First off, how can anyone check their oil correctly...that stupid dip stick is angled so awkwardly that when you pull it out all the oil gets moved around and the reading is all wrong.

I seem to get drastic differences in readings when i pull out my dipstick on both warm and cold situations. Seems that most the oil is being rubbed up against the tube therfore a false reading is pulled out... or maybe it's just me.

 

PhatNine11,

Thanks for your advice. I have the z tube and JWT Pop Charger in my car. Also I checked and the tailpipe has no oily residue.

What negative impact could having an intake have on oil consumption? Also what was an oily residue supposed to indicate?

Thanks

 

6000 may be too high of an interval. I use mobil1 but cannot extend my interval past 4K because of fuel dilution. Due to emissions, our cars are running very rich during the first 8-12 mins of operation. If you only have a 15 min mostly city, stop and go drive to work, 6K is simply too long on that oil. Well, at least thats what Blackstone showed on both my VQ Maxima and now the G35C. If your flashpoint gets too low and fuel dilution gets too high, your going to use alittle oil.

You might have a valve cover leak.. dunno... but I suspect you should get get a sample to blackstone and make sure you arent pushing your oil too far. Yeah, I know Mobil1 is good to 12K... but not in a VQ. I dont think I've seen anyone very happy with 7K drain reports. That may be the reason Infiniti has dropped synthetic oil recommendations from the manual. I cant think of any other good reason (running it myself, just for better cold pour/extra startup protection).

 

while I'm a firm believer that VQs still need a break in (one of the last engines in the auto world to still need one - but the VQ is a 200K+ engine), from a few years over at maxima.org, there doesnt seem to be any correlation to break in and the 1qt per 3K consuming VQs. It very well may affect it.. Dunno, but alot of people have it and I dont think everyone ever agreed it was a direct result of a lack of break in.

 

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr>

Have any of you noticed the VQ burning oil. I have a 6mt coupe with 10k miles and in my last oil change it burned 1 quart of oil. I put Mobil 1 synthetic and drive it for around 6k between oil changes.

I just had my oil changed around 1100 miles ago and I checked the oil level this morning and it is at half which I think equates to half a quart.

There are no leaks so that is why I think it is burning. My wifes Toyota does not lose any oil between oil changes and the oil stays cleaner longer.

Should I take this up with the dealer or is this normal for the VQ engine?

Thanks

<hr></blockquote>

<font color=blue> Is it possible that the crankcase wasn't filled properly at your last O/change? If someone else did the change, did you check the level after the change?----
These dipsticks are hard to read, and a mistake on refilling and subsequent checking wouldn't be out of the question.</font color=blue>

<font color=red>GSM</font color=red>
<font color=red>GSM</font color=red>
<font color=black>Silverstone Coupe</font color=black>

 

tyware,

I agree with you that the VQ gets the oil dirty much faster. My drive to work is about 25 miles and it takes me 40 minutes so it is not a short stop and go.

I did my first oil change at around 3k miles where I switched to Mobil 1 Syn. The second change was around 9k again with M1 Syn and now I am a little past 10k. I had to add a quart before the 2nd oil change and like I said now I am already down a quarter a quart.

How many miles do you recommend for an interval for Mobil 1 Syn?

By the way I peaked in there this morning and cannot see any signs of leaks.

Also one of my concerns is that around where the dipstick goes in, there's gunk in there and I am afraid of scooping some of it whenever I take out and put the dipstick back in. I cleaned it once with cotton swap on a stick and carefully cleaning it without dropping any in. My question is, do your have any gunk/sediment buildup?

 

In my last oil change I mentioned to the service advisor that I had to add a quart shortly before I had them do the oil change. He mentioned that maybe the previous dealer(a different one) didn't fill it up all the way. He said to monitor it. I did check it when I got home and it looked full at the time.

I am thinking of taking it back to that dealer even though there is one closer to my house.

 

we all have that crap around the dipstick guide.. horrible design...

