Is it normal
 

to see that your oil dipstick's reading gets lower? I have right under 2,300 miles on my car, had it for a little over 2 months; when I first got it, it read 3/4 full for oil on the dipstick, when I checked today, it read 1/2.

I always check my oil when the car is cold, on level ground, or if it hasn't been driven for several hours at least.

Does the VQ37 burn oil, consume oil or what? Does this thing think it's a Wankel?

During break in period, it's normal to burn oil. Just fill it and see if it still burns.

Everyone is crying about the oil temp, but my 370 better not be a lemon. I'll be mad if Nissan let this car out "under-engineered!"

Who's crying about oil temp? Simple concept: street driving = no modification needed, track driving = get an oil cooler. If you think 370Z is an "under-engineered" car then ..... well.... I rest my case.

Moving Engine/drivetrain.

270 degree oil temps in traffic is normal?

NO.!

i always thought you were to check the oil when the car was warm...... am i wrong?

^^


Warm oil check is the tranny fluid, no???

The oil needs to settle in order to get an accurate measure of how much is actually in the engine.

That's why the 1st time you pop the dipstick out is to clean it and put it back and then check the level.

Is this your first car? Engines burn oil. Some more than others. You're burning it at a rate of a quart every 9000 miles. Hardly an issue. When it gets to a quart every 1000 miles go see your dealer (but most manufacturers consider a Qt per 1K completely acceptable)

My Subie burned 1qt per 1K and it had perfect compression its entire life. My Accord did not burn a drop, ever. And, my G hardly burns any at all either so I am hoping the same from my Z.

While we're on the topic of checking oil and such, I have a question.

Has anyone here ever observed some black residue coming off the dipstick whenever you pull the dipstick out and wipe it off the 1st time prior to checking the oil??

Everytime I check the oil, I wipe the dipstick off and noticed black residue (looks like powdered metal to me) on the dipstick. Its not carbon deposits and its not oil...it looks to me like metal stuck to the dipstick. If our dipsticks are magnetized, then that's fine...it's just iron particles and is normal. But if I go a longer span of time between checking the oil, there's a larger buildup of that stuff on the dipstick. Black/dark gray in color, it is. I have 7800 miles and the last oil change was at 4000mi. Engine runs great and I get 28mpg with conservative driving. No bizarre noises or anything else abnormal.

I'm getting ready to switch over to synthetic oil. I ran the factory oil until 1500mi, then ran Mobil 5000 until 4000 mi, and currently have Castrol GTX in there. I think I'm gonna switch to Castrol Syntec 0W-30 in a few hundred miles.

Either way....tell me what yall think bout that.

Late,
Trav

No, I've owned close to 10 different cars (mostly used ones) prior to this 370. My 2005 Accord (I had since new)which has under 30,000 miles never burns oil because I do my own oil changes, and of course check the dipstick about once a month.

I thought if a NEW car, regardless if it's a sports car, truck or passenger car "burns" or consumes oil, then it means the engine isn't properly sealing i.e. the piston rings, gaskets, and the likes?

The only motor I know that consumes oil normally is a rotary and one with a lot of mileage.

I thought that maybe Nissan rushed this VQ37 (it is relatively new) just to introduce the 370...In other words, I thought Nissan botched or winged this motor for the sake of having a hot new model.

That seems kinda weird... I've had clean oil. When did this start?