Originally Posted by
Coheed 
Rotella synth is has amazing bang for buck!
+1. Extensive UOA on our VQ35DE motors showed M1 was pretty good, but has shown some serious issues with shear and wear, not just a little, either.
This is prob a repost in part here, but good, good stuff here:
VQ Oil Analysis and Info - MY350Z.COM Forums
then check here for a few year's worth of results distilled down to oil good, oil not so good:
MY350Z.COM Forums - View Single Post - VQ Oil Analysis and Info
Red bad, green good. Guy who did the crunching does not have an interest in nor works for any of the companies producing the oils. Testing was done completely voluntary contribution of sample data over time by Z/G owners with all kinds of driving, climates, etc. the only constant being the general type of motor.
Bottom line:
Of all the M1 blends, M1 10W-30 has the least amount of PAO base stock, and is in my opinion, the worst formulation they sell. The issue lies in the fact that people still demand an antiquated grade of oil such as 10W-30. ...This is why I say the M1 0W-40, which costs the same as the 5W and 10W blends, is the best option for the money if you want to use M1 products.
The problem with current formulation of M1 10W-30 is it is a thin 30W to start with, and under extreme conditions (heat, etc.) seems to be prone to TBN breakdown - that's in short when your oil runs like water out of the motor.
On the VHR motors Nissan actually throttles back the revs when the oil becomes too thin. In other words it assumes from oil temp that the oil is becoming less viscous, and starts dialing back the revs you have on tap. These have a very complex valve and cam setup, but ironically the major problems have been bearing wear and in earlier motors, ring wear. If ring wear gets bad in a FI motor, then you potentially have gas in the oil thinning it further, and about 5 minutes more use of the motor.
...I'm not at all surprised the M1 10W-30 looks like complete ass in your engine. This oil had the bejeezus sheared out of it, and is nowhere near a 30 weight oil anymore. It's actually thinner than most 20 weight oils I've seen. This is a real issue for you, since an oil's ability to resist shear under extreme pressure is a function of its viscosity. This is why the new VHR engines reduce revs and power when the oil temperature becomes too high, since an oil becomes less viscous with heat.
These are def generalities when applied to SR20 motors, but the resistance to shear is where an oil and your motor lives or dies. TBN is one measure, and 10W-30 M1 is not a good choice for shear resistance under heavy use.
The fuel dilution isn't a good sign, either. Chances are, your rings are wearing and you've got fuel getting into the crankcase from excessive blow-by. The cheaper base stock used in the 10W-30 is not going to handle fuel (which is a solvent) very well. The fuel dilution only makes the oil shear issue worse.
Drive it the same with the Rotella in as you did during this sample, if you can. Change the T-Syn at 4500 miles and get a UOA. Let's see how much improvement we can get with just the oil. I predict a MUCH better UOA with the T-Syn.
I'm running the Rotella with 0W-40W, hard track use and heat, so far so good, it's my second change so this round I'm snagging a sample for Blackstone UOA. I'll have about 4000 miles and 3 full track days on the oil when I send it in.
Edit: from my SR20, not my VQ.
If you don't test the used oil, then you really don't know until it's too late. Take a lot of test info combined with a little sound stats and math, and we already figured out that M1 wasn't the best solution for protecting the VQ35DE. I don't know anyone who has done anything close to Will's work for SR20's, but you can learn a lot from what he's done on another forum.
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