Need Help From G37 Tech

[blueslate37]

I had the valve train knock and high idle when coming to a stop. The high idle was fixed for the most part but my auto trans doesn’t downshift the same as it did before the fix. Some times I get a hard 1/2 or 2/3 shift also. The dealer finally told me they have a fix for the valve train knocking and it’s a re-mapping of the VVEL. They did the work and now my car doesn’t drive the same. It feels like it is bogging down when it shifts into the next gear under light to medium throttle. They assured me I wouldn’t loose horsepower or torque with this re-mapping. I feel either I lost torque or it’s been re-mapped also. My car is definitely a different driver.

Have you done this re-mapping on the G37 yet? If so what do you think of this fix?

[fixer]

the noise is normal if you can cycle the key and the noise goes away temporarily. also be sure to use the highest octane fuel available. Infiniti recommends 92 octane or better, they will be having a new engine oil to help with the noise soon so be patient.

[blueslate37]

Ok thanks, but not sure I want to have to buy oil from Infiniti only. Any reason for the slowdown in power?

[blueslate37]

the noise is normal if you can cycle the key and the noise goes away temporarily. also be sure to use the highest octane fuel available. Infiniti recommends 92 octane or better, they will be having a new engine oil to help with the noise soon so be patient.

I just caught something you said ...."the noise is normal if you can cycle the key". What do you mean by this?

[fixer]

the loss in power could be because of the lower quality of fuel being used or from the oil itself. Your engine has a different technology from other vehicles. there is variable vale timing for intake and exhaust valves. The exhaust valves are adjusted by an electric motor. The intake valves are adjusted internally from an oil pressure. The exhaust valve train is transmitting a lot of the combustion noise. If you cycle the key(turn it off and restart), and the noise goes away for a few seconds. then the engine goes back to its original state and somehow does not transmit the excessive noise. This is normal according to INfiniti. There will be a countermeasure engine oil avail soon to help with this noise. It may help, or it may not. I would make sure that you use the best quality of gasolene available to reduce the combustion noise.

[blueslate37]

Thanks fixer it's going back Tuesday for a tech ride along. They also want me to take a new one for a ride also.

[jtesensky]

The oil has been released and is now available. Infiniti recommends this special ester oil only along with the highest octane fuel available. We have seen this combination of ester oil and high octane fuel dissipate the noise completely. The only problem is that the special ester oil will be needed for every oil change, and it's $12 per quart.

[qship96]

Is the "special ester oil" rebadged Redline or Motul oil {the 2 ester based group 5 oils available in the USA} ?

[dmkozak]

First, to the original poster complaining about sluggishness, performing the TSB resets the computer back to the original as delivered setting. The computer will need time to relearn your driving habits. This is a common complaint and goes away after time.

Next, regarding the source, Motul does not make a 5W-30. Since the oil comes from Japan, I guess the source is not Redline, but a pacific rim refinery. I think there are a few Malaysian, Philipino and similar refineries making ester based synthetic oils.

I think it is somewhat interesting the unofficial line in the past had been to avoid synthetics until at least 12K to 15K miles. Now, Infiniti tells you its own synthetic is strongly recommended. And, at $12/quart.

[qship96]

Someone at Infiniti recognizes the benefits of an ester based oil over the more common PAO and group 3 based products commonly found on the shelves of your neighborhood auto parts store{Mobil 1, Penzoil platinum,syntec,etc}

I would just use Redline, Motul 8100 e-tech, or Neo in this application, as all three are ester based super-premium oils with years of race proven performance.....who knows where nissan is getting their oil from,and how it will perform in the long run.With concentrated research,you can get these above oils for about $8.20/qt delivered price to your door.I always have anywhere from 4-10 12qt cases of Redline lubricants stocked on my shelves.

[notalk]

It turns out the Nissan Ester oil is a 5W-30 conventional motor oil with an ester additive. A poster on the g35nyc forum complaining of a ticking sound, not the VVEL knock, tried the Nissan Ester oil. The ticking went away for six days, then returned.

[Q45tech]

One of the problems with designing and testing engines in Japan is the decline in quality in US oils and gasolines can show severe problems after the Japanese fill is changed or used up.

It is unlikely that any US gasoline at any station [except possibily some racing versions] meets the product used to test in Japan.

The problem is the pump octane is an average of 2 tests and you can geep the test and label by boosting the RON number which cost 1/3 of the MON number to increase.

While ethanol has a high RON, its MON and blending octane is much worse than MTBE so it looks the same on AVERAGE............but knocks.

Our current Premium may be worse than Regular was 2 years ago?

One of the reasons that more and more cars are recommending Premium only this year over last.............they know the crap coming out of the hose is defective [compared to the fuels used to design and test engines].

[TommyBoy9186]

I have a 2009 loaded G37 and have been pretty disappointed about all the discussions about the costs of the Ester oil.I just had a interesting discussion with both the Escondido, CA Infiniti service manager and the Escondido Nissan service manager. Obviously they both recommended the Ester oil but I found it extremely interesting how their prices varied by quite a bit.Infinti wants $105.66 for an oil change and the Nissan dealer wants $79.95for the same thing. Also, the Nissan dealership sells a 3 oil change pack for $169 bucks. That works out to about $57 a change. I can justify using the high priced Ester oil for the $57 dollars a change.It might be worth checking into your local Nissan dealerships and see if their pricing is in line with ours. I for sure will be getting my service work done at the Nissan dealership.Tom

[Q45tech]

My spare car is a 1999 MB AMG C43. The factory fill is EU Mobil 1 in 0w60, unavailable in US, so I use 0w40 and the engine holds 8.5 quarts.

I feel your pain. Makes the 6 quarts [5w40] in my 323,000 mile 90 Q look cheap.

What on usually gets when bucket [semisolid lifters] valves are used to reduce friction.

90 day oil changes are a must if quietness is important.