LS1 oil

camarolt76 · Oct 3, 2004

I have been reading this forum for quite a while, but never posted a question. I have a 2002 Z28, and I have been using Mobil 1 10w30 since the first oil change. The car has about 13000 miles on it, and I usually change the oil in the spring and fall. I don't drive it in the winter months. I have read the numerous posts on LS1's and Mobil 1, but looking at the UOA's, I don't see a clear advantage in any other oil. I like synthetics because they take heat better than a conventional oil, and they last longer. Given a car that is driven hard occaisionally, usually in warm summer temperatures (90's F), what is the best choice?

I was considering 4qt 10w30 / 2 qt 15W-50 mix or 5W-40 Truck and SUV oil. I like Mobil 1, it has served me well in my other vehicles, and I have never had a consumption issue with it in the Z28.

Since reading this forum, I have been using Delo 15w40 in my 1976 Camaro with newly rebuilt 350, and I have been very happy with it. I use the 76 to autocross, and the Delo seems to work very well. It holds oil pressure very well throughout a run, when I am sure the oil is heating up. It also has a lot of ZDDP, which is good for a flat tappet cam. I would consider it in the LS1, but the LS1 runs hotter than the 76. Any thoughts?

haley10 · Oct 3, 2004

I love M1 10w30

That said,for the LS1, you might try M1 0W-40 or German Castrol 0W-30.

The board seems to prefer GC 0W-30.

LS1 seem to prefer a bit more viscosity than M1 10w30 provides.

I will refer you to Patman on this subject.

buster · Oct 3, 2004

quote:

have read the numerous posts on LS1's and Mobil 1, but looking at the UOA's, I don't see a clear advantage in any other oil

I agree with you. I think M1 10w30 is a fine choice. Their might be a slight advantage of using a slightly thicker oil however.

I do think though that the LS1 likes a thicker 30wt oil, that Patman has said all along. German Castrol if you can find it is a great choice.

4.8 Silverado · Oct 3, 2004

I am running the Mobil 1 "brew " right now and it seems to be working great.Like everybody has said before ,these motors like a heavy oil.If you try GC 0/30 make sure to post on how it works in the LS1.

SSDude · Oct 3, 2004

I think that GC is the best oil for the LS1. That is what I run in my LS1 (440rwhp). My car runs stronger and quieter on GC.

Patman · Oct 3, 2004

My LS1 Corvette seems to really like GC 0w30, as I've now gone 4500 miles on this interval and the dipstick is still full. And no piston slap either. Although I've never tried any other oils in this car so I can't say for sure how they would do.

It is my opinion that most street driven LS1s that see a bit of dragstrip action or hard driving will do better with a thicker 30wt to low 40wt oil. So something in between 12 to 14 cst at 100c. The key is in the oil temperature, if you routinely see higher oil temps, you want to go on the thicker side. My LS1 usually runs around 200-210F oil temps, so GC fits the bill nicely since it's 12.2 cst at 100c, or a very thick 30wt (almost 40wt, as 12.5cst would put it into the 40wt category) Other good choices, in my opinion, would be Amsoil 5w30 or 0w30, Redline 5w30, Royal Purple Racing 41, Schaeffer 15w40, Mobil 1 0w40 or 5w40, or Castrol 5w40 (or their 0w40 from Europe if you could find it!)

I will hit the 5k mark next weekend and will change the oil and take a sample. Since I drop my samples off directly at the lab, I'll have the results early next week too. I usually get 24 hour turnaround on my analysis results.

camarolt76 · Oct 3, 2004

Thanks for the replies. I have not seen the German Castrol in this area. I would think any sustained full throttle run would heat the oil to 250 F. Given the availability and price of Mobil 1, would the 10w30/15w-50 mix be better, or would the 5w-40 be better? I use a K&N oil filter on this car, and I usually change the oil at 5000 miles.

There is an interesting thread on A3 ratings. Is the LS1 an engine that should use an A3 oil?

buster · Oct 3, 2004

I have reservations about the 5w-40 in cars. I'm not sure if it's friction modified enough. Seems to make some cars a bit sluggish. I think it's more for deisels then anything. You could give it a shot. I'd use Mobil 1 0w-40, or mix a qt of 15w-50 in with the 10w30.

Gene K · Oct 3, 2004

I am fixing to make an unpopular recommendation.... 10W-40 Castrol Syntec.

Try it, You might like it...

Patman · Oct 3, 2004

quote:

Originally posted by camarolt76:
Thanks for the replies. I have not seen the German Castrol in this area. I would think any sustained full throttle run would heat the oil to 250 F. Given the availability and price of Mobil 1, would the 10w30/15w-50 mix be better, or would the 5w-40 be better? I use a K&N oil filter on this car, and I usually change the oil at 5000 miles.

