Best 0W-20 Full Synthetic Oil?

Pennzoil motor oil
H

HotRod Hudson

Joined
Apr 14, 2022
Messages
15
2025 Tahoe 5.3L & I’m getting ready for my 2nd oil change on this new vehicle. 1st oil change at 502 miles was with 0W-20 Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy (Dexos) full synthetic. My next oil change will be at 1,500 miles (within a week), while I thought 0W-20 Mobil 1 Truck and SUV full synthetic would be a good 0W-20, however some oil analysis I’ve read about on this forum leads me to think it may not be that great. So I’m starting to re-think using it and wondering what others might suggest based on application and oil analysis (if possible).

This may be another can of worms but I worry about the 0W-20 weight oil protection but since it’s under factory warranty, I assume I must stay with 0W-20. Is this a correct assumption? Is there a 0W-20 that would have a thicker viscosity within the 20 wt?

Here is the oil analysis I did on the factory fill at 502 miles.

IMG_1390.webp
 
C

Thread 'Best 0W20 Synthetic Oil from WM ?'

I have a relative’s vehicle that calls for 0W20 oil - a quick online look at Walmart it would appear M1 0W20 ESP is the best available 0W20 synthetic oil option at Walmart for best base stock , approvals , wear control , keeping an engine clean , full OCI protection or any other yardstick of measure you want to throw at it for a 5K - 7K mile OCI … Do you agree or do you beleve there is a better made 0W20 synthetic off the shelf oil at Walmart that you prefer for typical , less than 10K mile OCI’s ?
 
I have two 5.3 L83 motors, one with 130k and the other with 145k miles.

They see 0w20 over the 4 weeks of Dallas winter, and 5w30 the rest of the time.

But they say 0W20 until the warranty ran out.
 
Best will be different for every user. Try them all and then choose which you prefer. On the shelf I like Mobil 1 ESPX2 0W-20, Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 0w-20, Valvoline Restore and Protect 0w-20, Castrol Edge gold jug 0w-20, and Mobil 1 Extended Performance. Boutique I like Amsoil Signature Series and HPL Supercar 0w-20. Then you have French Motul, Japanese Idemitsu and Eneos, and German Ravenol and Liqui Moly. I forgot about Redline too. And then the value priced oils like Supertech, Kirkland, and Castrol GTX. 5w-20 is also another option if you are hesitant to use a thicker 0w-30 or 0w- 40 oil.
 
Thanks for sharing the break-in UOA. I am choosing to run Mobil 1 0w-20 Extended Performance in my new Miata for track work, based on its PAO content, which exceeds that of any other API/ILSAC 0w-20 I can find for less than $6/qt. I'll change it every 4-6 track days, though.
 
HotRod Hudson said:
Is there a 0W-20 that would have a thicker viscosity within the 20 wt?
Click to expand...

Depends on whether or not licenses/approvals are a requirement. I assume GM wants you specifically using something with dexos approval, which disqualifies stuff like HPL Supercar or Redline (which are effectively thin 0W30's in 0W20 bottles). Like it also is with API/ILSAC, Ravenol DFE is probably one of the stoutest Dexos approved 0W20's available. Granted, it's not exactly simple or cheap to buy it in the US since there's only one distributor.
 
head right over to Walmart and select most any 0w-20 like Castrol edge extended performance (gold jug) is a fine oil with dexros gen 3 ,SQ ,GF -7 oil, or Valvoline Extended Protection 0w-20, is good,,, also, best to stick with a Dexos approved oil.
 
McRightclick said:
Is there any reason to use anything other than Mobil 1 ESP or Valvoline Restore and Protect in this weight?
Click to expand...
it's for European applications, states this on the container, call and ask Mobil tech line, they will refer you to other products they sell that are compliant to for example dexos gen 3. or whatever the vehicle specs are needed. Mobil AFE is a good choice if you want Mobil 1 oils.
 
You'd be fine with just about anything in these 5.3s. They are good engines and not plagued with issues like the 6.2L. I have multiple friends and family members with 200k+ on these engines with no issues on quick change oil to high end oil.
 
HotRod Hudson said:
This may be another can of worms but I worry about the 0W-20 weight oil protection but since it’s under factory warranty, I assume I must stay with 0W-20. Is this a correct assumption? Is there a 0W-20 that would have a thicker viscosity within the 20 wt?
Click to expand...
In America you have plenty of choices. My choice would be any of these, in no particular order:

Mobil 1 ESP x2 0W-20
Valvoline Valvoline Restore and Protect 0W-20
Castrol Extended Performance 0W-20 (gold jug)
Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 0W-20

If you want top of the line: HPL or Amsoil.
 
Japanese said:
In America you have plenty of choices. My choice would be any of these, in no particular order:

Mobil 1 ESP x2 0W-20
Valvoline Valvoline Restore and Protect 0W-20
Castrol Extended Performance 0W-20 (gold jug)
Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 0W-20

If you want top of the line: HPL and Amsoil.
Click to expand...
The gold gives me the warm and fuzzies.
 
