vanuatoo Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 Hello Nissan manual states: NISSAN does not recommend synthetic type oils but recommends mineral based oils. These oils must however, meet the API quality and SAE viscosity ratings specified for your vehicle. I use SAE 5w-30 oil. How should I check if it's mineral based or synthetic based? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoPathyGo Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 (edited) Hello Nissan manual states: NISSAN does not recommend synthetic type oils but recommends mineral based oils. These oils must however, meet the API quality and SAE viscosity ratings specified for your vehicle. I use SAE 5w-30 oil. How should I check if it's mineral based or synthetic based? Conventional mineral oils are basically oils refined directly from crude. Synthetics fall into various categories. Group III synthetics are made from reprocessed petroleum products left after making things like diesel, gasoline etc. Group IV are oils made from simpler chemical compounds. The advantages of synthetics are their greater stability at high temps and their predictability. There's a looongg and ongoing debate on which brand of oil and how often and so on that will perhaps never be resolved. But basically a lot of folks around here use fully synthetic. E.g., Mobil1. Modern synthetics are quite popular and often used by the factory. E.g., all Porsches and Bentleys come from the factory with Mobil1. I don't know exactly why Nissan prefers mineral based oils. A quick google search didn't yield any convincing answers either. The closest was a post that supposedly contained a quote from Nissan NA saying they built and tested with mineral-based oils, but folks were free to use what they wanted. Perhaps the recommendation allows them to sell their own oil for high profits ? Perhaps it's a legal thing designed to protect them in case someone puts el-cheapo synthetic and the seals fail or something. Who knows. 5W-30 is a classification referring to the oil's viscosity and ability to flow across a temperature range. It is separate from the source of the oil (mineral or synthetic). From the API website: SAE Viscosity Grade The center of the Donut shows the oil's SAE viscosity grade. Viscosity is a measure of an oil's flow characteristics, or thickness, at certain temperatures. The low-temperature viscosity (the first number, 5W in a 5W-30 oil) indicates how quickly an engine will crank in winter and how well the oil will flow to lubricate critical engine parts at low temperatures. The lower the number the more easily the engine will start in cold weather. The high-temperature viscosity (the second number, 30 in a 5W-30 oil) provides thickness, or body, for good lubrication at operating temperatures. A multigrade oil (for example, SAE 5W-30) provides good flow capability for cold weather but still retains thickness for high-temperature lubrication. A single grade oil (a single number in the center of the donut) is recommended for use under a much narrower set of temperature conditions than multigrade oils. Operators should refer to their owner's manuals to select the proper viscosity oil for the ambient temperature and operating conditions at which the equipment will be used." Edited July 1, 2009 by GoPathyGo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
180sx Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 If its synthetic it will say it on the bottle of oil. If it doesn't say synthetic, then it's mineral based. Jose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanuatoo Posted July 1, 2009 Author Share Posted July 1, 2009 I also use Fully Syntethic 5w-30 oil. I'm not sure about API Certification marks. I guess if there is a word mineral on a box, that oil is mineral based as is recommended by nissan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanuatoo Posted July 1, 2009 Author Share Posted July 1, 2009 If its synthetic it will say it on the bottle of oil. If it doesn't say synthetic, then it's mineral based. OK! One more question: Is it safe to use mineral oil once you used fully synthetic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JUDGE Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 OK! One more question: Is it safe to use mineral oil once you used fully synthetic? Yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laxman0324 Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 I wouldn't since VQ35's are well known for sludge buildup and mineral oil is the sludge culprit. First 5k miles with Mobil1 and the oil filter was filled with sludge that the synthetic cleaned out. Why would you want to anyway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willray80 Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 This might be off topic, but I like the "Think With Your Dipstick" commercials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekazgtr1984 Posted July 2, 2009 Share Posted July 2, 2009 This might be off topic, but I like the "Think With Your Dipstick" commercials. I've heard this new Castrol Edge is supposed to be quite impressive. I may give it a shot on my next oil change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01silvapathy Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 I wouldn't since VQ35's are well known for sludge buildup and mineral oil is the sludge culprit. Well crap, I guess i have to change me oil soon I wasnt thinking with ma dipstick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoPathyGo Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 I'm actually toying with the idea of going with either 10W-40 or BMW motor oil (which has a wider temperature band than standard 5W-30) at the next change. Weather isn't cold enough here to worry about the low temps and I like the idea/theory that the heavier oil with the higher breakdown temp would help the engine. Castrol makes the BMW motor oil and the Edge stuff is supposed to be quite good. But ultimately who knows how much of a difference all of this makes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowTied Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 VQ35's are well known for sludge buildup I had not heard this... can you elaborate? Or is this about PCV valve oil consumption? thx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrish Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 I've been using 5w30 full synthetic on my 2001 VQ since day one (bought it new). Mostly Mobil1 but, at times, I was using Royal Purple. 159,000+ miles later and it's still running like new. I go 7,000 miles between changes (seriously) and the oil is still translucent after that many miles. If I did serious off-roading I'd be changing it a lot more frequently than that but most of my miles (at least 99%) are highway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrish Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 I had not heard this... can you elaborate? Or is this about PCV valve oil consumption? thx Nor have I, but I would strongly believe this to be the case. I've always used full synthetic 5w30 and do not have the PCV/valve cover baffle plugging problem (knock on wood!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laxman0324 Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 I had not heard this... can you elaborate? Or is this about PCV valve oil consumption? thx The valve covers build up sludge with use of dino oil, combined with the PCV valve issue they can burn a LOT of oil...when I heard about the PCV valve issue I did research on Z forums and other VQ35 powered vehicles and all of them have this issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowTied Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 Interesting, thanks for the reply. I wonder if this starts at a higher mileage? With just over 80k miles, I have not yet noticed any oil consumption issues yet (less than quart per oil change). I will keep an eye on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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