Conventional oil in a high-end engine?

[mossad]

Have any of you ever used conventional oil in a high-end engine such as a current model Corvette, or any other sport car where synthetic oil is predominantly used? And were there any problems using conventional?
I only ask, not because I'm doing this, but was curious to know how the dino performed in these sort of engines… (???)

 

[Mystic]

That is probably not a good idea. The newer Corvette's require a synthetic oil like Mobil 1 because in order to save engine compartment space an oil cooler was eliminated. The newer Corvette's require synthetic motor oils that are better able to stand up to high temperatures. The only reason a Corvette cannot use a conventional motoe oil is because no conventional motor oil meets the temperature requirements.

Anyway, why would somebody want to use a cheap conventional motor oil in an expensive car like the Corvette? How much does a new Corvette cost?

 

[mossad]

Quote:

---

That is probably not a good idea. The newer Corvette's require a synthetic oil like Mobil 1 because in order to save engine compartment space an oil cooler was eliminated. The newer Corvette's require synthetic motor oils that are better able to stand up to high temperatures. The only reason a Corvette cannot use a conventional motoe oil is because no conventional motor oil meets the temperature requirements.

Anyway, why would somebody want to use a cheap conventional motor oil in an expensive car like the Corvette? How much does a new Corvette cost?

---

Because as dumb as it may sound, people are cheap...even if they do purchase expensive cars, they are still cheap and find ways to cut corners/cost

 

[CBDFrontier06]

What really sucks about those people is that they're not usually the ones that suffer the consequences of their cheapness..it's the poor slob that buys the car from them, or from a used car lot. I would imagine that unless it is raced, the Vette wouldn't show any of the effects of the cheap oil until it got up there in mileage, where it's 2nd or 3rd owner will be replacing rod and main bearings earlier than expected.

 

[Carbonics]

Quote:

---

Anyway, why would somebody want to use a cheap conventional motor oil in an expensive car like the Corvette?

---

remember what everyone says on here? as long as it's SM rated then it's just as good as other SM oils and now there is really no difference between dino and synth, the bridge has been gapped.... hey, thats what they say, so why not ask a question like this to get the REAL story.

Quote:

---

How much does a new Corvette cost?

---

low to mid 40k, not much compared to other cars, you get a big bang/buck with these cars if you find a dealer not trying to sell for $20k over sticker... but I read on here about a guy having troubles with his roof coming off, maybe they aren't that well built.

 

[mossad]

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

Anyway, why would somebody want to use a cheap conventional motor oil in an expensive car like the Corvette?

---

remember what everyone says on here? as long as it's SM rated then it's just as good as other SM oils and now there is really no difference between dino and synth, the bridge has been gapped.... hey, thats what they say, so why not ask a question like this to get the REAL story.

Quote:

---

How much does a new Corvette cost?

---

low to mid 40k, not much compared to other cars, you get a big bang/buck with these cars if you find a dealer not trying to sell for $20k over sticker... but I read on here about a guy having troubles with his roof coming off, maybe they aren't that well built.

---

Yup!!

That's why I asked the question

 

[ALS]

Quote:

---

Because as dumb as it may sound, people are cheap...even if they do purchase expensive cars, they are still cheap and find ways to cut corners/cost

---

Tell me about it, how about a 2004 $48,000 C70 Volvo convertible with 25K miles on it. The girl who owns it wondered why her engine was making a funny noise. The oil dip stick wasn't even showing oil on it. It was down between 2 and 3 quarts. The car was on it's second oil change with 15K miles on the conventional oil in the pan. Can you say sludged motor?
My buddy did (2) 1000 mile oil changes on it and in both cases the oil coming out was tar black. She is suppose to come back in another 3K miles for another oil change.
Un-freaking believable and to think this girl works as a lawyer in one the cities best law firms, so she isn't stupid.

 

[toocrazy2yoo]

Quote:

---

Un-freaking believable and to think this girl works as a lawyer in one the cities best law firms, so she isn't stupid.

---

No, but about cars, she's an IDIOT!

 

[mossad]

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

Un-freaking believable and to think this girl works as a lawyer in one the cities best law firms, so she isn't stupid.

---

No, but about cars, she's an IDIOT!

---

And so is the rest of the general public, but yet, it's been said in this form that conventional is catching up with synthetic...yet I don't think that is possible by the nature of the two.

