Pathfinder 2012 Oil weight for extreme hot climates

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marvin
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Pathfinder 2012 Oil weight for extreme hot climates

Postby marvin » Mon Sep 25, 2017 4:32 pm

Hi

I am currently located in UAE where in the summer it reaches temperatures of 120F, My 2012 Pathfinders manual says 5W-30 for the engine oil but i don't feel that much comfortable with that oil weight when it gets that hot over here during the summer, I am planning to go with 40 weight oil on my next oil change but want to hear what you guys think ???.


Thanks in advance

Marvin



Pathfinder 2012
V6 4.0


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palmerwmd
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Postby palmerwmd » Mon Sep 25, 2017 5:35 pm

Nissan V6 engines used to be recommend for 10w-40 in summer.

The change is almost certainly due to being able to run thinner oils during EPA tests.
EPA mandates that manufacturers push to the consumer the thinner oil they use to in the test to be allowed to run it during EPA tests.
So they do.

So your manual is written not purely with engine protection but also fuel economy in mind.

This manual out of a 05 Pathy (same engines as yours) specifically allows 10w-30 and 10w-40, see section 9-5
http://www.vadennissanservicecontracts. ... finder.pdf

If are you concerned about viscosity film break down during hot running you can also upgrade to a full synthetic in 5w-40, 0w-40, 10w-40
With those grades you still have the very good flow startup viscosity of a 5w-30 w/o sacrificing hot film strenght.
but in your climate a more traditional 10w-40 or even 20w-50 will likely be fine.
Last edited by palmerwmd on Mon Sep 25, 2017 5:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Postby palmerwmd » Mon Sep 25, 2017 5:55 pm

PS: Another trick to run a bit cooler (other than a new radiator)
is to thin out the mix.

Pull a quart or 1.5 qts (1 qt approx 1L) of the coolant mix out of the rad.
Replace with distilled (or demineralized) water (NOT tap water!)

Put in a bottle of Redline water Wetter.
https://www.amazon.com/Red-Line-80204-W ... ter+wetter

This reduces the surface tension of the mix in your radiator. As a result bubbles will form less easy at the waterpump reducing cavitation which is good for flow and longevity of the pump.
And also less bubbles will form at the internal heat transfer fins.. which means better heat exchange.

This improves the efficiency of the radiator.
Since you increased the heat capacity of the radiator with thinning out the mix and takes it away form 50/50 a bit towards water.. say 60 %water and 40% ethylene glycol you in effect are runnig a larger radiator.
This will lower your boiling point a bit but that shouldnt be an issue.

This is an old street racer trick for those who supercharged or turbocharged their engines but couldn't fit (or afford) an upgraded aftermarket radiator)

marvin
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Postby marvin » Mon Sep 25, 2017 6:02 pm

thanks for the info, the car only has 25000 miles on it, i never had an engine heat problem but i was concerned because of the hot weather here in the summer, i am used to diesel engines here, i pour 50 weight oil in diesels at most times and they like it but with the gasoline engine i needed some advice on what is best suited for my case.

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Postby smj999smj » Mon Sep 25, 2017 8:08 pm

Personally, I would stick with 5W30. One of the reasons they use thinner oils on today's engines is that bearing clearances are a lot tighter than they were years ago. They also want thinner oil to make sure the top end and camshafts receive lubrication as fast as possible during start-up. 5W30 will be perfectly fine when driving in temperatures of 140 degrees F. If there is a concern, I would just go with synthetic oil rather than a different viscosity. But, that's simply "my opinion," for what it's worth.

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Postby Kestral » Tue Sep 26, 2017 8:27 am

smj999smj wrote:Personally, I would stick with 5W30. One of the reasons they use thinner oils on today's engines is that bearing clearances are a lot tighter than they were years ago. They also want thinner oil to make sure the top end and camshafts receive lubrication as fast as possible during start-up. 5W30 will be perfectly fine when driving in temperatures of 140 degrees F. If there is a concern, I would just go with synthetic oil rather than a different viscosity. But, that's simply "my opinion," for what it's worth.
I agree although I have used Mobil 1 0w40 in the summer towing my camper. M1 0w40 is real close to a heavy 30 weight oil and under hard use it will shear down to a 30 weight. My feeling is I would rather have a 40 weight that shears down to a 30 then a 30 that shears down to a 20 weight oil.

Frankly it is not so much of a factor the oils are much better then they were when the VQ 40 V6 came out back then it was real easy for this motor to shear oil out of grade then it is now so a quality Synthetic 5 or 10w30 is just fine.

You could just run a synthetic 10w30 if you live in a hot climate a 10w30 has less viscosity improvers then a 5w30 and it will stay in grade much better under heat and load and with no negative effects on starting just don't run it below around 15 deg F.

A great oil to run in a hot climate is Chevron Delo XLE 10w30 it is a diesel oil that is also SM/SN rated for gas motors it is a simi synthetic and does extremely well when beat on in high temperatures. It will stay in grade when other oils even expensive synthetic oils shear down a grade.


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