Those that know love the M

[myother45isalesbaer]

Went to emissions today. Passed no problem. Guy who did it knew all about the M's and Q's. He was quoting chapter and verse about them.

Felt good to hear someone who knows about and appreciates the 2003-2004 M's.

Hope others appreciate the car and the car appreciates. Had a smile on my face for the rest of the day. It made up for all the comments I have had that go along the lines of "what is that car" and the blank looks when I try to explain.

[CakeDaddy]

It’s nice to hear that someone out there appreciates this car. I often wonder what the responses would’ve been if the Y34 made its debut in 2006 as opposed to 2003. In no way am I comparing, but with the Chry300 and Dodge Charger already in production; would there have been a warmer welcome, because we all know what the “experts” said about our Y34’s. The Chry300 and Dodge have the hard lines and square figure just as our M’s, but in no way do they look alike. The Chry300 and Charger came in HOT for their bebuts and the reviews were off the hook. I think the Y34 was just ahead of its time and needed some time in the streets before people realized what was really appealing. Today’s electronics splashed against the console of the Y34 would have been bezerk.

[myother45isalesbaer]

It was very nice to hear that someone knew about the older M's. He was so fanatical he even knew that the new M's were not the same as the old ones.

Having owned other cars as you mentioned. I still think I would have bought the M. Reliablity being the main factor on top of performance. It just seems to me the M has nearly everything you could want in all regards and still has reliablity.

I think that smile of mine is going to last a few days. On a side note my auto mechanic is still confused as to why my M prefers regular oil and not syn. We both talked the other day and were scratching our heads. Mine eats syn oil but does not loose a drip of regular dino oil.

Go figure.......maybe engine not broken in and tight enough when I tried syn oil??

[Double E]

Ya know... I'm starting to wonder the same thing about mine.

After it sits for a day, it will crank with a hint of blue smoke.

I'm wondering if the synthetic is getting past the rings & seals. (52K miles)

[myother45isalesbaer]

I'm baffled. Normally I would be singing the praises of syn oil. My M just does not like it. I went to a 10/30 instead of 5/30 and still it eats it up.

The only thing I can think was I did not break it in as per the instructions. I let it go wide open early. Maybe I loosened up the tolerances and the syn oil gets by. But that is not what is supposed to be the case.

It runs great and strong and does not lose a drop between oil changes with regular oil. Got me whats up with this?????

[Double E]

I know I'm losing some between oil changes. I think it may be a quart or so and am thinking about requesting an OCT before the warranty expires.

From your info, it sounds like I might want to try non-syn at the next change. What brand/weight of non-syn have you found to work best?

[myother45isalesbaer]

Brand doesn't seem to matter much. Any high quality works. I have 5/30 in it now and no problems. No smoke, no consumption......runs great.

Let me know how you make out. I have a number of mechanics in my area and myself scratching our heads on this one.

[peter_rabbit]

Double E

I just went through an OCT due to the car putting out blue smoke and going through little more than a quart of oil every 1000 miles. yeah they said that NISSAN wouldn't do anything about it. SO, i'm trying to get in contact with the Headquarters to see if anything can be done.

[Double E]

I'm less confused as to why it happens because I understand that it has to do with the effort made to increse HP through less piston ring friction. What I understand from others here (Szhosain, I think) is that power was gained by reducing the piston wall-to-piston ring friction.

To me, that means that break-in procedures are vitally important and that synthetic oil (having a superior viscoscity) may get by the rings until heat builds up enough in the rings for the tolerance to close and make a proper seal.

I'm ok with it burning a little upon start up due to this gain in power as long as it lasts darned near forever. However, I'd like to reduce it as much as possible so it's as "clean" as it can be and does not hurt the CAT or O2 over time. If conventional oil does best, great.

The OCT will give me an official baseline at least for when I do change over to conventional at some point.

[myother45isalesbaer]

Makes sense to me. Build it loose, reduce friction, gain HP. Its actually an old hot rodders trick.

What I am not getting is if you use 5/30 syn or regular which one is getting by the rings and when? Syn is supposed to be far superior in holding viscosity at both ends of the temp ranges. Is syn less that 5 at cold and more than 30 at hot.

Or is regular more than 5 cold and less than 30 hot?

Neither seems to explain why mine burns syn at nearly 2 quarts in 3,000 miles with only 16K on the OD and not regular burns nothing.

I am wondering if syn is vaborizing sooner at high temps? Its not supposed to but this whole syn vs regular in my car at least, seems to be backwards.

[maxnix]

What I am not getting is if you use 5/30 syn or regular which one is getting by the rings and when? Syn is supposed to be far superior in holding viscosity at both ends of the temp ranges.

Synthetic flows better when cold and is actually lubricating the cylinder walls, as eveidenced by the blue smoke on cold start. Conventional isn't making it so you are getting a little more wear.

Personally, in the much tighter VH45DE, I never like 5W - 30 M1. Much prefer 10W - 30 and even throw in some 15W -50 in TX summer.

