2007 G35x: Should I warm up before driving in winter? Also, high engine RPMs=ok?

[i3eezenotch]

Hey guys, I just bought a 2007 G35x. I need this car to last me ideally another 5 years or so with minimal or no issues (definitely no serious ones, I hope). So I am being pretty anal with it and trying to make sure I treat it right. So I had two questions:

1) Do I need to warm it up a bit before I start driving it in winter time when it is cold?

2) I love driving and occasionally I like to be a bit aggressive with my acceleration. A few times so far when I was entering a highway, I hit the gas a bit harder than I planned and my engine RPM meter must have jumped to at least 6/7, maybe 8. That makes me very nervous because I usually avoided that when I drove my parents cars. The sound of the engine alone makes me feel like I'm hurting the car. I was wondering what you guys think of that. Is that OK to do on a regular basis or is it bad for the car long-term? I realize this is a great car and made to handle a lot, but I want to make sure I don't over-stress it so that it lasts me a long time. What is the peak RPM I should keep my engine below on a regular basis? Please let me know. Thanks guys!

[Kendahl]

The manual recommends letting the car idle for at least 30 seconds when starting cold. I suspect this is more about building oil pressure than raising temperature. Drive gently until the temperature gauge starts moving and don't use full power and maximum rpm until it's all the way up to normal temperature.

Since it's a 2007, I suspect you bought it used. Break in occurs during the first 500 to 1,000 miles. After that, you can run the car to red line without harm. Just don't do it all the time.

I drive my G37S this way and I expect it to last at least 25 years and 250k miles. Its predecessor was a first generation RX-7 that was still running strong after 24 years and 190k miles. We have a 12 year old Subaru that is running well at 195k miles. The secret to getting a long useful life from a car is keeping up with maintenance. Your car should last far longer than five more years.

[i3eezenotch]

Hey, thanks for the reply. Quick question though. You say not to redline too much, but what RPM should be my limit for say everyday acceleration? Like...can I rev it to 6k from start on every start at a red light if I wanted to? (not that I necessarily would be doing this on every light...but I would be doing that much more often entering highyways, and occasionally to pass people, or jumping at a light if I need to get in a different lane...or maybe even just for the thrill of it). Anyway, I just want to make sure I don't do anythign stupid to my car because it would be very difficult to afford repairs as a result of this (obviously driving safely is a priority aside from this).

Anyway, thanks!

[colburs]

Keep in mind that oil warms three times slower than water. Once your temp gauge hits normal operating temp (halfway mark) the oil will need another 4-5 minutes to get up to temp. I wouldn't approach redline until the oil is warm.

I wait the 30 sec before rolling off. I stay below 2,500RPM until the needle starts moving, below 4,000 until I reach normal water temp and then below 5,000 for another 4-5 minutes after that.

For example, in 30 degree temps I'm not fully on it until about 10-12 min into the drive.

[i3eezenotch]

That makes sense. But say I've been driving for 30 minutes in around 20-30 degree weather OR I just jumped in the car in the summer time in 95 degree weather (or 80 for that matter, whatever--warm weather). What should be my RPM limit on a regular basis? Is it OK if I rev to 6-7000 RPM every time I jump off a red light for example (in other words, will it affect my car's reliability)? Or would I like t o keep it under 5k ideally?

[zozoka1212]

Hey guys, I just bought a 2007 G35x. I need this car to last me ideally another 5 years or so with minimal or no issues (definitely no serious ones, I hope). So I am being pretty anal with it and trying to make sure I treat it right. So I had two questions:

1) Do I need to warm it up a bit before I start driving it in winter time when it is cold?

To help you understand the situation better I try to alter it for you.

Think between you and your G like realtionship with a girl. If you would like a long trouble free/enjoyable relationship you don't jump on here right at the doorstep every time. You flirt a little (warm up) than you step by step get to the matter. Once the heat is on than let the firework begin.

Of course if you would like your G to last for long time and give some love back you have to give her your best care. If you drve a car without warming it up is like a short relationship the truckdrivers have at the truckstop with those fine ladies with yellow teeth(some missing) from 20+ years of smoking.

2) The sound of the engine alone makes me feel like I'm hurting the car.

That sound of the engine is just a beauty at that point. You just hear the sound of the Nissan enginering perfection. These moments like when you are listening a gitar/violin/drum solo and you know there are many other good maybe better instruments but you just want to turn everything off and listen the solo. Nothing else and nothing more.

Maybe posting after 13 hours of work at this point not a good idea for me. LOL


Modified by zozoka1212 at 2:14 AM 1/5/2010

[kmckis1029]

i personally let my car idle until the fan icon turns on for the heat... thats usually about 40 seconds to 1 min of idling... as the car wont blow cold air on you when the climate control is set to Auto. I have notice the G doesnt like to have a cold engine at all... and will "groan" as you shift into gear during the few times i've had to drive almost imediately after starting the engine. If you havent noticed when the VQ is up to temperature its a thing of beauty to listen to... i'm often driving with no radio just to hear the engine...