There is an interesting thread on A3 ratings. Is the LS1 an engine that should use an A3 oil?

IMO, most definitely.

The 15w50/10w30 mix would work well, but I would only recommend it in warmer weather.

Patman · Oct 3, 2004

quote:

Originally posted by Gene K:
I am fixing to make an unpopular recommendation.... 10W-40 Castrol Syntec.

Try it, You might like it...

I'd like to see someone try this oil in an LS1. I think it might do well, but GC 0w30 would probably do much better. But if someone can't find GC, but can find the 10w40 Syntec, it might be worth a shot.

haley10 · Oct 3, 2004

quote:

Originally posted by Gene K:
I am fixing to make an unpopular recommendation.... 10W-40 Castrol Syntec.

Try it, You might like it...

I think it would be great, but anywhere in the USA, I'm sure that if Autozone doesn't have GC on the shelf, they will be able to get some on order quickly. It can't hurt to ask.

I'm going to uoa this Syntec soon, but not in an LS1, just a 3800. Now I can get GC at Autozone, so I'll be trying that. Plenty of GC in stock here now.

I have been enjoying this Syntec though, but I will reserve judgement until the uoa. I'm not sure how long I want to run it, but I'll probably only do 5K to compare against M1 10-30 I have at 5K.

Thing about GC is I can run it all year if it works, but I wouldn't be comforatable with the Syntec at below zero F.

[ October 04, 2004, 09:24 AM: Message edited by: haley10 ]

Toyota18 · Oct 6, 2004

Hi.
Try Mobil1 0w-40[A3/B3/B4] better protection than 10w30[A1/B1/A5/B5] which is not a A3 rated.
Then again LS1 not hard on oils like some other motors.
Also Motul 0w-40 is another good oil low w40 oil PAO/Ester blend.

SSLoneStar · Oct 6, 2004

4 qt M1-10w30 and 1 qt M1-15/50 in my 01 LS1 @ 76K and still ticking along.
Still sucks down 1 qt every 1500 miles

Patman · Oct 6, 2004

quote:

Originally posted by SSLoneStar:
4 qt M1-10w30 and 1 qt M1-15/50 in my 01 LS1 @ 76K and still ticking along.
Still sucks down 1 qt every 1500 miles

Give GC a try then. I'm now at 4800 miles on this interval in my LS1, still with no oil consumption!

Mike_dup1 · Oct 6, 2004

Just a note to make some LS1 owners cringe.

For the 3rd year in a row, I just changed oil on my '02 TA WS6. Once a year and approx. 7500 miles driving. Use 10w30 synthetic..., never had to add.

Been doing this since 1977 on all my vehicles and I always use American made synthetic oil.

Patman · Oct 6, 2004

quote:

Originally posted by Mike:
Just a note to make some LS1 owners cringe.

For the 3rd year in a row, I just changed oil on my '02 TA WS6. Once a year and approx. 7500 miles driving. Use 10w30 synthetic..., never had to add.

Been doing this since 1977 on all my vehicles and I always use American made synthetic oil.

Why would we cringe?

I cringe more when I talk to my friends with LS1s who waste good money by changing their synthetic every 2 or 3k! I keep telling them they are not extending their engine's life one bit, all they are doing is wasting money. They should at least be doing 5-6k if they're going with synthetics.

I bet your LS1 would last 40 years with your oil changing methods.

Mike_dup1 · Oct 7, 2004

I had one fella tell me he changed oil 3x in less then 2500 miles on his Camaro LS1. I don't recall what type of oil he used but it was his thinking that this would keep it new etc..

quote:

I bet your LS1 would last 40 years with your oil changing methods

Patman · Oct 7, 2004

quote:

Originally posted by Mike:
I had one fella tell me he changed oil 3x in less then 2500 miles on his Camaro LS1. I don't recall what type of oil he used but it was his thinking that this would keep it new etc..

If those oil changes were done at the very beginning of his car's life I could somewhat understand his logic though. A lot of guys will do many oil changes on their new engines, myself included. When I bought my first LS1, a 98 Formula, I did it's first oil change at 400 miles, then the second one around 1500, then switched to synthetic at 3000. I was stuck in the 3-4k change oil change interval back then though, since I had not gotten into oil analysis just yet.

If I were to buy a new Corvette right now though, I'd probably just wait until it hit 3k before doing the first change, then do a 5k interval, then settle on 6k after that.

camarolt76 · Oct 9, 2004

Let the flames begin. I went with Delo 15w40. I am taking a 1500 mile trip next week, and after that I will park the car for the winter. I decided Delo, at about $2/qt, was a better option that any synthetic at $4-5/qt. Delo is an A3 rated oil, and temperatures won't be very low when I will be using it.

LS1 oil

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