Yea if I were to run PUP it was going to be an easier oci with little to none redline hits since I dont want to push it.
2002 Corvette Z06 what oil to use?
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If I used EP to clean it up instead of pup would that work just as well? After 2 oci with the "cleaning" oil I will possibly shift to the 5w30 esp and will monitor oil consumption during all these intervals.+1 on the Mobil 1 0w40, 0w40 ESP, 5w30 ESP, Castrol 0w40. All these oils will serve the engine well and are year round oils.
I cant say much about Pennzoil but having had some poor UOA's and increased oil consumption with Platinum and Ultra I quit using them.
Own a Corvette and not give it the ole Italian tune up? Does not compute...
Run 0w40 and give it the beans!
If it has 110K miles it would have popped a valve spring or two by now if they were OEM. BTW, the OEM valve springs are painted yellow. Should be easy enough to verify if they have been changed ... just look into the oil filler neck on the valve cover with a flashlight and you should be able to see a valve spring or two.
Agreed but unknown quality springs have replaced them so I will still go ahead and get something else.
I don't own a Vette, but at my local NAPA Auto Parts the guy who works there does and he runs Castrol 0w40.
When I had my 2000 FRC I ran QSUD 5w30. If I had another I’d run VAS 5w30. It’s an LS engine...as long as it has oil, basically any “engine” oil of almost any weight it will run and last a very long time. Put Whatever 5w30 synthetic you want in it and let that thing eat.
nearly every API 5w30 in 2020 is as good or better than the factory oil spec that car came with.
nearly every API 5w30 in 2020 is as good or better than the factory oil spec that car came with.
Don't worry about 5w30 shearing to 20 in the LS1 engine. My 2002 Camaro never sheared oil out of grade in 278k miles. Any name brand 5w30 will work. Synthetic if you want to treat the engine nice. Change oil by the life monitor. Enjoy.
I have owned Corvette since I was 21 years old. I would run the Mobil 1 0-30, 5-30, or 10-30. Most Corvettes state run Mobil 1 right on the fill cap and I would go with that. If you change it frequently it's a different story and about any of the before mentioned weights will work well if fully synthetic and Dexos approved. That engine in your Corvette will run 200,000 miles or longer if you keep the oil clean and change it on a regular basis.
Patman
Staff member
HTHS is definitely one of the reasons why I choose the ESP over the EP but I also like all of the other specs on this oil, and all the manufacturer's approvals that it has. Plus the fact that GM now has the 0w40 version of this oil as the factory fill on the Corvettes, and I see the 5w30 as being a very similar oil only with one major benefit, it holds it's viscosity much better (most UOAs I have seen with the new 0w40 show it to thin out to a point where it's thinner than the 5w30 after a few thousand miles)
My 1995 LT1 Corvette is spec'd for 5w30 but I run 10w30 and it works great. Sacramento winters only get down to 30F a few days a year, and I have a lifter tick with 5w30.
Get that thing out on the road and give it a good once over before deciding to change viscosities. If it's healthy and your winters go below 20F, stick to the 5w30. If your winters are mild, I suggest a 10w30. (You already said you might use a Xw40 if it burns oil.) The oil doesn't have to be Dexos certified but should be synthetic for sure. Dexos is a performance specification, not a grade or brand of oil. Enjoy the car!
Get that thing out on the road and give it a good once over before deciding to change viscosities. If it's healthy and your winters go below 20F, stick to the 5w30. If your winters are mild, I suggest a 10w30. (You already said you might use a Xw40 if it burns oil.) The oil doesn't have to be Dexos certified but should be synthetic for sure. Dexos is a performance specification, not a grade or brand of oil. Enjoy the car!
GM 4178M was the spec in 2002. Pretty much about SG/CD & GF-1 in 5 & 10w-30 oils. Most likely any SL/ GF-3 5w-30 conventional of that era would have sufficed. The Mobil 1 (synthetic) phase shortly followed. Patman even had a thread started on Christmas Day about this, way back when...
Because of this thread I remember going back in time and explaining at length to my Corvette-owning buddy (he had an '80 and a truly beautiful red '62 Convertible with Rochester Fuel Injection at the time) that running a straight 30 weight wouldn't actually break them, but using a synthetic 5w-30 sure wouldn't hurt!
So, I'd opine that virtually ANY modern SM (or better?) Synthetic 5w-30, or, after I went out to the shelf in my garage and found some 5 quarts of Pennzoil Ultra EURO 5w-40 (SM/CF, ACEA A3/B3/B4: Approved for BMW, MB, VW, PORCHE, FERRARI & MASERATI & fiat), I found something from my old stash that might just work for the OP...?
Have fun with your new ride!
P.S. All this stuff about running different oils for "track days" made me think I was back on the motorcycle forums of a decade ago... How many on this forum have actually EVER run their cars on a track? Some, I'm sure. But whether they are concerned about oil changes on 18 year-old cars is probably pretty doubtful.
Because of this thread I remember going back in time and explaining at length to my Corvette-owning buddy (he had an '80 and a truly beautiful red '62 Convertible with Rochester Fuel Injection at the time) that running a straight 30 weight wouldn't actually break them, but using a synthetic 5w-30 sure wouldn't hurt!
So, I'd opine that virtually ANY modern SM (or better?) Synthetic 5w-30, or, after I went out to the shelf in my garage and found some 5 quarts of Pennzoil Ultra EURO 5w-40 (SM/CF, ACEA A3/B3/B4: Approved for BMW, MB, VW, PORCHE, FERRARI & MASERATI & fiat), I found something from my old stash that might just work for the OP...?
Have fun with your new ride!
P.S. All this stuff about running different oils for "track days" made me think I was back on the motorcycle forums of a decade ago... How many on this forum have actually EVER run their cars on a track? Some, I'm sure. But whether they are concerned about oil changes on 18 year-old cars is probably pretty doubtful.
There are a couple of us that have actual track time. I am personally an avid autocrosser (read: wanna-be track, parking lot racer) and have ventured into a couple of PDX events through SCCA.
I know member robertcope has significant track time, I've seen many of his posts over on trackjunkies.org. It appears member Mcompact is no stranger to the track as well. I'm sure there are many more. This board seems like a pretty good fit for a track rat to me.
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3 pages to figure out what oil to run in a Corvette!?
still running the mobil 1 5w30 esp?
Might need to also update that it will be getting a Cam upgrade and heads possibly, all motor no FI for this one.
Patman
Staff member
I sure am!
Other than the factory fill it's the only oil I have ever used in my Corvette, and will continue using it as long as it's available. It's still a huge bargain compared to Supercar 0w40, which is what GM has recommended since 2019. I can get 5 qts of ESP 5w30 for about $40 when it's on sale, vs about $25 PER LITER for the Supercar 0w40.is supercar 0w40 somehow better? Since its a 0w40 i would think it might shear more due to the bigger variation.I sure am!
Patman
Staff member
I personally don't think it's better. If you look at the certifications that ESP 5w30 passes, it looks to be the better built oil. And both of them start out pretty close in viscosity at operating temperature, and both have an HTHS of 3.5. But as you mention, the 0w40 will likely thin out more. In my experience running M1 Euro 0w40 in my ex wife's BMW, it thinned out quite a bit, but my UOAs with 5w30 ESP have shown it to hold's viscosity rock solid even past 7000 miles.
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