As far as High RPMs... this is IS a high reving V6... so inorder to pass on the high way or any hard accelleration wil put you over 5k RMPs real quick. So make sure you have a good synthetic oil (with oil changed regularly) in your G if you plan on Reving the engine past its normal amount of High Revs...

+1 Maintence is KEY... since I drive my car hard... i maintence my car more frequently... my oil and filter is changed about every 4k miles... since i drive a lot that equates to about every 2 months... and im constantly inspecting my car for any problems

I far from baby my car and she is going strong

you have to pay to play let it be in maintence and not repairs

[suby01]

ok now my turn.

winter or summer. cold or hot. i always let my car warm up until the rpm reaches 900 rpms. (thats the first line below the 1). if thats my first start up of the day or the car has been sitting for a few hours since i last drove it same prcedure. in the summer time i do not floor it until about at least 5 minutes of regular driving. (meaning not going over 5k rpm).

in the winter drive it at least 10 mins until i floor it.

and as far as how many time can you floor it??i do it at least um 328945702348973 times every time i drive it. (that means going up to 7500 rpm. and i3eezenotch my car revs to 8000 rpms thats 500 above stock. and before i had it go up to 8500. thats 1000 above stock. and nothing happened. )

i would post vids of my rpms but i cant access youtube from work. so maybe when i get home.

keep in mind our cars produce more power when they are fully warmed up and or running hot. unlike other cars the G does not seem to heat soak and produces more power the hotter it gets. (referring to the engine, not hot humid days which will make it run like )

[suby01]

1 quick thread jack post.

ZOZO thats a sweet A$$ sig pic!!

[zozoka1212]

Thanks, I love your new one too. Reminds me why I need new tires so badly. LOL

[gwoods]

I have a 07 G with 70489 miles on it zero issues.

Keep your transmission fluid, engine oil and diff fluid changed. When the oils break down wear occurs. If you keep the lubes fresh the parts won't wear abnormally.

I hammer my car every light, I LOVE the sound of VQ35HR at 8,000 RPM!

In the morning I start the car and lock it. Go inside for a min or two come out and get in and drive it. You can lock your G with the key in your pocket so warming it up in your garage is pretty safe.

[Poyzinous]

Gwoods... get an intake, it'll sound better.Oh and zozo... great analogy to you this time. I like my analogy too... To the OG... Warming up is important. Even in the summer. It may be 90* outside, but the car operates at 170+ In the summer I warm up my car about 10 seconds before I start driving. In the winter, I usually let it idle for 3 minutes so the car is warm and the interior starts to heat up, then I run outside and hop in to go to work. In other situations, I start it up and don't drive off until the thermometer needle starts to move. Its usually below the C, and once the needle starts to move up, I'll pop into Drive and start moving. Think of your car like you do yourself. You never wake up in the morning and just start running to work without breakfast, some sort of routine to get you started, and you don't go outside naked or in your jammies. Likewise, let your car get comfortable before you begin to move.

[Kendahl]

What should be my RPM limit on a regular basis? Is it OK if I rev to 6-7000 RPM every time I jump off a red light for example (in other words, will it affect my car's reliability)? Or would I like t o keep it under 5k ideally?

Most of the time my G37 stays under 5k rpm. But, at least once each trip, I have an opportunity to push the accelerator pedal to the floor and shift at red line. In other words, it's OK now and then but not every time.

[i3eezenotch]

OK sweet. Thanks for all the help guys. From what I gather, it seems I can rev up to 6-7k RPMs on a regular basis once the car has been driven a while. Until now, even after I have been driving on a highway for 1 hour, I avoid revving it past 5.5 or 6k. Now I may actually see what this car has to offer in terms of power on a regular basis. By the way, I bought it used with 34500 miles on it. The dealership (a GM dealership, not infiniti) that sold me it said it's on schedule with maintenance but there were no records on paper or on Carfax. What and when should I do maintenance? Should I just start following Infiniti's maintenance guide at 37xxx miles as scheduled?

[Poyzinous]

You can follow the 3750, but thats the guide related to drivers like us here... fun sporty drivers. If you're a calm driver, and I've been in Scranton a few times, and you plan on driving calmly most of the time, you can follow a 5,000 mile interval, but at least go for 3 quarts of ester oil if not all 5 quarts for your oil change. You'll appreciate what it does in the cold weather and long term for your engine. In fact, I bet by the second ester oil change, you'll notice quieter start ups and Idling. I don't even own a second gen G35, I have a first gen with the VQ35DE motor, and I like the improvement from mobil 1 and Q to the Ester oil, I'm on my 3rd ester oil change, and I've noticed a difference in my motor.

[pippen99]

You can lock your G with the key in your pocket so warming it up in your garage is pretty safe.[QUOTE=gwoods] Warming it up in your garage is safe? Have you not heard of carbon monoxide? All it takes is for you to get distracted by whatever and you could be in big trouble. Anyone from a cold climate knows the will be a story or two in the local paper about someone to dumb or to lazy to put that brand new generator outside when the power went out. It is simply not safe to operate an internal combustion engine inside a building.The G does not take that long to warm up. I run it for 30 seconds or until the revs start to drop whichever is longer. The I keep it under 3000 rpm until fully warm. Be safe don't ever leave an unattended vehicle to warm up inside a garage.

