02 LS1 with gm ac delco dexos 5W30

**02nhrals1** · 10-31-2016, 05:14 PM

I'm not sure how much the flow rates differ from conventional to synthetic. I know a guy that owns a snow blower shop and all he uses is conventional 5W30 when servicing snow blowers. Many of the machines he sees are well over 25 years old and still running strong. Those machines definitely get cold starts, I know they are not at all the same as our ls1 engines but it does make me wonder.

The confusing part is many of the people, like the ones that posted above, have switched over to synthetic late in the game with no issues.

**RUFFTURBO911** · 10-31-2016, 05:33 PM

Flow rates are yuuuge different. Synthetic vs regular, synthetic wins hands down. The blends I'm not sure of. If you are concerned with leaks I would say blend 50/50 synthetic/regular and up the % of synthetic each oil change and look for leaks in between changes. If you see a leak you can always go back to conventional oil.

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**Whamhammer** · 10-31-2016, 06:38 PM

You will probably lose more oil through the PCV valve and into the intake, than you will with switching to synthetic, and it leaking through the seals.

You have to remember something about the older seals and leakage, most of those engines were designed at a time where there we no PCV valves, and one of the main way to get rid of blow by was through the seals. Even though the engine setups adopted PCV valve setups, how many changed out to a tighter seal set? I am pretty sure that Chevy only changed the type of rear man seal (1986), and maybe the distributor o-ring.

The LS series was designed from the bottom up to be a tighter seal.

**RUFFTURBO911** · 10-31-2016, 06:54 PM

Months after I put Mobil 1 in my 86gn it was leaving a 3 inch diameter oil spot anytime it was parked. Mobil 1 flows like water when it is hot and they say water is the "universal solvent." Regardless, I wish I did a 50-50 blend synthetic/regular when I last (first time)did the oil. In six months I'll do a 50-50 blend of Magnatec blend and Castrol Synthetic. I'm sure The LS can handle it I've heard from a few people. I just don't want it to happen to me when I switch to synthetic and I go from my dry garage floor to an oily floor!

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**02nhrals1** · 10-31-2016, 06:58 PM

I agree with you, right now I have an immaculate car that is not leaking and is running smooth. And that's with a synthetic blend oil. I poured some synthetic blend into a cup and then poured full synthetic into another cup and there is definitely a noticeable difference between the two which makes me wonder if my LS1 could handle the change

**pajeff02** · 11-02-2016, 03:06 AM

Conventional, blended or synthetic are all fine so long as you utilize a quality oil filter and adhere to an appropriate maintenance schedule that takes into account your driving habits. Short tripping the car with frequent engine starts and stops is about the worse thing for it from a wear and oil duration perspective.