Best oil for new GM Direct Injection Engine

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I can not find the reference at this time but a Noack rating of 11.0 is the max that should be used in a GM, and probably all, DI engines. 10W30 will tend to have lower Noack numbers then 5W30. Typically a slight difference.

To the question, “what the NOACK Volatility means and why it's important”. In a non DI engine the gas passing over the intake valves helps keep them clean and aids in “washing off” vaporized oil. In a DI engine fuel does not pass over the intake valves and thus vaporized oil will deposit on the valves. There is a pic somewhere on BITOG of a VW / Audi DI head after 7X,ooo miles and the valves are caked with deposits. If not corrected this will lead to messing up the valve seats as well as the valves.
 
Originally Posted By: lonestar
There is a pic somewhere on BITOG of a VW / Audi DI head after 7X,ooo miles and the valves are caked with deposits. If not corrected this will lead to messing up the valve seats as well as the valves.

5acbca8d8a1e00fc.jpg


Al says, "These valves look disgusting!"

glivalves.jpg


BTW, what is the volatility of M1 0W40? This car had that every 10k (problem due to DI not oil, volatility may help some but won't solve problem).
 
Originally Posted By: Durango
My brother has the new GM engine for his Cadillac CTS and it has more power than my 08' Impala SS with the Corvette engine!!!!! For a V-6 that is impressive to say the least. His dealership uses Castrol "Syntec" instead of the Mobil 1 that is GM's standard. On my Impala SS the dealership uses Chevron products instead of Mobil 5000 for dino and their synthetic version for the Corvette's.

I guess each dealership options to use their own as they see fit.
Anyone know what the GM part number is for the over the counter oil/standard?

Durango



No Impala SS's in 2008 have a Corvette engine. Even the late 90's Impala SS's only used a de-tuned version of the Corvette LT1. But, I agree with you on the power of the CTS. I've got a 2008 CTS with the 304hp 3.6DI. Runs great.
 
Originally Posted By: RamAir5
Pennzoil Platinum is 9.7 for their 10w30 and 12.5 for their 5w30. Castrol doesn't even list theirs.
Would someone please educate me as to exactly what the NOACK Volatility means and why it's important... in layman's terms. thanks.


The number presented is the percentage of oil volatized.

On Redline's PDS, it states it as "NOACK Evaporation Loss, 1hr @ 482F (250C) %"

The lower the number, the better.

It looks like Redline's numbers mop the floor with the other offerings, given their 5w30 is almost 4% lower than PP 10w30.
 
Originally Posted By: GMBoy
Originally Posted By: Durango
My brother has the new GM engine for his Cadillac CTS and it has more power than my 08' Impala SS with the Corvette engine!!!!! For a V-6 that is impressive to say the least. His dealership uses Castrol "Syntec" instead of the Mobil 1 that is GM's standard. On my Impala SS the dealership uses Chevron products instead of Mobil 5000 for dino and their synthetic version for the Corvette's.

I guess each dealership options to use their own as they see fit.
Anyone know what the GM part number is for the over the counter oil/standard?

Durango



No Impala SS's in 2008 have a Corvette engine. Even the late 90's Impala SS's only used a de-tuned version of the Corvette LT1. But, I agree with you on the power of the CTS. I've got a 2008 CTS with the 304hp 3.6DI. Runs great.



GMBoy,

Tell me then what type of engine my Impala SS has???? I'm always interested in the specs of my newly bought car. I was told it was an older Corvette engine BUT I can always be wrong.

Durango
 
Originally Posted By: Durango
Originally Posted By: GMBoy
Originally Posted By: Durango
My brother has the new GM engine for his Cadillac CTS and it has more power than my 08' Impala SS with the Corvette engine!!!!! For a V-6 that is impressive to say the least. His dealership uses Castrol "Syntec" instead of the Mobil 1 that is GM's standard. On my Impala SS the dealership uses Chevron products instead of Mobil 5000 for dino and their synthetic version for the Corvette's.

I guess each dealership options to use their own as they see fit.
Anyone know what the GM part number is for the over the counter oil/standard?

Durango



No Impala SS's in 2008 have a Corvette engine. Even the late 90's Impala SS's only used a de-tuned version of the Corvette LT1. But, I agree with you on the power of the CTS. I've got a 2008 CTS with the 304hp 3.6DI. Runs great.



GMBoy,

Tell me then what type of engine my Impala SS has???? I'm always interested in the specs of my newly bought car. I was told it was an older Corvette engine BUT I can always be wrong.

Durango

it's not a corvette engine, but it does have the previous generations corvette cylinder heads.
it's a LS4, 5.3L, all aluminum, 303hp. it uses the LS6 cylinder heads, which are from the previous corvette. the corvette never used the 5.3 LS4.
wiki reference page
 
Re: how to deal with valve deposits on a DI engine: Here is a video of the BG induction service that Crew219 found on VW vortex http://www.vimeo.com/3989681

Also, here are the techniques I know of to deal with valve deposits (from the audi/Mikeinaustin thread):

Some very easy/low cost preventative options that can help but will not solve the DI valve deposit problems:

1) Use a low volatility and good cleaning oil (cost: additional $5-$10 per oil change)
2) Seafoam, lubro moly valve cleaner, water, etc. through the intake at every oil change (cost: $3.50-$10)
3) Regular italian tuneups (cost: gas)
4) Catch can (all kinds of flavors out there) (cost: $30-$300)
5) Fuel injector cleaner in the gas to deal with fuel injector deposits (will not help with intake valve or intake deposits) (cost:$5-$10)

More difficult/expensive "helping but not solving options"

6) BG induction service or similar (cost: $135-$250?)
7) water/meth injection (cost: ???)
8) remove intake and clean valves every 50k or so (cost: ????)

