Did you look in your owner's manual? They may mention what substitute oil viscosity can be used.
On the side note, yes, for Versa I would use a spare 5w30 instead of 0w20.

 

The owners manual for my 2018 says 5/30 is OK. I wouldn't hesitate to use it although MPG may decrease slightly.

 

I've seen the 2019s and 2020s spec 0W-20 in the US, but they may still have a different viscosity recommendation for other countries because of differing oil standards. I'd defer to the owner's manual or the filler cap over something I found on the internet. Not that it would cause any catastrophic engine failure to run 5W-30 in it, but I know Nissan has been going through and starting to overhaul their engine lineup, so it's possible that there may be some small tweaks to where the 0W-20 is a better choice for the newer engines.

 

I use conventional 10w40 in my '16 Versa and have since I bought it in '19. My owner's manual specifies several different satisfactory grades in it. I used 10w40 in an '88 Ford Escort that specified 5w30. When I retired the Escort it had 518K miles never had a rebuild and was still running under it's own power. I think that making sure the oil is clean/changed on a reasonable timeline is much more important than oil weight used. Years ago I had an oil burner that I used as a work car to and from construction sites that I worked on. It got to the point where it was using/leaking a quart about every 300-500 miles so I quit changing oil in it. Not only did I quit changing oil in it I started using oil that I drained out of my better cars at oil change time for topping off oil in it. When I sold the car it had been over 31K miles since it's last oil change. I sold it to a friend that had just married and needed cheap transportation. I disclosed it's history to him, he bought it for $250. and drove it for at least another 1-2 years. I don't know whether he ever changed the oil in it or not. The reason he quit driving it was because they passed emissions testing in that area and the catalytic converter had been removed years before.

 

Thank you for the suggestion.
I read the manual b4 posting and I only found 0W20.

 

For me, it's a matter of convenience and price. I only use full synthetic.
My other vehicle uses 5.5 quarts of 5W30. By buying two 5 gallon jugs of the same grade, I'll have 0.5 quarts left if I need a refill.

 

As you know from my previous post I'll go against the grain of the manufacturers and I wouldn't hesitate to use 5w30 in it. I'd probably use 10w40 in it since I have several cases on hand.

 

From the 2018 Versa Sedan owner's manual, page 10-2:
"Genuine “Nissan Motor Oil 0W-20 SN” is recommended. ... As an alternative to this recommended oil, SAE 10W-30 conventional petroleum based oil may be used and meet all specifications and requirements necessary to maintain the New Vehicle Limited Warranty"

So if according to Nissan 10w30 is a good alternative to be used instead of 0w20, then 5w30 is even more so.

 

Mobil 1, 0W-20, I go 20k between changes.

WTF would run 10-40 in this?!? The 80's
ended 21 years ago...

 

WTF would run 10-40 in this?!? The 80's
ended 21 years ago...

I would and if you go to over to www.bobistheoilguy.com you'll find others who'd likely do the same. I've used it in every car I've owned since I bought my first one in 1977. I've never had any oil related engine issues with it's use and see no reason to change what's worked for me for nearly 4 1/2 decades and approximately 1 million miles. One of my engines made 500K and at least 3 others I've had have made 200K and still running fine when I either sold the car or stopped using it for other reasons. I've currently got 2 Fords with over 200K miles that have been run on 10w40 and each uses around a quart between 5K mile oil change intervals. And by the way the '80's ended over 31 years ago. Personally, I don't think I could leave any oil in a known good engine 20K miles and sleep good at night. These light weight oils may be OK but the only reason they're recommended in this country is CAFE standards. Many of the same engines we use here in the US are used in other countries and the manufacturer recommends much heavier weight oils. The owners manual for my Versa has a graph of various weights of oil that can be used in various temperatures. 10w40 is on that graph.

 

I would think that 20,000 miles is too long, specially for this 4 cylinder.
Then again, I am doing 2500-3000 miles per year in each of the 2 cars.
When I used to drive, I did 2 to 3 oil changes/year. Every 7500 miles full synthetic on the 2002 naturally aspirated V8.

 

Yawn.

 

I've been trying but have found no information as to what oil type(s) that Nissan recommends around the world.
I found that Nissan Canada recommends 0W20.
I would like to know what they say to use in places like the Middle East. I have always heard that in these very hot climates it is not unusual to use 10W40 or 20W50.IDK.

 

Look on page 10-7 of your owners manual. There's a topic "oil viscosity". After reading that I'd use a graph such as this and decide what weight oil I want to use for the temperatures during that change interval. Viscosity - Choosing the Right Oil Weight - CIRCLE TRACK WAREHOUSE | PERFORMANCE RACING DISTRIBUTOR | AUTOMOTIVE PARTS The owners manual for my '16 with the same 1.6L engine has such a graph printed in it therefore I know I'm safe using 10w40. 0w20 motor oil is spec'd to ambient temperatures of up to 95*F. If during the oil change interval temperatures were going to be near or above that I'd at least bump the viscosity to an Xw30.

