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What type of Oil are you using?

10K views 46 replies 21 participants last post by  coyotekiller 
#1 ·
I'm very anal about mechanics/Service touching my vehicles as I know they don't treat them as if they were their own, which is unfortunate on $45K+ vehicles. I know I need a Dexos but I want to do it myself.

What type of high performance oil are you using? I would like to maintain the same type of oil in my vehicle from oil change #1. I'll be letting Lingenfelter upgrade my 2SS with a 600HP Maggie package late summer :thumbsup:. This is my first high performance vehicle and I need some opinions with your vehicle experiences.

Thank you all! :cool:
 
#3 ·
Same. Mobil 1 full synthetic.
 
#4 · (Edited)
As stated Mobil 1, which is what the car comes with. The only change will be when you are FI the grade should go up to withstand the increased pressures. I am running Mobil 1's 15w-50 grade in mine. It is one of the few oils that has a higher Zinc level for bearing protection. And as synthetic oils go it is relatively cost effective.

15W-50 Synthetic Oil | Mobil 1™ 15W-50
 
#5 ·
i used to run that same weight and oil in my LS1 in the summer months and loved it, not sure if i can get away with using it in my LS3 now??
 
#19 ·
Amsoil Z-Rod 10W30. High zinc which is perfect for big cam blown engines like mine. Only run WIX filters as well.

Cheapest deal around from: AMSOIL
 
#21 ·
:thumbsup:
 
#20 ·
Castrol Syntec oil with Bosch filter sometimes K&N if it's on sale. It's never let me down since the LS1 days of old.
 
#24 ·
Valvoline - 5/30 full synthetic, Guaranteed to last 300K miles :5go:



 
#30 ·
I've Used Valvoline.. on all me cars, for over 15yrs, thats gotta count for something in me books.. :nana:



 
#31 · (Edited)
You guys know M1 pays GM big bucks to put their logo on the oil cap right? Just like BMW and Castrol. Don't fall for the "it came in my car so that's what I have to use" gimmick.
They are all pretty much the same but for the exception of amzoil, royal purple and redline they are not full synthetic oils.
If M1 is on sale I buy it if Pennzoil Platnium is on sale I buy that. Keep the extra money in your pocket fellas.
 
#40 ·
We’ve already established that the truth about synthetic oil claims of "100% Synthetic Motor Oil" are often not strictly true! But in a weird oily way, it’s perfectly OK to say that it is 100% Synthetic, because the Base Stock oil is 100% Synthetic; even though it contains as much as 20% Petroleum product, because it’s “only” the Carrier Oil for the Additives !!!

This now raises an interesting question about what you pay for “fully” synthetic oil: After all you just might not be willing to pay so much more for Synthetic Motor Oil if you knew it was not "100% Synthetic". Or would you?

In November 2006, ExxonMobil on their www.Mobil 1.com website asked
the online visitors to:

"Ask your stickiest Question"

Jeff Willett of St. Peters took them up on their offer, in his search for the truth about synthetic oil:

“I have seen claims of gas chromatograph analysis of Mobil 1 Extended Performance SAE 5W-30 API SM dated October 2006, that state it is "mostly mineral oil". Realizing that you can not divulge your exact formulations, what do you say to the critics that claim you are using a high percentage of hydro processed mineral oil in Mobil 1, instead of the more expensive PAO or polyester base stocks?”

Amazingly an “anonymous” employee from Mobil 1 web actually replied, and the reply was even posted briefly on the www.Mobil 1.com :

“Just like other companies, we do not discuss our product formulations for obvious proprietary reasons.

Mobil 1 Extended Performance is formulated using a combination of high performance fluids including PAO, along with a proprietary system of performance additives. But in the end, it is also about performance. Mobil 1 is used by more Original Equipment Manufacturers than any other oil as first fill in their vehicles. Also take note of the kind of testing we put our product through, including the "Las Vegas field testing" we recently completed. The Mobil 1 technology is also tested each weekend on the race track. In fact, more than 50 percent of NASCAR teams use Mobil 1.”

On face value the question was answered albeit a little short on hardcore facts or fully tackling the truth about synthetic oil:

• The formulation of Mobil 1, which is labeled as FULLY SYNTHETIC, is mostly PETROLEUM !
• Mobil 1 is used in a handful of vehicles; usually high end cars, while the majority of OEM’s use conventional PETROLEUM in the majority of their production.
• NASCAR Racing engines are stripped after fewer than 50 hours; and there’s no documented proof of teams using Mobil 1 in their vehicles, having any technical advantage.

The truth about synthetic oil is that it’s Synthetic even when it is Petroleum!

And don’t think Mobil or (ExxonMobil now) is alone in these somewhat ambitious claims. Many other brands of Synthetics (Shell, Castrol, Amsoil, etc.) are also NOT fully "synthetic". At least not by the definition used by practicing chemists in Global chemical companies.

The final distortion of the truth about synthetic oil came some years ago when SHELL Europe introduced Motor Oils that were manufactured from UHVI Petroleum Base stock that, although made from conventional crude oil, were subjected to additional processing not common on "normal" or "typical" Base Oil production. These (UHVI = Ultra High Viscosity Index) Base Stock containing Motor Oils were labeled by SHELL as "Synthetic".

Companies like MOTUL, MOBIL, AGIP in their respective markets did not like that labeling one bit, because the SHELL "synthetic" products were sold for substantially less then their own Brands of "Synthetic" Labeled products.

So followed years of lawsuits, court orders, appeals and counter-suits; clogging the courts of several European countries. At different times and in different countries contrary decisions or judgements were made. What was "synthetic" in one country on one day was "not synthetic" in another country at the same time.

Unfortunately, but possibly inevitably, what finally evolved from all this confusion was that the label term "Synthetic" was deemed to be a marketing term, and therefore up to the "marketer" of the oil, to define what "synthetic" is.

GREAT!

This now implied that anytime a conventional petroleum oil is subjected to any unconventional process or reaction, irrespective of whether it improves the Base Oil, it can be called "synthetic" i.e., Man-made.
 
#46 ·
I run AMSOIL 5W30 in my 2011 2SS/RS L99. My change interval is and has been since the second oil change at 10K intervals. My car currently has 92K on the odometer. When I chage the oil, I dump the used oil back into the AMSOIL quarts that the new oil came in. Over the course of the last 9 oil changes, I put back 8 quarts into the bottles, and the oil still looks like it has some life left. Just cannot make myself go past 10K on the changes. The car runs great, but I have not cracked the block open to see what the internals look like.
 
#47 ·
You should have that oil sent off and sampled to tell you what kind of contaminants are in it. Should be able to find someone at a local airport that knows where to send the oil to get this done. Aviation mechanics do oil checks all the time. I'd be interested to see what all they find in your oil.
 
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