checo16

I currently own two Camaros and have questions about each of their oil weight recommendations.
I own a completely stock '98 LS1 Camaro with 17k original miles, my dad is the first owner and bought the car new from the Chevrolet dealer in Mexico. The part of Mexico where the car has been its entire life is very hot most of the time, about 90+ year round.
The other Camaro which is currently my daily driver here in Southern California is a '97 LT1 Camaro that has 88k miles with a mild cam and some exhaust. The guy I bought it off from had just changed the oil and put Mobil 1, I don't know what weigh h bout in it though. You guys should already know how California's weather is.

My LS1 currently has 10w30 synthetic oil in it. And I'm trying to get it changed with some Castrol Edge or some Mobil 1. But I've been reading that Mobil's 5w30 and 10w30 is too thin for our engines. Some people say Mobil 0w-40 and Castrol Edge 0w-30 work best for our engines. Is this correct? Would these weights be good enough for 90*+ weather in Mexico?

Now for my '97 LT1 with a mild cam. I've been trying to get an oil change lately but after reading everyone's opinions on oil weight preference I'm confused. The car currently has Mobil 1, I'm not sure of the oil weight in it because I just bought it a little over a month ago. The oil pressure is 20psi at idle once the car is at running temp and around 40 when driving. I beat on the car once in a while if that matters on choosing an oil weight for it.

So what would be the best oil weight for a low mileage LS1 in 90*+ weather most of the time?
And what would be the best oil weight for a Mild Cammed LT1 here in Southern California?

checo16

And here are some of my '97 Camaro Z28 88k original miles with mild cam and exhaust

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

I also have a '98 LS1 with 17k miles and a completely stock internal engine.

After trying a few different oils on the various LS1s I've owned (both stock and modified), I've settled on M1 0w40 for all purposes and weather. Chicago is nothing like Mexico or southern CA, but in the time I have owned my LS1s I've seen temps as low as -16°F and as high as +102°F at the extreme ends; normally it's somewhere in the middle.

dailydriver

^^^Yes, and that oil's (M1 0W-40) decent viscosity index can handle those extremes of ambient temps with ease!
(To say nothing about that oil's GREAT starting TBN, high moly and boron content, and probable high PAO contnet base stock. )

checo16

That's nice man, you should share some pictures of it. Do you have an aftermarket exhaust on it?
I guess I'll try M1 0w40 and see how it works.
Do you think that oil weight would be as good for the LT1 motor?

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

I've never owned an LT1, but as mentioned above by dailydriver the M1 0w40 is a very good quality, versatile oil. In my old SBCs I use Valvoline VR1 for the higher ZDDP content, but those have a flat tappet cam - obviously not the case for a Gen II LT1.

Yes the catback is aftermarket, it also has some other minor bolt-ons and a set of chrome SS wheels. I've owned several LS1s for different purposes and at different levels of modification, but this one I have kept as a near-stock show vehicle:

checo16

Would you recommend for me to use it on the LT1 or should I just stick to the 5w30 or 10w30?

checo16

What exhaust do you have, if you don't mind me asking. All I would want to change on my '98 LS1 would probably be the exhaust.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

I have a Bassani system on this car that I installed in 2004, but Bassani discontinued that catback many years ago. I think they are again offering a true dual system (they had one before, and dropped that as well), but that's a different system from what's on this car.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

If you read the owners manual, written by the folks who designed the engine, you will find that this is completely false. That's not to say there aren't benefits of using oils with wider viscosity ranges, which may not have been available when the slide rules were out during the design of these cars...

If you change or re-engineer that engine, the designers of the modifications will be able to tell you if you require alternate guidance.


If you are reading what the gauges on the cluster are telling you for oil pressure, they aren't as accurate as you want them to be. If you think you have a pressure problem, you need to put a real gauge on the engine and watch it.


IMO - These engines are really good and you could put cheap dino-oil in them and get to 200K miles just fine. All the while, cursing the damn car and wishing the engine to fail so your wife will let you rebuild it with upgrades. ... but maybe that's just me?

What are your goals for the cars? Is keeping the stock engines important to you? Are you going to keep the low mile car low?

Firebrian

Bobistheoilguy.com has a good series of 10 articles on motor oil application and theory....and just revised in 2016 for an update. After reading that and other sources I'd have to agree with the general philosophy that thinner motor oils remove heat faster than thicker ones. But High Temp High Shear (HTHS) is another quality and the 40 grades have the advantage here in protecting your engine should it get up into the 275-300 deg F range via a stronger fluid film strength. Any quality brand 30 weight oil at normal operating temps is probably fine. Some seem to handle peak stress conditions better than others. But, that's hard to quantify without some type of destructive testing that everyone can agree on. Synthetics flow better than dino-oil at low temps, even at the same rating.