Some one-time-fix-the-problem options:

1) bypass pcv and route to exhaust (search for saaber2 thread "bypassing pcv") (cost $125-$175)
2) Run a catch can that vents to atmosphere ((may increase build up acids in oil due to lack of vacuum in evacuating crankcase gasses (but that is unknown)?)? may have smell or freezing issues?) (cost: $300?)
3) Run a "down tube" or "road tube" that vents to atmosphere ((may increase build up acids in oil due to lack of vacuum in evacuating crankcase gasses (but that is unknown)?) (cost: $25 -$50)
 
Originally Posted By: JakeR22
I have one of these too.

Any idea on what oil comes in it from the factory?


If you mean you have a 3.6L then it came from the factory with Mobil 5W30 dino unless it came in a cadillac in which case it came with Mobil 1 5W30.
 
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Am I wrong? But if the intake air flow was not filled with so many "recyled contaminants" then there would be less build up of "gunk" on the intake valves of the DI engines. You would think that better (tighter) engine specs would not allow these oil/gas vapors to form. I could be totally off the mark, but just curious.

I know that in my '96 Zetec Contour I don't use any oil, no matter the OCI. And my throttle body and EGR are spotless still after 78,000 miles and 13 1/2 years. I'm assuming that if the PCV and EGR both return vapors to be returned to the intake stream and it's spotless then there is none to little "oily" vapors occurring
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Whimsey
 
Originally Posted By: mpvue
Originally Posted By: Durango
Originally Posted By: GMBoy
Originally Posted By: Durango
My brother has the new GM engine for his Cadillac CTS and it has more power than my 08' Impala SS with the Corvette engine!!!!! For a V-6 that is impressive to say the least. His dealership uses Castrol "Syntec" instead of the Mobil 1 that is GM's standard. On my Impala SS the dealership uses Chevron products instead of Mobil 5000 for dino and their synthetic version for the Corvette's.

I guess each dealership options to use their own as they see fit.
Anyone know what the GM part number is for the over the counter oil/standard?

Durango



No Impala SS's in 2008 have a Corvette engine. Even the late 90's Impala SS's only used a de-tuned version of the Corvette LT1. But, I agree with you on the power of the CTS. I've got a 2008 CTS with the 304hp 3.6DI. Runs great.



GMBoy,

Tell me then what type of engine my Impala SS has???? I'm always interested in the specs of my newly bought car. I was told it was an older Corvette engine BUT I can always be wrong.

Durango

it's not a corvette engine, but it does have the previous generations corvette cylinder heads.
it's a LS4, 5.3L, all aluminum, 303hp. it uses the LS6 cylinder heads, which are from the previous corvette. the corvette never used the 5.3 LS4.
wiki reference page



mpvue,

Thanks for the detailed info. Now I know what I have in my Impala.

Thanks,

Durango
 
Originally Posted By: lonestar
Originally Posted By: JakeR22
I have one of these too.

Any idea on what oil comes in it from the factory?


If you mean you have a 3.6L then it came from the factory with Mobil 5W30 dino unless it came in a cadillac in which case it came with Mobil 1 5W30.


Thanks.

So if comes with conventional oil, then wouldn't any synthetic be more than enough to meet the recommended oil standards.
 
Every engine has a certain amount of combustion blow-by. In days of old, that blow-by was simply vented to the atmosphere. Starting in the 1960s, the blow-by has had to be collected and burned by a PCV system for pollution control reasons. Old engines with worn rings and bores have a lot more blow-by than do fresh engines, but every engine has some.

In a conventional engine, fuel cleans the intake valves and typically removes the deposits caused by blow-by and vaporized motor oil. On a DI system the intake valves only see air flow, not fuel. Thus they are much more susceptible to the build up of volatilized oil and blow-by gasses than are conventional engines.

If I had a DI equipped vehicle I would absolutely be using a synthetic oil with low volatility and only "top-tier" rated fuels. http://www.toptiergas.com/
 
Originally Posted By: wgtoys
If I had a DI equipped vehicle I would absolutely be using a synthetic oil with low volatility and only "top-tier" rated fuels. http://www.toptiergas.com/


+1

A bit OT but I see 6094M rated oils with low NOACK #s, lower than some of the 4718M oils. It is my very nonscientific opinion that an SM oil with a low NOACK...say less than 11 implies an overall very high quality oil...and many such oils do not appear on GM's 4718 list.
 
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Valvoline Synpower has one of the lowest NOACK #s of a 5w30 oil... not counting Amsoil. PP 5w30 has a NOACK # of 12.5 while Synpower 5w30 has a # of 10.5. Synpower's 10w30 # is 8. I think that pretty impressive for a mass produced, supermarket oil.

These numbers are according to their respective websites.
 
Originally Posted By: RamAir5
Valvoline Synpower has one of the lowest NOACK #s of a 5w30 oil... not counting Amsoil. PP 5w30 has a NOACK # of 12.5 while Synpower 5w30 has a # of 10.5. Synpower's 10w30 # is 8. I think that pretty impressive for a mass produced, supermarket oil.

These numbers are according to their respective websites.


Redline's is 6.
 
Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
Originally Posted By: RamAir5
Valvoline Synpower has one of the lowest NOACK #s of a 5w30 oil... not counting Amsoil. PP 5w30 has a NOACK # of 12.5 while Synpower 5w30 has a # of 10.5. Synpower's 10w30 # is 8. I think that pretty impressive for a mass produced, supermarket oil.

These numbers are according to their respective websites.


Redline's is 6.

I remember reading that a while back. I bet this oil would be awesome in a DI engine.

I know that it's nearly impossible for an ester base oil to produce sludge or even varnish. I wonder how this would translate into the intake tract via the PCV system? Or maybe there's no correlation.
 
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