JKDZ28

iTrader: (14)

I personally run German Castrol 0w-30. It is highly abundant here in Tennessee (believe it or not).

It is the only thing I have ever ran in my LS1. When I bought the car, I dumped out all the old Mobil 1 and put fresh GC and K&N filter in.

I've converted several different people to this oil. They all love it! My girlfriends little brother has a 2005 Dodge SRT-4 which he runs this oil in 7500 mile intervals with no issues. My brother also runs the K&N / GC combo in his 99 Trans Am.

As long as this oil is available, I will continue to use it. If not, I think I'll be switching over to the Pennzoil Platnium.

GC FTW!!

Mr Incredible

Ultimately, the best oil for your vehicle is the one your vehicle likes the most. By "like", I mean the one that produces the best results. By "results", I mean the lowest wear.

The only way you'll know your engine's numbers is via UOA (used oil analysis). There is a huge database of UOA's at bobistheoilguy.com. People have been very generous in posting the results they've gotten from their oil/engine combinations. You never really know what's going on under your hood if you haven't gotten an analysis.

GC produces the best numbers of all the oils to date. It's very good stuff.

M1 used to be King. Now they are just another oil in the crowd. Each weight and marketing type of M1 uses a different mix of additives and oils...GrII, GrIII, and GrIV. When asked what their ratios are they will not say. They only will reply that, "In the end, what matters is performance." That is a true statement. But if performance is key, there are other oils that perform as well for less $$.

If you keep your oil changes to 3k miles there's hardly an oil alive that won't work. Extend your intervals and the field narrows.

Noise at startup is annoying, but in most cases is no more than annoying. Most noise goes away after a few minutes. Slight piston slap is a known issue w/LS1s but isn't goint to kill anything except for the most extreme and dangerous cases. After two years of owning an LS1 and viewing many thousands of web pages and posts I've yet to hear of a terminal case of piston slap. My LS1s piston slap is gone after about 30 seconds, and has been present with every oil I've used...including GC.

Oil technology has come light years in the last two decades. We are no longer using the oil your Daddy used, and the lubricating rules your Daddy lived by are largely obsolete. One thing for sure, though, 3k mile oil change intervals are still useful for city driving and winter driving. But, 4-5k intervals and longer for summer and long distance driving is the new norm. Many modern engines (not so much the LS1) can easily go 6-7.5k miles without problems on a good oil.

But you'll never know for sure unless you get your used oil analyzed, will you?

BigBronco

iTrader: (2)

The best oil is the **** that is on sale at O'reily's or any other parts house.

I have seen everything under the sun be used in a motor with similar results. If this is just a car you drive every day, get the appropiate viscosity of oil for you area (Weather, driving, etc) and just get the regular brand.


But Hey, most people want the name and assurance of knowing they have a high dollar synthetic in their motor.

Good post as well by the man above me too!

lovescamaros28

I would not believe Mobil 1 is not what it was a few years ago unless I heard it directly from Mobil 1.I have not heard a thing,so I assume Mobil 1 is still the motor oil of choice.They are the true professionals right???

Mr Incredible

You will NEVER hear that from them regardless of what they put in their bottles. It isn't good business.

Exxon-Mobil are true professionals, but at what? Making and selling the idea that their oil is the best.

Is it? Depends on what you want. If you're satisfied that what you're buying is worth every penny you pay and that nobody else's oil is as good at that price, then they've done their job well.

But, there is proof that other oils do the same good job without the high price and without the idea that they are hiding something. Most people's problem w/M1 is not that their oil sucks, it's that they have changed the formulation of at least some of their oils and continue to make it sound like they haven't. They have broken the hearts and spirits of once true believers.

Personally, I've gotten over it and moved on.

germeezy1

I was under the impression that Mobil 1 is factory recommended, I know they changed the formula and sulphur content of the normal Mobil 1 which is why I use the formula for European cars which costs me even at dealer cost a decent amount. They put Castrol in my XC90 and I took it in because it was blowing oil and making alot of valvetrain noise and Mobil 1 cured the issue.

germeezy1

Can you mix the oils? I need a top off right now and would like to top it off with GC.

lovescamaros28

Wow!I wasnt aware they changed their formula.You got me thinking now(lol).

BigBronco

iTrader: (2)

Yes you can.


OIL IS OIL!

