If Infinity used Ester oil in my 09 then it is not that impressive. At 1200 miles is is getting as dark as 2000 miles dino oil in my 9 year old turbo charged Subaru engine. Not only that there is some dark/silvery material in the oil. And my G does have valve tap at start up, just like my neighbor 09 M3. If you have not drive the damn car for 2 days, seem like there is a team of road workers working under the hood. I would have gone for the Ester oil but I don't want to pay mark up for a $3 oil. Gear head like me loves nano lubrication and heat seaking Ester oil (I alway image that if I spilled a puddle of Ester oil on the valve cover, it would converge, grew a set of legs and run toward the exhaust manifold while the Mobil 1 oil puddle would run the other direction) And then I do not think Nissan is always right, my friend's $23000 Huyndai have better seats.

 

Getting dark is a good thing. It means the oil is doing its job.

 

It also mean it is under stress, in this case it maybe deteriorating due to heat. At another 1500 miles on Valvoline dyno oil, it is still clear. Years ago, I experiment with oil on hot pan and Mobil 1 came out with flying colors, other lesser oil burned much quicker. I don't mind to pay a little more for good products, but Nissan is vague with this issue. It makes me believe that their recommendation is all about marketing.

 

UOA says otherwise.

Color is not an indicator of "stress" or "breakdown".

Nissan's "ester oil" is a proven fix for the VVEL tick. Is it the only fix? No. Is it cheaper than using a Group V oil? Yes.

 

I'm not sure about that -- it looks like Red Line or Royal Purple are at best around $9/quart vs $11 for Nissan Ester.

 

I had my oil changed through the Elite 1 Maintence coctract and they claimed to use "valvoline bulk oil". Mu car ticks worse then ever after startup for at least 90 secs. Is there an additive I can put into the oil reservoir to help reduce the valve chatter I hear from startup? Just throwin it out there for advice.

 

Throw in some Ester oil? Purely speculation on my part.

 

i got my first oil change last week at the dealership since i get free oil changes for 2 yrs with the purchase of the car. they told me they use valvoline synthetic blend 10w-30. i'm not sure if i hear the valve ticking at start up or not. is it the helicopter sound for the first 10-15 seconds of start up? if so, it still sound the same when i first got the car new. doesn't bother me much.

 

Some of the noises at start up are not from the valve train, it is from the exhaust system. My neighbor '10 M3 makes the same noises when start up with the engine cool or warmed. My G makes the most noises when cold, only a little when it is warmed up.