Hi guys, I decided to read further into the fluid recommendations since I didn't see the bit about Ester for people like me who are not in North America.
Nissan is not very precise about their oil recommendation. They seem to have printed different specs for the North American market and the rest of the world (Except For North America MA-15). There is specific mention of "Genuine Nissan Ester Engine Oil" in footnote 2 under the Fluid Recommendations for North America, but there is no mention of Ester oil for the rest of the world. In fact, in the Fluids Recommendation for "Except For North America", instead of Genuine Nissan Ester Engine Oil, it just says "Genuine Nissan Engine Oil". Strangely, 5W-30 is recommended for the whole of North America regardless of whether you're in Death Valley, CA or up in glacier country. And for the rest of the world, they recommend 10W-30 but there is a footnote that brings you to MA-16 where there is some sort of a contradiction. "10W-30 is Preferable... 5W-30 is ALSO Preferable and will improve fuel economy". And to confuse things further, immediately under that, it says "If 10W-30 and 5W-30 are not availabe, select the viscosity from the chart, that is suitable for your outside temperature range". And there's a SAE Viscosity Chart where you may select one that meets your outside temp.
Moral of the story, just use what suits your ambient temperature and your driving conditions. I'm in Singapore and the dealership uses mineral oil for the first 3 free oil changes. When I asked to upgrade to a fully-synthetic oil, they recommened Shogun and said that its the same stuff they put in their GTRs.
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