08 Sierra Oil Choice?

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I have an 08 Sierra with a 5.3L engine. Just turned 6k miles. I dumped the oil at 1k and used Castrol and now my oil life monitor is telling me its about time to change the oil. I usually do it when it says 10-20%.

I am thinking of going to synthetic oil but want your opinions. I have a very short commute. About 8 miles. But I do drive the truck good distances on the weekend. Should i stick with the dino oil or go synthetic?

Also in either case what are the best dino and synthetic oils out there. I usually always run Castrol gtx in my vehicles and synthetic Shell Rotella in my bikes. Is that ok to run in truck too?
 
Welcome to BITOG!

Nice truck. I have an 06 with the same motor. You'll find a general consensus that the OLM is really good at determining oil change intervals. If you are dumping at 10-20%, you'll find your best results using a conventional oil. If you feel like running longer intervals, that's where a synthetic will come in handy. Lots of people here suggest running a synthetic with the OLM all the way to 0%. All of these methods will provide you with a REALLY long lasting truck. I might suggest a couple of short intervals in the beginning as GM V8s tend to throw lots of wear metals for upwards of 25-30K. After that, they are INCREDIBLY easy on oil.
 
I prefer GC in my 5.3L but PP has worked well for me, too.

My OCI's are around 7000-8000 miles, which puts me around 10-15% on the OLM. The UOA's I've done on this engine at 6500 miles show plenty of life left with the GC, so I feel comfortable with my current OCI.
 
Go with PP 5w30 and all will be good. Meets GM 6094 and you can take the OLM down to zero with no problem. If you are under warranty follow the OLM for sure and document your oil changes with receipts and use a factory Delco filter. You should have the 100k powertrain warranty and if GM goes into Chap 11 they will be watching warranty claims very closely. I have always done my own changes on 3 GM SUV;s and by running PP never has a dealer question the oil at all during engine warranty work because I used PP. (they told me this).
 
Valvoline dino would be a good choice if you wanted to run dino. Synpower, QS Torqepower and Horsepower would be good synthetics. I don't have any real experience with PP. Rotella T would be fine too.
 
I would have no problem running the OLM till its at 0. So in that case I can run synthetic. Oh what is GC?

One thing that scares me about synthetic is oil leaks. I ran it in my old 93 LT1 engine and at about 60k miles it statred leaking oil from alot of gaskets. Pretty much all the covers. I never had that happen running regular oil.

As far as filters go I just ordered a case of the Napa Golds. I heard they were pretty good.
 
Originally Posted By: crepitus
and by PP you mean Pennzoil Platinum? Is it better then Mobile 1?


Yes, Pennzoil Platinum. As far as better....... I really believe it is but that can be a whole other debate.

It's a great oil for and can be had for a good price, especially at walmart.
 
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Originally Posted By: crepitus
I would have no problem running the OLM till its at 0. So in that case I can run synthetic. Oh what is GC?

One thing that scares me about synthetic is oil leaks. I ran it in my old 93 LT1 engine and at about 60k miles it statred leaking oil from alot of gaskets. Pretty much all the covers. I never had that happen running regular oil.

As far as filters go I just ordered a case of the Napa Golds. I heard they were pretty good.


GC = German Castrol aka Castrol Syntec 0W-30, Made in Germany. Available at Pep Boys and AutoZone.

PP = Pennzoil Platinum

I've preferred both to M1 in my 5.3L because they make the engine run quieter and smoother with less cold start knock, piston slap and/or lifter tick. I feel I get comparable performance at a lower cost compared to M1.

My truck's been on a consistent diet of synthetics since I bought it 5+ years ago. Now with almost 80,000 on the clock, it doesn't leak a drop and doesn't burn a drop. These GenIV Vortec's are much better built than the GM motors of old.
 
Originally Posted By: crepitus
and by PP you mean Pennzoil Platinum? Is it better then Mobile 1?


Yes, the lingo on here uses "PP" for Pennzoil Platinum, and is not a commentary on the quality, color, or origin of the fluid ;-)

Is one "better?" They're both good to the point that using one vs. the other won't affect the life of your engine. Pennzoil Platinum is a Group III+ base oil (derived from petroleum through extensive processing and isomerization), Mobil 1 is mostly a Group IV PAO base (derived from natural gas). Normally I'd say that PAOs have a few properties that make them slightly better lubricants, but the Group III+ oils have their own advantages, like being better solvents for many additive packages. I use a Grp III+ oil in several of my cars (Shell Rotella T synthetic, which may be quite closely related to PP in fact since Shell owns Pennzoil).

You mentioned that you are concerned with leakage. I don't personally believe that synthetics contribute to leakage, but if its a worry for you then I would think that a Group III+ oil wouldn't be any more likely to leak than a non-synthetic, since its chemically more similar to ordinary refined petroleum than the Group IV PAO is. Just food for thought, as I said I've never had leakage in old engines that I couldn't simply attribute to the fact that the gaskets were *old*.
 
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Rotella is great... but not during the warranty period. Since you're under the 100K powertrain warranty, I'd stick with a 6094M 5W-30 oil. Your owners manual requires that you do. Almost all name brand dinos/synthetics meets this requirement. I kind of prefer the dino and +/-10% OLM route. You can get 6 quarts of 6094M dino and an AC Delco filter for less than $20 and feel total confidence in the OLM.
 
Originally Posted By: crepitus
is it ok to run the Rotella in my truck? or would i be better off with PP


PP in the long run.
 
Originally Posted By: PT1
Originally Posted By: crepitus
is it ok to run the Rotella in my truck? or would i be better off with PP


PP in the long run.


+1
 
PP is no doubt a good oil, but to say it's better than M1 is to be miss in formed, and not true. M1 quieted my brother in laws Silverado,piston slap, better than the OEM oil he used at first. Also M1 is well known for producing long lasting and very clean engines.
 
Originally Posted By: tig1
PP is no doubt a good oil, but to say it's better than M1 is to be miss in formed, and not true. M1 quieted my brother in laws Silverado,piston slap, better than the OEM oil he used at first. Also M1 is well known for producing long lasting and very clean engines.


You kind of have to flip a coin with these oils, or pick the brand you prefer because if you can't say PP is better than M1, you also can't say M1 is better than PP. This is one of those difficult questions that has a revolving door.

I think M1 and PP are both great oils though.
 
Originally Posted By: panthermike
Originally Posted By: tig1
Also M1 is well known for producing long lasting and very clean engines.


You kind of have to flip a coin with these oils, or pick the brand you prefer because if you can't say PP is better than M1, you also can't say M1 is better than PP. This is one of those difficult questions that has a revolving door.

I think M1 and PP are both great oils though.

One thing you can say about M1 is that its got a lot longer track record than PP, which is what it sounded like the previous poster was getting at. PP is still relatively new, although certainly around long enough to prove itself.
 
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Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Originally Posted By: panthermike
Originally Posted By: tig1
Also M1 is well known for producing long lasting and very clean engines.


You kind of have to flip a coin with these oils, or pick the brand you prefer because if you can't say PP is better than M1, you also can't say M1 is better than PP. This is one of those difficult questions that has a revolving door.

I think M1 and PP are both great oils though.

One thing you can say about M1 is that its got a lot longer track record than PP, which is what it sounded like the previous poster was getting at. PP is still relatively new, although certainly around long enough to prove itself.



I agree, I have always been impressed with M1's track record.

BTW, in my last post I wasn't implying he claims M1 is better than PP(just realized I posted it that way though).
 
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