GC Gold in 2.2L Ecotec

[OriginHacker21]

I'm a newbie here as well as a recent convert to GC 0w30. I own a 2004 Pontiac Sunfire with a manual 2.2L Ecotec that has seen Mobil 1 5w30 (full syn). I use a K&N air filter & I rarely drive it hard. It has only seen the redline 3-5 times in its life). Engine has 31,244 miles on it.

A few questions:

My drive consists of 10 minutes to and from work & school at night. Usually half way to destination the engine temperature levels out. How often should I change my oil with this Castrol stuff?

Also, should I do another oil change soon because of Mobil 5w30 being left over in the engine from the last oil changes? (A friend said having 2 different types of oils in your vehicle will cause breakdown of additives faster)

 

[OriginHacker21]

Another question that I've not seen answered:

Is the Gold Castrol 0w30 (M05xx) as good as the Green Castrol 0w30 (M04xx)????

 

[adjennin]

I have it in my 02 alero ecotec and it loves it. I switched from M1 5w30. I am using GC gold since I could not find green anywhere. Go for it!!

 

[Dark Jedi]

so far people has said the gold is almost the same as the green and alot have said they dont see aprob using the gold after their green stash runs out.

 

[Lumberg]

I'd say change it once a year, in the fall.

 

[OriginHacker21]

Yeah, the Ecotec engine really seems to like this oil from what I can tell. It runs smoother, seems like I took 200 pounds off the car when I give it gas at a green light, and startup is a lot easier in winter.

Glad to hear about the Gold being as good as green because I went to 2 Autozones and cleared their stash of 0w30 Castrol

. I now have 20 qts.

I think the cashier guy thought I was insane... Apparently, he says there are other people like me that clear out his supply every week. Thankfully, he says as long as we do that he'll keep ordering it. (The other autozone had like 20 cases in the back). I think we're good for awhile

.

 

[pscholte]

Come to Colorado Springs please...I try to keep them ordering too but I'm over 200 qts...I need some "moral support!"

 

[r961161]

Figure my Happiness and the Cashier's dibelief at a Canadian Tire store when I cleaned them out of GC and brought 25 LITERS (yes....not Quarts but liters, I am Canadian

) to the counter and his reaction was.... "WOW!!! you are buying a lot of OIL???" What he did not know was that I had receipts in my pocket for the same day I began hunting, from other Canadian Tire and Walmart for almost 70 Liters of GC.

So now I am a proud owner of almost 105 LITERS of GC "GREEN".

So pscholte, we are all with you....behind you...supporting you... so no worry. And the GC bug hit me only 5 months ago!!!

 

[pscholte]

 

[pscholte]

I can almost guarantee you it will be less with GC if comparing equivalent grades.

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

I didn't know that the EcoTech had any problems with oil consumption...

 

[bar1]

I have 1.8 Ecotec engine. No consumption at all..

 

[vad]

The newer engines shouldn't consume motor oil regardless of brand or viscosity.

 

[OriginHacker21]

Never had problems with oil consumption. But from what I "felt" while driving - GC runs a ton smoother in my 2.2L Ecotec than Mobil did - I think it likes a bit thicker oil. Runs quieter, seems smoother getting up to those higher RPMs, and starts without that knocking noise.

I've had GC Gold in my car for about 1,000 miles. It is still the same level on the dip stick (I check it every week along with a car wash).

 

[Cutehumor]

I'm considering getting the chevy cobalt with the ecotech 2.2L. how is oil consumption if any with GC compared to mobil 1? thanks

 

[bar1]

I'm using the Opel Full Synthetic oil (5W-30) in my '05 Opel Astra wagon (ecotec 1.8). When started cold (< 32F) it sounds a little like a diesel engine. When warm, you can hardly hear the engine.

 

[OriginHacker21]

Yes! That is my same experience with the Ecotec. When I start it up (especially in Iowa during a -21 F morning) it sounded like a big ole diesel engine. But once everything was warmed up - you didn't even notice it.

This must be something unique to the Ecotecs. Always have friends comment on how "powerful" my car sounds when I start up

.

Now that I live in California - it only sounds like a Diesel engine for a few seconds

. I sure miss that colder weather...

 

[Lumberg]

That CAN'T be good for your car to "sound like a diesel"

Every time I heard that I'd cringe and wish they had a 00 wt oil.

 

[Malaclypse]

quote:

---

I'm considering getting the chevy cobalt with the ecotech 2.2L. how is oil consumption if any with GC compared to mobil 1? thanks

---

You're considering a buy of a brand new vehicle (2006) and you're asking about oil consumption. Unless you do something heinous like break it in easy or switch to synthetic shortly after breaking it in easy you won't have oil consumption problems.

My 2006 2.2 Cobalt 5 spd sees redline 5 - 10 times daily as well as plenty of high-rev high output driving. First change came close to 1,000 miles to Castrol GTX 5w30. I found bits of metal in the filter so I think I did the right thing.

Second change came around 3,200 to Gold GC. I'm sitting at 6,300 miles now and it feels even better than it did on day one. I blame the fact that I made sure the rings were well seated before the motor hit 2k and also that some bearing clearences have loosened up in the motor/trans itself.

 

[bar1]

Lumberg: I was exaggerating here

The engine noise is very different when started cold, louder and rougher. I'm using 5W-30 synthetic oil and the starting temperature isn't extreme (not close to), everything less than 60F will do. At 60F it will be like this 1 minute. At 32F a coupe of minutes.