Don't know what oil to go with.. HELP!

[tealz]

Hey guys, new to the board here. I have a 95 camaro z28 LT1 engine A4 trans. it has 162,700 miles on it. i drive it every day. short trips, city driving, and highway. usually drive it pretty easy with the occasional heavy foot driving. the last two days it has been driven hard due to tuning and dialing in.
i live in upstate SC so summers are hot and winters usually don't see the 30-40* range until january/febuary. i got the car with 114,000 miles on it 3 years ago. it had a havoline/texaco oil change sticker in the window, so i'm guessing it had havoline in it previously. i put castrol gtx high mileage 10w30 w/ either an AC delco filter or Purolator or Pureone. then i tried havoline 10w40 once. after that a friend talked me into regular castrol 10w40 w/ lucas (snake oil stabilizer).. then valvoline w/ lucas. then i found out that the lucas was garbage, so i changed it. currently has valvoline 10w30 and wix filter.

help me out with what i should go with next? i don't know if synthetic is worth it at this point or not. i also don't know if i should step up in the weight of it with my miles. from what i can tell purolator or wix seem to be the best choice in filters.

 

[tuckman]

First thought that came to mind was Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5w30 or how about some Valvoline VR-1 conventional for a good dose of the good stuff.
I bet you the next post will say PP

Oh yeah

 

[ThirdeYe]

My sister used to have a '94 Firebird Formula with the LT1 and we used Valvoline MaxLife in it and it seemed to work very good. It had a slight oil leak to the tune of a few drips a day and it completely stopped that after only a couple hundred miles.

 

[tealz]

how would the 20w50 of the vr1 be with the upcoming winter months? ThirdeYe.. what weight in the maxlife did you use? I have been considering that one.

 

[ThirdeYe]

Originally Posted By: tealz
how would the 20w50 of the vr1 be with the upcoming winter months? ThirdeYe.. what weight in the maxlife did you use? I have been considering that one.

5w30 and 10w30.

 

[tealz]

ok cool. how long of an OCI did you use. i have always done 3000 miles, but from reading on here it seems 5000 is safe for conventional now days.

 

[AlanCanada]

I am also a new member here and I can tell you there are many contradictory responses you may well receive to this post. What I have learned that may help:

1. Learn about used oil analysis, the oil analysis is a test you can run for under $30.00 USD that will tell you more about your engine than any opinion you will get in this thread.

2. Consider if synthetic oil interests you. Advantages are better lubrication, but mainly the ability to have extended oil change intervals (OCI) of near 10,000 miles.

3. Don't use [censored] filters like Fram. Wix and Purolator make some good filters. In fact, they are making a lot of filters that carry different names. If you want to really know if your oil filter is good, cut it open and take a look at it at your next oil change and/or pay for a used oil analysis.

Links of interest:

Paradis Garage: Mobil 1 Extended drain interval test results

A comparison of Oil Filters compatible with the FL-820s

Blackstone Labs: used oil analysis Example explained

 

[tuckman]

5k is the new 3k.
I was thinking more the 10w30 VR1 for your winter.

 

[tealz]

thanks AlanCanada! i will check those sites out. i ordered the kit to do the used oil analysis for the valvoline that is in it now, because i know it has been put through it's paces.

tuckman.. i have never seen 10w30 vr1, didn't know there was such a thing lol. now i do.

 

[tuckman]

I didn't know VR1 came in both syn and conventional up until a few months ago, lol.

 

[mechanicx]

Originally Posted By: ThirdeYe

5w30 and 10w30.


I agree. The engine calls for 5w30, but for conventional 10w30 would also be a good choice for the warmer climate.

 

[tealz]

so i don't know if i should use high mileage castrol, valvoline maxlife, mobil clean 5000, reg. valvoline, reg. castrol, pennzoil. would i even benefit from synthetic at this point? i was reading the M1 extended drain link and i don't understand.. if it had 6 qts. to begin with and they had to add 6 1/2 qts. by the 17,000 mile mark then what is the point? they may as well have just done another oil change..

 

[AlanCanada]

In respect to the Mobil 1 link I provided:

Keep in mind the results from that vehicle are probably unique to that vehicle or at least that automobile design. I'm not sure where it states 6.5 qts of oil were added, but I would expect you would be topping up the oil in your engine if it was dropping anyway.

 

[mechanicx]

Originally Posted By: tealz
so i don't know if i should use high mileage castrol, valvoline maxlife, mobil clean 5000, reg. valvoline, reg. castrol, pennzoil. would i even benefit from synthetic at this point? i was reading the M1 extended drain link and i don't understand.. if it had 6 qts. to begin with and they had to add 6 1/2 qts. by the 17,000 mile mark then what is the point? they may as well have just done another oil change..


Whether you should use high mileage oil or just regular depends on how much oil does your engine use and do any of the seals leak? Based on what you said about your driving, I don't think you'd gain much with synthetic. All those oils brands are good oils. I tend to prefer Pennzoil, Mobil and then Valvoline in that order.

 

[Bill in Utah]

The links that were provided above about the Mobil 1 are invalid.

That test was run OVER SIX YEARS ago and have nothing to do with Mobil 1 oils today.

Please be careful with what you use for data to make your decisions on.

Fact is more engines use Fram filters than any other. Yet those MILLIONS of engines go the distance with NO PROBLEMS.

Another FACT is 90% of the engines do fine with any rated oil with NO PROBLEMS.

Personally I'd start with a good 5w30 oil and reasonable OCI of 4-5k and after a few OCIs get a used oil analysis. With that DATA then we can start tuning your oil choice and OCI with some FACTS.

Everything else is just a guess.

Take care, Bill

PS:

 

[tuckman]

If it is leaking oil the best place to start is High Mileage oils. If not I like the EP or VR1 due to the more robust add packs.
Another way to go is look into a HDEO they are pretty tough oils. They usually are much cheaper to get than most PCMO's.

 

[postjeeprcr]

Originally Posted By: Bill in Utah
The links that were provided above about the Mobil 1 are invalid.

That test was run OVER SIX YEARS ago and have nothing to do with Mobil 1 oils today.

Please be careful with what you use for data to make your decisions on.

Fact is more engines use Fram filters than any other. Yet those MILLIONS of engines go the distance with NO PROBLEMS.

Another FACT is 90% of the engines do fine with any rated oil with NO PROBLEMS.

Personally I'd start with a good 5w30 oil and reasonable OCI of 4-5k and after a few OCIs get a used oil analysis. With that DATA then we can start tuning your oil choice and OCI with some FACTS.

Everything else is just a guess.

Take care, Bill

PS:

That is very good advice

 

[Mark_S]

tealz,

I lived in the upstate for many years. 10W30 works fine there. I have used Mobil 1 10W30 HM for years (225,000 miles on my Toyota) because it is a robust synthetic oil with an excellent additive package. I haven't seen it on the shelves yet, but Mobil 1 has a High Mileage 5w30 oil on the market. $22 at Walmart and a $5 Pureone filter from Pepboys is hard to beat. I changed my oil & filter every 5,000 miles and the engine runs like new. I know luck in the manufacturing process has a lot to do with longevity, but what I used has worked well for my car so far.

Mark

 

[tealz]

thanks bill and mark! those are excellent points. I do want to get a used oil analysis for the valvoline that is in it currently. Hopefully I can and will get back to you guys with it.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

I would not use a PAO synthetic as PAO are not a good lubricant. Rotella T 10w30 CJ-4/SM is a darn good oil miles beyond Valvoline conventional, Pennzoil conventional, Motorcraft 5000 for protection and smooth operation.