Best oil for GM 3.8L?

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quote:

Originally posted by T-Keith:
I belive he is refering to the esters in Delvac 1.

-T


OK - I think I've read that esters cling well to metal, so that would be good for long term engine inactivity. But don't esters also readily absorb moisture? - which sounds bad. Or does the moisture absorbed by the ester film cause any corrosion as long as it remains in solution with the oil? But if the ester became saturated with moisture and the water started to precipitate out, would it not cause rusting then? Could some of the chemists in the group help me out here?
Thanks.
pmt

[ May 04, 2004, 01:44 PM: Message edited by: pmt ]
 
quote:

Originally posted by haley10:
I will get flamed big time for this comment, but here goes....

Castrol Syntec 10W-30.
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I use Mobil 1 now, because it's probably better for longer drains and it holds viscosity.

The board doesn't approve, but my 3.8 liked it. Yeah, the regular old USA stuff, not GC.

OK, I said it. My seat of the pants dyno liked it better. Let the flames ignite.


EEEK! Fake synthetic! Get it away!
twak.gif
After hearing that, my baby's hinding in the garage under her car cover like a kid who doesn't want to take some nasty tasting medicine. Don't scare her like that!
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Now it'll take me an hour of telling her "It's ok, Daddy would never feed you hydrocracked dino oil" to get her to open her hood again.
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People say I'm a bit obsessive.
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This engine is easy on oil. I have the Buick GSE SC and go 12,000 between changes with the Amsoil 10W30. I see no reason to go to a 5W40 or 10W40 or 15W40 in this engine unless it was using oil. It is quiet, runs fine in the W30.

Suggest you do a UOA at your goal of a 6000 mile OCI and see what it looks like. Although you feel that you drive it hard I think you will be surprised at the results. Changing your air fitler every OCI, ah, more of these and the K&N dealer can make another boat payment.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Chris Fucik:

quote:

Originally posted by haley10:
I will get flamed big time for this comment, but here goes....

Castrol Syntec 10W-30.
grin.gif
grin.gif


I use Mobil 1 now, because it's probably better for longer drains and it holds viscosity.

The board doesn't approve, but my 3.8 liked it. Yeah, the regular old USA stuff, not GC.

OK, I said it. My seat of the pants dyno liked it better. Let the flames ignite.


EEEK! Fake synthetic! Get it away!
twak.gif
After hearing that, my baby's hinding in the garage under her car cover like a kid who doesn't want to take some nasty tasting medicine. Don't scare her like that!
tongue.gif
Now it'll take me an hour of telling her "It's ok, Daddy would never feed you hydrocracked dino oil" to get her to open her hood again.
tongue.gif


People say I'm a bit obsessive.
freak2.gif


I'm sorry. Didn't mean to scare her. My apologies.

I hope no damage was done.
lol.gif
 
Realistically, the GM 3.8 is a **** near bulletproof motor that is easy on oil would probably go 200,000+ on a good group III "synthetic" oil. However, considering that it's an SC'd motor that will likely be pushing around twice the factory HP by next year, I like the warm fuzzy of having the added durability of a "true" PAO synthetic.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Spector:
Changing your air fitler every OCI, ah, more of these and the K&N dealer can make another boat payment.

Yipe! That would be expensive. Have you priced S&B Powerstacks lately? About $70 most places.
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I do change the K&N oil filter every change though.
wink.gif


I also realize that, at 6000 miles, my oil is still probably pretty good and that I could go longer; but, like I said, I like the "warm fuzzy" of not leaving it in too long. I'm from a family of old school 3000 mile oil changers.
Heck , I used to change the dino oil in my '77 Caprice every 2000 miles.
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And it usually looked like it needed it. Then again, I abused the old girl by giving her a steady diet of Penzoil and Fram filters.
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I was young and didn't know any better.

[ May 04, 2004, 04:39 PM: Message edited by: Chris Fucik ]
 