[i3eezenotch]

So the only maintenance I should be doing is changing the oil regularly? Also, do I need to change the oil now since I am not 100% sure it has been done before I bought it used? Or does the car have a reminder light that comes on when I will need to change it?

[suby01]

every time someone gets a used car i would do all the maintenance right then and there also. unless your 100% or know that whatever was changed like the brakes or oil for ex. other than that i would do it all now and be safe down the road then .

[smockers83]

All I can say is that warming it up by letting it sit for longer than a couple of minutes is the worst thing you could do to get it to warm up. Cold engines don't like that and therefore just wastes gas.

In the morning before work during the winter, I'll get ready and everything and take the dog for a walk. As we come back in, I start up the G, get the dog inside, get him some food and I'm out. All within less than 2 minutes, probably much closer to 1 minute, but definitely never longer than 2.

This allows for oil pressure to build and lubrication of the engine. When I first shift into R, I'll wait until it hits idle (auto). Then I typically don't shift higher than 2500 until the temp needle moves a couple notches. By the time I hit the freeway (~7 minutes), I'm golden.

When I get off work, as I'm waiting for my turn to pull out onto the road, I'll keep it in neutral and rev it between 1500 and 2000 to get it warmed up because the freeway is right there, and because again I don't want it to idle and warm up.

WHY WOULD YOU REDLINE IT? WHY? YOU'LL SHOOT YOUR EYE OUT!jus kidding

[i3eezenotch]

I don't think I'll be revving it to redline ever...at least not on purpose. But maybe quite close to it.

Random question: is it OK to rev the engine while in neutral? For some reason I always felt it is not a good thing, but sometimes you just want to show off the awesome growl that is the G. And if it is OK to rev in neutral, what should be the RPM peak?

Thanks a lot for enduring all my noob questions! Man I love this car.

[gwoods]

You can lock your G with the key in your pocket so warming it up in your garage is pretty safe.

Warming it up in your garage is safe? Have you not heard of carbon monoxide? All it takes is for you to get distracted by whatever and you could be in big trouble. Anyone from a cold climate knows the will be a story or two in the local paper about someone to dumb or to lazy to put that brand new generator outside when the power went out. It is simply not safe to operate an internal combustion engine inside a building.The G does not take that long to warm up. I run it for 30 seconds or until the revs start to drop whichever is longer. The I keep it under 3000 rpm until fully warm. Be safe don't ever leave an unattended vehicle to warm up inside a garage.

We don't have carbon monoxide in Phoenix its just too hot but thanks for the tip!!

seriously I have the garage door up when I'm warming up the car the pipes are pointed out! Been doing this since July 07 no issues.

[Poyzinous]

there's no harm in revving your engine in Park or neutral. They're the same thing. Your engine revs up in drive or reverse under load. Oh and as far as Carbon Monoxide, these modern cars will take like 3 times longer to kill you than older cars. Thats what the cats and vvel are for.

[Kendahl]

Should I just start following Infiniti's maintenance guide at 37xxx miles as scheduled?

Infiniti has two maintenance intervals - 6 months / 7,500 miles or 3 months / 3,750 miles. If most of your driving is highway trips of at least 20 miles, the longer interval will be sufficient. To protect your remaining warranty, don't go over 6 months. If you do a lot of city driving, follow the shorter schedule.

My daily commute is 17 miles each way. 85% of that is on a free flowing interstate at about 60 mph. I think this qualifies for the longer schedule. However, because I park the car when the roads are a mess in the winter, it takes me 6 months to go 3,750 miles. It works out to three oil changes per year - spring, summer and fall.

[i3eezenotch]

Hey, thanks for that. How much does it normally cost to do an oil change and can I do it at any mechanic's or should it be at Infiniti? Thanks, this forum is great!

[Kendahl]

How much does it normally cost to do an oil change and can I do it at any mechanic's or should it be at Infiniti?

Cost depends on where you have it done. At my Infiniti dealer, it's about $50. At the independent foreign car shop I have been using for 30 years, it's $35. The tire dealer I buy from will do an oil change for $25. Quick lube places are even cheaper, but I wouldn't trust a decent car to them because you don't know if the staff is competent and conscientious.

You don't have to go to the Infiniti dealer for oil changes. You can even do them yourself. If you don't go to the dealer, you must keep your receipts to protect your warranty. Even though it costs more, I go to the dealer for two reasons:

(1) Responsibility. If something goes wrong with the car, Infiniti and/or the dealer can't blame me or another shop. It's either a warranty claim or a dealer technician's mistake. Either way, it's their problem, not mine. (When the warranty expires, I will have to choose between the dealer and the independent. That will be difficult since I think well of both.)

(2) Loaner and wash. The loaner car saves two extra trips for my wife. A decent commercial car wash costs the difference between the dealer and my independent. Together, those two freebies reduce the cost of the oil change to what a quick lube place would charge.