1qt per 3K is within spec, or at least thats what they will tell you.. : / I know of VQ maximas that have used a qt between changes for years, never smoking or giving bad oil reports. So its not always something ominous, but pretty annoying.

I accidently deleted my maxima oil reports off my site.. but here's the first and latest on the G

http://www.timware.org/pics/g/gc_oil1.jpg

See that fuel dilution? any longer on that oil and I'm pretty sure I'd start burning some off..

You should probably consider a blackstone test if you plan to keep that interval. The kit is free, the test is ~$20

 

You can switch as soon as 1000 miles on the VQ. The tolerances are very tight and the engine is already broken in before its in the car at the factory. I went to Amsoil at 1400 miles, with no problems. I know someone who went with Amsoil at 1000 miles and now has over 100k on there VQ Maxima, with no problems.

 

An Assumption but not the truth. Alot of the C5 vette guys had to switch back to dyno oil because of oil consumption. The LS1s for FBODYS had regular dyno oil for break in, but they also consumed alot of oil. It was the nature of the beast. No engine is PREPARED TO USE synthetic from the factory. The synthetic just meets the factory standards. It's a MYTH that people think you can not run it. I have seen MANY who have, with over 100s of thousands of miles later with no problems.

 

I called the dealer and the service advisor that did the oil change a month ago and mentioned to him the problem. I figured that if I go back to him that he will not pull an excuse that if it was another dealer who did the last oil change and that they did not fill it up all the way. Anyway, guess what he told me, that when they fill the oil back up, they do not fill in up all the way and that it was always less than full from the get go. Well I told him that I checked it when I got home after letting it sit for a few hours and it read full so I don't agree with him. He then reluctantly made an appointment for me for them to check it out.

I just have the feeling that nothing will happen and they will tell me it is normal for the VQ to do this. Just on the phone he already got defensive and seemed irritated with my concern.

Anyway, I will also have them check why the transmission has a hard time shifting to second gear when it is cold specifically early in the morning. I have to hold the clutch down a few extra seconds and gently put it into gear. After a couple of miles though it goes away.

 

That's normal for the transmission. Mine does it as well. I even put Amsoil in my Tranny, it helped, but not enough.

 

neffster,

If you think I was questioning the integrity of your post, I wasn't. I apologize for any confusion and I hope there are no hard feelings.

<font color=red>..</font color=red> 2004 Black 6-Speed <font color=red>..</font color=red>

 

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr>

An Assumption but not the truth. Alot of the C5 vette guys had to switch back to dyno oil because of oil consumption. The LS1s for FBODYS had regular dyno oil for break in, but they also consumed alot of oil. It was the nature of the beast. No engine is PREPARED TO USE synthetic from the factory. The synthetic just meets the factory standards. It's a MYTH that people think you can not run it. I have seen MANY who have, with over 100s of thousands of miles later with no problems.



<hr></blockquote>

Synthetic oil tends to leak thru gaskets/seals etc... where a conventional oil will not. If GM was having a significant problem with oil leaks in the C5, I'm sure they wouldn't have continued to use synthetic as the factory fill. I'm not saying that NOBODY with a C5 had a problem, but the majority of owners obviously did not.

There are engines that are designed to use synthetic from the very beginning. The difference, though, is mostly in the sealing of the engine, in terms of tolerances/gasket materials etc...

I never said that you can or cannot run synthetic (or conventional) oil in ANY car. Of course you can. My last M3 came with a synthetic oil that was about $9/quart and could only be found at BMW dealers. Guess what? Running a $1/ quart convential oil in that engine is fine and does not change the factory warranty. As long as the oil is the right weight and classification (SJ or whatever it was-- I don't remember), then it's all good.

But don't think for a minute that there are engines that can or cannot use synthetic from the very beginning.

 

It doesn't -have- to be, but as a general rule breaking in your engine is better for it in the long run. You may get better gas mileage if you break-in your car correctly. As with all cars, breaking in your car (before you beat the hell out of your engine) has beneficial effects like:
finishing the mill on the bore
Fully seat the rings and bearings