2020 GM 5.3L Oil

[Snagglefoot]

Good Morning. I oversee a small/medium size fleet and have recently purchased a few new Tahoe's. Previously our fleet was mostly made up of Ford vehicles. My question is, with the new 5.3L engines, they require 0w20, I would like to minimize the types of oil I need on hand in bulk. Does anyone have any information on running a full synthetic 5w20 or 5w30 in these engines? I also should mention the new Tahoe's are Police/Pursuit vehicles.
Thanks in advance.

I am thinking that you are getting a dogs breakfast of varying advice. GM is well aware of what’s required in a pursuit vehicle. Contact them. I’m betting they will not alter from their 0w20 Dexos1G2 recommendation. Meanwhile for everyone here are a few screen shots from the PPV fleet promo. Enjoy.

 

[doublebase]

I imagine if you had fords in your fleet, you had 5w20 in your lineup...I imagine the Tahoe’s would be fine on that. Go to the Chevy truck forums..there’s guys running 5w30 there.

If these Tahoe’s have cylinder shutoff, I personally wouldn’t want them for the abuse of a law enforcement fleet...extensive idling, some abuse, etc. Seen these things in local law enforcement and the reviews from police were not good...some engine problems. But if it’s federal? Probably a much easier life (I worked on the federal side for years). we never even kept most of those vehicles long enough to experience serious problems...and then we’d ship them to the auction.

 

[Snagglefoot]

My bad! At one time PPVs made more power than what was offered to the public.

Having said that, there are a few goodies the 2021 PPV has that either the civilian model does not have or were taken from the top line models.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

I have a 2017 (traded my 2018) with a 5.3L … and just stick with 0w20 because it tends to be made from good base stocks. ...

I would counter 5W20 is made from better base stocks given many finished products typically evidence
a 30-50% lower NOACK.
A lower viscosity basestock is not a "better' basestock, especially when doped with
a higher % of VM. Its just a blending choice and might I add a compromise to achieve a
higher VI and a 5-7 degree lower gell point for extreme cold climate use.

These are general observations, any one product can outperform any other product.

 

[blufeb95]

Having said that, there are a few goodies the 2021 PPV has that either the civilian model does not have or were taken from the top line models.

View attachment 59588

That additional oil cooling and stuff is really necessary as much as the idle them, I seen a video a few months ago of a guy who bought a Caprice PPV and when took it apart to inspect the condition of the engine the seals were melted and the spark plug wire boots had melted to the plugs, I guess when they just sit their idling the engine bay really gets heatsoaked.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Agree 10x over

Having built many engines, I would say its a little of both.
So everybody is right ... and wrong!

 

[ARCOgraphite]

That additional oil cooling and stuff is really necessary as much as the idle them, I seen a video a few months ago of a guy who bought a Caprice PPV and when took it apart to inspect the condition of the engine the seals were melted and the spark plug wire boots had melted to the plugs, I guess when they just sit their idling the engine bay really gets heatsoaked.

Remember when Troopers would pop the hood when doing construction zones. Basically rolling warning lights.
Sitting there all day.
If you got a call I would guess why they would NOT want to do that anymore.

 

[farrarfan1]

I am thinking that you are getting a dogs breakfast of varying advice. GM is well aware of what’s required in a pursuit vehicle. Contact them. I’m betting they will not alter from their 0w20 Dexos1G2 recommendation.

Good advice. Having recently retired from a relatively large agency (Indiana State Police-41 years) I have to say that it's probably not wise, or professional, to ask for advice from random strangers on the internet on what oil to use in a fleet of new police vehicles. If the agency head, or whatever government entity that's responsible for deciding what fluids to purchase for the fleet, decides to use something different than what GM recommends then it's their responsibility. Basing that decision on what strangers on the internet recommend should probably be avoided.

FWIW the ISP has used Safety Kleen 5W-20 synthetic blend for many, many years in everything, including the current Chargers and the previous Crown Vics. Patrol vehicles remain in service for 200,000 miles before being replaced so it obviously works fine and is the grade recommended by Dodge, and previously by Ford.

 

[4WD]

Having said that, there are a few goodies the 2021 PPV has that either the civilian model does not have or were taken from the top line models.

