GC 0w30, 6200 miles, 1995 Firebird Formula (LT1)

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I definitely don't plan on changing this recipe, it's working well!

You are probably right about the air filter being so new it definitely will get better with age. My OEM AC Delco worked very well and was in the car right until 80k!

As far as the oil consumption, I'm positive that if I got my intake leak fixed, it would use less than half a quart every 6k. I had another 95 LT1 a few years ago and it had the intake leak too and once I got it fixed my consumption dropped to almost nothing. These motors are not known for burning oil, just leaking oil. It's just a big task to fix that's all. It would take a whole weekend if I had a friend help me (especially since the engine cannot be started right after the job is done, it's best to let it sit for 24 hours for the RTV to cure) and if I got a dealer to do it they would charge $500 and they never fix it right, as they use the wrong kind of RTV and they never let the car sit long enough. When I got my first 95 LT1 intake leak fixed under warranty, that repair only lasted about 6 months, then it had to be fixed again, and the second repair didn't last long either! It's a job that really can't be rushed, and dealers always do that, and they never clean the surfaces properly either.
 
Time to fix that intake leak. It is always the rear corners that leak, right?

So, do we think that this oil is good for 6k-7k intervals with NO sludging concerns? My main reason for trying GC is that I have begun to drive about 500 miles (minimum) per week due to a new job, and I am tired of changing my tried and true Pennz dino at 4-5k intervals. Plus, I figure I will be pushing 200k in no time at all (87k now) with this car, and I still want to be able to smoke those slow F-bodies when I hit that mileage! (j/k... LT1's are faster than my car
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GREAT REPORT PATMAN!

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Look for a 10,000 mile GC UOA (no makeup) coming soon from my dad's 528i, probably within the next couple of weeks. Same brutal winter, city driving, no block heater, car often sits outside.

Provided that the 10K report looks good, the next interval will be 15,000 miles on GC!

I'm intrigued that GC shows better results on the second run, as I'm currently running it in my SAAB turbo (6,000 mi interval) but want to try Delvac 1 [Mississauga-sourced!] for the next oil change (trying for 10,000 mi).

Jason
 
quote:

Originally posted by novadude:
Time to fix that intake leak. It is always the rear corners that leak, right?

So, do we think that this oil is good for 6k-7k intervals with NO sludging concerns? My main reason for trying GC is that I have begun to drive about 500 miles (minimum) per week due to a new job, and I am tired of changing my tried and true Pennz dino at 4-5k intervals. Plus, I figure I will be pushing 200k in no time at all (87k now) with this car, and I still want to be able to smoke those slow F-bodies when I hit that mileage! (j/k... LT1's are faster than my car
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Sooner or later I'll get around to fixing the intake leak, but it's not high on my priority list right now. If my UOAs take a nosedive, or consumption goes way up, then I'll do something about it.

I think it's pretty safe to say that this oil can handle 6-7k intervals without any sludging concerns whatsoever. Honestly, I think any synthetic can handle this kind of interval without sludging, except in rare cases (like in the Toyota 3.0 V6)
 
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Originally posted by 90mustang:
Hey, Patman are you using a Fram Sure Drain on the Firebird?

Yep. I love it! Mainly because it makes taking the samples much neater, the oil doesn't come out so fast so I don't end up with any spillage like before.
 
Hi,
Quattro Pete & novadude

I do NOT want to distract from the great result on Patman's engine. His oil is the latest version and his result is what I had expected from this product all along

I first started using the just released German Castrol SLX 0w-30 in 1996 or early 1997. It was the SH/CF A3-96/B3-96 VW 500 and 505 (11/92) version

My problem occurred with the intermediate SJ/CF version released in 1998
Briefly in early 2000, the oil pump drive seized in the VW 2ltr engine which had been on the oil for about two years and 30kkms ( previously on Castrol R 10w-60 for 50kkms ). The engine's condition mirrored a number of issues that the MB and VW Dealer had been fronted with in other vehicles using this same oil. One was the excessive varnish contamination, the cause of the failure.
These engines do run hot oil and an oil temp gauge and oil cooler are fitted for this reason. Oil temps above 125C are not recommended, this engine saw temps about 115C quite often and up to 120C sometimes.

The VW Service Rep.,the Dealer's Service Manager and I agreed that the oil was the most probable cause based on our joint inspection and their previous experiences. They stopped using the oil forthwith changing over to Mobil. So did I!

GC SLX 0w-30 was withdrawn from sale in Australia about two years ago ( 2002) and by then it was a SL/CF oil. It was a very poor seller here. Castrol now sell "R" 5w-30 instead

I had used this oil in a variety of other vehicles over three years without a problem.
I believe the oil was unable to hold up in the continuous "hot" oil environment in the VW engine even though I had used it in my BMW R100RS bike as well. This bike has a 90C oil cooler thermostat that was often open too.
I suspect its max oil temp to be around 105C

Patman's result is what I had expected when I commenced using SLX and I suspect the version in NA may have been extensively reformulated since my experience

I hope Patman keeps using the product - but I hope he inspects for varnish once in a while just as a precaution!

Regards
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[ March 17, 2004, 05:53 PM: Message edited by: Doug Hillary ]
 
Have you noticed any pavement scrapes an the cap of the Sure Drain? My Mustang is kinda low an I was concerned with this. Do you have potholes/ hills in your area?

It's Friday night and I'm hangin out on BITOG !!!
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No scrapes on my sure drain cap at all. My Formula is still at the stock ride height (although I'd love to put some Eibachs on it just like I did with my 95TA and my 98 Formula)
 
THose are excellent winter numbers for that engine! If ever my two local Autozones get the GC stuff I will have to try it. To date they are still selling the yellow lable stuff with dust on it!!
 
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