oil change price... it's like, WOW!

U235

What says that Nissan Esther is better than another leading oil. It'll only take a few months before someone sends their oils out for analysis and I'm going on record now saying that those will conclusively prove there's no need to spend $12 / quart for this pixie-dust Nissan oil.

The Chevron/crap gas station comparison is not a valuable contribution to this thread. I've seen no one on this thread mention using some crappy no-name oil like Kendall or GreatWestern or whatever. People are talking about Royal Purple, Mobil-1, Motul, etc. These have been proven time-after-time in VQ engines (although Mobil-1 isn't that great actually). To me, this recommendation is not too different than if Nissan "recommended" Chevron Premium and someone decided to put Shell in it instead (both top-tiers gas). Again we're not comparing this Nissan magic-juice to crap oils.

Even Castrol GTX performs really well in just about every VQ engine to date. I'd be using Amsoil if I got a 370z and I'd have no hesitations about it.

To the guy who said the dealer can deny warranty because you didn't use the recommended oil. That's complete BS and would be illegal. There are laws specifically written to prevent that sort of issue. If it was a "Requirement" it's one thing, if it's a "Recommendation" it basically doesn't hold any weight.

I generally tell people the best thing they can do is use a quality DINO and change it every 3k miles. My favorite mainstream DINO is Castrol GTX. I use it in my Infiniti because A) it's a lease and I have no intention of keeping it. B) I change every 3k miles regardless C) In oil analysis GTX outperforms Mobil-1 (on 350z/G35).

However, since the 370z is likely to be driven more aggressively by most drivers, and some of the overheating issues documented, I'd be inclined to run a top synthetic: Amsoil or Castrol Euro Formula would top my list.