Patman
Staff member
Now that Mobil 1's 5w30 ESP Formula has been reformulated, I'm wondering if there is another oil out there that has similar technical specs to it that I could consider as it's replacement when my stash runs out? (I just bought more yesterday on clearance at Canadian Tire so I have enough for two more oil changes on the Vette)
I initially became interested in this oil when Mobil 1 introduced the 0w40 ESP Formula which is now factory fill on the new Corvettes (and is recommended on all LT1/LT4 powered Vettes) When I compared the specs of the 0w40 to the 5w30 ESP Formula I felt that the 5w30 was the better choice for me. Two things really stand out, it has a very low sulfated ash level of 0.6% (compared to 0.8% for the 0w40 ESP) and it's NOACK is (supposedly) very low as well (under 6% according to that Russian web site)
The new formula of this oil (simply called 5w30 ESP now) has a slightly higher sulfated ash level of 0.8% and it's NOACK value is unknown but I'm going to assume it might be higher.
I plan on keeping this Corvette for a long time and would like to see the original engine hit 250-300k without having to take it apart, but it's also direct injected, which is why I'd prefer to continue using an oil with a very low NOACK and very low sulfated ash level as I feel that's my best plan of attack at keeping deposits at bay.
I have considered going with Pennzoil Euro L 5w30, as it's dexos2 rated so it's a low SAPS oil too, but I don't know the NOACK or sulfated ash level of this oil (I have emailed Pennzoil and am hoping they will share this info with us) I also think Valvoline MST 5w30 could be an alternative too. I'm not that keen on using 0w40 ESP Formula, as I also feel having less VII with a 5w30 will keep the engine cleaner.
So basically what I'm asking for is a dexos2 5w30, low SAPS oil (as I believe all dexos2 oils are anyways), with low NOACK and low sulfated ash. With this being a performance engine I prefer the HTHS to be 3.5 or higher so that leaves out any of the dexos1 5w30s out there, so it really needs to be dexos2.
I initially became interested in this oil when Mobil 1 introduced the 0w40 ESP Formula which is now factory fill on the new Corvettes (and is recommended on all LT1/LT4 powered Vettes) When I compared the specs of the 0w40 to the 5w30 ESP Formula I felt that the 5w30 was the better choice for me. Two things really stand out, it has a very low sulfated ash level of 0.6% (compared to 0.8% for the 0w40 ESP) and it's NOACK is (supposedly) very low as well (under 6% according to that Russian web site)
The new formula of this oil (simply called 5w30 ESP now) has a slightly higher sulfated ash level of 0.8% and it's NOACK value is unknown but I'm going to assume it might be higher.
I plan on keeping this Corvette for a long time and would like to see the original engine hit 250-300k without having to take it apart, but it's also direct injected, which is why I'd prefer to continue using an oil with a very low NOACK and very low sulfated ash level as I feel that's my best plan of attack at keeping deposits at bay.
I have considered going with Pennzoil Euro L 5w30, as it's dexos2 rated so it's a low SAPS oil too, but I don't know the NOACK or sulfated ash level of this oil (I have emailed Pennzoil and am hoping they will share this info with us) I also think Valvoline MST 5w30 could be an alternative too. I'm not that keen on using 0w40 ESP Formula, as I also feel having less VII with a 5w30 will keep the engine cleaner.
So basically what I'm asking for is a dexos2 5w30, low SAPS oil (as I believe all dexos2 oils are anyways), with low NOACK and low sulfated ash. With this being a performance engine I prefer the HTHS to be 3.5 or higher so that leaves out any of the dexos1 5w30s out there, so it really needs to be dexos2.