Switching to synthetic....
03-17-2005, 02:39 AM
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Switching to synthetic.... I've read quite a few posts on oil choices for the LS1, and it seems like the overwhelming favorite is the German Castrol. But where I just got my car, I'm not certain it's had synthetic all along. I'm guessing there's no way to tell looking at it used. I've never used synthetic in any car, and thought I read that you can only make the switch up to a certain mileage. I also thought I had heard that the LS1's came preloaded with Mobil 1, but the owners manual sheds no light on this. In case it's not synthetic in there now, are there any precautions I should take before using it? Do you need to flush it out somehow or change it extra soon after the first change?
03-17-2005, 05:26 AM
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Its okay to switch to synthetic if your using regular oil now (or even if there is synthetic in there now) but from what I've heard its not good to switch back after you have used synthetic. I started using it around 25,000 miles and have never had any problems, wish I had switched earlier. I use Mobil 1 10W30 and the car seems to like it.
03-17-2005, 06:59 PM
#6
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Why is everyone telling him what oil they use instead of answering his question? 
You can switch over without any special procedure and you'll be just fine. If the engine has very high miles on it or you suspect it might've not had regular oil changes all along and might be sludged up, then I recommend doing an Auto-rx treatment to it first. (auto-rx.com is where you can buy it)
You can switch over without any special procedure and you'll be just fine. If the engine has very high miles on it or you suspect it might've not had regular oil changes all along and might be sludged up, then I recommend doing an Auto-rx treatment to it first. (auto-rx.com is where you can buy it)
03-17-2005, 10:13 PM
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Just treat it like a normal oil change
Originally Posted by GoldenBird
I've read quite a few posts on oil choices for the LS1, and it seems like the overwhelming favorite is the German Castrol. But where I just got my car, I'm not certain it's had synthetic all along. I'm guessing there's no way to tell looking at it used. I've never used synthetic in any car, and thought I read that you can only make the switch up to a certain mileage. I also thought I had heard that the LS1's came preloaded with Mobil 1, but the owners manual sheds no light on this. In case it's not synthetic in there now, are there any precautions I should take before using it? Do you need to flush it out somehow or change it extra soon after the first change?
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03-18-2005, 05:06 AM
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Originally Posted by 12Stones
OH and PATMAN is the MAN when it comes to oil, i'd listen to whatever he recomended!
Originally Posted by Patman
You can switch over without any special procedure and you'll be just fine. If the engine has very high miles on it or you suspect it might've not had regular oil changes all along and might be sludged up, then I recommend doing an Auto-rx treatment to it first.
But hey, since you're the oil guru one more quick question. What's the deal with this oil change sensor? Obviously I'm new to the LS1 scene and haven't even owned the car long enough to change the oil. But I was reading in the owners manual that it judges based on oil wear and rpms over time when the oil needs to be changed.
In your opinion should this be trusted or is it better to go by time/mileage as we've always had to do? Also, I am real regular about all fluid changes anyways, but can the system account for the longer life of synthetic? Thanks for the info!
03-18-2005, 05:20 AM
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It counts engines RPM's therefore the higher/longer you rev, etc...the shorter time/miles between oil changes. It dosent know the difference between oils or their viscosity, as it only measures RPM readings. To be safe, just change it every 3K and it will last a long time. 
03-18-2005, 08:57 AM
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Patman we were waiting for u to tell him what to do. 
The oil light uses engine load and RPM to tell you when to change oil. If you use a good filter and GC you may be able to chance it when it tell you. You will need to do to oil sample to be sure. Be sure to reset it at each oil change.
The oil light uses engine load and RPM to tell you when to change oil. If you use a good filter and GC you may be able to chance it when it tell you. You will need to do to oil sample to be sure. Be sure to reset it at each oil change.
03-19-2005, 02:11 AM
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The car comes with dino oil from the factory if it's an f-body. I switched to Mobil 1 5w-30 at 8400 miles. My gas mileage went from 17MPG to 20MPG. I also use Mobil 1 206 oil filter. Has the same oil pressure as before. The same piston slap. 
Just switch over and be done with it. If you don't like it you can switch back. Doesn't hurt a thing to go back and forth as long as the car isn't around 100,000 miles or more than 7 years or so.
I also use Mobil 1 206 oil filter. Has the same oil pressure as before. The same piston slap. Just switch over and be done with it. If you don't like it you can switch back. Doesn't hurt a thing to go back and forth as long as the car isn't around 100,000 miles or more than 7 years or so.
03-19-2005, 04:39 AM
#13
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Originally Posted by GoldenBird
Yeah, like I said I've searched through a lot of various oil posts. It didn't take long at all for that to become readily apparent.
