# What oils do you use ?



## bas (Oct 12, 2005)

I think it would be a good reference tool, for members to list the oils they are using in their exy and any comments worth sharing:

I use:

Engine: Castrol full synthetic 5w-30. Great oil and appears to slightly improve fuel economy. Easily last the 5,000km between changes with only slight discolouration. I could probably stretch it out to 10,000km's, but it is a cheap safety net.

Manual Transmission: Castrol VMX-80. Good oil, but don't mix any additive like Nulon. A mate has and his gear changes are hard. I tried it, on his advice, and quickly replaced all the oil after this same problem. Apparently it binds with the oil and reduces the 'slickness' (if this is a word) of the oil.

Transfer Case and Diff: Castrol EPX 80W/90. Again, good cheap oil, but I am considering a better quality synthetic for the second half of my exy's life.

The Castrol brand is a good medium level oil, but I am now looking at a fully synthetic blend, as the exy is about to hit the 80,000km mark and I feel that this is where all the wear and tear will be felt. I do a lot of highway driving, as well as heaps of off-road stuff, where the transmission and diffs are more prone to wear.

Anyone using synthetic oils care to comment ?


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## Manuelgamex (Jan 12, 2007)

Esso Ultron 5w40


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## roj1943 (Aug 10, 2006)

Just a thought . . .

Any reference to oil usage should really include the temperature range that the vehicle is used in and whether it is a diesel or petrol model. In England where an inch of snow (or a heatwave much above 25 deg C) will bring the entire country to a halt, and the service interval is 12,000 miles (19,000km!) on a diesel, a 5,000 km oil change would be somewhat over the top. Also, here we are restricted in the distance we can travel without falling off the edge, nowhere in England is much more than 50 to 60 miles from the sea. The longest fairly regular journey that I do is to southern Italy, not much more than 1,200 miles, less than 2,000 km. A local journey to you Aussies and Canadians, I guess.

Castrol recommend Magnatec 10w-40 A3/B3 for both petrol and diesel models. The giveaway is the A3/B3 part of the oil name. A3 is for petrol and B3 is for diesel. For on-road use in England, a fully synthetic oil is not needed (limited to 70mph if traffic density permits reaching that mind blowing speed!).
Castrol's website indicates that petrol and diesels should use slightly different oils, but an e-mail to them elicited the info that they have changed the oils but not updated the site.

So, each country, or part thereof, may well need different oils and service intervals.
Check Castrol Motor Oils and Lubricants.

Have fun X-Trailing
Roger

PS A search for "Engine Oil" in this forum gives this: 
Apr 17 2007 09:00pm "Engine oil in diesels".

Should add some confusion!


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## aussietrail (Sep 24, 2004)

roj1943 said:


> Just a thought . . .
> So, each country, or part thereof, may well need different oils and service intervals.
> Check Castrol Motor Oils and Lubricants.


This is absolutely correct, so what may work in the UK or Canada, doesn't necessarily mean that it would work in Australia and even within the different regions of Australia itself.


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## Manuelgamex (Jan 12, 2007)

Today we woke up at 0ºC and won't be strange that we got mid 20's afternoon, it's a large gap, that's why we need a very flexible oil.

Also, most central Mexico got similar weather & we're between 1500 to 2500 Mts above Sea Level, with a power loss in the 15% to 30%, so the people that take care of their cars (like me) use some of the better available oils.

I'm with the mentioned the syntetic Esso Ultron, but also like Mobil1 (diferent blends but same tech), Castrol is more difficult to get.

Guys, don't forget to use good oil filters, OEM Nissan is very good, also K&N, Purolator (for the Canuck crowd).


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## Canadian Bear (Aug 22, 2007)

I use Castrol Syntec 5w30 and a K&N oil filter every 5000 kms. I will be changing my intervals to every 4000 kms, just to keep give my engine a longer life. Also, I have been told by a few mechanics, that AMSOIL is a very good synthetic oil. 

As for the tranny, etc., I haven't changed anything yet. The temperatures are quite cold here (-20 and -45 degrees Celsius for the past 12 to 14 days) and I don't have any problems with the auto shifting or AWD. Therefore, I will wait a few more weeks until I switch over to full synthetic for my tranny, etc.


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