Oil - RB26

[Deza3000]

Oil - RB26

Hi Guys,

After a confusing couple months as a new GTR owner, trying to seek information on the best oil to use for daily (and occasional spirited) driving on a stock as a rock rb26, i ended up with the biggest headf**k of the century. 

Basically this is what i got:

Reputable tuner recommendations: Castrol Edge 10w-60
Reputable workshops: Motul x8100 or H-tech 10w-40 (or if you can afford it Nismo oil)
Nissan track enthusiasts: Motul 300v 10w 40 
Autobarn: Motul 10w-40, castrol edge 10w-60, Penrite 15w-50 racing
SAU Forums: All of the above + penrite hpr, royal purple, redline etc.... (keep in mind some of these topics were from 10+ years ago, im sure there have been advancements since then)

So i decided to do my own investegation and research on the oils and how they behave in my car. 

Firstly i eliminated the motul 300v/nismo oils from the list as it would have limited return on investment, especially if you change your oils every 2500-5000ks, in addition the 300v oils do not have the proper detergents for daily driving, From what i can see i believe the 300v is engineered for track use only.

I decided to try 3 most commonly recommended oils: Castrol edge 10w-60, Motul x8100 and Penrite 15 racing. All 3 oils possess marginal differences in terms of lubrication qualities, espeically with daily driving. Things i tested was oil pressure (normal and spirited driving), oil temperature (25 degree day), engine noise, oil burned.

Here are the results so far:

Motul x8100 10w-40: 
Oil temp: 79 degrees normal driving minimal traffic
Oil pressure: 2.2kg idle, 4kg @ crusing speeds 
engine noise (once warmed up): ?
Oil burned(end of 5000ks service): None 

Castrol edge 10w-60
Oil temp: 81 degrees normal driving 
Oil presusre: Same as above
Engine noise: Quieter lifter noise than motul - Viscosity or forumla? 
Oil burned: None

Penrite 15w-50 racing
Oil temp: 81 degrees
Oil pressure: Same as above
Engine Noise: same as Motul
Oil burned: None. 

Fuel economy was the same across all oils. I tried keep the tests as consistent as possible, obviously its not the most reliable of tests but it can be used as a good initial reference to newbie GTR owners like myself .. One thing i found strange was that the oil pressure was the same across all brands and viscosity, unless theres some oil pressure regulator system im unaware of ,it is puzzling.. That being said by the end of it, i came to the conclusion that all 3 are good as they provide similar results. I have kept the bottle of the oils i have tested and will probably get some samples professionally tested and post them here to see which oil would be best suited for a rb26. 

Edited February 5, 2017 by Deza3000
Grammar

[owen1r]

There's plenty of information in the current oils thread if you haven't already had a read.

My thoughts are that you can use any group IV oil and buy whichever is on special as some can be nearly double the cost (Motul vs Castrol etc)... I'm skeptical that you would find a major difference between any of the big brands in terms of wear/performance. Fuel economy is going to be similar with most oils, it's not a factor even worth considering as the improvement will be 2-3% at best. 

In saying that, I wouldn't mind seeing the tests. But what would you use as an indicator for the 'best' oil?

Edited February 5, 2017 by owen1r

[Deza3000]

Yep read the forums, everyone has their own opinions and different modifications (i.e. built motor) done to their car, which led me to believe that there is a reason they chose a particular oil brand for their car. That being said, i agree it was all the same anyway. 

I used the term "best" very loosely, coming from an evo, most drivers use similar spec oil (10w-40 for street, 50 weight for track), where as the GTR, oil recommendations were very broad, and reading up on oil starvation issues i was getting rather paranoid as to whether i chose the right oil for my car, hence why i went my own way and tested the top 3 recommended oil. Seeing as castrol edge 10w-60 is always on sale, ill probably just opt for that from now on. 

[owen1r]

Maybe you can use all the money you saved not buying Motul oils on a baffled sump!

I'm still undecided on running something as thick as 10w-60 is necessary.

[Deza3000]

Haha thats true! Big job though

[oea]

Interesting conclusion on the 300V, I've been using it in my stock RB26 for normal daily use. Might have to do some research into it.

[GH05T]

for my stock motor i have always landed on Motul 4100   15 50

 

[KiwiRS4T]

I use Motul 300V and unlike apparently most of you I change it after 20,000km (including track days). I have sent samples for oil analysis and the results have suggested there is no reason to change it more often.

[niZmO_Man]

I covered the range of scenarios with running Penrite Premium 5 (5W-60) muhuhahaha. But that oil harder to find these days.

I also ran Racing 10 (10W-40), which overheated (twice) on the track. Oil held pressure fine the whole time, so I use Racing 10 now on my Subaru as well (buy a few bottles when on special).

[owen1r]

54 minutes ago, KiwiRS4T said:

I use Motul 300V and unlike apparently most of you I change it after 20,000km (including track days). I have sent samples for oil analysis and the results have suggested there is no reason to change it more often.

Got those oil analysis results by any chance? Wouldn't mind a look.

[Deza3000]

Here is the 300v technical data sheet. It specifies its only for short distances i.e. track days. 

300V_Power_5W-40_(GB).pdf

[KiwiRS4T]

9 hours ago, owen1r said:

Got those oil analysis results by any chance? Wouldn't mind a look.

This is the only one I can find ATM. When they email them to me I ring them back to get them to explain them to me.

Oil Test 2011.09.28 1000km.PDF

[Levy]

Royal purple 10w40 HP series. Cant go wrong been using it for 10 years on all my RBs

[-S-]

I use Motul 300V and unlike apparently most of you I change it after 20,000km (including track days). I have sent samples for oil analysis and the results have suggested there is no reason to change it more often.

Same here but i do mine at 10k ish instead of the 3-5 k change. . And that's also on semi synthetic and not fully

[Hadouken]

Jeez. You guys running euros lol. If factory says 5k then I'll do it at 5k.

[Deza3000]

31 minutes ago, Hadouken said:

Jeez. You guys running euros lol. If factory says 5k then I'll do it at 5k.

2500ks if they're using 300v  

300V_Power_5W-40_(GB).pdf

[virgin white]

Dessa.
Re your topic on best oil for gtr.
I heve been using nulon ow_40 engine oil in my gtr for some years.found it to be an excellent oil.. no need to top up oil in car. Change oil every 5000 ks
Oil pressure remains constant
Would highly recommend
Cheers

Sent from my SM-G928I using SAU Community mobile app

[niZmO_Man]

3 hours ago, Hadouken said:

Jeez. You guys running euros lol. If factory says 5k then I'll do it at 5k.

My Subaru handbook says every 12,500km lol.

[MrStabby]

On 2/6/2017 at 10:50 AM, KiwiRS4T said:

I use Motul 300V and unlike apparently most of you I change it after 20,000km (including track days). I have sent samples for oil analysis and the results have suggested there is no reason to change it more often.

I like that you dont throw away expensive oil that's in good condition. There should be more of this good sense.

[Duncan]

5 minutes ago, MrStabby said:

I like that you dont throw away expensive oil that's in good condition. There should be more of this good sense.

yes, but "if in doubt, throw it out!"

without doing an oil analysis, it's just guessing. While I appreciate OP's effort to bring some science through looking at oil temp, pressure and lost oil, that is really only scratching the surface. On the other hand, an oil analysis is a hell of a lot cheaper than an unnecessary change of these expensive oils.

BTW, for road use....use anything and change it often. No point spending $100 on oil changes when it's not getting tested at all.