UOA on Nissan Ester 5W30
 

2009 370Z, 16514 miles, 3056 miles on this oil. Bought the car used a couple months ago, so this is my first UOA. I have the service records and it has been all Nissan Ester, including the one just prior to me buying it. Switched to Castrol Edge Titanium during this change out, so we'll see how that looks in comparison. I was hoping for better viscosity, but everything else looks pretty good I think. It did use a bit of oil, maybe 4-5mm on the stick. Also switched from OEM filter to Purolator PureOne.

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Here is my report on Mobil 1 5w-30, with two track days before the oil cooler (hence note).

http://www.the370z.com/attachment.ph...1&d=1310991095

I feel kind of embarrassed but this is my first car and I'm a noob-in-training when it comes to cars. With that said, what are these UOA's you guys are talking about?

Universal Oil Analysis

Instead of pontificating about how good/bad/horrific any one product is, you pay $25 to have a lab actually run some chemical analysis on the used oil to then provide a modicum of empirical evidence which may fuel subsequent juvenile arguments about what product is best :D

Its a good thing to do for *yourself* if you are concerned about a problem with the engine, or you want to run extended oil change intervals (OCI): this way you can see how your engine works with a product. Products break down over time (additives, viscosity modifiers, etc...).

In general for the street, most good synthetics can be run for 6-7500 miles for example, but its nice to see a report after 7500 miles that the oil is still performing within spec. I have done it for previous vehicles when running up 7-10K OCI's on commuter cars, and when I suspected issues. Blackstone is a good lab, the one I used personally as well.

I have no plans to do it on the Z: OCI for this car is ridiculously low from Nissan so while in warranty, I'll follow their schedule which for my driving, means every 6 months.

- b

USED Oil Analysis

As b says it's just another tool to use instead of relying on "this oil works great in my car, buy it". There is some nuance to reading them, especially around how complete a picture the wear metals show, but for viscosity (shearing) and contaminants caused by a coolant leak, air filter, etc. they are pretty handy. Also if you are really into the extended oil change thing they can tell you how much of the additive pack is left (TBN).

Jason> good to see the viscosity stayed in grade even after two track days! If you like Mobil 1 have you tried the 0w40? I keep hearing how it is the best oil in that product line regarding how "true" of a synthetic it is.

Is this number for factory 3000 or is it 3750. I keep getting conflicting ideas. I thought I saw in the manual 3750 but keep seeing everyone do 3000

3000 is very conservative. Based on my UOA above I would probably change my oil every 5k miles or so if I did not track my car.

thanks tak new to the z ownership. I just put mobil 1 in also and have already seen my oil temps drop a bit. I might just stick with the 3750 while the engine is in warranty so I follow Nissan's "maintence schedule" incase anything goes wrong.

Just got my second UOA. This is Castrol Edge Titanium 5W30, with Purlator Pureone filter. Happy the the viscosity was more stable than the previous factory fill (Nissan Ester), but wear metals ticked up a bit. The oil had harder conditions too, summer heat, than the previous sample. Next change will again be Castrol Edge Titanium and see how things are trending. After that I may consider Pennzoil Ultra. What do you guys think of the wear metals, boron, and silicon?

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