Hello everyone. I have a 91 Pontiac Firebird that has the 3.1L v6. It only gets used as a daily driver durring the summer, so for about 6 months. It only goes on short trips for the most part. I usually change the oil in the spring with valvoline conventional 5w30. I kind of was thinking of going to a synthetic but not sure yet. Any input would be appriciated. Thanks in advance
91 Firebird oil recomondations
- Thread starter aking
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a once a year oci would do best with a syn would it not?
use what you are using if it runs good and change it once a year
sometimes its better not to fix it unless it is broken friday i had someone come into my shop that has a 1972 mercury montery in showroon condition with 140,000 miles it was running perfect for all these years until he flushed the engine 4 days later it started knocking we are rebuilding it on Monday its already out and ready to be taken apart
sometimes its better not to fix it unless it is broken friday i had someone come into my shop that has a 1972 mercury montery in showroon condition with 140,000 miles it was running perfect for all these years until he flushed the engine 4 days later it started knocking we are rebuilding it on Monday its already out and ready to be taken apart
Originally Posted By: aking
Hello everyone. I have a 91 Pontiac Firebird that has the 3.1L v6. It only gets used as a daily driver durring the summer, so for about 6 months. It only goes on short trips for the most part. I usually change the oil in the spring with valvoline conventional 5w30. I kind of was thinking of going to a synthetic but not sure yet. Any input would be appriciated. Thanks in advance
aking,
Why not just stick/use Valvoline "synthetic" 5w30. If you were thinking about trying another brand don't worry as Valvoline is just as good as all the others.
Durango
Hello everyone. I have a 91 Pontiac Firebird that has the 3.1L v6. It only gets used as a daily driver durring the summer, so for about 6 months. It only goes on short trips for the most part. I usually change the oil in the spring with valvoline conventional 5w30. I kind of was thinking of going to a synthetic but not sure yet. Any input would be appriciated. Thanks in advance
aking,
Why not just stick/use Valvoline "synthetic" 5w30. If you were thinking about trying another brand don't worry as Valvoline is just as good as all the others.
Durango
Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
use what you are using if it runs good and change it once a year
sometimes its better not to fix it unless it is broken friday i had someone come into my shop that has a 1972 mercury montery in showroon condition with 140,000 miles it was running perfect for all these years until he flushed the engine 4 days later it started knocking we are rebuilding it on Monday its already out and ready to be taken apart
I have a 1984 camaro 2.8L that is same scenario as OPs, it has sludge and runs very very strong and i put a bottle of STP and also a pint of MMO in there, should i never put either of these things in the engine again ? or keep on with the MMO ? 163,000 miles, carburated engine.. daily driver, tis sludged now, uns fine though, very strong! Valvoline maxlife 10w30 is the oil i choose and i did change the filter not the oil. Short trips, i try to let it idle to get oil tems up
OP and i have same Third Gen body, his being a 3.1L Firebird. I have 2.8L Camaro
use what you are using if it runs good and change it once a year
sometimes its better not to fix it unless it is broken friday i had someone come into my shop that has a 1972 mercury montery in showroon condition with 140,000 miles it was running perfect for all these years until he flushed the engine 4 days later it started knocking we are rebuilding it on Monday its already out and ready to be taken apart
I have a 1984 camaro 2.8L that is same scenario as OPs, it has sludge and runs very very strong and i put a bottle of STP and also a pint of MMO in there, should i never put either of these things in the engine again ? or keep on with the MMO ? 163,000 miles, carburated engine.. daily driver, tis sludged now, uns fine though, very strong! Valvoline maxlife 10w30 is the oil i choose and i did change the filter not the oil. Short trips, i try to let it idle to get oil tems up
OP and i have same Third Gen body, his being a 3.1L Firebird. I have 2.8L Camaro
Originally Posted By: aking
I know Vavoline is a good oil and I'm just wondering if a good synthetic such as Mobil 1 or Amsoil would be a better choice for the short trips and sitting for long periods of time?
maybe. but what about how else it wil affect the things in your engine, or maybe clean away sludge that was plugging a leak. these are very valid concerns imo some people report it not leaking but for dino fed engines i am not so sure and mine was dino fed and i dont want to find out.
it aint broke. why would i fix it ?
