Originally Posted By: Ayrton
Awesome car! Infiniti really has the right philosophy with Rear Wheel Drive Based and AWD option. I just don't get why so many luxury brands are Front Wheel Drive based.
I agree completely, and that was one of the biggest selling points in my mind. The weight distribution is better, sport performance is ideal with RWD on dry pavement, but the AWD is there when you need it (and works quite well I might add, we test drove on a snowy day!) Best of both worlds IMO. Plus, it's a lot easier to work on a car with a RWD-style transmission, since there isn't as much crammed in the front under the motor like in a FWD-based car with a transaxle.
Originally Posted By: Nick R
Off topic, but I still don't see why RWD is any more "luxurious" than FWD.
I hate FWD. Torque steer, weight distribution, decreased performance and handling are just a few of the reasons. You are asking the front wheels to drive and steer which is asking them to do too much IMO. I eliminated Toyota/Lexus and Honda/Acura just based on their FWD-oriented AWD systems...
Let me clarify some points.
1) I'm not all that concerned about the warranty. I'm a very competent mechanic, and would have no problem removing/rebuilding/replacing the engine in this car by myself in the event it did fail in the first 6 years/70k miles, which in this Japanese engine under my care is highly unlikely anyway.
2) I really want the best for this engine for the life of the car, which means if I disagree with Nissan's recommendations, I'm not going to wait until I'm out of the warranty period to use what I see best. In any case, although the owner's manual specs API SM 5W-30 energy conserving oil, there is a paragraph entitled "Oil Viscosity" immediately following this which states "The engine oil viscosity or thickness changes with temperature. Because of this,
it is important that the engine oil viscosity be selected based on the temperatures at which the vehicle will be operated before the next oil change. Choosing an oil viscosity other than that recommended could cause serious engine damage." I take that to mean that if you are in a colder climate, like we are here, Nissan recommends selecting an oil viscosity for that temperature, which is 0W-30 in my mind. As most of you know, most engine wear occurs during cold startup until the oil reaches operating temp, and an 0W-30 will reach operating temp faster than a 5W-30 and thus provide better protection for the engine. I wouldn't feel comfortable using a 5W-30 here in winter unless I used an engine block heater to warm up the oil for a few hours before starting the car (which I still might on sub-zero mornings even with 0W-30)...
3) Maybe it's because I own an M3, but I like the idea of a group IV synthetic like M1 0W-40 or GC 0W-30, and would really prefer to use one of these if it would provide better protection over the life of the engine than a more common group III synthetic. Using one of these in a German engine is a no-brainer, but I'm not as familiar with this VQ35HR or its UOAs with these oils to know if they would be appropriate for this application, so I'm asking here for guidance on this point.
4) It's cold here in CO, especially right now, and we are frequently at 9000' and higher elevations where it's colder still. I'd feel a lot better using an 0W-30 as opposed to a 5W-30 oil. If the oil gurus here are strongly opposed to me using the group IV synths above and I go with a group III, I've really been pleased with the M1 0W-30 Advanced Fuel Economy that I've used in the past year in my old Toyota vans. The M1 0W-30 states "Warranty Proection for 5W-30 & 10W-30 Requirements" on the front of the bottle--don't think XOM would make this claim if they expected car manufacturers to deny warranty claims if this oil is used where 5W-30 is spec'ed. It meets API service SN, SM and SL, ILSAC GF-5, and ACEA A1/B1,A5/B5, but doesn't specify what YEAR of A1/B1 or A5/B5, so this spec may not be as good as it sounds if it only meets the 2002 specifications or whatever. Does anyone know for sure?
The factory OCI is 3750/3mo for severe, and 7500/6mo for normal. In the past, I've typically changed the oil in all my cars at around 4k miles, so I'll probably be closer to the "severe" OCI, except I'm OK with letting it go for 6 months instead of just 3 in order to reach that 4k mile interval.
Basically what I'm looking for is the oil that will provide the best protection and least amount of wear in this engine to use year-round in a cold climate, without regard to Nissan's recommendations and without dipping into boutique brands. Like I said, I'm not too concerned about being denied a warranty claim on the engine because I don't think we'll ever need to make one and it wouldn't bother very much even if they denied it. Personally, given my mechanical abilities, if I had the option of paying less for a new car as-is with no warranty from day one, I'd take that option to the bank any day. I really hate the idea of anyone else touching my car, and I always find little things broken/wrong/botched whenever I work on cars that have.
Thanks to all who replied so far; I do appreciate the advice, but I wanted to let you know a little more about where I'm coming from and see if anyone changes their tune in light of this.