Oil Opinion

[philipja]

Good day all. I would like some opinions on oil type and weight. I have always used Castrol in my vehicles but this one seems a little different. I have not owned a car that runs so hot all the time. I suppose that is the design of it. I'm trying to figure out some kind of venting to let some of the engine heat out. It seems too sealed and crowded under that hood like a closed oven. Anyway, it regularly hoovers around 100 in this area in the summer and was considering change to Mobil Synthetic straight 30 oil. I would like some opinions from someone in the know whats best catagory.
Thanks!

[newscarver]

a multigrade 10 w 30 is what is reccomended,perhaps some slick 50,to make stuff extra slippery is the only additive i ever use...single grade oil isnt very widely used in automobiles since the sixties,i would not do it...news

[Sweet William]

Something I found while looking around. This is the link it came from.

http://myweb.accessus.net/~090/cfb-tech.html#soil


Oils recommended for use in your vehicle can be identified by looking for the "Starburst" symbol. This symbol indicates that the oil has been certified by the American Petroleum Institute (API) for gasoline engines. Look for a major brand of oil meeting API SJ or ILSAC GF-2. If you're outside North America use an oil that meets AECA 3-96.

What Weight Oil? 0W-30, 5W-30 10W-30?

GM recommend 5W-30, but the reason GM recommends 5W-30 is that it's the politically correct choice when fuel mileage is a prime consideration. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which oversees fuel economy standards for cars sold in the U.S.A and believes 5W-30 oil is a significant energy conservation measure. The EPA has pressured car companies into using 5W-30s in their new vehicles. In response to this pressure, many years ago a policy was made by GM at the corporate level that, with few exceptions, the recommended oil for all passenger vehicles will be 5W-30.

When you read the "Maintenance and Lubrication" section of any GM Service Manual, you will soon discover that there are alternatives -- "The recommended SAE engine oil viscosity is 5W-30, however, if the temperature is above –18 C (O F) 10W-30 may be used." If your engine is regularly operated where outdoor temperatures are above 0 F using an oil of different viscosity range might be better in the long run.

Why?

Any 5W-30 engine oil, including the synthetic, uses chemical additives, called "viscosity-index improvers" (VI), to widen its viscosity range enough to make it qualify for a 5W-30 rating. VI improvers contribute little to lubrication and can make a "multi-viscosity" oil less effective at high temperatures than an oil without them. Another characteristic of a 5W-30 that can be a problem in severe service is a relatively high evaporation rate at high temperatures compared to lubricants of more narrow viscosity range. A higher evaporation rate contributes to increased oil consumption and substandard lubrication in areas of high temperature.

There are no VI improvers in quality, 10W-30, synthetic engine oils and their high-temperature evaporation rate is less. Thus, 10W-30 synthetics are better lubricants in severe duty applications.

M o bile 1

A good choice is Mobil 1, 10W-30 synthetic. Mobil-1 is made with a synthesized-hydrocarbon, base-stock and Since GM endorses Mobil-1 (Corvettes come from the factory with Mobil-1 in the crankcase), so it doesn’t hurt to go with what GM uses.

Synthetic oils offer the only truly significant differences, as long as its approved to be used in your car, due to their superior high temperature oxidation resistance, high film strength, very low tendency to form deposits, stable viscosity base, and low temperature flow characteristics. Synthetics are superior lubricants when compared to traditional petroleum oils.

You can start using synthetic oil in new vehicles at any time. In fact Mobil1 is the factory fill for the Corvette LS-1, LT-1 and LT-5 engines. Mobil and Porsche also have a partnership whereby all Porsche cars manufactured at the Zuffenhausen plant will be lubricated with Mobil 1. One of the myths that still persists about Mobil-1 (or any synthetic oil -- Red Line, Castrol Syntec, Havoline Formula3 Synthetic) is that new engines require a break-in period with conventional oil. Current engine manufacturing technology does not require this break-in period. As the engineers who design Corvette and Porsche engines indicate, Mobil 1 can be used in an engine from the day you drive your car off the show room floor!

[Marc_Aurora_2001]

I use 5W-30 in my 2001 4.0, either Castrol GTX
or Quaker State.


_______________

GM!!! BRING BACK OLDS!!!

