Good oil to use in Australian DI engine

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Hi all

I'm from Sydney, Australia and this is my first post here.
I drive Holden Commodore SV6 with 3.6L Direct Injection V6.
I believe this is the same engine as in Chev Camaro V6 and Some cadillacs. It's LLT engine.


I use car in congested traffic on weekdays (short trips) about take it out on weekend and flog it a bit. I never baby it and drive somewhat 'aggressive'.

As you might know summers here are very hot and in winter temp never drops below O degrees Celsius.

Recommended oil viscosity is 5w-30 as per car manual.

Car's only done 15 000 km's and I used Shell Helix Ultra 5w-30 for my first service.

What other oils would you recommend for my car ? Is Mobil 1 okay as I could get it for a decent price. What about Fuchs ?
 
Hi Mate.
I have been using Fuchs 0w-20 almost 10 years in my Camry's and Honda with out any dramas.Camry just passed 120k mark.No problem at all.Fuchs 0w-20 from first service on all cars.
 
Honda and Toyota do not shy away from 20 grade oils. GM however, does, for whatever reason. I wouldn't use a 20 grade oil in your engine. Just stick with a 30 grade, especially if you need it for warranty purposes.
 
I'm planning to stick to 5w-30 while under warranty

just exploring other manufactures' product

I'd say that GM engines probably have bigger tolerances internally compared to Japanese motor...therefore heavier grade...
 
Either that, or they aren't buying into the whole CAFE thing. Who knows. Oh, and
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Certainly follow the manufacturer's recommendations regarding viscosity.

I found lots of information on the HFV6 engines on various auto forums of makes which use this engine. Go to wikipedia.com and search HFV6 to find all the various makes that use the engine and then do a Google search for the forums associated with that make. As with any user forum, the noise must be dealt with.
 
It has been discussed many times on this forum that Mobil 1 is not appropriate for right-hand drive vehicles. Use it and the engine tends to implode within 20,000 miles.

Seriously, hard to go wrong with Mobil 1 at the manufacturer's recommended weight. A high quality product at a decent price and excellent availability.
 
Originally Posted By: Klutch9
Either that, or they aren't buying into the whole CAFE thing. Who knows. Oh, and
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GM has met CAFE requirements so far without having to resort to using 20-weight oils. That's a good thing in my book.

Just wait a couple of years, and GM will probably have to go to 20-weights, too. But at least they have that option in hand. Other manufacturers that have already gone 20-weight do not.
 
I think running the 0w-20 will be just fine. I started to use it in my 02 Silverado 5.3. Just sent off an oil sample and waiting to see how well it held up. I did run it in our 3.6l in our 08 GMC Acadia and it did just as well as the 30w for the same amount of miles.
 
I run PP 5w30 in my Mazda CX7 DI turbo engine here in southern Florida. This oil seems to work very well in my engine, which is known to be prone to fuel dilution. Several UOAs, demonstrate that my 6,000 mile OCI is easy for this oil. Ed
 
You did not mention what year your SV6 is. The 2009 model LLT engine has some timing chain wear issues. This was supposedly remided on the 2010 & up engines.

I have a 2011 Acadia with the LLT engine. These things run pretty hot, especially when new. Being AU where it is really hot, I would stick with a good 5W30 synthetic for sure. A 5W20 oil will kill that engine for sure.

At 15,000 KM yours is just getting broken in well, and I bet your fuel ecomony and performance are better than before.

Also, if you are going to run it hard in the heat, I would baby it on the oil changes and no go too long. This engine has a long and elaborate timing chain system that needs good clean oil to prevent excessive wear.
 
Originally Posted By: Rat407
I think running the 0w-20 will be just fine. I started to use it in my 02 Silverado 5.3. Just sent off an oil sample and waiting to see how well it held up. I did run it in our 3.6l in our 08 GMC Acadia and it did just as well as the 30w for the same amount of miles.


You are almost guaranteed a timing chain failure in that 2008 Acadia, especially running 20W.

Get the extended warranty from GM if you are keeping it. And keep track of your Onstar oil life emails, you will need them.
 
Originally Posted By: toyota62
Nothing but Mobil1 5w-30.Can do 1year/15k oil change with out any hesitation.Alternately Fuchs GT1 0w-20.

It should be noted that Fuchs Titan GT-1 0W-20 is an ester based, VI free, heavy (HTHSV 2.8-2.9cP) 20wt race oil. So yes you can use this oil in light 30wt applications without issue.
It is a very different oil to the typically light 20wt (HTHSV 2.6cP) oils that are common in NA.
 
Originally Posted By: Jeff_in_VABch
You did not mention what year your SV6 is. The 2009 model LLT engine has some timing chain wear issues. This was supposedly remided on the 2010 & up engines.

I have a 2011 Acadia with the LLT engine. These things run pretty hot, especially when new. Being AU where it is really hot, I would stick with a good 5W30 synthetic for sure. A 5W20 oil will kill that engine for sure.

At 15,000 KM yours is just getting broken in well, and I bet your fuel ecomony and performance are better than before.

Also, if you are going to run it hard in the heat, I would baby it on the oil changes and no go too long. This engine has a long and elaborate timing chain system that needs good clean oil to prevent excessive wear.


It's 2010 engine with Direct injection. Timing chain issues seem to happen to 2006-2008 models

I change oil every 7500 km's
 
Originally Posted By: Trex101
I would choose Redline 10w30 for it's high HTHS of 3.8, Summer are coming and it's good to know that your oil can withstand the heat here.

An obsolete oil choice. RL 5W-30 has the same HTHSV of 3.8cP, contains no VIIs and has a 17 point higher VI at 162.
BUT with a HTHSV of 3.8cP it is really a 40wt oil; heavier than M1 0W-40 at all temp's. RL 0W-20 (HTHSV of 3.0cP) would be a good choice a long the lines of Fuchs Titan GT-1 0W-20 but only if you can get it for less the Fuchs product.
 
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