Oil change interval

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Kestral
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Oil change interval

Postby Kestral » Sat Feb 18, 2017 4:39 am

Thought this was interesting... My 2012 Pathy V6 according to Nissan has a recommended oil change of 7,500 miles for normal service or 3,750 miles for severe service. There is prob a month service in there also but I can't recall what it is off hand. Anyway over on ClubFrontier someone with a new Frontier said there manual says the same V6 has a recommendation of 5,000 miles or 6 months?

Frankly I did think either one is unreasonable I just thought the change was interesting.


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DiBo
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Postby DiBo » Sat Feb 18, 2017 11:45 am

I change mine every 5000 km

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palmerwmd
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Postby palmerwmd » Sat Feb 18, 2017 8:40 pm

Yes the VQ40 has had a change in recommended intervals .

In XTerras its the same.
VQ40 used to be recommend at 3750 (normal/light) or 7500 (severe service) in my 05
My former '15 XTerra with the same VQ40 however read "every 5000 miles" and had no severe or light service distinction.

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Postby Kestral » Sun Feb 19, 2017 11:14 am

The first VQ40DE V6 motors also allow for the use of 10w40 weight oil for higher temp running but then with later years just 5w30 was recommended. Frankly I bet the only reason was for better fuel economy. The VQ40 can be quite hard on oil breaking it down the oil add pack quite fast esp oil from 10 or more years ago. Today's oil in either synthetic or conventional is much better and it will stay in grade much better. But if you want to see oil breakdown fast in a VQ buy a cheep 5W30 conventional then tow your 5,000 pound camper under high heat and hills for many miles and change it at 5 or 6,000 miles then send the oil out for analysis and see how much it has depleted my bet is it will be quite broken down. On the other hand a real stought 30 or 40 weight either synthetic or conventional oil will still be fine.

I have used 40 weight oils in my VQ40 for summer towing and frankly nothing runs smoother in mine then 40 weight oils. I should send it in to be tested just for kicks.

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smj999smj
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Postby smj999smj » Mon Feb 20, 2017 12:56 pm

Actually, the thinking of late...and this issue was just discussed by Blackstone Labs...is that thinner oil is the way to go. Thinner oil is easier to pump and lubricates better and despite what many of us heard over the years, it is very rare for oil to break down even under heavy duty use. Even heavy duty trucks, which for a long time were using 15W40 oil, are starting to see changes in their viscosity recommendations to thinner oil, like 10W30.

As far as Nissan service intervals, Nissan is always changing them. When I started with Nissan in 1985, the intervals were 3750 miles (of course, the use of synthetic oil was very rare back in those days compared to now). Then they changed it to 7500 miles, then back to 3750, then back to 7500 and then to 5000 mile intervals. They are also starting to recommend 0W synthetic on some models, but, still say it's okay to use 5W30 conventional voiding the warranty.

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Postby Kestral » Tue Feb 21, 2017 6:56 am

smj999smj wrote:Actually, the thinking of late...and this issue was just discussed by Blackstone Labs...is that thinner oil is the way to go. Thinner oil is easier to pump and lubricates better and despite what many of us heard over the years, it is very rare for oil to break down even under heavy duty use. Even heavy duty trucks, which for a long time were using 15W40 oil, are starting to see changes in their viscosity recommendations to thinner oil, like 10W30.

As far as Nissan service intervals, Nissan is always changing them. When I started with Nissan in 1985, the intervals were 3750 miles (of course, the use of synthetic oil was very rare back in those days compared to now). Then they changed it to 7500 miles, then back to 3750, then back to 7500 and then to 5000 mile intervals. They are also starting to recommend 0W synthetic on some models, but, still say it's okay to use 5W30 conventional voiding the warranty.
I agree with the new lower weight oils are fine although I would never run a 20 weight oil in my VQ not that it would not work esp in the valvetrain area and bearing area. With the VQ 40 I really think they need a solid 30 weight for the timing chain area. Over the years I have seen where heavy oils 30,40,50 weight oil seems to show less wear in engines small to big in the timing chain area. I will say that Mobil 1 0W40 runs smoother then anything in my Pathy. M1 0W40 is (Just a 40 weight) meaning that it's running viscosity is just over 30 into the 40 range. The way I look at it is if under load a 30 weight oil may shear down to a 20 weight but M1 0w40 will only drop down to a 30 weight.

Frankly for 5,000 mile oil change it does not matter much all good 30 weight oils will be just fine even really worked. I do think I am going back to low cost Wall Mart ST 5 or 10w30 synthetic I know this is good oil and it will hold up great even pushed (towing) for 5k. It's also a great deal and I got 200,000 miles running that and Formula Shell synthetic in my old 4Runner. And let's face it why pay more if it works fine? Wall Mart ST oil has shown lower wear numbers in cars and trucks then running much more expensive oil like M1 and Pennzoil Platinum.

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disallow
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Postby disallow » Thu Feb 23, 2017 9:52 pm

Check out my recent post regarding my oil analysis:

http://www.thenissanpath.com/viewtopic.php?t=14979

Very interesting.

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Postby Kestral » Fri Feb 24, 2017 5:55 am

I think I am going to have my oil checked after a summer towing season just to see if the oil will shear down a grade.


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