They are ALL approved and meet the same standards for the SAE. (Which is good for ANY street car)

2000badbird

iTrader: (5)

thats what i use

MrDavid

iTrader: (11)

I know I was disappointed when I found out Mobil 1 was going downhill with their quality of oil. I have been a Mobil fan since the first day I have owned my car.

germeezy1

I was reading a big post or article about the sulphur content thats been changed in the Mobil 1 and how bad that is for the valvetrain. Look up the specs for the European formula of Mobil 1 meant for cars like some M series BMW. They have a sulphur content similar to what the normal M1 used to have.

Mr Incredible

That would be an expensive top-off. Logic might dictate using the last of the bottle you didn't previously add or to just dump it and go to your next oil choice.


There are a lot oils being mixed going from one oil to the next or by using the last of a previous batch that wasn't quite used up. If it were a problem there would be a lot more dead cars along the roadside. But, there are some oil additives or packages that don't play well with others. I would think if you're going to mix it'd be best to mix within a company's other oils.

ChocoTaco369

lol.

"hi. i'm mobil 1. i'm decreasing the product of my oil. btw, there is a price increase next month. we're now up to $6/quart for our new, inferior oil. buy mobil 1!"

what you just wrote was possibly the scaries and most ignorant thing i've ever heard a consumer say. you will never hear any company talk about one of their products poorly, regardless of the product. does that mean there's no such thing as manufactured junk?
mobil 1 is factory recommended because mobil 1 pays GM to say it. mobil 1 says "hey, GM, we'll give you X million dollars if you recommend our oil for your corvette." GM goes "okay, it's no different to us and now we're making money we wouldn't normally have."

GM recommends mobil 1 for the same reason there are commercials on TV. it's advertisement, and companies make huge amounts of money off of it. it has been PROVEN time and time again that mobil 1 is not the best oil for an LS1, or nearly every other engine out there for that matter.

ChocoTaco369

you shouldn't mix oils. they all contain different additive packages. even two of the same "on paper" weights have different thicknesses and viscosities. it's never a good idea to mix oil. while it's not going to damage your engine, you'll almost always see the BEST RESULTS by using the same oil together. isn't that the point of buying the best oil? to see the best results? we don't want our engines to last 100,000 miles anymore. we want 150,000 miles. we want 200,000 miles. oil doesn't damage your engine, but some protect better than others. in the end, it could add many thousands of TROUBLE FREE miles to the life of your engine.

Patman

It's not untrue actually, they have begun using a lesser quality base oil recently, as well as the fact that the merger between them and Exxon didn't exactly work out in their favor. The beancounters are winning, and they have been cutting costs in order to improve their profit.

For those of us that look at a lot of oil analysis results, you can see how Mobil 1 is no longer what it used to be. The levels of iron in the reports are higher, showing higher valvetrain wear.

There are a lot better choices in oils out there, and there honestly isn't such a thing as the best oil. I do know that the LS1 likes German Castrol 0w30, as I've gotten excellent results with this oil. But at the same time, there have been a small number of people who found their engine didn't like this oil. So you really need to get an oil analysis done in order to see if your engine prefers this oil or another one.

I am going to be switching my Corvette over to Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 in a few weeks, I've seen this oil show some very good oil analysis results, and I'm curious to see if my engine will like it. It's thinner than GC 0w30, so I'm kinda hoping I might get a little bit more low end torque from the switch. GC 0w30 is on the top end of the 30wt range (and usually thickens up a bit in my engine too) while Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 is more in the bottom end of the 30 weight range.

blue02formula

iTrader: (1)

I have 128,000 miles on my Formula, it doesn't use oil between 5000 mile oil changes, and has had Castrol in it since its first change at 900 miles. I have used German Castrol 0w30 since 75,000 miles, I used 5w30 Castrol Syntec prior to that.

jorgez28

Is german castrol good for hot climates like here where it reaches 100 degrees? Also what about high milage oils are they any better?

Shatterz

iTrader: (2)

I've been thinking of trying PP in my Z after seeing some good UOAs as well. Does anyone know if Pennzoil Platinum is still a Group IV?

ChocoTaco369

please comment on your switch. i'm very curious about this oil. i've heard good things. i'm a fan of GC 0W-30, but as you said, it's really thick and it's a pain in the butt to find. if i can get pennzoil for less money and a lot more easily with the same results, i'd be loving it. i know all too well GC 0W-30 is thick and costs you a little bit of power. i've seen dyno charts of someone who switched to mobil 1 0W-40 from a thicker oil and gained 8 rwhp (it wasn't GC 0W-30 that they switched against and dynoed higher, but it shows you how thin oil unlocks more power due to less parasitic drivetrain loss. since GC is so thick, it has to be eating a few ponies, although IMO, the added protection is WELL WORTH IT).