Gas Pedal Delay

DIGItonium

It's weird... G37 owners first reported a couple of things:

• Poor throttle response due to the choice of motor oil, which Nissan said they recommended ester oil due to special lubricants for the VVEL assembly.
  http://www.infinitig37.com/TSB/1SC21.pdf
• Valve noise from the VVEL assembly, which Nissan also recommended ester oil to reduce or eliminate the noise. Nissan later issued an ECU update that resolved the noise issue. The noise was diminished or eliminated, but owners started reporting laggy throttle response or loss of torque.
  http://www.infinitig37.com/TSB/1SB34.pdf

As for the car pulling timing, I don't know. However, the problem goes away for awhile after letting the car cool down for at least 1 minute. After several minutes of driving, it comes back. There are some days or weeks I've not seen the problem show up as well, so it's not really an everyday thing. However, it is definitely easy to lose power on a warm day (above 70 deg) after driving around for awhile.

[EDIT] WTF... I just saw the thread about 2011 models not requiring ester oil because of the ECM update. Hmm... wonder if I should test drive the 2011 Z for a day or two lol. Seriously... I might want in on this.

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6spd

what oil are you guys using? rarely happens to me and im using motul 5w30, which is ester, and used nissan ester for my first oil change.

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-Jay- jonathanjamesphotographer.com

DIGItonium

The dealership uses regular Quaker oil. I'll switch over to synthetic after getting the turbos. The only reason why I use the regular stuff is simply because the car isn't driven very hard 95% of the time. The 5% is getting on the freeway. Regardless, the only time I see 220F is on hot summer days from extensive driving (i.e., looking around for a house haha). Around this time 200F would be the most I see driving home from work.

BTW... what oil filter are you using? I'm probably going to switch to something larger like Purolator or something that most owners recommend over OEM.

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Davey

This one, right?

First oil change / ester oil WTF?

I have not seen an actual TSB on it. But the attachment in the 1st post clearly states the '11 Z does not need ester (the weird thing is, my owners manual does recommend ester - but it does not say it is required.)

IcedZ

I think it's because ester is stable at higher oil temps.

IcedZ

I used Redline and Mobile 1, both Ester oils. I tried K&N, Purolator, and Bosch filters.

6spd

Not all ester oils are equal though, some use only a small amount of ester base and still call themselves esteroil. As far as I know, motul is the highest amount. I use the K&N filter btw. I could see the oil causing this problem.

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-Jay- jonathanjamesphotographer.com

spearfish25

I have a very very hard time believing the type of oil is causing this throttle lag issue. What do you think...the engine is partially seizing and having difficulty revving? I don't buy it for one second. This is purely a heat soak and ECU/sensor issue. Let's not bring the 'what oil do you use' voodoo witchcraft into this topic.

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2013 Cadillac V-Wagon, RIP Z

DIGItonium

That's why I wonder about IAT bypass and relocate after reading some articles about owners doing the mod for their car.

As for oil, it was supposedly causing issues with the VVEL mechanism and delaying its response. That's why Nissan recommended their ester oil before following up with an ECU update. I don't think this is an issue anymore.

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fuct

ester oil is not REQUIRED on the 2009 or 2010 either, just recommended. looks like we have alot of bad info flying around.

6spd

it isnt beyond reasonable to think that certain oils work better in certain motors than others. Sure they can can run fine, but not optimally. Its the same if you run 5w30 or higher in a hybrid, you wont get the best fuel mileage; or if you use a non-pag oil in an a/c compressor, it'll make a lot of noise and eventually explode inside; or how certain transmissions call for certain fluids.

You cant simply put off the idea because you dont believe it to be possible.

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-Jay- jonathanjamesphotographer.com

Davey

No, guessed that perhaps the engine is pulling timing because the valvetrain noise is picked up by the knock sensor.

Really, it's been over two years, and the only thing people have done so far is get runaround from Nissan and trade the car for something else, so, don't fault me for taking a wild guess.

I don't believe it's an issue of "what kind of oil do you use" either, in the sense you're saying, but the inconsistency in being able to reproduce the problem leads me to doubt that it is purely a heat issue.

DIGItonium

Davey, how's your 2011 treating you so far? I've not driven the car in over a month, so I have not been able to test anything.

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Davey

I've had no real bad experiences so far.

Twice on a hard right from a dead stop, I felt it cut power very similarly.

The first time it was after rain and about 60 degrees. I caught the VDC light flashing, though I did not feel any real wheelspin.

The 2nd time it was dry, but about 50 degrees out. I didn't see the VDC light, but it felt the same (I had 3/4 tank of gas so it wasn't fuel starvation) and I was definitely not being particularly gentle with the throttle so, I dunno, maybe I just missed the VDC flashing.

Since I've been done with break-in I've driven the car for a good hour or so and then tromped it pretty good and it feels about the same butt-dyno wise as my old HR 350Z, and it seems to get up and move just fine even when I've been in traffic and the oil is up to 220 degrees.

So overall I'd say I'm not seeing the problem, I mean, unless you guys are grossly exaggerating how slow the car is when this happens... I mean, if it feels "maybe a little slower" then perhaps I just don't notice it but if it should feel "a lot slower" then I definitely have not had the issue.

IcedZ

No, the car FALLS ON IT's FACE. It's terrible. Civic, Prius, you name it will take you for at least 2 car lengths before you can catch up.