2020 Silverado 1500 6.2L towing

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Mar 14, 2021
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Picked up the truck in November and did the first oil change through the dealer. Second oil change I did myself and discovered I had used 3/4 of a quart over 5500 miles with the factory gm oil. I refilled with Mobil 1 EP 0w-20 and a Mobil one EP filter. I’m pretty sure I’m over analyzing this but is this a good oil for towing? Oil consumption is about 1/4 quart at 3k miles so far. 90% of my miles are gonna be highway miles BUT I have a travel trailer I use for work that weighs 6500 ish loaded out and some jobs can be 900 miles or more from home. My concern is how this oil would handle towing like this. Are there better options? I might make 1-2 trips like this in a year and myself and the wife take trips with the camper as well. I’m new to the site and really just would like some opinions. I run valvoline advanced synthetic in my wife and daughters Camaros ( 2019 with v6 and 2020 with 2.0 turbo) and have no rock solid preferences for brand but have ran a good bit of valvoline and castroil in the past. I was told by my service guy that he didn’t recommend the factory oil for past 5k miles. He owns one and says it’s purely personal preference but he doesn’t take his past 5k miles. Honestly I don’t mind paying a little extra for a quality oil that will give good protection for my engine and I’d really like an oil I can sleep well with going by the oil life monitor. The oils I’m considering are the mobile 1 EP, valvoline advanced synthetic, castroil edge, or amsoil ss. I run all amsoil in my atv and love it but it seems like a waste considering I’ll only run it for 6-8k miles. I realize the EP is an extended interval oil as well but it’s half the price of the amsoil ss.
 
I would be very upset if I had a new car that was using that much oil. I have a 2014 Chevy Express 3500 dually with the 6.0L and I use Quaker State Ultimate Durability 5w30 and it does not use any oil in 6k OCI, and it is attached to a class C motorhome at 9k empty.
 
Oh I’m not happy about it in the least! But it seems to be the norm with the active fuel management on these trucks. That’s another reason I’m looking to try a different oil that maybe has less oil consumption. I’ve seen several instances of oil consumption with the mobil 1 EP as well. If memory serves me correctly gm says a quart over 5k miles is normal.
 
I would be very upset if I had a new car that was using that much oil. I have a 2014 Chevy Express 3500 dually with the 6.0L and I use Quaker State Ultimate Durability 5w30 and it does not use any oil in 6k OCI, and it is attached to a class C motorhome at 9k empty.
Don't buy a new vehicle then. Just about every manufacturer (inc. the luxury ones) will say that's well within "normal consumption".
 
UPS and others run those 6 liter gassers in package trucks for 100s of thousands of miles. Anything that meets Dexos ought to work well. You might consider disabling the cylinder shutoff though.
Disabling the afm is definately on my to do list at some point. I really don’t have any complaints on the truck I love the pep and power. I’ve been around plenty of the 6.0s in my line of work and being thirsty is about the only gripe I hear on a regular basis. We have a few of the 6.6 gassers at work too and if fuel wasn’t so high I’d probably buy another one.
Mobil 1 Extended performance will serve you well. Check your oil level on a regular basis. Hopefully the oil usage you are now seeing is just temporary as the motor breaks in.
thank you! So you think it’s better than the valvoline or castroil for towing? And the consumption slowing as it breaks in is a possibility I look forward too.
 
When you say it’s 1/4 or 3/4 qt low do you mean to get it back to the minimum mark or are you trying to always keep it at the full mark?

I’ve always followed the guideline of add a quart if it’s below the minimum. If it’s not below the minimum leave it alone.
 
When you say it’s 1/4 or 3/4 qt low do you mean to get it back to the minimum mark or are you trying to always keep it at the full mark?

I’ve always followed the guideline of add a quart if it’s below the minimum. If it’s not below the minimum leave it alone
Low from the Max (Full) line.
 
When that engine is placed into a Camaro or Corvette, suddenly 5w30 becomes the norm and either 0w40 or 15w50 on "track" days.
But in a pickup truck towing up a mountain pass on a hot day in traffic, 0w20.
Seems ridiculous. I wonder what the difference is if any in the block,oil passages etc. I’d feel much better with a lil heavier oil. But I guess I’m just gonna have to follow the recommended oil weight.
 
