I'm Undecided

[Last_Z]

I'm stuck here. I don't know if I want to go with M1 10W30 (4qts) and 2 of 15W50, all 10W30 or all 0W40. I like that post about that benz going 13K miles on the original M1 0W40. It showed very good results. What do you guys think? 02 Z28 6 Speed ps: I live in San Antonio, TX and I happened to find a 5 qt jug of 10W30 @ walmart, but didn't buy it because I was undecided. They haven't had these for a month now, so I put it on the back of the shelf so no one can see it.....in case I decide to go 10W30 [ December 30, 2002, 03:48 PM: Message edited by: Last_Z ]

 

[Ryan]

Man get that 5 quart jug of Mobil 1 while you still can. I haven't seen any of those for about 6 months and I have about 500 miles left before another oil change. I would just use the 10w30 and not mix any of the 15w50 in. I have heard that is a good way to slow down or stop oil consumption for the LS1s, but there was a post on LS1.com about a good fix for the pcv problem, which is probably making MOST of the oil burn up. It involves using some LS6 parts inside of the intake as a revised version of the PCV system. I am really thinking about doing this fix on my LS1 to stop oil from getting in from the PCV so I won't have to mix 10w30 with 15w50.

 

[Eiron]

I vote for either all 0W-40 or all 15W-50 (which, I know, is not one of your considerations). The 0W-40 will get pumped around faster on a cold start & will give better fuel economy. The 15W-50 is labelled as having more anti-wear additives. They're both more durable than any of the 30 wts. Ah, that's a good point: durability. How frequently will you be changing? If 5k miles or less, I think the 10W-30's a good value & an acceptable option.

 

[eldawg4100]

i use 10w-30 mobil 1 all year and have no problems. i think you will be just fine, just sticck to the viscosity that should be used for your engine.

 

[Last_Z]

quote:

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Originally posted by Greg Netzner: I vote for either all 0W-40 or all 15W-50 (which, I know, is not one of your considerations). The 0W-40 will get pumped around faster on a cold start & will give better fuel economy. The 15W-50 is labelled as having more anti-wear additives. They're both more durable than any of the 30 wts. Ah, that's a good point: durability. How frequently will you be changing? If 5k miles or less, I think the 10W-30's a good value & an acceptable option.

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Actually, I have considered the 15W-50, but I'm scared. I don't have any oil consuptions issues as of this moment. The only problem it has is the darn piston slap, which when I added Havoline Syn 10W30 got much worse. So I want something a bit thicker to cushion the piston slap somewhat. I have only done 2 oil changes to this car since new (currently 4700 miles). The first one was M1 5W30 and there was piston slap (or noisy lifters), then changed to Havoline Syn, and like I mentioned above, got a lot worse. Have also considered Schaeffers 10W30. I'm kinda leaning towards the M1 0W40 Thanks, Rick

 

[Eiron]

quote:

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Originally posted by Last_Z: Have also considered Schaeffers 10W30. I'm kinda leaning towards the M1 0W40

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Rick, The other thing to consider is the warranty. Will something way out there (like the 15W-50) cause you any sleepless nights due to the dealer putting up a stink? I don't have any problems running it in my weak little 4cyl at 15*F here in CO, but then I'm way OOW & can do whatever I want guilt-free. I've read (on this BB) that higher-additive oils like the 15W-50 & the Schaeffers are better for piston slap issues. I don't have any experience with the Schaeffers, but I'm sure others here can make a suggestion relative to your situation. I do agree with your evaluation of the 0W-40. I can tell you that it's factory fill for all turbocharged Saabs (4cyl/6cyl & 6sp/5sp/auto), & that's why I just switched to it (from 10W-30) in my '99. Based on early reviews, it really does seem to be the new Super Oil. Keep in mind that I'm using it for 10k mile intervals. If you're not going to run it that long, & you can get some great oil at a great price, it might make more sense to do that. I simply decided to pay more for the oil so I could be comfortable running longer intervals in my application. Let us know what you end up deciding to do!

 

[satterfi]

I like Greg's idea with M1 15w50. I'd try RL 10w40 first then go to M1 15w50 if the piston slap continued. I've used M1 15w50 in a couple of cars since break-in that called for 5w30. No blown seals, no oil leaks. I suppose that the only penality of using a thicker oil is worse mpg. So put 2 more psi in the tires, change the air filter at 20k miles instead of 30k, change plugs every 20k vs 30k. Go over board and use RL gear oil vs the stuff they sell at Wally World.

 

[Last_Z]

Hey guys....you didn't mention whether the 0W40 would cushion the piston slap. I've been wanting to try Schaeffer's, but I don't want to be dependent on mailing order oil.....besides, I want to start running a good oil and stick with it so that I can stabilize the engine and beging doing long intervals (~5000 miles). FYI, I'm pretty sure the 0W40 is the same price as the other M1s. I've been tempted to mix 4 qts of 10W30 and 2 15W50, or maybe a 3:3 ratio, but you guys don't like the idea, even though they are both synthetics from the same company. Thanks for all the help, Rick

 

[Patman]

Rick, I'm not sure the 0w40 would help the piston slap, since it will be thinner on startup and that's when the LS1 piston slap is most noticeable.

