Which oil?

[meeler52]

Do you guys use synthetic or conventional oil, getting ready to change mine and wondering which is better.

[98LSGUN]

Synthetic. Royal Purple all around :rockon:

[98LSGUN]

BTW welcome to the board :naughtywa

[Chevypowr]

Mobil 1 5W-30, cheaper than royal purple and felt the same if not more of a differrence. I used royal purple first, then switched to mobile. I have 100,000 miles on my SS actually just broke 100 yesterday, never granny shift, see the red daily. Still OG head gasket, no smoke out the exhaust, feels like it's running stronger now than when i got it 50,000 miles ago.

[Sarge]

Nobody can answer your question until you answer some questions.
What kind of driving do you do? Short trips/long trips...highway/around town what?...break it down into percentages of a average week driving for yourself.
Where do you live? What kid of oil change intervals are you after if any.....is 3 months or 3 thousand miles going to be your target or are you after 6 month 6000 mile oil change intervals....what modifications you got? In warranty I assume.....is money an issue? In other words....if a oil change cost you $100 3-4 times a year is that a big deal versus say $50 bucks 3-4 times a year? And one question I can answer for damn sure real quick....in the proper application synthetics and Dino's are both fine oils for your ride man....lets understand your oil "image" first....

[Chevypowr]

Right-on, he said it! :usa:

[Pulse Red GTO]

My GTO just rolled 3,500 miles. I had the dealership change it at 1,000 miles w/ regular oil. Then I just changed it again w/ regular oil at 3,000. I am going to change it again around 4,500 w/ either Mobil 1 or Royal Purple. I have always had Mobil 1 in all my other cars, but though I would try Royal Purple. Also I have always switched right to synthetic, but I am taking a different approach on the goat!

[Sarge]

Yup...nothing to good for your GTO.....
Royal Purple 5-30 11.0cSt @100c
Mobil 1 5-30 10 cSt @100c
Amsoil 5-30 11.6 cSt @100c

[Chevypowr]

I also always ran mobile 1 and I thought I would try the royal purple and wasn't that pleased with it. But everyones got their own opinions. Maybe it will work out for you, it seams to have worked for many.

[Sarge]

I'm not a Royal Purple fan.....better oils for the LS1 out there for a helluva lot less money IMHO.

[Chevypowr]

Right-on

[98LSGUN]

How much are you all finding Royal Purple for? I'm paying 4.95 Qt when the Mobil One is going for 5 - 6 bucks a Qt. Where are you shopping???

[Chevypowr]

I get mobil 1 in the 5 qt. jug for like $24 I think from Wal-mart. Royal Purple in my area is on average $6.50

[Sarge]

They sell it at NAPA here for like $7 bucks a quart....that is just crazy.....

[Chevypowr]

yeah thats absurd

[98LSGUN]

That is crazy. What do you use Sarge?

[Sarge]

Well I aint stock so dont try this at home:)
5 quarts Shell Rotella 15-40 2 quarts Amsoil 15-40 and 15 oz of Valvoline Syn Treatment ( Moly and Boron)...when I was stock ( or close to it)...Amsoil 0-30 or Amsoil 10-40....

[98LSGUN]

dayum your car is thirsty...

[PaganEgyptian]

I like running middle ground, I use Semi-Synthetic Mobil 5W20 (6 qts), more durable than Dino but cheaper than full synthetics. In my old little 4 cylinder, I ran Rotella 15W40 during summertime, Its a really tough oil compared to Mobil Delo 15W40 will isnt near the quality Shell is.

[Sarge]

Semi Syn means it has less that 5% synthetics in it...why not just Dino man?

[Sarge]

dayum your car is thirsty...
GM calls her "Oprah"....Fat/Black and worth a shitload of money...yeah...she aint stock.....well the rear view mirror is....

[GatorSS]

:haha: "Oprah" :lmao:

[meeler52]

well sarge, i live in virginia, drive it daily to work which is a very short trip, occasionly it sees a long trip to west virginia, as far as mods it is stock, but plan on doing some minor mods (exhaust, intake, air flow sensor, etc) to start off with, then going to something more aggressive after it is paid for. Right now i have had the car for about 5000 miles and the change oil light has not come on, so im not real sure on how often it needs changed. Price isnt a huge issue, but i still dont want to go broke changing the oil. (By the way does it have to be done by a dealer to keep the warranty?) Hope that gives u a better idea of what i am dealing with. From the replies it seems most use synthetic so i think that is what i will go with as well.