4wd said:
No AFM issues to date ?
Click to expand...
My 2015 Silverado has been solid, other than a billet torque converter.

My 2018 Subyrban had a lifter fail at 115k, so I had it hardware-deleted. The transmission was a 1-year old factory warranty unit, but since we pulled the motor to delete it, I put a billet converter in it as well.

I would get in either one tomorrow and drive across the country without a second thought.

And I wouldn’t trade either one for new 😊
 
  • Like
Reactions: 4wd
OP -

You are operating under some seriously false assumptions. Allow me to enumerate ...

1) there is no ability (and I mean ZERO ability) for anyone here to give you a foolproof answer as to what is "best" for your particular engine. There are many good oils, some great oils, but no "best" oil can be declared without massive investment in testing.

2) there is no ability (and I mean ZERO ability) for any single used oil analysis to give you a foolproof answer as to what is "best" for your engine. used oil analysis do NOT have the accuracy in single used oil analysis (or even in small subsets) to discern one lube from another in terms of wear performance. This is oft believed, but in reality a massive fallacy. This is because of the process of normal variation in all things. (see the Normalcy article sticky in the used oil analysis section).

If you want to know beyond any shadow of a doubt which lube is "best", you'd have to conduct massively long, super-expensive testing on your vehicle over hundreds of thousands of miles of testing. I seriously doubt you, or any BITOG member, have the resources to do so. And in fact, by the time you closed in on an answer, the industry would change the lube specs and you'd have to start all over.

What I can tell you is that high-end brand products (Pennzoil Ultra Platinum, Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy, Valvoline Restore and Protect, etc) and boutique brands (Amsoil, HPL) are going to do well enough that your engine will be fine, and if there is any failure mode, it's not going to be directly the fault of these lubes anyway.
 
Last edited:
facility1 said:
head right over to Walmart and select most any 0w-20 like Castrol edge extended performance (gold jug) is a fine oil with dexros gen 3 ,SQ ,GF -7 oil, or Valvoline Extended Protection 0w-20, is good,,, also, best to stick with a Dexos approved oil.
Click to expand...
Hot Rod Hudson...,,,you're overthinking this IMO. I've used the above oils when I caught them on sale at Walmart in the 0W20 grade. If no sale, I just used Super Tech 0W20, and the engine was fine. The key thing to do is not to go past 5K oil and filter changes, especially if you have direct injection with a turbo on that engine. Extended OCI's like 10K-15K, you're just looking for trouble. . Stick with 0W20 for warranty purposes, with a good PGI filter, and the 5K oil changes. Hang onto the receipts, with mileage and dates until the warranty expires, then you can play games with the grades and types of oil. Just my $0.02 cents.
 
dnewton3 said:
OP -

You are operating under some seriously false assumptions. Allow me to enumerate ...

1) there is no ability (and I mean ZERO ability) for anyone here to give you a foolproof answer as to what is "best" for your particular engine. There are many good oils, some great oil, but no "best" oil can be declared without massive investment in testing.

2) there is no ability (and I mean ZERO ability) for any single used oil analysis to give you a foolproof answer as to what is "best" for your engine. used oil analysis do NOT have the accuracy in single used oil analysis (or even in small subsets) to discern one lube from another in terms of wear performance. This is oft believed, but in reality a massive fallacy. This is because of the process of normal variation in all things. (see the Normalcy article sticky in the used oil analysis section).

If you want to know beyond any shadow of a doubt which lube is "best", you'd have to conduct massively long, super-expensive testing on your vehicle over hundreds of thousands of miles of testing. I seriously doubt you, or any BITOG member, have the resources to do so. And in fact, by the time you closed in on an answer, the industry would change the lube specs and you'd have to start all over.

What I can tell you is that high-end brand products (Pennzoil Ultra Platinum, Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy, Valvoline Restore and Protect) and boutique brands (Amsoil, HPL) are going to do well enough that your engine will be fine, and if there is any failure mode, it's not going to be directly the fault of these lubes anyway.
Click to expand...
Hopefully the OP reads and assimilates this.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

G
Mobil Full Synthetic High Mileage 0w-20 - use with or without mixing?
2
Replies
20
Views
617
gfh77665
R
2022+ Subaru WRX FA24F Oil Strategy
2 3 4
Replies
63
Views
2K
scrllock
wooferocau
Toyota 0w-20 Motor oil, how good?
3 4 5
Replies
91
Views
8K
SimpleSyrup
Japanese
  • Question Question
What 0W-20 oil for 2018 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid?
2
Replies
29
Views
1K
jmo42
T
Mobil 1 Full Synthetic 0w-40 for both V8s
Replies
4
Views
603
ammolab
Back
Top Bottom