I've been complaining about a rough idle for a while now, like really rough - shaking, vibration, etc. My VQ was starting to feel like my old LSX engine. I've used Mobile One for a couple of oil changes; went to my local Nissan place, paid through the nose for Nissan Ester, put it in the car and guess what - smooth as butter. Valve train noise really quieted down, too. Engine feels and sounds great after the change. I will never put Mobile One in this car again - I suppose I may try Motul, Redline or Amsoil (because it just kills me to pay 12/qt for motor oil) but I will have to say that the Nissan Ester really did the trick - am very satisfied, even with the ridiculous price. Oil filter was 5.99. Now that's acceptable. Oh, and they said they'd do my 7500 mile service for $45 - as opposed to infiniti, who wanted 115, or something along those lines.

 

Rather than give the Ester oil credit, I'd say the Mobil 1 is the culprit.

 

I agree - very well could be - that's why I"m going to try something else next, I think, and see how it feels right away. And I am going to pay attention to how the engine feels and sounds as I go through the months...

 

Been using Mobil1 for the last 11k, Started using it at 1k and never had any noise issues or oil consumption. But if I do I'll keep the Ester in mind

 

Saw one guy post in another thread that he tried the Pennzoil Ultra. I think he said it seemed a little quieter, but he didn't have much valvetrain noise to begin with. Might be a cost effective alternative? I think he said it was like $28 for 5 qts at Walmart. I think I'll switch over to the ester at some point soon just to kill the valvetrain noise.

Can you extend the change interval with the nissan ester?

 

You should give Eneos a try, i put it in my car and my car feels really smooth

 

That price is preferable to 5 X $12, that's for sure. I'm open to options even though I really believe Nissan is just trying their utmost to preserve the engine with the ester, and not make a buck.

I hear good things about most of the high-quality synthetics - Motul, Amsoil, Redline, ^^Eneos, etc. - even stuff like Penzoil Platinum and oils of that ilk. This engine is finicky, I think, and really likes the good stuff. My L76 did well with just about anything. A pretty bullet-proof engine - sometimes simpler is better, you know?