 

[Last_Z]

My car slaps all the time. It's worse with the Havoline Syn. FWIW: This is an e-mail i sent to Mobil and their answer. > Is there any adverse effects by mixing Mobil 1 10W30 and 15W50 in equal amounts or in a 4:2 ratio?? > Thanks, Rick" Mobil: "No, they are fully compatiable with each other.

 

[segfault]

quote:

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Originally posted by satterfi: change plugs every 20k vs 30k.

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I thought the plugs on the LS1 were good for 100k?

 

[Last_Z]

Yeah right! No plug should be run for that long expecting to be trouble free.

 

[Ken2]

Yeah, the platinum plugs will fire OK for 100k, but then how do you get them out? Carbon is baked on the threads...sell the car. Ken

 

[Patman]

quote:

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Originally posted by segfault:

quote:

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Originally posted by satterfi: change plugs every 20k vs 30k.

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I thought the plugs on the LS1 were good for 100k?

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Not a chance. My LT1 uses the same plugs and when I pulled them out at 60k all of the platinum discs were gone and the gaps had opened from .050 to .070 or higher! When I had my LS1 (which I bought new) I pulled out the OEM plugs at 7k and they already had opened up a little bit on the gaps.

 

[jjbula]

quote:

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Originally posted by Ken2: Yeah, the platinum plugs will fire OK for 100k, but then how do you get them out? Carbon is baked on the threads...sell the car. Ken

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I just changed my plugs at 113K in a Ford Windstar. Best to change when the engine has cooled off for 4 hours or more

 

[Eiron]

Rick, As far as mixing goes, I think you're OK doing it if you stick with all one brand. The nice thing is that you can reduce costs by buying the jug, but still get some of the HD protection of the 15W-50. Since you know you're not comfortable using all 15W-50, mixing your own allows you to add as much or little as you want, & then adjust it as you like. The main thing I was thinking about when I suggested 100% 15W-50 is the extra anti-wear additives for the piston slap. If you mix, you won't get as much of those (but more than using only 10W-30). Does anybody know if piston slap is better addressed by using a heavier oil with lots of additives which stay on the piston, or by using an oil which is lighter on startup so that it gets to the pistons faster? Here's another thought: Delvac 1. It's got tons of anti-wear additives for the piston slap, is super-long-use, & comes in a more user-friendly 5W-40 wt. It's 100% approved for use in gasoline engines, too. I haven't used it yet, but I'm planning on adding it to my M1 15W-50 when I need to top up.

 

[Patman]

quote:

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Originally posted by Greg Netzner: Does anybody know if piston slap is better addressed by using a heavier oil with lots of additives which stay on the piston, or by using an oil which is lighter on startup so that it gets to the pistons faster?

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I believe a thicker oil on startup is responsible for lessening piston slap. I say this because a lot of LS1 f-body owners have come to me for advice on how to lessen their piston slap (which occurs mostly on a cold start) and I often find they are running 5w30 oil still. I recommend a switch to 10w30 and a lot of times the noise is greatly lessened or eliminated just from that switch alone.

 

[Last_Z]

....like I said before guys, the piston slap is always there. At initial start-up, the is none (for like a minute) and then it shows its ugly face. I plan on mixing equal amounts of 15W50 and 10W30. I don't plan on going more than 5k-5.5k anyway, so there should be no problem with the mix. I hope this will alleviate my piston slap. One thing that I will never do again for sure is buy Havoline Syn for any of my cars (especially the LS1) I will run the mix and then send a used sample to Terry to get some feedback. Thanks, Rick

 

[Last_Z]

quote:

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Originally posted by Patman:

quote:

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Originally posted by Greg Netzner: Does anybody know if piston slap is better addressed by using a heavier oil with lots of additives which stay on the piston, or by using an oil which is lighter on startup so that it gets to the pistons faster?

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I believe a thicker oil on startup is responsible for lessening piston slap. I say this because a lot of LS1 f-body owners have come to me for advice on how to lessen their piston slap (which occurs mostly on a cold start) and I often find they are running 5w30 oil still. I recommend a switch to 10w30 and a lot of times the noise is greatly lessened or eliminated just from that switch alone.

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I agree with you guys! [ December 18, 2002, 07:14 PM: Message edited by: Last_Z ]

 

[dragboat]

Last Z I think you are on the right track mixing the 10/30 with the 15/50 oil at the 50-50 ratio for you engine problem.You can easily add more 15/50 later if needed to "tune " the VI. I am using the MISS 10/30 in a 02 car without slap of any kind or any noise or consumption,but come summer it gets hot here,it will get a little 15/50 SS added to the motor for safety sake.Not much just a little bit. It will get more on a long over 6k mile summer vacation planned for next year but until I see some consumtion from the 10/30 in which is Zero now on it's first run and 4200 miles I sticking with plain old 10/30 SS. FWIW the motor will never see the 0/40 offered by Mobil. I personally think a mix of 10/30 and 15/50 can be used to dial in the VI needed w/o unneeded VII's Opinions will vary on this as usual [ December 18, 2002, 07:29 PM: Message edited by: dragboat ]