GM Viscosity Requirement

[Vilan]

Doesn't 0W30 meet all the requirements of 5W30, and then goes a little further? 0W30 could be marketed as 5W30 (or 10W30, or straight 30) if the manufacturer desired. Like the Amsoil 10W30/straight 30.

I think you got some customer service rep working his first week. And/or just parroting what his computer screen says. He probably think 0W oils are like water.

 

[Mokanic]

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Why does GM state that 5w-30 is the only oil viscosity that should be used in GM vehicles ? I called GM and asked if I could use a 0w-30 and they stated that this viscosity could damage the engine.

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It would be interesting to know how a 30wt oil with better cold flow properties could damage an engine. Maybe to GM better oil flow at cold-start conditions is a bad thing.

 

[Brian Barnhart]

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Reguardless what I think. What I know that 10W-30's meet GM's 6094 requirment. That is sad since I no longer own a GM vehical. You have on and you don't know what your requirements are.

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According to the manual, the oil requirements for my engine are a 5W30 that meets GM6094. Other viscosities may meet GM6094, but the manual says the oil used in my truck needs to meet BOTH, not just GM6094, and not one or the other.

 

[mrsilv04]

[quote
Reguardless what I think. What I know that 10W-30's meet GM's 6094 requirment. That is sad since I no longer own a GM vehical. You have on and you don't know what your requirements are.

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Dave1251- I realize that I'm rather new here. However, your tone is a bit rude, and it is a little condescending as well. Lighten up, please? It's Friday!!!

 

[dave1251]

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[quote
Reguardless what I think. What I know that 10W-30's meet GM's 6094 requirment. That is sad since I no longer own a GM vehical. You have on and you don't know what your requirements are.

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Dave1251- I realize that I'm rather new here. However, your tone is a bit rude, and it is a little condescending as well. Lighten up, please? It's Friday!!!

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If I come off as rude so be it. I don't like it when a person is giving inaccurate information. Like stating his dealer used 10W-30 in his vehicle. 10W-30 does not meet is warranty requirements. I will be back tomorrow to tell him what page to look at his owner's manual. For his viscosity requirements and what temps to use each of them. The GM 6094M spec is cold pump ablity spec for all 30 weight oils. GM reactivated this spec due to GF-4/SM oil's coming out and the fear at GM was that some company's would sacrifice cold pump ablity to obtain this certification.

 

[Ray H]

 

[JeepCreep]

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Perfect use of that emoticon

 

[dave1251]

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Notice about what I said about tomorrow. I also wrote GM Goodwrench Technical Support. I am waiting for a response.

 

[mrsilv04]

I was hoping that this forum would be different than most others on the web.

Dave, congratulations on your personal little vendetta.

This is all so disappointing to see.

 

[427Z06]

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Why does GM state that 5w-30 is the only oil viscosity that should be used in GM vehicles ? I called GM and asked if I could use a 0w-30 and they stated that this viscosity could damage the engine.

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The short answer is, the tech you talked to is wrong. However, it's really not his fault.

In GM's attempt to simplify oil choices for it's customer's, specifying oil that meets it's standards (6094M and 4781M) and meet EPA availability and labeling directives, it's sort of caught in a catch-22.

The heart of the problem is that the EPA requires that the oils recommended for a vehicle must be readily available. Now look at how many API Starburst 0w30 oils are available that meet either 6094M and 4781M. Last time I looked there were only 3 out of 150+ that were registered as meeting 6094M and only 1 out of 12 registered as meeting 4781M.

One last point. If your using a 5w30 oil that meets GM 4781M, the MRV limits are even more demanding than the GF-4/J300 requirements and thus are so close to most 0w30s that GM is confident they covered 99.99% of the situations their customers will find themselves in. In short, if it regularly gets below -35°C where you live, you'll likely have other problems than just your crankcase oil.

Hope that helps.

 

[Bob25thTA]

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So, should I get rid of my stash of 0w-30 and buy only 5w-30 ? Warranty has expired but I don't want to damage my engine that is only driven in the hot summer?

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What kind of 0w-30. I have an 03 Vette with a modded Head and Cam package in it and use Mobil1 0w-30 in Texas. And as stated in a previous post it is GM4718M certified.

 

[gedcruise]

While it may not be a 'vette, I used M1 0W-30 in my 3.0 Aerostar for tens of thousands of miles year 'round in Ohio, where the temperature range is from frigid to broiling, and the engine has not sufffered for it.
Bear in mind that the Aero engine is almost always working at a higher percentage of its potential than the engine of a Corvette.

 

[Lonnie]

I have a question. If you have a failed GM engine and they do an oil analysis, how will they tell the difference between a 0w-30 and a 5w-30? I'm not talking about a lab telling the difference between two virgin oils, but the stuff that would come out of a failed engine, and I'm talking about proof beyond a reasonable doubt with used oil that may have some of the byproducts of a failure in the sample.

 

[yankees1]

0w-30 GC

 

[brianl703]

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I have a question. If you have a failed GM engine and they do an oil analysis, how will they tell the difference between a 0w-30 and a 5w-30?

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Better question: Why would they care? You could probably run 15W-40 in Chicago winters in a typical engine and it'd be well out of the warranty period before any problems ever showed up because of that.

 

[jorton]

In GM automobiles equipped with Oil Life System, which models require full synthetic oil?

 

[bshockme]

According the manual for my wifes HHR, which uses an OLM, a synthetic oil is not required. That said, her OLM doesn't trip till between 9 and 12 thousand miles. I am running PP in it.

 

[Lonnie]

I just asked the question because some appear to think there is a need to run exactly the viscosity specified. I don't think there's spit worth of difference between any Xw-30 oil except in the specifications. In actual use they have got to me pretty close. I can't imagine a warranty claim getting turned down because someone thinks there's a difference that caused a problem. Someone told me you can't run 0w-30 in GM engines because it's way too thin. I think it's just a case of someone's knowledge is way to thin, not the oil. I think that in a warranty the factory is happy to discover that you have changed the oil and have receipts. I don't think they are too bothered about the oil beyond that.

 

[KBFXDLI]

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When did you call GM about this? More importantly who? If you find out who is recommending this. They need some serious training before making any recommendations. IMHO.

I have spoke with 2 GM piston design engineers who believe that the film from less than 5w30 is insufficient at start up for their design criteria. Both of these guys have MS degrees and over 20 years experience in engine design. I believe them.

Dave

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[KBFXDLI]

I have spoke with 2 GM piston design engineers who believe that the film from less than 5w30 is insufficient at start up for their design criteria. Both of these guys have MS degrees and over 20 years experience in engine design. I believe them.