Cross

iTrader: (10)

Well after looking I have really just become mainly concerned with what weight for a Daily Driver in my heat conditions (100+ Degrees daily) and I keep getting mixed results on local boards, here and from builders.

20w50 seems to be a popular one among them but that seems to be heavy for Daily Driving in the Z... I am worried about that.
15w has come up before spec the Rotella Shell Oil which I have used before. I am not sure what to think though... Plus when I looked at Autozone I saw 2 15w40's.. one was a Val I have never seen before and the other was a Castrol Diesel...

I am running 10w30 now and def switching to 10w40 as it seems to be what all the guys here in the local forums run as a min in there hot rods, DD or not.

Def like the feedback here as well keep it coming!

Running a 0W oil as I have been reading from some... where are these data sheets and how true does this hold for the LT motors? Seems like I would be going the exact opposite direction here... but I always like looking at data. If somehow this oil does not get to thin esp in my temp then I am interested... but it just does not make sense right off the bat... def does not mean I am right.

Oh also the hot rodders brought up the lower zinc levels and how bad that was they all said something that surprised me though.. they said to get more zinc put in STP Oil Additive... I have never trusted STP Anything... Yet reading that link posted they mention it as well... however they spec say the red bottle which I have not seen here. I found the blue bottle... now I am curious as to how different it is.

96capricemgr

iTrader: (1)

When getting oil "information" from folks try and find out where they are getting that info.

I posted the forum I go to and there is a huge archive of Used Oil Analysis data there, the ONLY test the layman has to see if an oil is working well. Is anyone else giving you info based on that or any other measured findings?

Cross

iTrader: (10)

The only data sheets I have found listed flash points and lvls but it was old as I linked too.

What I was seeking was new info but what I saw on that forums did not show many threads I will look again maybe I was too hasty.

I still basically just want to find the right weight oil for such conditions as my driving and climate.

For experience what I have been listening to is builders who see what happens to motors, how things wear and what happens to them. Thats what I was looking for here. I did also want to know pref brands etc because of that first link I found but mainly at this point I want to know the lvl of Zinc, the weight of oil for my driving and climate.

B4CZR2

My car has high mileage, I will use the 5w-30 castro syntec, my truck with the 4.3L I ahve only ever used Moblil 1 5w-30 w/super-syn synthetic and change it every 3k. Not so sure oil is really that much different with synthetics, but how can you be certain. I have used the Mobil 1 with both but since I bought my truck new I figured if it was the only oil recomended in the corvette it should be just fine for my truck.

96capricemgr

iTrader: (1)

GM is not necessarily looking at ultimate performance and longevity. They may be looking at "it will last 200K" and we get marketing perks.

For a LONG time measured DATA proved M1 5w-30 was not that good a choice for the LT1 or LS1, iron wear in particular was quite high, in a 1.8T VW though it was AWESOME. Lot more going on than brand or viscosity.

ZDDP is being phased out, think Kendall is a good place to look for it. Really though it is more important in flat tappet motors.

Cross

iTrader: (10)

Ok then in my climate and use what should I be looking at. I have never been a blind brand follower and I am not looking to make a motor last forever. I am looking to do whats right, I have less then 5k on this motor and I want to care for it accordingly.

With the information I gave you above where are the data sheets I can look at for whats best. I get to stay away from mobil 5w30 synth. But right now I want to know what to use and why there seems to be a difference in what your telling me so far as weights (Your infomation so far seems to point away from higher weights where as those who i have talked to seem to go the other way).

