so a nissan dealership manager said 370z NEEDS ester oil
 

One of the nissan dealers was stressing the fact that if you didn't have ester oil changed in your z that your engine will end up dying early. Comments?

All BS. First no one at a Nissan service department even knew what ester oil was when I first got the car. Now they claim you MUST use it. If you look in the manual, you'll see that any motor oil that meets the basic specs is fine. Ester is just recommended. However, plenty of people will tell you that a good synthetic is a better idea. I among others am using Redline synthetic and it's been great.

No one really knows if non-ester oil will cause problems over time. So you can't say it won't cause problems. When Nissan says and recommends you use Ester oil, there is a reason for that. If you aren't using it, you are taking a chance. So either way, you do not know what could happen while Nissan does. But I would always not believe what a dealer says as most of the time they know less than the consumer.

Exactly...

And it seems to be spreading - on a Frontier forum I'm on, a dealership who has a member there, said something about the 370z requiring it. I nailed that guy to the wall...probably went a bit overboard, but maybe it'll help pull back the spread of misinformation on the internet....lol...right...

Every manufacturer recommends using THEIR brand of oil.

Even then, there's no proof that Nissan-branded oil will perform better in terms of performance and longevity.

IMO, with it being a "new oil" on the market with some nano-particles, it being dino oil with ester additives...says to me that it could be worse for your engine.

Someone on here had a blackstone test done, and all they used was Nissan oil. Blackstone said they saw a lot more wear than expected for mileage.

:icon14:

RP ftmfw :tup:

I'm not going to say which dealer, but when I told them what car I had they tried to talk me into conventional oil and then tried to sell me synthetic oil. Clearly they don't know what will work best for our cars, however ester oil is more expensive so it shouldn't surprise you now that it's being pushed by dealerships.

Redline is an ester oil isn't it?

Redline does have esters.

I see it this way. If not using Nissan Ester Oil really was a problem, Nissan would say it was REQUIRED in the manual. It's merely recommended. There is no voiding of your warranty if you don't use it. If you buy into the 'tiny, diamond nano-particles interact with the engine surfaces" description, go for it. As I see it, oil is a substance that lubricates and all of them do it. Synthetic oils are excellent, Redline has esters, and my car is still running like a banshee. Nissan isn't sucking me into the ester scheme and getting me to pay $11/quart every 3k miles. During my first oil change at the dealer (my last oil change there too), they actually put crappy Valvoline in the car. I made them drain it, find Nissan Ester Oil, and refill the car. Once I hit 5000 miles, bye bye NEO and hello Redline.

Don't say it to loud!

Synthetic ftw......

FTL

Welcome

/sigh

Wow, not another oil thread.
Look, use what you want, if you have problems then try something else.

I prefer Redline.

It seems Nissan is trying whatever they can to make money these days. In a down economy, the resort to pushing their own oils with FUD. Just as with the GT-R and the "voiding of the warranty" by using non-OEM oils in the transmission, Nissan is really opening a Pandora's box with the law suits that will surely ensue.

The Magnuson-Moss Act clearly states that there can be no tie-in sales (i.e.: you have to buy our oil or warranty is void) without written consent from the FTC. Nissan does not have this, hence the reason why they are using FUD to push their oils. Though, they have tried to say, in the GT-R manual, that usage of anything besides OEM oils will void the factory warranty, they have not yet done so. When push comes to shove, Nissan knows they are blow-hards and that they do not have a leg to stand on when it comes to requiring their oils for warranty.

That said, Nissan also has contracts with oil companies (Mobil 1 for engine oil in the GT-R, Nippon (or Eneos) for oils in the 370z engine and GT-R transmissions) and they are doing their best to live up to these contracts by, again, FUD. Shame on Nissan. There are much better marketing strategies for making money. How about standing behind your product so you have a larger market base? What is sad is, Nissan is even pissing of the true enthusiasts with their new bullshiz.

i went in to get my oil changed this past weekend and they just put in regular 5w30, i didn't get any hassle from the guy. this was my first oil change so i think the following one will be where i start with ester or some sort of synthetic. redline seems to be the one many use on the forums here.