[Chevypowr]

Changing your own oil should not void the warranty, I have had warranty work done on my SS numerous times and my local Chevrolet dealer never asked about my oil. It may differ from dealer to dealer though, so you might want to check in with your local Pontiac garage just to be safe.

[GatorSS]

Changing your own oil will not void the warranty. It would be a good idea to retain some evidence that you did change the oil and used the right type of oil and filter.

[DwimmerlaikGTO]

Mobile 1 all the way.

[Chevypowr]

Mobile 1 all the way.
Right On!!!:yup:

[LITTLE GTO]

Mobil 1 here!

[Sunset T/A]

Synthetic - Castrol Syntec.

[Pro Auto Parts]

Hey,

Splitfire Fully Synthetic 10w/40 & a fully synthetic oil filter as well.

Steve

[dbluegoat]

GM calls her "Oprah"....Fat/Black and worth a shitload of money...yeah...she aint stock.....well the rear view mirror is....
that ole black bitty is weak.......:zzz: :zzz: :buttkick: :drunk:

[Sarge]

that ole black bitty is weak.......:zzz: :zzz: :buttkick: :drunk:
HEY MAN!!!!!:slash:
Good to hear from you you old slant six cylinder driving Florida fool!!!!
Guys...this is ol dbluegoat...dayum good guy.....good gearhead and hot rodder.....
And to the thread starter...read this and come back and tell me what you recommended to yourself:) http://www.ls1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1299

[Danger731]

Sarhe all semi syn is less than 5% ! I use Valvoline Durablend and a KN filter, am I gettin ripped ? 2.49 / qt and 11 bucks for the filter.

[Sarge]

Well....let me answer as accurately as I can......
The oil companies will not tell you the %%% of syn in the oil...so we have to go off of Virgin Oil Analysis which shows very little synthetic properties in most brands of Semi Syn oils on the shelfs.....one would be better off buying Castrol GTX or Pennzoil Dino and adding 1 oz of Valvoline SynPower Oil Treatment to every quart of Dino oil ( big shot of Moly and Boron)....this "soup" shows very excellent wear numbers and engine cleaning capabilities far better that any Semi Syn oil in Used Oil Analysis.....
So bottom line.....IMHO....and after much observation of UOA's....Semi Synthetic oils are over priced for what they are and you get equal if not better numbers from the above soup....

[ocshaman]

Sarhe all semi syn is less than 5% ! I use Valvoline Durablend and a KN filter, am I gettin ripped ? 2.49 / qt and 11 bucks for the filter.


I think $11 for the filter is a rip. Could probably do as good for $6 at Advanced with a PureOne. What OCI are you running?

[Sarge]

Yup....Pure One...AC Delco....NAPA all show excellent results. Fram sucks donkey balls.

[ocshaman]

Yup....Pure One...AC Delco....NAPA all show excellent results. Fram sucks donkey balls.


Yep,
napa is wix. AC-Delco, Purolator, all good

K&N is just too much money for what it is. Unless you are running LONG OCI's, I don't see a reason to run one.

Slap on the biggest filter you can with the same specs, and don't worry about it.

[z06vette]

Mobil 1 5W-30 fully Synthetic, for all my cars, every 300 miles. I had a Eclipse Turbo that put out about 300HP (16G turbo and lots of other stuff) and with 120k miles on it , it ran perfect, no oil blowby and was totally clean inside. No Dino oil for me. Dino oil leaves ash on critial components when it gets too hot.

Making mods does not void the warrant according to a page om SEMA's web site. Unless they can show that say; putting a supercharger and adding a couple 100 HP broke your driveline when you launched, then they would have you for sure.

[Sarge]

Define ash please....good to see another "senior gearhead" around by the way:) Welcome man....we take oil fairly serious here.....

[txcosmos]

I can honestly say that I have not seen or heard anyone be more knowledgeable, or passionate about oil, than Sarge.

If he says something about oil, you can pretty much take it as gold.

Just don't listen to what he says about Aggies....:nono:

[Sarge]

Hahahahaha....I love them Aggies man! HGH Exile huh? You should wear that like a badge of honor.....or you could get a job behind a parts counter or a part time magazine job and run around programming shift lights....I hear tell those jobs are what all royalty has these days:)

[txcosmos]

Now THAT'S some funny shit!

