What oil/weight r u using??
Experimenting with oil. I was running 5-30 mobile 1 in my trailblazer ss and the change oil light would come on at about 4000 miles.Went to royal purple and haven't seen the change oil light in 7000 miles you tell me what the better oil is.I normally change my oil before this just checking to see which lasted longer.I am impresssed with royal purple.
I was running 5-30 mobile 1 in my trailblazer ss and the change oil light would come on at about 4000 miles.Went to royal purple and haven't seen the change oil light in 7000 miles you tell me what the better oil is.I normally change my oil before this just checking to see which lasted longer.I am impresssed with royal purple.
Last edited by Darkman; Nov 19, 2010 at 07:10 PM.
The process that leads to that change oil light is not based on the actual measured condtion of your oil. It is rather, based on an formula based on the number of cold starts, short trips, long trips etc. The program does not have a clue as to whether you are running Royal Purple of Canola oil.
The process that leads to that change oil light is not based on the actual measured condtion of your oil. It is rather, based on an forumula based on the number of cold starts, short trips, long trips etc. The program does not have a clue as to whether you are running Royal Purple of Canola oil.
in all the data I have compiled, 5w-30 ultra/premium has a 10.3 @100*C. this has similar values to the 5w-30 MB1 than has been deemed too thin. Now being a fan of the pennzoil utlra/premium, perhaps this oil does not thin out as quickly as the MB1 5w30. now these values from the manufacturers can be complete BS but it is what it is. GC 0w-30 is in the 12s. this would be comparable to ultra 5W-40 which is the "ferrari" pennzoil. good luck finding that oil though. i dont care much for the difference in oil pressures, but i do like the lack of piston slap and sewing machine sound from thicker 30/thin 40s.
fwiw after spirited summer driving the oil pressure does drop considerably compared to "normal" driving. this tells me this already thin 30 is thinning out to **** water and the lifter clacking relatively gets louder. at what point do you see the lifters start bleeding to show drops in HP?
fwiw after spirited summer driving the oil pressure does drop considerably compared to "normal" driving. this tells me this already thin 30 is thinning out to **** water and the lifter clacking relatively gets louder. at what point do you see the lifters start bleeding to show drops in HP?
What is your oil pressure drop? Now granted my engine is mild by this boards standards... just an 01 LS1 with LS6 cam, heads, valves and springs so it is still more or less OEM but I don't think I have seen any lower than right under 40psi in the summer at idle, probably something like 38 since it is hard to tell the exact number from the gauge. The car has almost always been run on Pennz Platinum 5W-30 since I have had it with an AC Delco filter. I did run some 5W-30 Valvoline in a pinch this summer since I already had it, and perhaps had slightly more noise but pressure seemed similar to the Pennz Plat. That is with more or less stock idle parameters (idle speed 575RPM). I also never really have much deviation in coolant temp even in Houston temps, but the hi speed fans are kicking on bc I am always running the AC
I haven't road raced the car in the heat so I am sure that would be a real test, but if I was doing that I wouldn't be using the same oil as for DD anyway, and would probably have a dedicated oil cooler. the problem when comparing oil pressure from car to car is they are not calibrated to each other. I never saw under 40 psi, i cracked my oil pressure sensor changed it to a new one and the oil pressure was 10 psi less...again not calibrated.
Patman clearly states that 12-13 is what a ls1 likes according to oil analysis and noises emitted by the engine. I then searched what oils the good sponsors were recommending for GM built LS1s and looked up the viscosities on them and bingo, aligned with patman.
Patman clearly states that 12-13 is what a ls1 likes according to oil analysis and noises emitted by the engine. I then searched what oils the good sponsors were recommending for GM built LS1s and looked up the viscosities on them and bingo, aligned with patman.
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Aug 2010
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My oil pressure never drops below 40psi either.. And as engin and valvetrain noise.. I don't have any.. Plus I live in mi.. Hardley gets over 90f up here, so I can understand the 30-40 weight in hotter climates.. Although ambi temps shouldn't mmatter because the antifreeze is keeping the car the same temp nomatter where you live.. Unless you beat the snot outta your car.. Bottom line is .. For me anyways.. I'd rather have that extra protection during startup rather than needing a more viscous oil for temps I'm never going to see anyways.