If you dig deep enough at the Mobiil site, you will find a chart for recommended viscosities based on temperature. The 5W - 30 recommendation is mainly for economy, not engine life.

A superior M1 is the 0W - 40. Might try that one.

[szh]

Yup!

My cars get a steady diet of 0W-40 Mobil 1 Synthetic. Works great for me. No oil use in my Acura, and only adding about 1/3 to 1/2 qt halfway between changes on my M45 (3750 mile OCI). My old Q4's did not have any oil use either.

Z

[szh]

the effort made to increse HP through less piston ring friction. What I understand from others here (Szhosain, I think) is that power was gained by reducing the piston wall-to-piston ring friction.

Yes, that is what they did! Looser tolerances, so less friction and more horsepower ... (better way of saying it: less "wasted" on overcoming piston-wall friction).

To me, that means that break-in procedures are vitally important and that synthetic oil (having a superior viscoscity) may get by the rings until heat builds up enough in the rings for the tolerance to close and make a proper seal.

Yes, I agree ... a good break-in process on these engines is essential! I strongly recommend that the engine be run on a good dino oil for the first 7,500 to 10,000 miles. Something like Castrol GTX or Chevron Supreme 5W-30 in that period. Then, you can switch to Synthetic.

FWIW, if anybody wants to stick with dino oil permanently, using a 3750 mile OCI, that is perfectly fine too!

Z

[myother45isalesbaer]

That sounds exactly what I did wrong with my M. After 3K I put syn in and it ate it big time. I went back to regular and its been fine.

You have made me feel more comfortable trying syn again at 16K. If it starts eating it again I will just go back to regular.

Thanks.

[JoeyJ]

The "molecules" (sorry, not an engineer) in syn oil are much smaller than those in reg oil. this gives it the ability to cause less friction. unfortunately, for an engine that has had a few years on reg oil, the syn oil will be able to find miniscule areas to escape where reg oil would not penetrate. I was a porsche club devotee for many years, and we had several online discussions on the pros and cons of syn oil. most proponents of the dino oil said that its larger molecule size was a benefit in older engines that had been fed dino oil for years. My 1986 911 never burned a drop of oil, and I used a regular castrol GTX. it was an 86. I had a leakdown test done in 97 when I bought it. all cylinders were strong. I sold it in 2005 after a steady diet of GTX and lots of track time. The leakdown test in 2005 showed that every cylinder was at least as stong as it was in 97. BTW I sold it for the same price that I bought it for 8 years previous. To the son of the guy I bought it from to boot!!

[JoeyJ]

BTW, I will tell you the reason I bought an 03 M45. I have been a steadfast lover of german cars, having owned Porsches, Audis and VWs for years. The 03 M is such typical Japanese sedan design. If you have ever been to that great country and saw the taxis you will know what I mean. the 03 looks like a Japanese version of a muscle car. It is on the verge of being the ugly girl at the prom, but when she gets on the dance floor, everyone wants to take a spin with her. I think all those on this site know what I mean. I am thinking of mounting rear view mirrors far up on the front quarter panels to complete the look.There is nothing like it on the market now. It is quite frankly an icon on steriods.

[jdwall1013]

The 2003-2004 M did not not get marketed like the 2006 M so people never really saw it since there are only 5500 to 8000 made and sold in the US. Most people think mine is a new model until I tell them it's a 2004. I bought mine with 4900 miles. It was a demo.

[myother45isalesbaer]

I agree. I called it a Crown Vic on steriods. The molecule size answer seems to be the best one I have heard about why syn oil burns off faster than regular oil does. I am sure the syn oil is way better in all regards, but I am sticking with regular oil.

My M blew a little blue smoke on start up today. But thats OK. I had an SHO that would do the same thing sometimes. I really think its more because of the different alloys being mated together to help in weight reduction that is the cause of this problem. They expand and contract at different temps, so until full OP temp is reached they sometimes do not seal things like heads with blocks, rings and pistons until all temps are up to OP conditions.

Guess that's the price we pay for High Performance and Light weight motors. No more cast iron blocks and heads anymore.

One more comment. The M 2003-2004 is a very rare car in the US. I don't think it is at all appreciated by the pundits of motoring press people. It got rave reviews, but somehow got lost in the jungle of BMW's and like cars.

I for one am going to keep my 2004 M in as new condition as I can and enjoy it for what it is. It's a true "sleeper" of a car and can knock off most German cars before they know what passed them. I took out a 540BMW and some fine Mercedes.

LOVE the fact that very few know what the 03 and 04 M45 can do. That includes the insurance companies too.

[JoeyJ]

Great point!

[myother45isalesbaer]

Get this one. State Farm dropped my rates because of safety, less accidents, etc on the M45. They raised them on my 2004 Ford Focus.

I am now paying less to insure my M than I am for the Focus. My limits of coverage are identical on both cars.

Go figure.......buy a high performance sports sedan and get cheaper rates than a tiny Ford Focus. I know why.......but thats a discussion for another Forum.

Enjoy the M. Pretty soon the insurance company will be paying me to keep it.