FWIW, my dealer (FIELDS Infiniti in Glencoe, Illinois) just uses regular Valvoline 5w30. I asked the service manager about esther, and he just rolled his eyes in a way that he's telling me "don't fall for it"... lol

 

From what I understand the ester oil is only suggested if you're experiencing the VVEL ticking issue.

 

I used Mobil 1 in my last car, a VW Passat, and gave the car to my son at 159k without ever having a bit of trouble with the motor. He's still using it and has not had any problems. Sooooo, I will continue with Mobil 1.

GED

 

I'm sure Mobil1 would be fine at 4K OCIs in the G37. From everything I have read, however, Group 5 synthetics like Redline and Motul have much better UOAs in the G37 engine than Mobil1. The G37 is much harder on oil than the G35.

I can get Redline for a little over $9/quart. I can get PureOne filters for a little over $6. So at ~$80 per oil change (includes labor), I feel the extra ~$15 in expense (compared to Mobil1 & stock filter) is justified to protect my engine.

If I was really **** about protecting the engine or if I took my G37 to the track a lot, I'd probably look at adding an engine oil cooler from GTM or Stillen.

 

I would stick with genuine oil filters and valvoline 5w-30 or the nissan ester oil. These cars are enginered with this filters and oil for a reason. You can read all day long about what other people think but the reality is these engineers are smarter and designed them with these for a reason. Send your used oil to labs all you want (waste of money)but don't you think Nissan with all their money have allready done this? Also it doesnt matter what oil or oil filter you use if you go over 7500 miles between oil changes you WILL void your warranty! Do what your manual reccomends and what the dealer/factory reccomends and you will be ok.

 

1. The aftermarket filters compatible with most cars are built to the same spec as OEM filters. You just have to be sure to use the correct model number.

2. You don't automatically void your warranty for exceeding the OCI. You will be denied warranty service if you experience some issue due to improper lubrication, etc, as a result of exceeding the recommended OCI. I'm not saying I recommend doing that or anything -- certainly whatever problem you have, the dealership may at least try to link that to your extended OCI. But "technically" they can't just void your warranty for it.

 

OK - the final plan:

Change the oil & filter at 0, 3, 6 and 9 months. I'll use conventional 5W-30 oil and a PureOne filter. This satisfies the every 3 months or 3750 miles "whichever comes first" Schedule 1 maintenance. I'll also rotate the tires at 6 months.

At 12 months, I'm switching to RedLine 5W-30 synthetic oil with PureOne filters. I'll also rotate the tires, change the cabin air filter, and change the engine air filters at the 12 month mark.

From that point on, I'm on the 3750 miles schedule for oil & filter changes, and the 7500 miles schedule for tire rotations, cabin filters and engine air filters. I figure going with synthetic should relax the "whichever comes first" language, which is probably a just a recommendation anyway.

Since I drive about 7500 miles a year, that's going to be an oil change about every 6 months, and a tire rotation, cabin filter and engine air filter change about every year.

 

Dude, seriously, you are putting too much thought into this. Just follow the manual. If you follow the manual the car will last you as well as if you use all kinds of crazy oils and what not.

 

Changing the oil every 3 months during the first year is following the manual. Changing it every 3750 miles after going to full synthetic follows the manual too. Using conventional or synthetic 5W-30 follows the manual.

 

They probably all work fine!

GED

 

This is the best advice I have read so far. Some one else commented on too much thought being put into it and they are correct.

I drive very little, so I use synthetic so I only have to change the oil twice a year. If you drive more, or all city, you're stuck with four times a year. If you drive in punishing conditions and/or you like to punish your car with lots of high revs on a regular basis, then use synthetic (or ester) even if you are changing it four times a year.

Any analysis past this point is purely for your own entertainment/self-gratification purposes because there is no engineering to support it.

(And by the way, if we didn't have such apparently fragile engines, we could follow the pattern of 95% of other cars, which would be once a year for moderate mileage using synthetic or twice a year with regular.)

 

Exactly.
Use the right weight oil, per the manual and you wont have any problems. You can go to all the different Infiniti forums and there is no mention of any engine failures, because an owner used brand A oil instead of brand B or used the B versus the A sevice plan.

 

Well, if you follow the manual, then what he told you is not exactly correct either.

The manual says 3 things:
1. You can change the oil at either 3750/3-months or 7500/6-months depending on your driving habits.

2. The engine requires any brand of regular or synthetic API certified 5W-30 oil.

3. Also in a footnote they "recommend" using their own branded "Nissan Ester Oil."

That's it. You cannot go wrong by following the manual. A lot of research, thought, engineer input and signoff went into writing the manual and exact service recommendations. Whatever your service man (or anyone on the web obviously -- including me ) tells you should not be considered as authoritative as what is written in the manual.

Following the manual, whether you go by 3 or 6 months or 3750 (not 3K btw) or 7500 depends entirely on your driving habits and not on what kind of oil you use.

 

Exactly.

My driving habits are Schedule 1: 3750/3 months.

While breaking the car in on conventional oil, I will do "whichever comes first." For me, that means every 3 months.

After I switch to a synthetic oil that this engine has proven to love, I will do "whichever comes last." For me, that means every 3750 miles (probably every 6 months).

 

For me, I usually just go by mileage. I actually do around 4500-5000 which makes sense for my mainly highway mileage and falls somewhere between 3-6 months. Also the occasional Blackstone test to be sure -- they say I can go longer but obviously I don't want exceed the required intervals while under warranty and 5K is easy to remember. As far as required warranty service and all that stuff, officially I'm following schedule B. They can't fault me more changing the oil *more* often than required. I've been using the ester for the first few changes but plan to switch to a real synthetic. you know, "just because."