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Launching!
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From: Hinesville, GA
I have ran Castrol Syntec 5W-30 in two diffrent TA's. One I put about 50,000 miles and the other is at 70,000 miles. I have had excellent results and would highly recommend to anyone else.
ive used 5w-40 and 5w-30 on my 2002 now and i still dont have any issues or problems. i always get good oil pressure.
Used to run 0-40 M1 but can't find it any more in this area...for the last 100,000 miles I have been running 10-40 M1 high mileage oil..the engine now has 224,500+ miles on it and still uses a half quart every 2500 miles and has 40 PSI oil pressure at idle (with a real guage) .. last time I had the heads off at 128,000 miles the engine looked great on the inside and you could still see cross hatching on the cylinder walls...I beleive that if you use a good quality oil and change it at proper intervals you will be fine no matter what brand you like...I have always changed mine at 5,000 mile intervals because it is EZ to keep track of that way...
Last edited by slt200mph; Dec 15, 2010 at 03:05 PM.
This is slightly relevant to the discussion so I'll just post here instead of making another thread.
My LS6 has stock crank that has been polished and chamfered, Compstar rods, LS7 lifters, and an LG cam. I bought this engine off here from a guy in Florida. He told me the engine had been blueprinted and I was going to have some clearances check but ran out of money pretty much. It was a fresh build with new rods and forged pistons along with a used LG cam. I don't recall if it had new cam bearings.
When I first installed the engine I ran 5-30 and had 28lbs at hot idle. Well my sending unit started acting up and so I unplugged it until I could get it fixed. I kept an eye on level and made sure I didn't hear any sounds. Once I replaced several thousand miles later, my oil pressure indicated by the car was 7lbs hot idle. I replaced that sendin unit and the connector and only gained about 1lb. Since it was so low, I started running Castrol GTX 20-50 and now my hot idle is 17-18lbs.
The car has never made a sound even when the oil pressure was down at 7lbs. I did a proper engine break in and since then have run the car pretty hard. The engine has about 10k miles on it and has ha low oil press ever since break in but was always performed flawlessly. What would be the most likely cause of the low pressure? I'm wanting to sell the car soon and don't want to sellnit to someone knowing I have an issue with the engine.
Sorry for any spelling errors. I'm posting from my phone.
Any help would be appreciated.
My LS6 has stock crank that has been polished and chamfered, Compstar rods, LS7 lifters, and an LG cam. I bought this engine off here from a guy in Florida. He told me the engine had been blueprinted and I was going to have some clearances check but ran out of money pretty much. It was a fresh build with new rods and forged pistons along with a used LG cam. I don't recall if it had new cam bearings.
When I first installed the engine I ran 5-30 and had 28lbs at hot idle. Well my sending unit started acting up and so I unplugged it until I could get it fixed. I kept an eye on level and made sure I didn't hear any sounds. Once I replaced several thousand miles later, my oil pressure indicated by the car was 7lbs hot idle. I replaced that sendin unit and the connector and only gained about 1lb. Since it was so low, I started running Castrol GTX 20-50 and now my hot idle is 17-18lbs.
The car has never made a sound even when the oil pressure was down at 7lbs. I did a proper engine break in and since then have run the car pretty hard. The engine has about 10k miles on it and has ha low oil press ever since break in but was always performed flawlessly. What would be the most likely cause of the low pressure? I'm wanting to sell the car soon and don't want to sellnit to someone knowing I have an issue with the engine.
Sorry for any spelling errors. I'm posting from my phone.
Any help would be appreciated.
If you really want to know what your oil pressure is connect the engine to a mechanical guage. Factory guages are usually not the most accurate to say the least. The ones in GM F body cars are not much better than a idiot light.
slt200mph -- wouldn't 5w-40 diesel be the closest to the 0w-40. 0w-40 is what i run too btw but still burn it. pennz platnum doesnt burn a drop
