They also use Rotella in big diesel tow vehicles. Flat turbo motors and tow vehicles are REALLY hard on oil. I put it in my VQ because VQs are also extremely hard on oil. The best oils I've used in various applications, and I'm mostly talking about race cars, have been Torco, and Motul 300V. Unfortunately, those oils are prohibitively expensive and would probably be overkill for a daily driver. That said, I do use 300v endurance grade for my cross country drives. But for a balance of strong thermal breakdown resistance, and off the shelf prices, Rotella is my go-to oil. It's about half the price of those other oils.

 

Valid points you make. VQ's are a different beast compared to any engine though. The VVEL lifters need to be slick hence why dealers require they use Nissan ester to alleviate that problem. From the track record perspective I have 130k on my 08 G37S coupe. Bought it new in 07. With that being said I've tried every oil possibly out there with the exception of Rotella. These VQ's love ester oil period.

 

I have a m37 with 36k and I been using Mobil1 5 30. Since I bought it with 16k.i always buy a Mobil1 filter and a case of Mobil and go to my friends shop and he does it on the lift for me no charge.but my winter vehicle, jeep cherokee sport.I always use rotella 10-30 Conventional. And do it myself,since it's lifted.it's easy.rotella is the best for 4.0 straight 6s.what do you guys recommend for summer oil for a m37s...stick to mobil1?

 

Same engine...M1 0W40 or Castrol 0W40.

 

Interesting.

Coming from 2 Maxima's and an I30, one of the first things I noticed on the G37 was how rough the engine sounds and feels over 6k.

The Maximas and I30 seemed to feel/sound silky smooth all the way up to redline. Although much slower obviously.

I will look into 0W40.

 

I ran M1 0w-40 for one OCI, but found engine not as peppy on acceleration probably because it has HTHS viscosity of 3.8. Currently running Castrol Edge 0w-40 which has HTHS of 3.5 and the engine seems to be a bit more agile. Both oils available at Walmart at a great price. The Castrol bottle says Made in Germany, but also says for American Market. Both oils are A3/B4, MB 229.5 certified.

Castrol Edge 0w-40 is noticeably thinner compared to M1 0w-40 on the dip stick. That's the oil I am planning to stick with going forward.

 

Interesting. Yes, STi's and Porshe's also use their oil to drive the cam timing. That's what led me to think Rotella would work the same in this motor. I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts if you ever try Rotella in the VQ. Can't argue with what works, and in your case, 130K says a lot. I only have about 10K on my motor, but I have raced it a few times and so far it's been fine.

 

I've not decided which to go with but I've found this savings on the M1 oil. Thought I'd share. I'm considering the M1 0-40W.

Rebate Form

 

Try sending your oil to Blackstone. I'd be real interested to see what the results are. If you are one of the lucky ones that do not have the VVEL actuator noise then you are golden.

 

I'd be interested too, but I use a Moly additive (Liqui Moly Mos2), so that throws off any used oil analysis results.

 

I just picked up Pennzoil Ultra Euro 5w-30. I'm going to change the oil soon and will let you guys know if it's any good. I figured since it's Euro spec it should be a little thicker than normal 30w oil. I'm coming from 0w-30 Castrol Edge so I will let you guys know if I feel any difference from that oil.

 

I got my oil changed to the Pennzoil Ultra Euro 5w-30 finally and drove about 1200 miles so far. The car itself runs smoother but it's noticeably slower to me than the Castrol Edge 0w-30 I had in from winter.