10W and 15W oils can be too thin for cold starts, at least in conditions of -20 deg F and lower. Most of your engine wear comes from the startup to warmup phase where the oil is less than 170-175 deg F and the Anti Wear package is not fully functional. The 0W-30/40 seems like an optimum weight to me along with higher HTHS (3.5-3.8), The factory chose 5W-30 (HTHS usually around 3.0-3.5). But I would think any quality oil in the 0/5W & 30/40 grades will work fine for the stock or slightly modded LS1. 0w30 and 0w40 weight oils at operating temps are fairly close in viscosity. The real differences in oils comes at the 0-10W ranges where each 5 pt step is huge. Select the ranges that best suits your car and your driving. Our driving styles and frequency of oil & filter changes probably plays a larger role than the precise oil brand and ratings we use.....basically what wssix99 said above.

Fluid flow and heat removal are important...not just oil pressure. Some high revving performance cars do best with 0W-20 oils or thinner. Thinner is often best. Too high a viscosity oil will get you higher oil pressure....though sometimes at the expense of lower flows. Best engine oil weight is the one that works best for your application.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/motor-oil-101/

checo16

I don't have a wife just yet, I'm just about to turn 19 lol.
My goal for my low mile LS1 is getting some exhaust and keeping it a low mile car for multiple reasons.
Keeping the engine stock isn't that important to me but it is when it comes to this Camaro knowing my dad is the first owner, low miles, the gold color. You don't really come by these as often.
As for the LT1, I plan on keeping it with the mild cam and exhaust it has for a while. I know I'm going to end up selling the LT1 one day so I'm not that into the car as much as I am to the LS1.
My main concern right now for the LT1 would be choosing the oil that is going to work best for the car. I only have two oil brands in mind which are Mobil 1 and Castrol Edge. So as long as I stick with oil grades 0-5w-30 and 0-5w40 I'm good right?

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

In general, yes. These are standard SAE ratings and ensure consistent basic performance across all brands.

^ The info you posted above helps a lot. For a daily driver, I wouldn't worry about the brand of oil, etc. but there may be better choices for your low mileage car. (Low mileage cars will sit longer and have harsher start-up's, etc.)

Any recommendations for low mileage cars?

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

I haven't put more than ~500 miles per year on mine over the last decade. M1 0w40 has caused no apparent issues at all, and continues to be my top choice.

This same oil had also preformed great in my daily driven LS1 that sometimes saw as much as 500 miles per week.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

... And you don't go over 20 mph when you drive.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Haha....that is actually quite untrue. I had the car out last Sunday, there was a quick burst to 105mph on I94. Much fun was had.

dailydriver

The M1 0W-40 with it's very good starting TBN WILL resist the acid build ups from low mile use and storage just about as well as most of the 'specialized' "Hot Rod" low mile use oils out there (Amsoil ZROD, JGD HR, etc.).

The only difference is that those above mentioned oils might have a higher dose of anti-corrosion additives than the M1, for VERY LONG TERM storage.

dailydriver

The Bassani was also a system I was looking at as well way back when, along with the basic, 'non-switchable', single outlet per side Borla (and maybe the Stainless Works deal as well), as all were ALL 304 austenitic stainless, unlike the Magnaflows and others on the market.

I just would have installed some 304 stainless turn downs as tips instead of the straight slash cuts.

dailydriver

Yes, it is DEFINITELY NOT too thick for year 'round use in Cali, especially in the southern part of the state.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

The high luster 304 stainless has held up great after 10+ years, of course I rarely drive the car though. You can easily polish the entire system from I-pipe to tip (though I generally only focus on the muffler back) and keep it all show quality, or for daily driver applications the rust resistance would be exceptional.

The old Bassani "Street Competition" catback (this is the one I have, there was also a "Quiet Thunder" but I never owned that one) was also great at resisting the rasp associated with an ORY. I had this same catback on my '00 WS6 with headers and ORY (also Bassani stuff) and the rasp was almost non-existent.

As mentioned in the other thread, I'm one of those who prefers the hillbilly dual pipes on opposite sides. I did trim down the tailpipes when I first installed the system though, otherwise they would have stuck out past the bumper. I wanted it to be slightly tucked in. This was an easy fix as the tips are installed separately with T-bolt band clamps.

I don't like turndowns unless they are tucked up high and just the tip peeks out into view. With the tail pipes coming straight out, turndown tips wouldn't look proper IMO. What would look nice though would be some custom bent tail pipes that angle upward a bit from the muffler (and/or mounting the muffler a bit higher) and then some turndowns tucked high and behind the bumper. That would require some fabrication and modification of the catback, at which point only the muffler and I-pipe would be untouched.