What is the best synthetic oil?
 

I have been searching the net for independent studies and not having much luck. Does anyone know of any test that have been conducted that will provide acurate info on which is the best?

Also, just talk to the parts guy at the Nissan Store and there is a part number for the oil cooler from Nissan Motor Sports part #21300-SS370. The oil cooler kit is about $800.00 big ones. He is going to send me some pics to view before I buy.

You're never going to get a big group like this to agree. In fact, you will be lucky if a huge brawl doesn't ensue. There are a handful people swear by:

redline, amsoil, royal purple, and the nissan ester oil.

looks like the new search function still dosent work

What are your oil temps getting up to? You plan on tracking the car, or only for street use? A lot of us that never plan on hitting a track will never need an oil cooler, especially us "lucky" ones that have never seen 230+ temps.

As far as "best" synthetic oil, that'll be debateable until the end of time. Pick a brand of oil, check it reguarly and keep it topped off. Use a company like Blackstone for an oil analysis after your oil change and they'll tell you how the oil (and engine) is performing.

Nissan "recommends" its own brand Ester Oil in the manual, however that is not required.

Don't plan on tracking the car, but might like to do a little spirited driving. Always like to air on the side of safety and have that extra edge of protection. It never hurts to play it safe, because you never know when your going to need it. I read about the Eneos oil on the Nippon Web Site. Sounds like this is a high performance race oil. They sell it on Amazon.com for a good price.

yeah you'll be fine without a cooler..the motor will protect itself and go into limp mode if temps get too high...btw there is no best motor oil..

I don't want to go into limp mode, driving my Z is like having sex.:roflpuke2:

Pennzoil Ultra. Ferrari factory fill, dude. My 2009.5 370Z loves it.

Mattie, you've never seen 230? I've seen it but only in heavy traffic in 90+ temps. And it never got above 230, even when sitting on I-95 in the Bronx at 95F outside temp.

Royal Purple easy enough!

Nissan "recommends" it for both the manual and automatic. And it's not a synthetic.

oh dear... get ready for battles... =)

:facepalm:

Not for the manual, "in" the manual...owner's manual.

And I was pointing out what the manual says, because the usual follow-up question is "will I void my warranty if I use xxx brand of oil and the manual says to use Nissan Ester Oil?"

@ 370zSteve: I've not seen 230 yet, and that's driving hard and fast in 106+ temps here in GA. Hell, even on the dyno day sitting in 90's and then doing 5 pulls on the dyno it didn't get up that high.

:roflpuke2: Hows your foot taste VC?

If you truely want the best of the best oil, IMHO get Motul 300v, hands down the best...and its an ester oil as nissan recommends. As a matter of fact, its a double ester based oil...top of the line stuff at a premium tho...

Check out the "oil nerds thread" and also do some research on Bobistheoilguy.

But the short answer is, it's a hotly debated topic.

Amsoil

I like Bertolli. It lowers the engine's cholesterol.

i mix gasoline with the oil so i get more fuel in the cylinders

Since both of my feet are still firmly planted on the ground, I wouldn't know. Go back and read the original post - you can read it more than one way (that's why people need to be precise in what they write in posts on the Internet, like in this case stating "Owner's Manual" would have removed all ambiguity). On this topic, there've been some, uh, "interesting" posts, wouldn't you say - so it's entirely possible that he meant it the way I read it...

And my other point (Nissan's ester oil isn't synthetic) is also correct...

I read it just fine, but I appreciate your offer :tiphat:

I've found that a 1:1 mixture of Castrol GTX and toilet water makes the car run much smoother and quieter. Nastier the toilet water, better she runs. My Z is a dirty girl.

I'm running Amsoil's Signature Series 0W-30, but I'm considering moving to a 5W-40.

All of these are good, but I have seen enough UOAs that prove Royal Purple causes more wear on cars and doesn't like extended intervals.

Best to worse

Redline
Amsoil
Penzoil Ultra
Penzoil Plat
Castrol German
Mobil 1
Motul
Royal Purple
Castrol Syntec

Im using castrol edge.

Im sure you mean used toilet water, right? Number one and two combined.

yeah royal is not that good, so were theses UOAs specific to the 370 motor?

I am very happy with the 0w-30. I am switching between the 0w30 and the 5w30 right now but i am so happy with the gas mileage on the 0w30 im gonna stick with it year around

...2 girls one quart

Well mostly VQ series engines. The VQ is a bit hard on oils and RP just didn't do well.

check this out taken from the Mobil 1 website...seems like there are Esters in Mobil 1?

Is Mobil 1 an Ester Oil


Decide for yourself if you want Mobil 1 or not

RP does just fine in mine. Been running it for 18,000 miles so far and 60K+ in my last car. Here is a good test, RP is one of the best.

http://www.animegame.com/cars/Oil%20Tests.pdf

This article is thrown around a lot by Royal Purple users. This test is really only designed to see if an oil has extreme pressure additives in the oil formulation. It is not a measure of how well an oil performs, although this test leads people to believe so.

:koolaidwall:

I've had great success with used Harley-Davidson oil from my bikes which came used from my vette which came used from my Kia which came used from my John Deere lawn tractor which came used from my deep fryer.

:iagree:..those additives are better served in gear oil due to their corrosive nature..

someone show me definitive evidence that RP does more harm than good, because i've researched all over the place and found nothing but heresay, Jordo seems to know a bit, whats your take?

i read prolonged use of RP will eventually corrode and blow the motor up haha:icon17:..nobody's saying that RP is bad..it may very well be the best..or the worst..haha jk.