Awesome. That's exactly what I needed to know, that I can just switch with no issues at all. I got the car very recently, it has 20k on it, and I found receipts in the glovebox with the owners manual for oil changes at the dealership on the 3000, every 3000. Just judging by what he was getting charged for them I'm doubting it was synthetic, so I wanted to be certain there where no interchangeabilty issues since it's obviously not practical to get every drop out for a change.
But hey, since you're the oil guru one more quick question. What's the deal with this oil change sensor? Obviously I'm new to the LS1 scene and haven't even owned the car long enough to change the oil. But I was reading in the owners manual that it judges based on oil wear and rpms over time when the oil needs to be changed. In your opinion should this be trusted or is it better to go by time/mileage as we've always had to do? Also, I am real regular about all fluid changes anyways, but can the system account for the longer life of synthetic? Thanks for the info!
Awesome. That's exactly what I needed to know, that I can just switch with no issues at all. I got the car very recently, it has 20k on it, and I found receipts in the glovebox with the owners manual for oil changes at the dealership on the 3000, every 3000. Just judging by what he was getting charged for them I'm doubting it was synthetic, so I wanted to be certain there where no interchangeabilty issues since it's obviously not practical to get every drop out for a change.
But hey, since you're the oil guru one more quick question. What's the deal with this oil change sensor? Obviously I'm new to the LS1 scene and haven't even owned the car long enough to change the oil. But I was reading in the owners manual that it judges based on oil wear and rpms over time when the oil needs to be changed.
In your opinion should this be trusted or is it better to go by time/mileage as we've always had to do? Also, I am real regular about all fluid changes anyways, but can the system account for the longer life of synthetic? Thanks for the info!The oil life system in the f-body is calibrated for conventional oil, so if you run synthetic, you can be almost 100% certain it'll be safe to follow when it tells you to change the oil.
My Corvette's oil life system is calibrated for synthetic, so it will allow for longer changes, but it even is pretty safe if I follow it for my oil changes, which is what I'm now doing. The 3-5k oil change is a thing of the past for me. Now it'll be more like 8-9k.
03-19-2005, 10:44 AM
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Originally Posted by Patman
The oil life system in the f-body is calibrated for conventional oil, so if you run synthetic, you can be almost 100% certain it'll be safe to follow when it tells you to change the oil.
My Corvette's oil life system is calibrated for synthetic, so it will allow for longer changes, but it even is pretty safe if I follow it for my oil changes, which is what I'm now doing. The 3-5k oil change is a thing of the past for me. Now it'll be more like 8-9k.
My Corvette's oil life system is calibrated for synthetic, so it will allow for longer changes, but it even is pretty safe if I follow it for my oil changes, which is what I'm now doing. The 3-5k oil change is a thing of the past for me. Now it'll be more like 8-9k.
03-19-2005, 10:34 PM
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Originally Posted by 02transhawk
For me, the $30 for the oil change w/synthetic (do-it-myself) every 4-5K is an investment into longer engine life. I know I am paying about double for the change, but I feel what the heck is an extra $30 every 6 months versus the chance of the motor having probs later on. JMO!
03-20-2005, 07:37 PM
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I just bought a 2000 Z28 with 53,000 miles. I was going to do an oil change on it since I dont know how long it has been. I was going to use mobil 1 5w-30 as I have read that its good in the LS1. A friend of mine said not to switch to synthetic due to the milage on the car, he says it will cause oil leaks and oil cunsumption. Can anyone offer me more insight as to what would be the better choice in this case, Syntheyic or conventional? Thanks in advance.
03-20-2005, 08:22 PM
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Originally Posted by dreadx
I just bought a 2000 Z28 with 53,000 miles. I was going to do an oil change on it since I dont know how long it has been. I was going to use mobil 1 5w-30 as I have read that its good in the LS1. A friend of mine said not to switch to synthetic due to the milage on the car, he says it will cause oil leaks and oil cunsumption. Can anyone offer me more insight as to what would be the better choice in this case, Syntheyic or conventional? Thanks in advance.
If it did happen to leak my guess would be that the synthetic cleaned out the gunk that was plugging the leaking seals and gaskets and they should be replaced in that case anyway. i doubt that you will have that problem though.
03-21-2005, 01:15 PM
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This maybe slightly off subject but Royal Purple claims that running their oil may increase HP by decreasing friction in the engine. Do all synthetics do this or just RP? Also, is the HP gain enough to spend the extra dollar a quart? Would you know about this Patman?
03-22-2005, 06:49 PM
#20
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Originally Posted by 2000BlkCamaroSS
This maybe slightly off subject but Royal Purple claims that running their oil may increase HP by decreasing friction in the engine. Do all synthetics do this or just RP? Also, is the HP gain enough to spend the extra dollar a quart? Would you know about this Patman?