I have the 6.0 gasser in my 2018 Silverado 3500 (single rear wheel, single cab, long bed). I run M1 0w40 in my truck in the winter and M1 5w30 Truck and SUV oil in the summer.

I used to run RLI, but I now run that in my Honda Accord to help clean out some of the varnish.
K3500.jpg
 
Is your work trailer enclosed, IE, a giant brick?

Thats the hardest thing on the trucks is pulling a brick through the air. I have a relatively light camper with a 5500 lb GVWR but that thing will still cause some serious drag if I am in a headwind. It works the truck hard.

I know the 6.2L in the Camaro calls for 0W-40. I think you could run something heavier than 0W-20 and be just fine and probably a good idea when towing, especially in the summer. Not sure how hot your coolant gets towing but I know my F150 will get up into the 230's and 240's in the summer.

The only thing that might stop me from doing that is if the owners manual specifically states 0W-20 only. Then I might wait for the warranty to end.
 
Is your work trailer enclosed, IE, a giant brick?

Thats the hardest thing on the trucks is pulling a brick through the air. I have a relatively light camper with a 5500 lb GVWR but that thing will still cause some serious drag if I am in a headwind. It works the truck hard.

I know the 6.2L in the Camaro calls for 0W-40. I think you could run something heavier than 0W-20 and be just fine and probably a good idea when towing, especially in the summer. Not sure how hot your coolant gets towing but I know my F150 will get up into the 230's and 240's in the summer.

The only thing that might stop me from doing that is if the owners manual specifically states 0W-20 only. Then I might wait for the warranty to end.
There is the fear factor again. If I run a thicker oil than recomended in the owner's manual, the engine might blow up and the warranty will be void.
I stick to my 15w40 in everything rule weather permitting including 0w20 engines. One 2013 Toyota Matrix went 13,000 miles and was still full on the dipstick. I ran SAE 40 in a 2010 Yaris one summer just to prove a point. My son's 2013 5.3L 1500 GMC always gets XW40, never uses oil and has over 170,000 miles on it, about half of them off-road. With zero oil consumption, emission systems last longer and the engines stay far cleaner.
... It this post doesn't bring the thinnies out of the wood work, heating vents and from under the carpets, nothing will.
 
Is your work trailer enclosed, IE, a giant brick?

Thats the hardest thing on the trucks is pulling a brick through the air. I have a relatively light camper with a 5500 lb GVWR but that thing will still cause some serious drag if I am in a headwind. It works the truck hard.

I know the 6.2L in the Camaro calls for 0W-40. I think you could run something heavier than 0W-20 and be just fine and probably a good idea when towing, especially in the summer. Not sure how hot your coolant gets towing but I know my F150 will get up into the 230's and 240's in the summer.

The only thing that might stop me from doing that is if the owners manual specifically states 0W-20 only. Then I might wait for the warranty to end.
It’s a big ol brick for sure but the truck does tow it very nicely. I’m curious the difference in the components for the camaro and the Silverado engine wise. I’d feel a lil better with a 5w-30 at least and a 0w-40 would be my choice given the option. I wonder if the variable oil pump makes this a non issue with raising oil pressures when needed.
 

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It’s a big ol brick for sure but the truck does tow it very nicely. I’m curious the difference in the components for the camaro and the Silverado engine wise. I’d feel a lil better with a 5w-30 at least and a 0w-40 would be my choice given the option. I wonder if the variable oil pump makes this a non issue with raising oil pressures when needed.
I've watched the pressure jump around with variable pumps using both 5w30 and 15w40 with no change in pressure except during warm-up.
 
I stick to my 15w40 in everything rule weather permitting including 0w20 engines. One 2013 Toyota Matrix went 13,000 miles and was still full on the dipstick. I ran SAE 40 in a 2010 Yaris one summer just to prove a point. My son's 2013 5.3L 1500 GMC always gets XW40, never uses oil and has over 170,000 miles on it, about half of them off-road. With zero oil consumption, emission systems last longer and the engines stay far cleaner.
Guess what? There are countless similar vehicles doing similar things on 0w20. They didn't blow up either.
 
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