I am not questioning you just gathering info. I will give your site another look too see if I can find the information or data sheets you speak of but what I want to see is the temp ranges for weights of oil vs each motor and whats best for the motor. If ZDDP is no longer that important thats also data I want to see for the LT and LS motors. Seeing those spec would be great.

themadscientist

Well, a local auto parts place decided to stop carrying royal purple so I stock up and got a pretty good deal on it too. They only had enough left for 3 oil changes so I emptied their shelves. Hopefully by the time I change my oil three times, I will enough money to afford the change at normal cost

djjab57

iTrader: (17)

i couldnt get the camaro out this weekend but i did switch the oil in my xterra from mobil 1 full syn. to royal purple $50 at wal mart well $60 since it takes 5 1/2 quarts i could of done it myself but it cost the same since its $8 a quart the first thing i noticed is how much smoother the truck rides ill get back at the end of the week and let you know if gas milage is any better. I have always mobil 1 cause thats what my oil cap said but im def. going to try the rp in the camaro i live near houston so you know its hot as hell here as already said as soon as i put the rp in my 06 4.0 xterra i noticed it ran alot smoother

integraxtc

iTrader: (11)

what else is good other than german castrol?

StealthFormula

iTrader: (35)

I would like to know the same. I have always used Mobil 1 5w-30 but if there is another synthetic thats better and doesn't cost an arm and a leg like royal purple I would like to check it out.

integraxtc

iTrader: (11)

same question again.

lt1noob

iTrader: (4)

exxon mobil just pays gm big bucks to put their oil in there and put it on the oil cap

Cross

iTrader: (10)

Well I picked up some val 15W40, its the only one I could find that mentioned gas vehicles use was ok as well. I have been hearing Rotella Shell a lot but all the 15w40's were Diesel...

5w40 data sheets still have not been posted up, I see a lot of mention of the German Castrol... I am assuming thats the Synthetic... but in my hot climate I am still worried about that weight. I have either over looked where someone mentioned its use in hot weather but mainly I see 20w50 mentioned in hot weather or 10w40, 15w40.

lt1noob

iTrader: (4)

just ran to autozone and guess what, german castrol . picked up 6 quarts and might go pick up the rest soon.

Cross

iTrader: (10)

Ok after reading through the tabs on your forums I still have questions. (Well not ur forums but u understand what I mean)

One about the Lucas, they added it to oil, what about the spec gear oil Lucas makes? I have been using there gear oil only in mine and my wife's Diff's. I used the recommended weight of course. Since its not an additive but a straight gear oil... I was curious if any tests were done... I have not gotten past the Gas Section of the forums yet... and I am not getting a ton of questions answered so far.

I have confirmed the Zinc lvl's do help with wear, So does sticking with a Xw40 oil. (If I read it correctly)

However according to this:
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/visc.html

50 seems to be the right temp range for my climate... even 40 is under the line and 30.. wow... So now I am really not sure what to think here. So unless I am reading this wrong I should be running at the very least a 40 but more then likely a 50...
However this still leaves me in the unknown for the 5w or 15w. I am getting from most local members they are running 15w, 2 older hot rods are using 20w and anything else is a 10w. So I feel better about the 15w40 Val Fleet Oil I found... which I got over the Rotella Shell because it was the only one that said it was ok for Gas Engines.

CaribooLou

iTrader: (1)

i use valvoline max life full synthetic 5w-30, i had some extra laying around so i changed the oil in my lawn mower with it, now it gets better grass mileage...

Cross

iTrader: (10)

I have been using Max Life in everything else, I will continue to in the wifes v6 3800 camaro... but for mine I am not sure yet. I just changed hers to 10w40 though at the very least.

Formula413

iTrader: (1)

Booooooo...

Some people seem unaware of the loose correlation between advertised viscosity and actual viscosity. For example, German Castrol (Castrol Syntec 0W30 labeled Made In Germany) is one of the thickest 30 weight oils available. Tests done on used oil have shown that, in general, thicker oil provides better protection in LS1s. Another interesting fact is that Mobil 1 5W30 which is blessed by GM for use in the Corvette is one of the thinnest 30 weight oils on the market, and therefore not ideally suited to the LS1. There's lots of info like this on here and other websites, just keep searching.

CaribooLou

iTrader: (1)

HAHA glad someone picked up on it...

lt1noob

iTrader: (4)

and like i said earlier, exxon mobil just pays gm big bucks to advertise that the oil is used in the corvettes and put it on the oil caps...marketing is all it is. im not saying mobil 1 is a bad oil either, its still a fairly good oil just not the best.