader: (1)

has anyone bought the prepaid maintenance package with their G37 after this TSB for ester came out. My dealer is saying that the premium schedule (5 years/75K) prepaid maintenance (Elite package or whatever its called) covers the Ester oil--the contract just says oil change though. Anyone have any experiences. I did a random call to the service dept and they said it was covered.

The maintenance package charge is $2995. I called an LA dealer for the price of the ester oil change and they quoted 160 (geez). If the oil change is that price ( or lower at 100 bucks) then the prepaid (I calculate 20 oil changes), looks like a decent deal along with the other maintenance items being done.

09G37x

Just got my first oil change at the dealer on a 2009 G37x Coupe at 3300 miles. They filled it with regular 5W30. I got 2 miles from the dealership and the engine started bucking badly above 2200RPM. Limped it back to the dealer and they replaced the oil with Nissan Ester Oil after finding the TSB. The tech said that 5W30 was too thick for the valve system, but no damage was done. Runs fine now, but this Ester oil is $11/qt.
Looks like the Ester Oil is absolutely required!

SilverTL05

OK. If 5W30 is too thick what oil do you have to use?

I'm still at 1200 miles, and was planing on using 5W30 synthetic blend.

Hmmm~

todd92

In a world filled with dumb oil misinformation, this is a gem. So the conventional 5W-30 was too thick (which is the same oil that was in your car when you bought it), but the conventional 5W-30 with ester additive which is the exact same thickness, worked fine. The tech is an idiot, he knocked something loose and reattached it.

There is no way that the oil caused what you experienced. It is physicaly impossible. More ammo for staying as far away from the dealer grease monkeys as possible.

vukhey

iTrader: (2)

they gave me the same knocking noise from the engine if i didnt buy the nissan ester oil, then he also said that it's already in the car to start, which was funny cos i had the knocking to start, and then i asked him why do you guys even offer a regular 5w-30 oil if that's gonna cause problems for the engine, and he said he didnt know why. he actually couldnt tell what the different oils were, synthetic ..., they were also a new dealership so i guess they didnt really know anything, but i jut went cos everything theres on special, even parts. anyways, after they changed it to ester, i dont why from 3, really 4th gear and up, the car feels really sluggish now, maybe its just me, but i dont know why i dont get the same feeling i did before the oil change, i remeber in 6th, the car still pulled if you stepped on it at 80, but now it feels really draggy, hope they didnt give me the wrong oil, the guy couldnt even type ester oil into the system to printout the form cos it wasnt even in there, anyone else felt the same after their first ester oil change?

notalk

The ester oil contains a carbon based additive designed to reduce friction when flowing over the "diamond-like" coated valves. The ester oil is supposed to reduce friction even more than conventional motor oil.

Mayu

FYI... Infiniti does not use 100% Synthetic Oil - they use FULL Synthetic.

They use a highly refined mineral oil with some ester synthetic added. Booo!

These refined minerals are NO substitute for a 100% synthetic oil - use Lucas, Amsoil, or if you are a baller or love your car, use Motul 300V.

jane

So I'll be getting a G37 after the first of the year. Been doing my own oil for 40 years without a problem. Been running Castrol Syntec 5/30 in my 02 Altima. So now that the 37 has been out awhile what do I want to use for my oil?

lakers8

The dealer put regular oil in mine and I have no problems. You can put ester oil if you dont mind paying so much each time, or just go with regular synthetic.

guitargman

Had an oil change last week. Tech said these engines don't need Ester and used reg oil. I havent had any probs. That's not saying i won't switch at some point. She is still a baby, but reading these forums about this topic can make the head spin.

jane

So M1 will work ok for my first oil change and there after.

JonfromCB

Too much on the last two pages to even know where to begin to contribute in
a useful way, but here goes. 1st, the 3.7 is a very different engine than the 3.5
as far as the valve train and not having a throttle as such. The VVel system
in the 3.7 has an actuator and motor that have taken the place of the throttle
by controlling the constantly variable valves. This system in the 3.7 is very sensitive to
fluctuations in hydrolic pressure, hense the recommendation of Ester oil for
optimal VVel operation in the 3.7. The first sign of poor lubrication on the 3.7
valve train is noise. The problem has been mostly in the coupes but has
also occured in the Sedan. The fix consists of a computer reflash and fill
with Nissan Ester.

2nd, Ester is synthetic derived from sources other than crude oil from the ground.
It can come from various and or combined plant sources. Ester oil is polar....that
simply means that is attracted to the engine surfaces at the molecular level which
is different from non-ester oil, whether it be synthetic or conventional.
These properties of Ester oil are what makes it work so well in lubricating the unique
parts in the 3.7 VVel ..this is why Nissan created and marketed their own oil.
The Nissan Ester also has unique nano particles of
carbon that work with the coating that Nissan puts on pistons, cylinders and valves
to reduce friction and increase MPG. Nissan applied for a european patent based
on the nano particle additives, but the patent was denied based on other
manufacturers already using suspended carbon as an additive.

Although Ester oil is only recommended and not required in the 3.7, I have learned
enough about this issue in the last two months that I can tell you I will only be using
Ester based oil in my car. There are many good ester oils for passenger car
use...Motul, Redline, Enoes, and Renewable Lubricants are amoung the most well known makers of non-racing
"street use oils" in addition to their racing oils. I would not recommend racing oils for any engine not being raced.
because it has no or very little of the detergents that engines not being raced require to prevent
sludge and disolve contaminants that get quickly "burned off" in racing applications....don't do it, you've been warned.

I am personally going with Redline, delivered to my door for under $8.50/quart
instead of the Nissan at over $12/quart, but that is solely based on my
personal preference. The others are good as well, but I personally like the
Redline passenger car oil specifications and feel secure that I can safely
do an oil change every 6 months or 7500 miles with it. I hope this
information helps someone out...I didn't know any of this when I sold
my M35 and got my G37. I quickly found out that Nissan has done
a poor job explaining these issues and I personally talked to 4 service managers
at Nissan and Infiniti dealers and only one could begin to explain
these issues....sad job of training your service managers Nissan.....just sad.

BradManUWF

Dude, that's all jacked up. The constant variable valves taking the place of the throttle? You might want to rethink that a little. Our engines have 2 "drive by wire" throttle bodies. The throttles weren't replaced, the mechanical cables were which also removed the need for a seperate cruise control assembly. How you came up with the throttle being replaced by a variable valve train is, um.....yeah. Now if you're speaking about the "butterfly valves" in the throttle bodies, those still work the exact same way as the throttle bodies on any other engine whether is has cables or a servo. The throttles are controlled differently but they still work the same way. A butterfly valve regulates how much air is allowed to in, which is controlled by your foot. If this is what you mean, then I'd relabel your "constantly variable valves" as "butterfly valves" or just "throttle bodies".




Here's the bottom line on oil. If the engine requires/needs "Ester oil", it would say that in the owner's manual or Nissan would be facing massive lawsuits because they didn't sepcifically publish that, causing engines to go bad. If a specific oil was required, using any oil but that would void the warranty. Use the quality/rating of oil the owner's manual says to and your engine will be fine. When big companies recommend using a specific item, and that item happens to be made by the same company, that's called marketing. Corvette Z06s and other various European cars do the same thing with Mobil 1. They "recommend" using it, but it's not required. Marketing.....some people just get owned by it

I've changed my oil every 5K miles with Castol Syntec 5w-30 and a my engine is still nice and smooth, no noise, no valve chatter. This thread kills me, it's some great entertainment though The forever debated oil thread....every forum has one and everybody disagrees with everybody else.