Nissan Ester oil...

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wemay

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Who makes it and what is it? Conventional, Blend , Syn?

I searched but couldn't find a good answer.
 
I thought ester was synthetic. Why does nissan recommend this oil anyway? What are the main advantages of ester vs group III synthetics?
 
Ester is a common synthetic Group V base stock. While it has some excellent oxidation properties, it's a somewhat poor lubricant with some of the smallest oil-film strengths and it may increase wear as it may fight strongly with the AW/EP/FM additives. There are various ester types; so, how dangerous they are in increasing wear depends on the type.

Primary application of Group V ester is blending with Group IV PAO to give it solvency, as Group IV PAO can't be used on its own because it's a "dry" oil (doesn't stick on metal and has poor solvency).

100% ester oils are used in specialty applications. 100% ester oils shouldn't be used in automotive applications as they may result in greatly increased wear in the engine.
 
Thanks Gokhan,
Our dealership Svc Tech said the same thing, plus "Not worth the cost at $12/qt".They use SN 5w30 Castrol Blend but advise conventional is just fine for normal DD use as they have seen very little if any engine oil related issues from their many high mileage VQ owners who've chosen dino.
 
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I misread the thread title ... I thought it said "Nissan Easter Oil."

And today happens to be Easter Sunday.
grin.gif
 
Originally Posted By: FetchFar
Nissan's ester oil goes with their Diamond-Like-Coatings DLC on their cams and I think rings, to reduce friction and wear. Its a fascinating subject. Anybody with a late model VQ engine benefits from this. See http://www.sfplayers.com/blog/dlcPapers/Kano_2006_Tribology-International.pdf

Ah, note that the paper is talking about a "(small-amount-of-Group-V-)ester-containing" Group IV PAO oil, not a Group V ester oil. Since all Group IV PAO oils must contain some Group V ester, or Group V alkylated naphthalene (AN), or Group III, the title of the paper is highly misleading. The lower friction coefficient is a result if the Group IV PAO, not the Group V ester.

I don't know how much ester the Nissan ester oil contains but a large amount is more than likely bad for your engine.

Reference (PDF link)

A page from the above reference:

new_base_oil_3.jpg
 
The oil in the 2006 research paper indicated a PAO oil with 1% Ester. This is very likely what the Nissan oil is.
 
Originally Posted By: Gokhan
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
I misread the thread title ... I thought it said "Nissan Easter Oil."

And today happens to be Easter Sunday.
grin.gif


11.gif



Happy Easter guys...
 
I calculate you will be able to save about $30 of gasoline over one year (12,000 miles, 22 mpg, $3.50 per gallon), 2% fuel economy gain.
 
I'd use the Nissan special oil if I had a VQ engine with the DLC coatings. Its nice to see total engine friction cut by 10%, and get a small fuel economy benefit on top of that. Trick tech there....
 
I'm not paying $12 a qt for any oil.

I enjoy changing my oil at 5K miles and this would get expensive.
 
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The containers of Nissan Ester Oil say that it contains Petroleum so I assume it has some Group III (maybe II?) in it as well.
 
You don't need any PAO oil for the best friction coefficient. Group III synthetic oils with friction modifiers should provide similar friction results.

Once again, the friction benefits come from PAO, not ester. I think most Mobil 1 oils contain 5 - 20% ester for improved oxidation. Trinuclear moly in particular is great in reducing the friction.
 
Originally Posted By: Gokhan
You don't need any PAO oil for the best friction coefficient. Group III synthetic oils with friction modifiers should provide similar friction results.

Once again, the friction benefits come from PAO, not ester. I think most Mobil 1 oils contain 5 - 20% ester for improved oxidation. Trinuclear moly in particular is great in reducing the friction.


Sounds like you didn't scan the research paper http://www.sfplayers.com/blog/dlcPapers/Kano_2006_Tribology-International.pdf
 
Originally Posted By: FetchFar
Originally Posted By: Gokhan
You don't need any PAO oil for the best friction coefficient. Group III synthetic oils with friction modifiers should provide similar friction results.

Once again, the friction benefits come from PAO, not ester. I think most Mobil 1 oils contain 5 - 20% ester for improved oxidation. Trinuclear moly in particular is great in reducing the friction.

Sounds like you didn't scan the research paper http://www.sfplayers.com/blog/dlcPapers/Kano_2006_Tribology-International.pdf

My statement was exactly in response to that paper, which was linked earlier. They compared a PAO-based oil with a conventional oil with who-knows-what-kind friction modifiers.

In fact, PAO/ester doesn't work that well with DLC. Trinuclear moly helps greatly:

http://www.infineum.com/Documents/Crankc...logy%202009.pdf
 
I thought this was just overpriced dino oil with a splash of esters. Kinda like Castrol Start Up was back in the day. This oil was talked about a lot on the Nissan forums when I had my 07 Altima.
 
Originally Posted By: wemay
I'm not paying $12 a qt for any oil.

Oil up here is expensive enough; they don't push the ester stuff up here. I'm sure it's well over $12 a quart here.

I'd never consider it. Its UOAs haven't been wonderful from a shear perspective, and the price perspective is what frightens me. With Nissan/Infiniti having a 3750 mile severe service interval, that's nuts.
 
The key point is that Nissan pao-ester oil from the dealerships is designed specifically to reduce overall engine friction by 10% when used in a Nissan-Infiniti engine that uses diamond-like-carbon coatings on some internal engine parts. Valvetrain friction alone is reduced 50%, according to the 2006 Tribology International research paper I referenced above in this threa.

It is worth noting that some people believe trimer moly oils "might" reduce friction by more than 50%, but thats just a guess, no evidence that trimer moly does as well. Good question though.
 
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