Thanks guys, I guess at about 3500 miles I will switch both cars over to Pennzoil ultra with the Purolator filter.
BMW

 

I'm a little like you in that I'd like to find an oil that most will say "works well" for our car. I have a 2009 coupe that I drive daily and have 75% or so highway miles each day. I have been using Nissan ester oil with OCI of 5K. After reading many posts here and on BITOG, I think I too will give Pennzoil Ultra a try this week for my next oil change; I have 19,500 or so miles as of today. Given my driving habits, I'd like to up the OCI to 7,500 with Ultra.

 

the dealership in Tysons uses Castrol SynBlend 5w30...and I get free oil changes every 3750 miles...to date, I take my own oil in (GC 0w30) rather than have them use SynBlend even though it's money out of my pocket

thoughts on overall performance vs value of GC 0w30 versus Castrol SynBlend 5w30?

 

Your sticking to the 3750 mile OCI? If so, that would seem to be a waste of money to me.

 

I take mine over to Infiniti of Chantilly w/ my own oil and filter, and they charge $22 for labor, which is pretty stiff, but the overall cost for me is around $60 incl. M1 Filter and PU 5w-30.

 

What is considered a absolutely safe OCI when using something like GC or PP/Ultra even w/o an oil analysis? 5k?

 

yes, it might be a waste of money if I am using my own oil...that's why I am asking...as part of my purchase, Infiniti had a special and pays for my oil changes and state inspections for as long as I own my car...they use 5w30 Castrol semi-synthetic at Tysons Infiniti...I know GC 0w30 holds up very well...but I was wondering if Castrol semi-synthetic 5w30 would perform well within the 3750 mile OCI

 

Most any quality oil will work for 3750 miles. If you want to go longer you need to start looking at better oils.

 

I might be changing my recommendation for German Castrol 0w30.

I used it this last time and I have about 750 miles before my 3750 OCI. I checked my oil this morning and found out that I am a quart and a half low. For my previous oil changes, I used a 5w30 synthetic and my 2010 G37x didn't seem to burn a drop of oil. As good as the German Castrol 0w30 oil is for shear and breakdown, I think maybe the 0w might be too thin. I spoke to the dealership and the guy there said the tolerances for this engine might not be tight enough to handle such a thin oil.

Thoughts?

 

Your car essentially "burnt" 25% of its oil. Thats a lot IMO. I wouldnt necessarily 100% say its the oils fault, as there are other things that can be going on. I'd try a different oil for the next oil change and monitor your oil level to see if you are still losing oil.

 

I agree...that's alot of oil usage. I don't think it's the oil's fault at all. GC 0w30 was a great oil in my Audi. I just think the tolerances are different with the G37x vs the Audi. 0w just might be too thin.

I agree. Going to have the oil changed back to 5w30 this time, monitor things, and see what happens.

 

I am surprised at the info I'm reading about Mobil 1 not being great for this motor. This is what I've used in all of my vehicles with great results.

I just bought some Mobil 1 at $4 a quart at a Black Friday sale in preperation for my first oil change in my recently purchased '08 6MT with 20K miles.

Is this fine to run for maybe 4K miles, or is there any specific data about engine damage or wear with this oil?

 

You should be OK for 4K. They suggested I drop down to 5K on the last UOA I did with Mobil1. I changed to Pennzoil Ultra at that change.

 

I was getting my oil changed at the dealership yesterday and asked about the use of Nissan Ester oil. The guys there overwhelmingly agree that use of Nissan Ester is a waste of money and that there has been NO evidence to show that it helped a very tiny percentage of people who had a "ticking" sound in the engine.

Not saying my opinions on the oil because I don't know. Just passing on some info I got.

 

What dealership? Im bringing in my nissan ester oil UOA's and then my redline UOAs next change to Jim Coleman infiniti.