 

lol! What difference does the outside air temperature make when, aside from startup, your engine always runs at a constant 200-ish degrees? Please enlighten me.....

 

Well, I went looking at different countrie's forums/websites.
Apparently in Dubai, and other Middle Eastern locations, people are using 20W60 on their personal cars. I just couldn't find if the Versa is sold there or if this engine is used.
Their reason for this is the summer heat.

 

When I rode bikes I ran 20w50 in them. I figured air cooled engine and ambient temps sometimes in the 105* range it just added a little more protection. The Harley I had back in the '80's recommended the use of straight 60 weight and that's what I used.

 

You are talking about 30+ years-old ago, with an air cooled engine.
Supposedly, today's engines have tighter tolerances.
I rechecked my 2020 owner's manual today. It only mentions 0W20 oil. It does not have a temperature/oil viscosity graph nor does it say that you can use a different oil grade. Maybe in other countries?

 

It does say that using any other oil, that is not 0W20, will invalidate the warranty.

 

I pulled up the owners manual for the 2020 Versa online the other day that's when I saw the paragraph about oil viscosity on page 10-7. I also had checked to see if there was a graph in the owners manual. I wasn't implying you needed to run 20w50 or 60 weight just was stating that's what I ran in my bikes. The oil cap on my '16 Versa says 5w30 but the owners manual for it does have a temp/weight graph.

 

 They should really rename this site Nissan-IHaveNoIdeaWhatImTalkingAboutAndEscortManIsFullOfCrap-Forum.com.

 

2016Versa,
I'm not criticizing in any way, in fact, I appreciate the knowledge you've been providing.
I will use 5W30 when I change the oil.
Who is mtrasher16 and what are you/she/he/other saying? We get spam in this forum?

 

2016Versa,

Who is mtrasher16 and what are you/she/he/other saying? We get spam in this forum?

I suspect some kid that doesn't know his a-- from a hole in the ground. Another thread someone came asking about a problem with their hazard switch. His helpful response was "blinker fluid". I think he needs to check his blinker fluid and leave the technical talk to those of us who try to contribute useful information.

 

Thanks for the tip. I will do that. I have 4.5 quarts to play with.
My other car, also Japanese, takes 5.5 quarts like the manual says.
It'll take a bit for the 1200 miles, break-in oil change. I bought it in January and I have 520 miles on it. I am not driving much lately.

 

Just use what the manual commends and change it at the recommended interval. This is all very much over thought. People run these things with whatever they want and go way past the recommended miles/time all the time. It should last if you follow the recommendations.

I would definitely not wait 20k miles, especially if you have any warranty left that you may want to use. Outside of warranty I'd also send a sample to blackstone to see if it's ok or not. Throwing out recommendations like that for everyone is not wise since they situation may very. The only nissan engines our shop has ever replaced were on vehicles that waited that long and were complete sludge inside.

Sent from my moto g fast using Tapatalk

 

I agree, tutti57.
I'll still use 5W30. I do believe, without any confirming evidence, that the call for 0W20 is due to regulations.
I am driving 4-5 K miles/year. Now that I have a 2nd car again, it will be half of that per car. Full synth oil with yearly OCI is what I'll be doing.
I don't see the advantage of having oil analyses. What do you do with the information? It's having a solution to a problem that doesn't exist.

 

The lab can tell you whether you can lengthen or should shorten the intervals based on the metals found in the sample.

They can do all sorts of stuff. My shop just sent a sample on transmission fluid in for suspected contamination.

Blackstone Laboratories

www.blackstone-labs.com

Their faq page is great. It's nice to see they have a sense of humor too.

Sent from my moto g fast using Tapatalk

 

Their FAQs are good.
I see now what you meant. It doesnt apply to me due to the little driving I am doing. Even when I worked I changed oil regularly, I didn't do extended--10k or more miles?-- OCIs.

 

Just a quick follow up.
This engine seems to like 5w30. It is running more quiet, both at idle and full throttle. My gas mileage has not taken a hit. I used synthetic Pennzoil, for those of you who want to know.
This link will provide more confirmation:
Nissan HR16 engine specs

 

Thanks for the follow-up. As I said earlier in the thread I've been running conventional 10w40. Since my OCI came around in the fall this time and I had some 10w30 Pennzoil Platinum in the garage I put it in for the winter. I also thought the synthetic might have more detergents that would help clean up any varnish possibly left behind by the conventional oil. Next time I'll go back to my 10w40 but I might start doing a 10w30 synthetic change every 4th or 5th interval. With all the conventional oil I have stocked in my garage I can't just let it sit unused.