Tips for a new 370Z owner?

davidyan

- Pay attention to your oil temps. Let it cool down if it goes over 230 - 240 F. The motor oil on our car tends to get hot. Many recommend oil coolers. Normal cruising should be around 220F.

- Use either the Nissan Ester Oil or a Group 5 synthetic like Redline, Motul. Although, there is a lot of debate over whether the Nissan Ester is necessary, my friend also has the 370Z and when he changed the oil using a non-Ester, it made a lot of noise which I heard firsthand. Sounds way worse than mine (note- exact same car). He also mentioned the noise wasn't there until the change to a non-Ester. Nissan highly recommends its Ester based 5W-30 oil which is sold in its parts dept for anywhere from $9 - 20/quart.

- use a sunshade when parking the car. One person had his door split / crack open from the heat. Cheap plastic.

- If you have a 6MT, your first gear will sound loud, as will any clutch disengagement coming out of that gear. Nothing much you can do about it, its just the way it was built.

- Watch out going over speed bumps and into / out of parking lots. The little black piece of plastic coming from under the front bumper is very low and scratches easily even at the slightest of inclines.

kannibul

Don't listen to people complaining about oil temps. The 300F "limit" is there to protect the bearings which are more prone to damage if they get over 300F. Car goes into limp-mode to protect the bearings if you get around 280F. I'ev NEVER gone over 260F, and I tried for an hour (in 100+ temp) doing things that if a LEO was watching, would have given me a *few* citations for.

As for the oil itself, look on Mobil1's website, they say their oil is fine up to 400F...I suspect many others that meet the API-SM specification...

THis isn't you're "old oil" - it's not crisco...it's oil designed around the fact that today's engines run hotter and need more protection due to tighter tolerances and pressures...anyhow.


Also, you don't have to use a Group-V oil. Just because it's "Group V" doesn't mean it's any better than a Group IV for street use. I think there's a lot of hype surrounding oil and what's best for your car, etc...

Most important thing about the oil you use is that you change it when you should and use the correct viscosity. Outside of that..you could get the cheapest crap oil and filter and put it in, and your car will do just fine. API-SM / 5W-30...

davidyan

Its not about the flash point of the oil at 400F. When oil gets hot, the bearings are subject to being damaged. I havent gone over 260 either, but many people do just driving on the highway.