My wife's car is a 98 Olds LSS with the 3800 series 2. The manufacturer specifies 10w30 and I have used various brands of oil in it.Doesn't seem to matter what I run in it. I change it every three months and it usually has about 2000 miles on the oil.Personnaly I don't think you have to run anything special in these engines as they will last for well over 200000 miles with good maintenance.Save your money and use a good quality dino and ACDelco filter.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Chris Fucik:
. . .Strictly speaking, my warranty was void about a week after I got the car when the Thrasher cold air box and 3.4" {12% faster} supercharger pulley went on.
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Considering that, with my last round of mods over the winter, I expect to be running the 1/4 mile somewhere right around 13.0 at 106 MPH, if I break something, it's my own **** fault.
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No! Strictly speaking, you really can't "void" your warranty. It is, in effect, part of a contract between you and the car maker, and one which happens to be heavily governed by federal law. It remains in effect for the period specified. Dealers and mfrs love to get us talking in terms of "voiding" a warranty; it's a form of brainwashing customers into accepting a position more favorable to them than the law allows. Even if you mod your engine, if you later present a wty claim, if they want to deny it, they still have to prove that you caused it, not their defect. The burden is on them, not you. So if your engine blows up after supercharger alterations, they still have to prove that it was the mod that caused the problem. The mere presence of a mod does not meet this burden. If a dealer tries to say, "aha, you've done this, you have no wty," go see a lawyer (if you have a covered defect). Now, if you've been running 25psi of boost on regular gas, they're going to have an easy time meeting their burden. In many cases, however, they're getting one over on the customer. A bit
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, but when I hear this, I get a bit bothered.
 
PMT, I can not remember the chemical name. I am sure Molakule could explain it better then I could any ways. It does not show up on UOA. In addition to that chemical Delvac-1 nuatralizes acids better and for a longer period of time wich also fights off corrision. Delvac-1 was designed for comercial diesels initialy so it has to be able to handle far greater contaminet loads then any non-HDEO would ever have to handle by design. Remember that Delvac-1 is designed for long drain intervals on comercial equipment from minning to over the road trucking!

If you need additional corrision protection their are vapor deposited chemicals that can be added to the oil. A custom blend might be the way to go. Ask Molakule if he knows anyone that is doing this!
 
quote:

Originally posted by ekpolk:

quote:

Originally posted by Chris Fucik:
. . .Strictly speaking, my warranty was void about a week after I got the car when the Thrasher cold air box and 3.4" {12% faster} supercharger pulley went on.
grin.gif
Considering that, with my last round of mods over the winter, I expect to be running the 1/4 mile somewhere right around 13.0 at 106 MPH, if I break something, it's my own **** fault.
crushedcar.gif
rolleyes.gif



No! Strictly speaking, you really can't "void" your warranty. It is, in effect, part of a contract between you and the car maker, and one which happens to be heavily governed by federal law. It remains in effect for the period specified. Dealers and mfrs love to get us talking in terms of "voiding" a warranty; it's a form of brainwashing customers into accepting a position more favorable to them than the law allows. Even if you mod your engine, if you later present a wty claim, if they want to deny it, they still have to prove that you caused it, not their defect. The burden is on them, not you. So if your engine blows up after supercharger alterations, they still have to prove that it was the mod that caused the problem. The mere presence of a mod does not meet this burden. If a dealer tries to say, "aha, you've done this, you have no wty," go see a lawyer (if you have a covered defect). Now, if you've been running 25psi of boost on regular gas, they're going to have an easy time meeting their burden. In many cases, however, they're getting one over on the customer. A bit
offtopic.gif
, but when I hear this, I get a bit bothered.


I agree with you completely. What I didn't really clarify is that, should something fail in the motor or transaxle, it would not be hard for GM to say that running the engine with higher than stock boost, with higher ratio rocker arms placing more stress on the valve train, and shifting harder at higher RPMs caused or aggrevated the problem. That part of my warranty, on the engine and transaxle, is effectively kaput. Particularly now, with 28,000 on her, if something was grossly defective from the factory in the drivetrain, it would have gone already. If it breaks now, it's probably the result of something I did. What the warranty on GM vehicles is really good for is all the little misalignments, squeeks, and failed electronic components that need replacing. My driver's door was misaligned from the factory, the steering had to be rebuilt to correct for some slop, the fuel level sender died, and the $800 HUD unit is already beginning to fade {common cold solder joint problem}. Which reminds me... one more trip to the dealer.
rolleyes.gif
Better get that bad boy fixed while it's still under warranty.

When you buy a new GM car, it's not a warranty period...it's a necessary three-year shakedown cruise to find all the bugs.
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I was making a point of contrasting my own beliefs on taking proper responsibility for your actions to those who modify their cars, break something as a direct result, then take the mods off before they go to the dealer and have it repaired under warranty. That's fraud, plain and simple. You got to pay if you want to play.
burnout.gif


As for running 25 PSI on regular gas; I've heard of some nitwit doing something close. Supposedly some kid put a 2.8" {36% faster} SC pulley on with no other engine or exhaust mods and ran 87 octane to boot. That's probably a good 16+ PSI of boost versus the stock 8 PSI. Needless to say, it was ugly. Since I've made engine and exhaust mods that make it easier for the SC to push air through the engine, I see about 10 PSI on the street and 12 or so in track configuration {but only with race gas}. 25 PSI, even with an intercooler is a sure way to make engine go BOOM.
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[ May 05, 2004, 12:29 AM: Message edited by: Chris Fucik ]
 
I will get flamed big time for this comment, but here goes....

