Idemitsu, Shell, Nissan NS-2 Drain and Fill

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2010AltimaS
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I have 2010 2.5 Altima. Did a complete flush @68k miles. Removed pan and replaced both filters, mesh and fine filter, cleaned pan and magnets. Dissected the fine filter and only saw a few very tiny metal particles. Same with mesh filter so all looked imo. I also installed a Nissan cvt fluid cooler at this time.

My plan is to do a couple drain and fills every 25k miles. Then after that, will drop pan again and replace filters.

Im approaching the 25k mile for a drain and fill and am very tempted to use Idemitsu Type N (NS-2). Idemitsu makes Nissan NS-3. but not Nissan NS-2 in North America. After a few emails with Idemitsu regarding their TypeN/NS-2 and compatibility with Nissan/Shell NS-2 this was their response:

"I can confirm that NS2 from Shell and Idemitsu are fully compatible. The products were designed this way because Idemitsu and Shell split this business globally and Nissan had to make sure that a consumer could fill their vehicle with either and get the expected performance."


Would anyone NOT mix 5 qrts of Idemitsu, drain and fill, with the Nissan NS-2 in my car? Idemitsu is literally half the price of Nissan NS-2.


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VStar650CL
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2004 Nissan Altima 2.5 S

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Indemitsu is completely miscible with NS2/NS3, I have two customers using it. However, if you're going to go aftermarket, my recommendation is Eneos Eco. It runs quieter than NS and outperforms it in several important categories, including the most important one, film strength. It also has roughly the same color as NS3, unlike AMSoil, Valvoline, and some other popular fluids. I now have four customers using Eneos and they're all quite happy with it.

Just an added note, you don't need to stick with NS2. NS3 is completely downward compatible with NS2, NS2 just isn't upward compatible with NS3.

2010AltimaS
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VStar650CL wrote:
Mon Nov 07, 2022 10:01 am
Indemitsu is completely miscible with NS2/NS3, I have two customers using it. However, if you're going to go aftermarket, my recommendation is Eneos Eco. It runs quieter than NS and outperforms it in several important categories, including the most important one, film strength. It also has roughly the same color as NS3, unlike AMSoil, Valvoline, and some other popular fluids. I now have four customers using Eneos and they're all quite happy with it.

Just an added note, you don't need to stick with NS2. NS3 is completely downward compatible with NS2, NS2 just isn't upward compatible with NS3.

Thank you. "For me", Idemitsu having a long standing business relationship with Nissan and being a supplier should ensure their products are spot on for Nissan. Making a specific Type N/NS2 fluid seems like it would be the best product for the given application. ie Idemitsu states "Precisely engineered frictional characteristics guarantee outstanding anti-shudder performance in CVTs equipped with torque converter". The Idemitsu VI of 200 is note worthy and Viscosity 7.0 aligns with oem NS2 from what I read. Oh, and its also green, same as oem NS2. lol Of course, this is just a shade tree mechanics opinion and nothing more.

All that being said, is a slightly thinner/less viscosity CVT fluid better in an older CVT speced for NS2? Can a lesser viscosity mix well with the higher viscosity NS2. Eneos Eco CVT is on sale at Napa right now, $8 a qrt.

This is not a concern or priority for me: "ENEOS ECO CVT FLUID is a fuel efficiency type of continuously variable transmission fluid that fulfills rigorous requirements for fuel efficiency of automotive manufacturers." Nor is the up to max 5% noise reduction.

Update: the Eneos CVT partial Syn is $8. Eneos Full Syn is $12.23 at Napa. I had no idea Eneos has part syn.

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VStar650CL
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I'm just telling you the experience of my customers, all four of the Eneos users have remarked on a noticeable noise reduction (two of them without being asked).

Viscosity of CVT fluid isn't a big deal except to fuel economy, film strength and shear resistance are the crucial factors affecting longevity. Consider the guts of your CVT, a metal belt riding on metal pulleys. What prevents metal from contacting metal is the ability of the last molecule to resist being pushed out of the way under pressure from the pulleys. That's film strength, and it's provided by long-chain molecules that act like a horde of microscopic ball bearings. The problem with long-chain molecules is their tendency to gradually shorten with temperature and shearing forces (and the latter are considerable in any belt mechanism). So the ability to resist that sort of breakdown is the other critical factor. Nobody quantizes it, but they do quantify film strength, and Eneos is one of several aftermarket brands that outperform NS fluid. The two factors are tied together because uniformity of molecular size affects both, so it's usually safe to assume that a fluid with superior film strength will also have superior resistance to shear breakdown.

2010AltimaS
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Joined: Sat Jan 27, 2018 11:39 am

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VStar650CL wrote:
Mon Nov 07, 2022 11:56 am
I'm just telling you the experience of my customers, all four of the Eneos users have remarked on a noticeable noise reduction (two of them without being asked).

Viscosity of CVT fluid isn't a big deal except to fuel economy, film strength and shear resistance are the crucial factors affecting longevity. Consider the guts of your CVT, a metal belt riding on metal pulleys. What prevents metal from contacting metal is the ability of the last molecule to resist being pushed out of the way under pressure from the pulleys. That's film strength, and it's provided by long-chain molecules that act like a horde of microscopic ball bearings. The problem with long-chain molecules is their tendency to gradually shorten with temperature and shearing forces (and the latter are considerable in any belt mechanism). So the ability to resist that sort of breakdown is the other critical factor. Nobody quantizes it, but they do quantify film strength, and Eneos is one of several aftermarket brands that outperform NS fluid. The two factors are tied together because uniformity of molecular size affects both, so it's usually safe to assume that a fluid with superior film strength will also have superior resistance to shear breakdown.
Makes sense. What tests are available that compare these attributes?

Aisin has been mentioned in other threads. I looked at the Aisin NS3 data sheet and theirs this. The red "NOT" is actually printed in the data sheet:

NS3 is OE formulated for New Nissan/Infiniti
Transmissions. It is NOT interchangeable with NS2,
nor should it be mixed together with NS2.


https://aisinaftermarket.com/uploads/pn ... y(5.0).pdf

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VStar650CL
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The key word there is "interchangeable". They aren't. NS2 is incompatible with NS3 trannies, and when you're using NS3 in an NS2 tranny you should try to void as much of the NS2 as possible. Supposedly there are miscibility issues, although frankly I've seen a lot of NS3 upgrades with no detectable problems even if the tranny wasn't emptied. That's anecdotal, so I won't tell you there can't be issues, just that I haven't seen any.


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