I would have to agree. The wear-in metals are showing, but there wouldn't be THAT much moly just from break-in.

 

So the dealer quoted me 100 bucks for an oil change with Nissan ester oil.

Or he quoted me 25 in labor for an oil change if I brought my own oil and filter.

After seeing the VOA and UOAs on the ester oil, Im spending 60 bucks on redline and a pureone filter. With the 25 labor charge, thats an 85 oil change with redline.

I think redline is a superoir oil and will do a better job taking away heat from the engine and should be able to last longer and wont break down like the nissan ester oil does. Im on schedule 2 maintenance because most of my driving is road trips and I take public transportation to work and only put 8k miles a year on the car...... and I dont think the nissan ester oil is the best choice for an extended OCI. For people on schedule 1, I think its fine, but for people on schedule 2, I would reconsider.

Im kinda suprised at the amount of people using the nissan ester oil vs. other high end synthetic oils.

 

From the VoA, the TBN is strong, indicating that an extended OCI would be fine, as long as the oil isn't seeing too much heat and breaking down. If you're not driving hard, Ester will probably be just fine.

I do agree, that the money is far better spent elsewhere.

 

The TBN is strong, but the bolded part was my reasoning. Even with very mild driving, the VVEL gives off a lot of heat even at light throttle.

I know you replied to JonnyO's UOA.... Even though he took it to the track once, it was pretty low and was in the 5w20 range. I dont know whats worse for the oil, 4500 miles and one track day, or 7500 miles without the track day. I know track days are very hard on the car, but even with ight throttle this car produces a lot of heat. And for the cost of the oil, I dont have confidence in it being able to handle the heat produced by the engine. It was low in a few other UOAs..... I think one or two people had them posted here or at BITOG.

Check out the VOA and compare it to the handful of nissan ester UOAs. (which im probably sure you already have)

So for the cost, and because Im on schedule 2, I rather have the peace of mind knowing that redline is tried and proven and I think it will handle the heat better than the Nissan ester oil.

 

Just had a couple questions, anyone that can answer them the help would be greatly appreciated. First, here's a little background info.

My 09 Journey sedan is due for it's 3rd oil change next week. My 1st oil change was done around 1,200-1,500 w/ Nissan Ester just before I took the G on a road trip from Portland, OR to San Francisco, CA. I'll admit that I really spread her wings during this roadtrip. The 2nd oil change was done around the 4,500-5,000 last Jan. again w/ Nissan Ester. Nothing special after, just normal day to day driving. And now I have about 7,500-7,600 miles on the engine. And have been thinking about switching to a ester based synthetic oil (Motul, Redline, ect...) After seeing the UOA of the Nissan Ester, I really didn't like what I saw.

My main reason for wanting to switch is I do like to drive agressive, aslong as it's safe for me and others on the road around me. The G is my DD and most of my driving around town involves light to moderate stop and go traffic. And the nice warmer months are coming around again and I plan to make quite a few roadtrip from Portland to SF and back this spring/summer. And my main reason is I plan to own this car till it's wheels fall off (*knocks on wood*) and just want to keep her protected/maintined as best as possible.

So here are my questions. Is it OK for me to now switch to synthetic because I have heard conflicting opinions. Some say you can switch right away even before the break-in period, while others say to atleast go 10,000+ miles or 3 oils changes before making the switch. Is there big difference between the synthetic ester based oils or which brand is the best between them? Right now I'm leaning towards Redline but it's seems more people here use the Motul line of oils. Thx again in advance for any help you can provide.

 

Kush,

Any Ester based (group V) oil will pretty much completely resist breakdown. The only thing you need to watch for is that you buy an oil made for street driving, not racing. The common group V oils you mentioned are all fine for street driving. Also, you can switch to synthetic any time.

Motul 300V users are actually pretty rare; they're just more outspoken (me). Among all the so-cal guys (i know a LOT... ~100+ owners), I know only a handful, and they're the guys that drive the cars the hardest.

When you're willing to spend this much money on an oil change, it really comes down to what is most readily available to you. In my case, it happens to be the Motul, since we have dealers that keep it in their inventory.

 

I voted German Castrol (0w30)...you can get 5 quarts and a filter from the Autozone special they run for $25

 

Well it looks like we're going to have to add another one to the list...

 

I'm looking forward to seeing the UOA for this.

 

The guys with full synthetic how many miles do you go without a change? I had 2 mercedes before this car, and a service was about every 10-12k miles.. which was nice because it was about once a year.. I just got my 09 g37x coupe and the dealer told me to change it every 3750... and i asked about switching to synthetic and my salesman told me there's a whole big process to switch the car over to synthetic is this true? Or next oil service I can switch to synthetic and keep using that from here on out. I bought the car with 11k miles, and I have the service reports on the car and the car had its 15k service when they got the car back on a 1 yr fleet lease..

any help is appreciated.. I wouldn't mind switching to synthetic (like mobile 1) and changing it every 7-8k miles..

 

The dealership wants your money for changing the oil every 3750 miles. I use Pennzoil Platinum and change every 7500 miles. I'm not a mechanic but I don't know why switching to synthetic wold be a big "process". The Owners manual has different oil change recommendations depending on city/highway miles I think, look in there and see what it says.

 

Sure, there's a whole big process for switching to synthetic. Here's what they have to do:

1. Drain the old dino oil and properly dispose of it.

2. Replace the oil filter and re-tighten the oil drain plug.

3. Add 5 and 1/8 quarts of synthetic oil.

It's quite arduous. Might take an entire 20 minutes,depending on how long it takes the old oil to drain.

Then, if you want to switch back, you've got to do the same thing all over again! Ludicrous, I know. But if you're willing to let them go to all that hassle, you could even switch back and forth between different brands of oil at every change if you wanted! Sounds to me like your dealership thinks this should cost thousands of dollars, too.

 

^ Truth.

Im currently going 7500 miles or 6 months on Redline. Based on my driving habits, I fall under schedule 2 maintenance, which is 6 months or 7500 miles. And based on my yearly mileage, Ill probably be between 4-5,000 miles at 6 months.

SINCE YOU BOUGHT THE CAR USED, You can probably go 7500 miles on synthetic, but do a UOA to be sure. I would want to monitor my engines wear because you still are within the break in period. If your dealership gives you a hard time, tell them your driving style falls under schedule 2 maintenance and you are following exactly what Nissan recommends for your driving style (even if your style is more schedule 1).

Before I went 7500 miles on this car, I would make sure that the synthetic I chose could handle the heat for 7500 miles because the VVEL in this car gives off a lot of heat.

 

11k miles to be exact (if you are referring to me)... I plan to change it in 3750 miles (I don't know what they used for the 15k service, probably ester oil).. I am going to go with Mobile 1 5w30 synthetic. I have used that on an M3, sl55, sl600, and a few z06 corvettes without any issue.

I will do the first change at around 7200 miles.. and send it out and see how it is.. and go from there.

thoughts?

 

Confused. Are you changing it every 3750 miles? Or every 7200 miles?

If 3750, just about any 5W-30 should be fine (except I'd shy away from Nissan Ester oil). No need to buy expensive oil.

As for Mobil 1 synthetic, it's wildly popular and certainly won't hurt anything. However, from the UOAs posted at BITOG on the VQ37 engine, it doesn't seem to be the best performing oil in this particular car.