"new" 6yo LS1.. question concerning UOA

[needanother1]

Hi all- I can't remember if I've actually posted on this board before. Been registered a long time and I read on here almost daily. Here's my situation (And I may possibly get flamed for this, but I'm quite interested in what you all have to say): I've got a 2000 model Z28 that is quite possibly the "newest" one that isn't in a museum somewhere. It currently has 5626 miles on it. I ordered it, picked it up with 6 mi. showing on the odometer. I put almost 3000 miles on it the first year I had it, but since then it just gets driven every once in a while (probably once a week on average), but always for long enough to get it fully warmed up. Why, you ask? I don't know- It's just my baby, I guess. My wife says I'm anal- I take extremely good care of it, and aside from the 5K miles worth of wear on the GSC's, it would pass for showroom new. Always garaged, never rained on. Perfect. On to my point: I ran the factory oil for 500mi, then changed it out with Castrol GTX 5W-30, ran that for 1000 miles, then switched it to Mobil 1 5W-30. M1's been in there ever since, though I did switch to 10W-30 at some point. Obviously with the low mileage, my OCI has been time-based, and I was changing it out twice a year at first. It seemed like a terrible waste, draining out that nice clean oil every six months, so for the last three years, I've just changed it once per year. The oil that's in there right now is a year old and has approx. 1000 miles on it. I've heard a lot lately that "sitting" is harder on a car than driving daily. Not that I think this thing's going to be worth anything, or anything like that, but obviously I want to take the best care of it that I can. I'd like to do a UOA, just to see what's going on in there, but would it be meaningful with such low mileage on the oil? What would be the best procedure? I can provide more information, but I'll sit back and read everyone's comments and suggestions first. Don't be too hard on me! I've got other vehicles that I DO drive! Thanks, Jason

 

[Ryan00TJ]

I've had my SS since 02 and have 30K on it. Most are driving too and from the track. Probably 100+ 1/4 passes on the motor with the H/C setup. Save for a few minor marks associated with daily driving my SS looks new. My philosophy is you can't drive them when your dead so you might as well get it done now. I remember listening to my Father saying how much he regreted not driving his 76,79 and 89 Corvettes. Drive em to the wheels come off. I don't think the UOA would show you too much. First the motor is still not really broken in and would show higher wear numbers. With 1K on the oil it would not be a good measurement IMO anyway. Save the UOA money and use it for gas to drive the badboy.

 

[SSDude]

It take 20,000 miles to fully break-in an LS1.

 

[needanother1]

Thanks for the replies. That mostly confirms what I already suspected. I may be driving it more these days, because it gets significantly better mileage than my wife's Envoy. I recently took it on ~200 mile trip and it got 28mpg. Still, I don't see my driving habits changing drastically. What about my choice of oil and OCI? Any suggestions on what to do differently? Cost is not much of a concern- I just want to put in whatever is best for the car. Or would replacing the synth with a dino oil help the engine "break-in" more quickly? My car is a six-speed, and though I don't take it to the track or beat on it, I do run it up through the gears every now and then. Any advice, other than drive it? My other cars are the 2005 Envoy that I mentioned earlier, and an '88 Corvette coupe. I have kids, so obviously the Envoy gets most of the use. But, you know, what's a car-guy to do? Thanks again Jason

 

[427Z06]

You might look into a pre-oiler if your car sits for extended periods of time. Pennzoil Platinum 10w30 has been given a lot of positive talk by an expert here. I'd change it and a quality filter once a year considering the miles you put on it.