Polyalphaolefin

I ran a virgin analysis on this last week. Expensive oil at $20 a quart, but it seems you get your money's worth with a high dose of ZDDP (zinc and phosphorus) anti-wear additive and MoDTC (molybdenum) friction reducer additive. The base oil is ~60% trimer PAO, ~20% homopolymer PAO, and ~8% polyol ester.

sjsingle1

iTrader: (1)

wow...20$ a guart ?

MaroonMonsterLS1

Is this blackstone?
I've always been curious how Delo synthetic 5w40 and 15w40 (or anything comparable) stacks up against high dollar "racing" oils

Polyalphaolefin

This is oil analyzers Inc (OAI).

A few years ago, working with some old gearheads out of Illinois, Delo synthetic 5w-40 was swapped out for a custom brewed racing oil in an all motor dragbike. A 360 hp 4 cylinder turning about 14,000 rpm. It picked up 4.5 hp with the racing oil (which is HUGE in a max effort heads up class), averaged oil temps were down 10°F, foaming was down more than 60%, and cam wear went down 34%.

sjsingle1

iTrader: (1)

and for something completely different....

my son just got a turbo diesel ford truck ...older model and he is happy using dino rotella..not that its a terrible choice mind ya.....I tell him he should be using a syn oil for it......especially for the turbo

beside that diesels and gas engines need diff oils i dont have a clue what to tell him

does a great gas oil equal a outstanding diesel oil ?

need some guidance here....

Polyalphaolefin

A great gas oil makes a poor diesel oil, and a great diesel oil makes a poor gas oil. They are different environments with different needs. Diesel oils turn low rpm and run dirtier with much higher amounts of soot. Therefore, diesel oils focus on a thicker oil film to withstand the high pressures and more dispersants to hold soot in suspension to be carried to the filter. Gas oils turn higher rpm and have greater concerns with acidic contamination from gasoline combustion by-products. Therefore, more shear resistant base oils, as well as higher amounts of defoamants, antioxidants, and acid neutralizers, are needed. Think of it like camshafts. A great NA grind will not make a great turbo grind, and vice versa. Same concept. Different environments, different needs.

Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel Truck (TDT) 5w-40 is a good diesel oil that I like. Valvoline Premium Blue 5w-40 is a good oil for that application as well. You are right in that a synthetic oil, being more thermally stable, will take the heat from the turbo better than a conventional oil.

G Atsma

And different again..
I notice you have an '02 Tahoe. How many miles?
I recently acquired a 2004 Tahoe with 160K miles on it that appears to have been well-taken care of. I am approaching its first-for-me oil change on it.
Anything you can advise as to which oil to use?
It looks like the previous change was with 5W30 synthetic, unknown brand. That weight does seem to be a consensus among "normal" use LS engines.

Polyalphaolefin

The Tahoe has the 5.3L with 252k miles. I'm currently on my 2nd change of Driven LS30 5w-30. I'm using it at 10,000 mile intervals. It's a good PAO/POE blended oil with ~1300 ppm Zn, ~1150 ppm P, and ~400 ppm Mo. It's a little on the pricey side though at ~$11.50/qt. Not nearly as expensive as LAT above.

These engines are pretty resilient no matter what oil you use so long as you change it when needed. For normal daily driving, it's hard to beat the value of the Havoline 6 quart boxes. The Havoline Syn-Blend High Mileage 5w/10w-30 oils are only like $16 for 6 quarts at Walmart, and they'd be fine for the life of the OLM or about 6000-7000 miles. Havoline Pro DS 5w-30 is $20 for 6 quarts if you want a synthetic oil. If you tow with it, I'd advise an oil that's a little more robust. Mobil 1 High Mileage 10w-30 is a stout oil for a shelf oil with an HTHS of 3.5 cP and NOACK <8%. Either Havoline Pro DS 5w-30 or Mobil 1 High Mileage 10w-30 could go 10,000 miles.

G Atsma

Very good info! Thank you very much for it and your time doing so!

Tuskyz28

Just thought about this thread while i have a small build on ny GMT 400 truck.

I have some questions....

What oil would you recommend for a 454 big block vortec in a 3/4 ton truck that's always pulling a 20ft open car trailer with my camaro on it?

Im guessing the load is around 5500lbs and my truck is a 3/4 ton 8 lugger. By the way its very hot and humid where i live. Truck is also uses as a spare vehicle as well if that matters.....

What transmission fluid you recommend for a 4L80E that's unded the same condition as i posted above ?

Thanks for the help

Polyalphaolefin

Unlike the LS and Coyote engines, the 454 vortec isn't very sensitive to oil viscosity. They'll run forever on just about anything. If it was mine though for that use, I'd Mobil 1 HM 10w-30 changed every 6-7k miles or 1 year.

For trans fluid, any Dex IV will work well. Do a pan drop and filter change every 50k miles.