Will post more on when where, and why, but safely home.
Picked up a Maxima late last month in L.A., and did some driving in it.
Pre-flight inspections weren't all that well performed, as they didn't have the size car that we were after (300C), or comparable, until fifteen minutes of fapping around we were presented with a Maxima (initial disappointment was ultimately replaced with very very happy)...no fuel, and the TPMS had 4 very disparate pressure readings.
Upon refueling, I checked the oil...as you must.
4,500 miles in total, and the oil level was above the add mark, but well below the full...this is completely normal, so I did nothing.
Droe to Vegas, and the level had dropped a little more, but still not to the Add mark, which it didn't get to until Anthem. A quart in over 5,000 miles isn't bad on a running in engine, I'll agree.
Which left me in a quandry...what oil to use, having just made it across the desert, and more to come.
Things that I now know...
* 5W30s become 20s shortly into an OCI, meaning that cars have traditionally run on 20s...even when not specified.
* Nissan's engineers obviously know about this in their 5W30 oils, and have therefore designed the engine to run on what's really a 20.
* 20s don't shear, unless there's either a mechanical problem with the engine, or there's excess fuel.
* Further, having sheared to a 20, NOACK no longer applied, as they run so much cooler than 30s. Consumption should reduce from that point.
* Engineers use the Stribeck curve, and pick "10", 8 is therefore good. Nissan's engineers knowing that 30s are really 20s would obviously make "10" a "10" on the sheared 20.
* Ford have been using 20 weights for ever, and bacspecced them to other models...apparently other manufacturer's models if you beleive some of the recommendations here.
* Ford built Death Valley to prove how good their 20s are, having given up Tattooine as a testing ground.
Which left me with only one logical outcome to my quandry...
Sadly after installing the motorcraft, I still had to add fuel to the tank...maybe I uspet the diamond concentration in the Nissan FF...still used 25.5MPG for the fairly hard driven trip.
At 7,500 miles, I'd lost another 1/4 qt in 2,000 miles, so either the engine was wearing...or...NOACK really doesn't apply to 20s.
And we made it back through the desert safely and without incident.
Thanks BITOG
Oh, and mori says to say Hi !!!
Picked up a Maxima late last month in L.A., and did some driving in it.
Pre-flight inspections weren't all that well performed, as they didn't have the size car that we were after (300C), or comparable, until fifteen minutes of fapping around we were presented with a Maxima (initial disappointment was ultimately replaced with very very happy)...no fuel, and the TPMS had 4 very disparate pressure readings.
Upon refueling, I checked the oil...as you must.
4,500 miles in total, and the oil level was above the add mark, but well below the full...this is completely normal, so I did nothing.
Droe to Vegas, and the level had dropped a little more, but still not to the Add mark, which it didn't get to until Anthem. A quart in over 5,000 miles isn't bad on a running in engine, I'll agree.
Which left me in a quandry...what oil to use, having just made it across the desert, and more to come.
Things that I now know...
* 5W30s become 20s shortly into an OCI, meaning that cars have traditionally run on 20s...even when not specified.
* Nissan's engineers obviously know about this in their 5W30 oils, and have therefore designed the engine to run on what's really a 20.
* 20s don't shear, unless there's either a mechanical problem with the engine, or there's excess fuel.
* Further, having sheared to a 20, NOACK no longer applied, as they run so much cooler than 30s. Consumption should reduce from that point.
* Engineers use the Stribeck curve, and pick "10", 8 is therefore good. Nissan's engineers knowing that 30s are really 20s would obviously make "10" a "10" on the sheared 20.
* Ford have been using 20 weights for ever, and bacspecced them to other models...apparently other manufacturer's models if you beleive some of the recommendations here.
* Ford built Death Valley to prove how good their 20s are, having given up Tattooine as a testing ground.
Which left me with only one logical outcome to my quandry...
Sadly after installing the motorcraft, I still had to add fuel to the tank...maybe I uspet the diamond concentration in the Nissan FF...still used 25.5MPG for the fairly hard driven trip.
At 7,500 miles, I'd lost another 1/4 qt in 2,000 miles, so either the engine was wearing...or...NOACK really doesn't apply to 20s.
And we made it back through the desert safely and without incident.
Thanks BITOG
Oh, and mori says to say Hi !!!