Nissan Ester Oil, how it works inside the 370z engine vs other brands
 

I found this article and it explains why Nissans Ester oil is the best option for our engines. Especially for VVEL operation. It starts out talking about our "Green" lead free engine bearings and oil temperatures, which is why the 370z has limp mode because of no factory oil cooler. Anyway it's an interesting read, check it out.

https://motoiq.com/nissan-370z-bad-n...pe-or-reality/

Doesn't explain anything about VVEL operation and the heat it generates. Nissan oil is sourced from different venders that meet the specs and they put their label on it and jack up the price. Any good quality oil will work.

I agree 100%! I was using the expensive Nissan Ester oil in my car from new and didn’t question it until recently when I decided to go with Pennzoil Ultra and the engine couldn’t be happier. No, it didn’t self destruct and no there are no tapping noises from the VVEL or anywhere. Actually I find it quieter and oil temps are perfect. I don’t know what exactly the Nissan oil is composed of. Nissan refuses to give any info on its oil and the dealers know nothing about and rarely use it. I guess I got tired of paying $18 bucks/litre for dusty bottles of oil that the dealer would dig out of its rarely used stock.

My dealer used Ester for the first oil change, AFTER I told them Nissan spec'ed it. After they changed it, they told me that Nissan no longer required it, and we're instead calling for Mobile One full synth, which they would be using from now on.
30,000 miles in, and no problems, so I don't have a problem with it.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

4 pages to the article, VVEL operation is discussed on page 4. Why the oil is heated up so much is on page 2.

My laptop chopped the bottom of the page off. Didn't see it until I changed the screen size. ;)

I've used M1 synth for years in all of my cars... always change it ~ 4k mark. Never a problem.

If the horsepower increase per cylinder on page 3 is accurate then you are spending about $35 extra or so dollars for 6 to 9 extra HP due to a reduction in friction. Very appealing to me anyway.

I've heard this too about Nissan no longer recommending it. And using Mobil 1.

This topic about Nissan Ester Oil has been beat to death over the years. You can expect about 2 threads per year on it from someone who just got their Z. and it always turns into an oil thread that gets locked.

So I have to post the cat.

Used Mobile 1 for several years and then switched to Red Line. Both seem to work very well. I do find that the engine seems to idle a little smoother with Red Line though.

Just use a quality synthetic oil and you'll be good to go.

Obviously any synthetic will work, just posting this up since it had more info than I have seen about it on here or anywhere else. Z1 sells 6 quarts plus Nissan oil filter for $70 plus shipping so I'm not opposed to trying it.

Have done so many oil changes over the years on our VQ engines and testing different brand motor oils what is critical on the VQ engine is changing your oil on time every time. Any quality API certified synthetic motor oil will work perfectly fine. I have been using Motul 300V 5W30 and Redline 5W30 and I have never lost an engine yet due to motor oil breakdown. From what I have seen the Nissan dealership service departments close to me are not even using Nissan Ester motor oil on there oil changes they reported using Mobil 1 5W30 and Valvoline SynPower 5W30 synthetic motor oil for oil changes on all the 370Z’s and GTR’s. Also the genuine Nissan oil filter is a well designed oil filter to use on our VQ engines always was.

Here are some papers I've collected on this oil. From what I've seen in oil analysis results, the base oil they used is a conventional oil and has severe shearing issues. Although the ester additives are great, overall the oil is a letdown.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xycansspi6...ional.pdf?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/w9o5j1btum...ional.pdf?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/dc95x6i4k4...ional.pdf?dl=0

even conventional oil is fine with oci between 3k to 4k miles if the car is driven normally. a few local nissan/infiniti dealers use conventional oil with recommended 3k oci.

premium synthetic oil probably would be good if the car is tracked or redlined every lights.

GTR’s factory fill is the European formula M1 0w40. That Nissan ester oil was never for GTR.

That was always something I never understood. Nissan touts their Ester oil as being this amazing revolutionary oil containing nanoparticles and unicorn tears but yet it is not recommended or used in the GTR. That alone says it all.

Agreed the standard in the Nissan GTR is Mobil 1 0W40 synthetic motor oil that is due to the plasma sprayed bores and any other weight motor oil could possibly damage the plasma coating. Dealerships I have seen reported using 5W30 and even 5W40 Mobil 1 synthetic motor oil on Nissan GTR oil changes. Bingo this is why I highly recommend taking the time and doing your own oil changes instead of having these places you bring your car to screw it up. I would hope people here would take pride in their Z and do some of their own general maintenance on their Z. If I owned a GTR the only motor oils I would consider using would be Mobil 1 0W40 or Motul 5W40 synthetic motor oils but there are a lot of different motor oil choices out there though.

After all the oil testing I have seen with the VQ37HR engine I highly recommend using a quality API certified synthetic motor oil only and believe it will hold up a lot better due to the high heat temperature the VQ37HR engine produces. Also has been shown to produce less wear on engine bearings over time. Not all motor oil brands protect the same.

Only reason Nissan was recommending the Ester oil, based on the article, is due to the DLC coating in the valve train. I have owned guns with the DLC coating and I used to use grease as a lubricant because the oil would not create a film on the coated parts. Their oil is supposed to bond to the DLC thereby creating less friction. Not sure if the GTR has DLC coated parts but I am guessing that it does not based on the full synthetic recommendation.

^^ Good synthetic oil is PAO Ester which is the same family of molecule that Nissan adds to their dinosaur juice mineral oil for the 370Z.

So just use a PAO Ester oil and you have superior lubrication DLC or no DLC.

Nissan Ester Oil, how it works inside the 370z engine vs other brands
 

Don’t know how it is in Australia but there aren’t many synthetics left in North America that actually use PAO ester base oils. Most use extremely refined petroleum base oils and call it synthetic. The only standout is Pennzoil which uses a base oil derived from natural gas for their Platinum synthetics.

Redline do claim to use PAO base oil but their oils do not meet API certification and therefore should not be used if you have an existing NISSAN warranty.

Amsoil and Royal Purple refuse to divulge their base oil makeup but if you read their MSDS, it is petroleum based.


Oooops.....I really hope I’m not starting another oil thread war. Just stating facts.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

In US, “synthetic” is deemed just a marketing terms. That’s why some people specifically use “German Castrol” or the M1 0w40 Euro (other than the boutique brands of course).

I’ll shut up now.

Yes you're right.. most synthetics are highly cracked dinosaur juice here too.

Penrite (Aussie brand) "10 Tenths Racing" series is PAO/Ester, Nulon (another Aussie brand) has a few oils with PAO/Ester and Motul's 300V is ester-based too. So there's a bit of choice left here.

I just bought a 2019 370Z and Nissan still recommends their ester oil in the owner's manual.

I've done my first early oil change at 700 miles with the ester oil but am still uncertain as to whether there are any better alternatives to this oil nowadays. If this is the same oil as was formulated back in 2009 for the VQ37VHR, does it still stack up as the best choice for this engine, given the r&D that has been going on in the last 10 years with motor oils?