I know Vavoline is a good oil and I'm just wondering if a good synthetic such as Mobil 1 or Amsoil would be a better choice for the short trips and sitting for long periods of time?
maybe. but what about how else it wil affect the things in your engine, or maybe clean away sludge that was plugging a leak. these are very valid concerns imo some people report it not leaking but for dino fed engines i am not so sure and mine was dino fed and i dont want to find out.
it aint broke. why would i fix it ?
Originally Posted By: aking
Thats a good point. It only has 46,000 miles on it...which is good but could also be bad with dried out gaskets
i firmly believe super strong cleaner oils, synthetic in particular will at the very least encourage leaks where there were none before, be it from old dried out gaskets a "delubricating" or sorts or by cleaning away sludge that may in fact be sealer sludge. why do you think it is that ownnes that flush their engines usually have the engine die sometime after. i hate to admit it, but my engine really started to go affter i gave it a motor flush this was on a different car.
synthetic is oh so temptimg but im not on the synth bandwagon so im a lot like Bill In Utah there and if you listen to what he says, he knows his stuff.
hope this helps. it costs more too. plus, conventional oil is so good, i would say NO use what you have been, sometimes i think here makes you want to go out and try the flavor of the month, or M1, whichever is cheaper or liked more at the momemnt
just sayin
Thats a good point. It only has 46,000 miles on it...which is good but could also be bad with dried out gaskets
i firmly believe super strong cleaner oils, synthetic in particular will at the very least encourage leaks where there were none before, be it from old dried out gaskets a "delubricating" or sorts or by cleaning away sludge that may in fact be sealer sludge. why do you think it is that ownnes that flush their engines usually have the engine die sometime after. i hate to admit it, but my engine really started to go affter i gave it a motor flush this was on a different car.
synthetic is oh so temptimg but im not on the synth bandwagon so im a lot like Bill In Utah there and if you listen to what he says, he knows his stuff.
hope this helps. it costs more too. plus, conventional oil is so good, i would say NO use what you have been, sometimes i think here makes you want to go out and try the flavor of the month, or M1, whichever is cheaper or liked more at the momemnt
just sayin
I think the old saying applies here " If it aint broke don't fix it"
Valvoline conventional 5w30 has been working for you and your Firebird for 20 years...why change now?
Valvoline conventional 5w30 has been working for you and your Firebird for 20 years...why change now?
Keep doing what you're doing. A year interval on Valvoline conv. 5W30 is perfectly fine.
Go with the Pennzoil Plat or Ultra to keep it nice and clean!
I have a 1980 Firebird FORMULA V8 purchaced new. Today it only has 38K miles on the OD. When I first bought this car, the engine had a lite ticking for several years using the SE/SF oils that were available! As the oil had improved over the years(SG/SJ), the ticking went away. Now that we are into SL/SM oils, the engine runs better than it ever did. I'm not sure what to credit here. Weather it's the oil, some slight tweeks to the carb and timing, the gasoline or the MMO in the tank. Hard to say!
Aking, what I am saying is that, I think you can run any of todays oils in that 3.1 and it'll run for ever as they are really good engines save for the IM/head gaskets. And you may never have issues with the gaskets. Not every single 3.1/3.4 had issues. They're just known for it but are still good engines just the same. Good torque, good MPG and lot's of fun with a stick!
Aking, what I am saying is that, I think you can run any of todays oils in that 3.1 and it'll run for ever as they are really good engines save for the IM/head gaskets. And you may never have issues with the gaskets. Not every single 3.1/3.4 had issues. They're just known for it but are still good engines just the same. Good torque, good MPG and lot's of fun with a stick!
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