 

[Nickdfresh]

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

Un-freaking believable and to think this girl works as a lawyer in one the cities best law firms, so she isn't stupid.

---

No, but about cars, she's an IDIOT!

---

And she should know enough to read her manual at least, I imagine it's lot more concise than her texts.

 

[Max_Wander]

I'd go with an A3 rated mineral oil or an HDEO. Mineral oil blends are much "cleaner" than in the past. You'll suffer marginally increased drag with the mineral HDEO or A3 oil.

 

[toocrazy2yoo]

Ok, ok, so why NOT, for a 3-5 K OCI, a 5W20 or 5W30 SM-rated conventional oil and a decent filter? What would the UOA show? Wear numbers? TBN?

I know who has the answer to this one, Dr. Haas. I believe the good Doctor has a couple of beastly cars, easily the equivalent of a Corvette. Wonder if he ever has done this? Or would have great reservations? I know, I know, ya pay a half-million dollars for a couple of cars, you want the "best".

However.

Wonder what Dr. Haas thinks?

 

[Bill in Utah]

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

Anyway, why would somebody want to use a cheap conventional motor oil in an expensive car like the Corvette?

---

remember what everyone says on here? as long as it's SM rated then it's just as good as other SM oils and now there is really no difference between dino and synth, the bridge has been gapped.... hey, thats what they say, so why not ask a question like this to get the REAL story.

---

READ the answer above! That would answer the question.

Corvettes need syn since they don't have a oil cooler and are sorta driven hard...

Could you run one with a SL/SM conventional oil?

Sure.. But I would not since the engineers at GM think you should not.

NO one is saying the IF the mfg states to run syn for you to run Conventional oil..

What is being said that if you think your going to get better life out of a motor running Syn when it's not required, your going to be spending alot of $$$ and finding out that your engine would have made it with regular oil.

Syn is good *IF* your running it for longer OCI. Most people run it just like conventional oil. (ie 5k ocis, some run it 3k oci!)

As I was watching the Amazing race and all of the old taxi cabs with hundreds of thousands of miles and how many oil changes with Syn they have had?

Since thats the only way engines can get there is with excellent oil like syn!

Lets face it, those engines are luckly to see SG/SH oil once/twice a year. And they are running a long life.

No HM oil, No group this or that. Just oil.

Take care, Bill

 

[deven]

Personally, I would think any SM oil dino would do fine for 5k changes. Now if this corvette was on the race track for extended amount of time, then i would use a quality synthetic with high HTHS.

 

[Curious Kid]

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

Un-freaking believable and to think this girl works as a lawyer in one the cities best law firms, so she isn't stupid.

---

"Intelligence is relative."

 

[Auto-Union]

I use dino 10w-40 in Euro cars all the time.

 

[Ron AKA]

I would just use what GM recommends and not expect miracles. Corvette's have long been GM's poorest reliability car. If I had to guess, I would expect the vette would do about as good as it's going to on SM oil changed at 5K miles.

 

[toocrazy2yoo]

Well, you'd never know without UOA, right?

Corvettes are nothing special, and the track is obviously rougher service than the street, but have there not been many UOAs posted, same car, same conditions, same mileage that showed the same wear numbers syn vs. dino?

What's tougher service than the link 427 posted in another thread? SMTEST

I'm not contending Dino is the same as Syn, just pressing a point lots here have made that dino has caught up to syn in the 3-5K OCI venue.

Just curious, not looking for a fight.

I'm the first to admit, I just don't "know", and lots fit into that catagory, whether or not they care to admit it.

 

[dave1251]

Well let's look at this way. How many z28 cameros and ram air firebirds from the late nineities have had an engine failure? The ones with the LS-1 which is very simular to today's LS-2 which is today's "stock" corvette engine. How many of them used conventinal oil only. Also QS 4x4 blends clam to meet GM's corvette's high temp spec. So it's only a matter of time b4 conventionals meet today standard's that only a synthetic meets.
This is my 2 cents.

 

[sidney004]

As a Corvette owner(a 94 with an LT1, not one of the newer LSX series) who races it and routinely exceeds 290F for greater than 20 min at a time on RL 10w-40; I believe that so long as your oil temps are under 250F with a 3000-5000 mile OCI, any quality dino should be fine.