[roo]

Check Amsoil. Spendy Though High Quality. Also Check K&n Oil Filters. Tough Filter With Anti-drainback Valve. Fram Also Makes The Toughguard Filter With An Anti-drainback Valve. Valvoline 10-30. Another Tip Is Use 92 Octane Quality Fuel. Shell. Though It Is Spendier, This Dual Overhead Cam Motor Will Last Longer And Perform Better.

[ugsrich]

Penzoil 10w-30.
Since 1968 in Mustang of same year
1972 Olds Cutlass
1972 Pontiac Bonneville 455
1978 Pontiac LeMan
1981 Olds 88
blah, blah, blah
1995 Olds Aurora 130K no engine problems, now using the Penzoil extended mileage stuff in the Gold bottle....

[Sweet William]

In my opinion Amsoil is some good stuff, it can be inconvenient to get is the only thing. I was running that (still do in my CR500 2stroke), but when I wanted to do an oil change I could not get ahold of my supplier. Switched to Royal Purple, another one that is harder to find, but a high qaulity oil. With the oil leaks on this thing I have to add a quart once or twice between oil changes. Now it's Mobil1 10w30. Very good stuff and easy to find.

My father has had great luck using Valvoline non-synthetic with a half bottle of STP. Oil gets changed every 2,500 miles, and he has drove every car or truck into the ground around the motor. Hard to dispute his results. He just shakes his head when he sees me spending all that money on synthetic and driving 4,500 to 5,000 miles between changes.

I believe that any name brand 10w30 oil with shorter interval changes will serve you well.

[Roraman]

Its mostly due to brand loyalty. Some oils used to have bad reps due to gumming up an engine or turning into sludge or some other reason an irresponsible auto owner would inevitably blame his woes on. As long as you are prudent in your methodology of maintenance, you won't have any problems. Beware of the products touted as the newest anti-friction aerospace approved additives. Duralube, Slick 50, Z-Max, etc. belong in the "Snake oil" realm and should be regarded as such. Stay away from them.

[philipja]

Ok, Much good advice! Now, what about an ocasional engine flush product. The ones you dump in and run for 15 minutes then drain it out. ? I am guessing, waste of time and money?

[rodtice]

That depends, how often do you change your oil, more frequently helps to reduce sludge that builds up due to detergents .

If you have a high milage car and switch to synthetic BE CAREFULL! reason, synthetics not only don't build sludge/deposits, they clean like a steam cleaner.

My friends dad purchased a ford pickup with high milage, just before the auction the original owner switched to synthetic, didn't last 3000 miles, the oil pump pick up plugged with sludge, oil filter blew into two pieces completely plugged with sludge, oil starvation spun a bearing. My friends dad a competent mechanic rebuilt the engine and all is well, commented on how clean the block was.

BTW now thinks synthetics are a joke, mostly ignorance there though.

So if you all of a sudden switch to synthetic after many miles, change the oil very soon the first time. Say 1000mi or less. Just to be on the safer side.

1 more story.
Another friend has a blazer full size, at 100000 mi he switched the gear lube in the rear diff. to amsoil, after all the miles were on dino squeezins, didn't make it 50mi, axle bearing seized on driver side, you guessed it, packed with sludge, other side packing not siezed yet but soon, rear diff clean as well as case except for floating sludge.

Having said that I use an amsoil dual bypass kit in my grand am that I installed at 80,000mi, has two filters, one down to 1/10th of a micron, the other 30-40 microns about the same as a high quality oil filter. I changed it after 1000,mi the first time, amsoil recommended. Don't ask how far I've driven on an oil change since, I don't want to start that debate. OK twice a year 12,000mi ea/change, grand am has 170000/mi on it now runs as quiet/good as new but my aurora gets changed every 3k on dino.

http://www.amsoil.com/products/bf.html

[RoraStar96]

My car used to burn 1 quart every 3000 miles with Castrol, then I started taking the car to the dealer for lube/oil/filter and whatever they use for the 32V Northstar has resulted in zero burnoff.

Works for me!

[kgatwork]

If you are concerned with you oil and wear you should doing a Used Oil Analysis (UOA) on you oil. Here's a place to visit for oil info in general.
Bobs the Oil Guy forums.

http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/...?ubb=forum;f=1