Castrol Syntec 10W-30.
grin.gif
grin.gif


I use Mobil 1 now, because it's probably better for longer drains and it holds viscosity.

The board doesn't approve, but my 3.8 liked it. Yeah, the regular old USA stuff, not GC.

OK, I said it. My seat of the pants dyno liked it better. Let the flames ignite.
 
Chris:

I appreciate that you're being fairminded about it. The owner who, say, runs his crankcase dry, melts the motor, then dumps in five qts of fresh oil and makes a wty claim isn't any better than the mfr who cheats on wty claim denials. . .

My ultimate point is that any defect, except the obvious, ought to be examined for wty application, in other words, is it a latent defect? Hope it doesn't happen, but what if your engine stops today, and you find a casting defect in the head. They'll probably try a denial (if you assert a claim), but you'd probably win in the end (after a fight) because they'd need a qualified engineer to come in and say how your mods, not the casting defect, caused the failure.

But back to reality -- you've got a 231 V-6 which will probably last a very long time, despite your tinkering.
grin.gif
cheers.gif
 
quote:

Originally posted by JohnBrowning:
PMT, I can not remember the chemical name. I am sure Molakule could explain it better then I could any ways. It does not show up on UOA. In addition to that chemical Delvac-1 nuatralizes acids better and for a longer period of time wich also fights off corrision. Delvac-1 was designed for comercial diesels initialy so it has to be able to handle far greater contaminet loads then any non-HDEO would ever have to handle by design. Remember that Delvac-1 is designed for long drain intervals on comercial equipment from minning to over the road trucking!

If you need additional corrision protection their are vapor deposited chemicals that can be added to the oil. A custom blend might be the way to go. Ask Molakule if he knows anyone that is doing this!


If there are some readily available such additives, I would be interested. But I bounced this to the top (even though it's a little off topic ) to see if I can get some input on what really is my basic question: Without mixing in any special additives, is a true (PAO/Ester) synthetic or a dino oil better for an engine that sits 4 - 5 months over the winter?
Thanks.
pmt
 
quote:

When you buy a new GM car, it's not a warranty period...it's a necessary three-year shakedown cruise to find all the bugs.

Amen brother...just dropped $150 to lube a part that they didn't figure needed it at the factory. Wow, now I can steer the car
smile.gif
 
quote:

Originally posted by Chris Fucik:
snip...
When you buy a new GM car, it's not a warranty period...it's a necessary three-year shakedown cruise to find all the bugs.
banghead.gif

snip...


My 02 Cavalier has 38K on it and is out of warranty now. The only thing other than gas and oil so far, was turning a rotor. Now that I don't need to worry about warranty hassles, I may be doing a little more.

[ May 05, 2004, 11:46 PM: Message edited by: labman ]
 
quote:

Originally posted by Matt89:

quote:

When you buy a new GM car, it's not a warranty period...it's a necessary three-year shakedown cruise to find all the bugs.

Amen brother...just dropped $150 to lube a part that they didn't figure needed it at the factory. Wow, now I can steer the car
smile.gif


Well GM is basically the only company using grease fittings, so you can't complain there.

-T
 
quote:

Originally posted by labman:

quote:

Originally posted by Chris Fucik:
snip...
When you buy a new GM car, it's not a warranty period...it's a necessary three-year shakedown cruise to find all the bugs.
banghead.gif

snip...


My 02 Cavalier has 38K on it and is out of warranty now. The only thing other than gas and oil so far, was turning a rotor. Now that I don't need to worry about warranty hassles, I may be doing a little more.


It just occurred to me, but isn't the powertrain warranty good for 5yrs or 50k miles? If so, you're definitely not out of wty just yet, and depending upon your preferences, you might want to keep being careful a bit longer.
 
T-Keith;

Actually it was the intermediate steering shaft
shocked.gif
You wouldn't believe the difference in overall handling from simply lubing that bad boy. Went from feeling like a handful of rocks to a pretty smooth ride and good steering response.
 
quote:

Originally posted by AtlasFBG2:
My Chevy Monte Carlo has no grease fitings anywhere.

I didn't say that all do. The only cars sold today that I know of with grease fittings are the Lesabre, Cavalier and similar.

Most GM full size trucks still have fittings, Ford and Dodge have phased them out.

-T
 
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