Whats the best oil? Interesting read here !
06-24-2018, 07:25 AM
#21
I knew Dave pretty well. Solid guy with a ton of early LS experience. Although I had no experience with ARE I was very aware of their shop too being so big, so early. They hit the ground running in 97 I met Nick at the Performance World speed and custom show and he already had stroked engines on display and everything looked MINT. He stated their goal was to be the world leader in LS1 performance and for a while they really were. Their story is ( was? ) all posted on this board if your interested in digging it up but the short/long of it was growth problems, they were so successful that the shop expansion, project deadlines, and apparently funding streams got messed up so they closed shop and some cars were left unfinished. Same story of a thousand shops before, and a thousand shops since, running business can be cruel.
Anyways after their demise Dave went solo opened shop back in the OG engine shop behind Karbelt and made some fantastic builds before his unfortunately way too soon passing. He had some great stories too he was a VERY active street racer back in the day. He also said Katech came up to visit their shop to learn how they were sleeving blocks prior to the C5R program they handled for GM. Cant say this is fact, just a story but it made sense giving the timing of it all.
We never talked oil though LOL
Anyways after their demise Dave went solo opened shop back in the OG engine shop behind Karbelt and made some fantastic builds before his unfortunately way too soon passing. He had some great stories too he was a VERY active street racer back in the day. He also said Katech came up to visit their shop to learn how they were sleeving blocks prior to the C5R program they handled for GM. Cant say this is fact, just a story but it made sense giving the timing of it all.
We never talked oil though LOL
06-24-2018, 08:01 AM
#22
It doesnt really matter what oil you run in a STOCK LS it will likely be fine. What your paying for with good oil is detergents and anti wear additives, thats it. If you run an aggressive cam and dont add a little ZDDP you will pit the valve caps with stock rocker arms. Stock this isnt an issue this is only a concern with aftermarket cams. I really like the detergent qualities of Castrol 0W30/40 because I dont like changing oil often so I dont. I change it once per year ( spring/summer/fall pleasure use car only ) and it turns black as deep space but the engine is spotless internally. If you run cheap oil the varnish builds up and cooks to everything. I have opened up a LOT of different LS engines over the years and none have ever come close to being as clean as with the Castrol, not even the Mobil 1 engines althoguh they too are typically very clean.
Moral of the story? Its your engine and your money use whatever oil helps you sleep at night. Engines that fail are almost never due to poor quality oil choices
Moral of the story? Its your engine and your money use whatever oil helps you sleep at night. Engines that fail are almost never due to poor quality oil choices
I bought an 02 Z28 that has the last 13 years of dealer maintenance records and the car always got 3,000 mile oil changes with the bulk Pennzoil/Quaker State 5w-30 the dealership used. Nothing wrong with that practice as the 02 Z28 ran well at 239,000 miles when I purchased. However, the 02 Z28's engine definitely has more sludge build up despite less miles an far more frequent oil changes than my 389,500 mile 91 RS's engine did with Mobile 1 5w-30. The RS typically got 7,000 mile oil changes. I'm judging the build up by the varnish on the dips tick and inside the filler necks. My 99 TA (164,000 miles, Mobile 1 5w-30) had a mere fraction of the varnish build up the 02 Z28 does. The TA got 5,000 mile oil & filter changes. i think you are correct about the additive and detergent packages.
Regarding, the Castrol the engine builder for my 72 vette's Dart 400, insisted on the Castrol Edge over Mobile 1. The vette doesn't have a PVC system and he felt Castrol kept engines cleaner based on his experience over the years building street/strip engines. With no PCV system the Castrol Edge is what the vette gets.
Occasionally, I will run Pennzoil Ultra in the TA just to hit the sludge & varnish with a different detergent package to help keep the engine clean. I have a pet theory that many of the lifter or needle bearing roller rocker issues that occur in LS engines are related varnish build up or sludge build up.
The 02 Z28 got Mobile 1 for the first oil change and it turned black within 300 miles. A few 1,500 mile M1 oil changes should get most of the nasty build up out of the 02 Z28's engine. Your post males me think a round of Castrol might be a good idea too.
Regarding, ZDDP I'm skeptical. Doesn't the zinc protection only come into play when metal to metal contact actually occurs?
There are other additive strategies that seem to to work well for non flat tappet motors. After 15 years & 120,000 + miles running an 224/224 .581/.581 lift cam XER cam and no extra ZDDP the valve heads looked ok no pits in my 99 TA. At least the front four did, couldn't really tell on the back four.
06-24-2018, 08:11 AM
#23
Cant argue with any of that at all. FWIW I run the cheapest Penzoil 5w30 in my DD truck which I bought new, its the only oil its ever seen. I change it at about 30% oil life on monitor, its ticking a little now ( likely due to build up ) but I have a new 6.2 going in shortly so I dont really care.
As for the lifter failure? Agree'd its a build up issue that causes it or its just a lightly loose lifter that doesnt pump all that well so it ticks away reminding you its a mechanical part. The rocker issue imo is so over blown these days its the modern rod bolt must do mod. If your engine is high mile then yes replacing rocker arms is wise but I still prefer stock over any aftermarket bearing solution. I have seen a few engines on tear down where one of the rockers isn't running perfectly perpendicular to the valve though so its those engines I believe are puking out roller bearings not most, which are true and fine. I just freshened up a 2000 5.3L with 300k miles on it and ALL the rockers were totally fine so they went back in for another 300. Rings too were excellent on that engine. New oil pump, timing chain, and 05 valve covers with revised PCV and good to go.
Anyways some guys love swapping parts and the aftermarket wants to sell so caveat emptor my friends! Have fun is key
As for the lifter failure? Agree'd its a build up issue that causes it or its just a lightly loose lifter that doesnt pump all that well so it ticks away reminding you its a mechanical part. The rocker issue imo is so over blown these days its the modern rod bolt must do mod. If your engine is high mile then yes replacing rocker arms is wise but I still prefer stock over any aftermarket bearing solution. I have seen a few engines on tear down where one of the rockers isn't running perfectly perpendicular to the valve though so its those engines I believe are puking out roller bearings not most, which are true and fine. I just freshened up a 2000 5.3L with 300k miles on it and ALL the rockers were totally fine so they went back in for another 300. Rings too were excellent on that engine. New oil pump, timing chain, and 05 valve covers with revised PCV and good to go.
Anyways some guys love swapping parts and the aftermarket wants to sell so caveat emptor my friends! Have fun is key