We need to get together and roam those hill roads, we can even invite the aggie. Since we are all castaways...

[Sarge]

Your on....They are having a car show in Blanco coming up.....few of us Austin/San Antonio GTO's will be there....these are good folks that think by themselves and are not required to ask permission to speak or think like some "car clubs" :)

[txcosmos]

Total thread hijack, sorry...

let us know, we would like to see ya again, bring the "old" ladies on a trip...

[z06vette]

Define ash please....good to see another "senior gearhead" around by the way:) Welcome man....we take oil fairly serious here.....
TO make it short and sweet "sulfated ash is how much solid material is left when the oil burns":) A high ash content will tend to form more sludge and deposits in the engine, particulary on the valves becasue of the temps there.. Low ash content also seems to promote long valve life. Look for oils ( if you use Dino oil) with a low ash content.

[Sarge]

TO make it short and sweet "sulfated ash is how much solid material is left when the oil burns":) A high ash content will tend to form more sludge and deposits in the engine, particulary on the valves becasue of the temps there.. Low ash content also seems to promote long valve life. Look for oils ( if you use Dino oil) with a low ash content.
I just wanted to make sure you knew:) Man you are gonna have to go back to the SJ/API rated oils to get ash......the add packs and VOA's on the SL/SM's are much much different now....

[z06vette]

Well I have not used anything but pure Synthetic in like9 years..

[Sarge]

I hear ya man....many do not realize todays dino's have excellent add packs and the line between synthetics and dino's is almost vanished...

[Chevypowr]

this might be a stupid ? but then no question is a stupid question, so what is DINO oil?

[Sarge]

No such thing as a stupid question...just Mustang drivers....Dino oil is conventional...or Dinasaur oil thus Dino....

[Chevypowr]

No such thing as a stupid question...just Mustang drivers....Dino oil is conventional...or Dinasaur oil thus Dino....
yeah you said it, "Mustake" drivers I call em. Thanks, I had a feeling it was non-synthetic but i'd rather ask then assume. I :drivin: appreciate it!!

[ekilton]

I read the interesting discussion (threads) concerning which type of oil to use in our GTOs (LS1). Most arguements presented are with merit, but a second look at "oil Bob's" additive analysis is necessary. In his analysis, he added Lucas oil treatment to conventional motor oil and compared it to Scaeffer"s synthetic oil. As the test machine spun its gears, it showed the Lucas treated oil beginning to foam from air entrapment, while the Schaeffer oil remained foamless with good climb.

Please be advised that I have a high regard for Scaeffer's oil. However, the test machine gears operated in the open air and thus mixed in excessive air thereby causing the foaming we witnessed in the Lucas treated oil. As we all know, oil enters the engine through the pickup and then to the pump where no air is present, and hence, no foaming occurs except for the brief moment immediately following a cold start up.

Thus, air entrainment should not be at issue in Lucas treated oil. While Scaeffer's oil would not benefit from additional additives, too many inferior oils on the market today would. I also make this point about the validity of Lucas lubricants through experience where these fine lubricants have made sluggish tranmissions shift and noisey motors to quiet down.

Your thoughts on the subject are welcome. In addition, I enjoyed reading "Sarge's" threads the most, since he supported his statements with facts based upon sound oil analysis. From one former Staff Seargent to another, good work GI.

[Sarge]

Thanks man...and the Amsoil 4 ball test is bullshit...pour bleach in there and get better wear numbers than Amsoil....dont mean I'm pouring bleach in Oprah anytime soon....research....turn up ones internet bullshit filters....dont follow the crowd...ask questions...ask for defensable data and not Internet hearsay.....and change your oil and use a good filter......

[05VZ]

Now THAT'S some funny shit!


I heard that a parts counter guy saved you some serious coin once. They must not be all bad...lol.

[txcosmos]

I heard that a parts counter guy saved you some serious coin once. They must not be all bad...lol.
You know, for someone that didn't want anyone to know, and didn't want me to let it out, you sure do talk about it alot! Yeah, Joe you are the man, I owe you my life, my soul, my first born whatever. I thanked you over and over again, even gave you a heartfelt gift of appreciation, but you still seem to never let me forget the fact that you helped me out.

