I have a new Nissan 370Z with about 800 miles on it. I understand that these cars run hot in regards to oil temps and a synthetic is a very good idea. I also read a bit about the special ester oil that Nissan developed for the 3.7 VQ engine and they do recommend that oil but do not require it in the owner's manual. Well the Nissan oil is $11.99 per quart and there is nothing about it that suggests you should run it beyond the usual 3-4K OCI's. So my plan is this: I am going to change the oil for the first time at around 1000-1200 miles, and refill with the Nissan ester oil and use the slightly oversize Mobil 1 110 filter. After another 3500 miles or so of breaking it in I want to switch to a full synthetic and I'm thinking Redline since it also uses some ester technology (?)
It's much cheaper than the Nissan oil and I would probably not take it beyond 5K OCI's after that. Would I be just as well served using Pennzoil Platinum which seems to receive high marks, and not pushing the OCI's past 4K or so ? I drive a mix of city/freeway and only put about 10K miles per year on my cars. I've been running Castrol GTX in all of my cars for the last 25 years and done oil & filter changes religiously at 3K miles and never had any engine problems, but this Nissan VQ engine is a whole new ball of wax and I want to treat it right, especially in regards to the known high oil temp issues. Thanks for everyone's opinions, I'm enjoying the site so far.
It's much cheaper than the Nissan oil and I would probably not take it beyond 5K OCI's after that. Would I be just as well served using Pennzoil Platinum which seems to receive high marks, and not pushing the OCI's past 4K or so ? I drive a mix of city/freeway and only put about 10K miles per year on my cars. I've been running Castrol GTX in all of my cars for the last 25 years and done oil & filter changes religiously at 3K miles and never had any engine problems, but this Nissan VQ engine is a whole new ball of wax and I want to treat it right, especially in regards to the known high oil temp issues. Thanks for everyone's opinions, I'm enjoying the site so far.