View attachment 59588

Pretty nice kit really … Might get one and take it to Kindig It Design, LoL

 

[4WD]

Remember when Troopers would pop the hood when doing construction zones. Basically rolling warning lights.
Sitting there all day.
If you got a call I would guess why they would NOT want to do that anymore.

I used to do paperwork, phone calls, and radio monitoring at construction sites near Laredo TX …
So, that F150 “office” spent many hours with the hood up + back to the sun… everyone did this …

 

[4WD]

I doubt you'll have any issues what so ever running 5w20.

Seems to me with GM, FCA, and Asian makes going 0w20 … plus Ford/others doing TDI with 5w30 … future demand for 5w20 is fading. I even switched the Fusion from 5w20 to 0w20 to cut grades on the shelves …

 

[Ohio91]

Just food for thought. My local sheriffs department began the transition from ford explorers to Chevy Tahoe’s. Small
County and we have a ford dealer but the closest gm dealer is an hour away. Ford dealer agreed to do maintenance on the Chevys. Higher ups told the technicians use whatever you have on hand for oil and filters. Of course they got 5w30 and a ford filter. Fast forward 6 months one developed a major engine issue, towed to Chevy dealer and 8 grand later the engine was replaced at cost billed to the owner. Improper oil viscosity and non dexos oil when they tested the oil. Not saying this caused the failure but that was their way of getting out of warranty work replacing the engine. Ford dealer now has a drum of dexos oil and a few cases of gm filters in their shop the agency bought and is used specifically for their
Tahoe’s.

 

[Bitter]

Not sure if it was mentioned but it may be wise to do a UOA once a year on each vehicle if you can budget it. The LS engines have had a history of coolant contamination into the engine oil due to coolant creep around head bolts and some porosity issues with the cylinder head. Catching these problems early can save some hassles later on, assuming GM will do anything about it before total failure.

 

[silvius]

I would use the 0w20 in all the Tahoe apostrophe s. But 5w20 or 30 would probably be fine too.

 

[Ram02]

GM is all in on 0w20 oils now I think the only two grades going forward with the new Dexos 1 gen 3 spec will be 0w20 & 5w30

 

[jhs914]

If it was mine? I'd just throw 5w-30 full syn Dexos certified oil in it and call it a day.

That's what I do with my son's 2017 GMC Sierra. I also disabled the AFM. I sleep better with a full synthetic 5W-30 and no AFM instead of 0W-20 in a direct injected engine with cylinder deactivation.

 

[Slick3914]

This is Mobil 1 AFE 0w20 with 5K … I’d say it‘s been working hard keeping things clean … so me and the Fumoto sprang for a “spike” quart to finish out the 30% OLM left on the L83 5.3L … (HD30 in case of dilution)

View attachment 59503View attachment 59504

Why would you dilute good quality oil with a quart of the lowest quality oil on the shelf.

 

[Jackson_Slugger]

Good Morning. I oversee a small/medium size fleet and have recently purchased a few new Tahoe's. Previously our fleet was mostly made up of Ford vehicles. My question is, with the new 5.3L engines, they require 0w20, I would like to minimize the types of oil I need on hand in bulk. Does anyone have any information on running a full synthetic 5w20 or 5w30 in these engines? I also should mention the new Tahoe's are Police/Pursuit vehicles.
Thanks in advance.

Have you contacted GM? Other dept's that have used the Tahoe? My local dept., The Buffalo Police Dept. have used them extensively, but seem to be going to AWD Dodge Challengers...

I would stick to 0W-20, but doubt the 5W-20 would be an issue. I think there is a thread around here regarding how the Massachusetts's Highway Patrol used Mobil 1 AFE 0W-20 with good results...

 

[4WD]

Why would you dilute good quality oil with a quart of the lowest quality oil on the shelf.

The 0W20 oil was diluted with fuel… I put in a quart of VM free SAE30 vis that’s SN Plus …
Do you understand dilution ?

 

[PontiacHO]

We have (8) Tahoes assigned to the K-9 unit. (10) more assigned to Admin..Sheriff, Chiefs, and Upper Command.
They all get 0w20. Never a problem. K-9 units idle over the 12 hour shift to keep the dogs comfortable. 90+ heat here in the south.