See, a friend does a good deed and forgets about it, he doesn't hold it over your head and keep reminding you about it, so it can't be forgotten.

[05VZ]

You know, for someone that didn't want anyone to know, and didn't want me to let it out, you sure do talk about it alot! Yeah, Joe you are the man, I owe you my life, my soul, my first born whatever. I thanked you over and over again, even gave you a heartfelt gift of appreciation, but you still seem to never let me forget the fact that you helped me out.

See, a friend does a good deed and forgets about it, he doesn't hold it over your head and keep reminding you about it, so it can't be forgotten.
1 post = over and over again. lol.

Hey it's cool. I never said you owe me anything. I just thought it is funny that I'm such a bad guy but when you needed help, I just handled it. Yeah, you gave me a heartfelt gift of appreciation, but I tell ya, what I would have preferred is for you to give me the benefit of the doubt recently. I'm not holding anything over your head. All I'm saying is I came through for you when you needed me, so I bet I'm not such a bad guy.

I'll drop it. That's all I have to say about it. You won't hear about this from me again.

[Wayah-bird]

Regular oil is fine if you change it every 3,000 miles. He also said something interesting about WS6's 325 HP vs regular 310 HP indicating that the additional 15 HP might be worth the switch to synthetic, according to a GM manual he was looking at. I wonder the thought process behind that in the manual?

[Doric]

I've been using Mobil 1 synthetic since 1500 miles, and have changed the oil religiously every 3K since. 18,400 on it now. She doesn't use a single drop between changes.

[Jason05GTO]

www.bobistheoilguy.com

[GoatRider]

I use Amsoil 5-30W year round since GM recommends 5-30W for its LS2. In addition, I add 16 ozs. of molybdenum disulfide aka moly to reduce engine friction. I notice that the moly is working after I start the engine. Normally it idles at 500 rpm, after the moly, it idles between 700 to 800 rpms for several minutes until the CPU brings it down to 500 rpms again. After about 3000 miles, the moly gets old since it doens't idle at 700 to 800 rpms anymore but goes back to 500 rpms. That is when I change the oil and the moly.

I like the K&N high flow oil filter since it circulates more oil through the engine than the stock GM oil filter.

I used the same oil and moly treatment on my Subaru that I traded in for the GTO. The Subaru had 52,000 miles on it and it ran better than the day I bought it new.

Regards,

Chuck

[Chevypowr]

:drivin: I use Mobile 1 5w-30 in my SS all year round. I change the oil every 5,000 miles sometimes up to 5,500 miles. I have been running it like this since the day I bought it at 47,000 miles. I now have 104,000 miles and my engine never ran better. If I do go to 5,5000 miles I notice the oil pressure will slightly drop and that is when without a doubt I change it. I use fram HD oil filter, because they don't use cardboard as the filter tops like the regular frams do. In the summer time I will exchange 1 quart of Mobile 1 with Lucas synthetic oil stabalizer for added protection. Unlike a few of the stories i've heard from other LS1 owners I never blow white smoke out of the exhaust either.

p.s. I don't drive like an old man either. I see excess of 5,ooo RPMs daily.

[Sarge]

I'm an old man and dont drive like an old man either :)

[Chevypowr]

I'm an old man and dont drive like an old man either :)
Yeah I thought about that after I wrote it, let me rephrase that - I don't drive like an old lady, hopefully my grandmother isn't on here cause she doesn't drive like an old lady either.:burnout:

[q1234567890]

Royal purple is to thin you can here lots of vaulve train noise. 5-30 Mobil one 15k long lasting but I change it every 5k. That way I know its protected.

[GatorSS]

p.s. I don't drive like an old man either. I see excess of 5,ooo RPMs daily.

At what age do you qualify as an "old man"?

[WhiteLs1]

Mobile 1 here, I have it in my 02 5.3 Avalanche and the Z.

[Chevypowr]

At what age do you qualify as an "old man"?

When you drive 50 miles an hour in the passing lane when the right lane is totally empty and you wonder what the hells going on:thinkin: when someone is passing you in the right lane beeping and flipping you the bird. Then you proceed to stay in the passing lane and mudder "whats that a-holes problem" Then it happens again, and you still don't know whats going on.

I dont think there is a specific age for that.

I wasn't trying to be arrogant by saying my original message, I was just expressing a teachable point of view. Which is-Mobile one has treated me very well considering the abuse I put on my engine...