new to me 02 z28

[Outlawiroc88]

hey all. i hear you guys are the best when it comes to oil stuff, so here goes.

i just bought a 2002 chevy camaro z28 with 87k miles on it. the guy i bought it from hadnt had it long, and didnt change the oil. so my question to you is what should i put in it? most guys with these cars use synthetic 5w30 or 10w30, but i want to see some suggestions from some oil guys. the car is going to be a daily driver for the time being.

thank you guys in advance. from the reading i've done so far here i can tell im in the right place.

 

[donnyj08]

Any 5w30 will do great. i know the LS1 came from the factory with Mobil 1 in the corvette so that would be my first choice for that reason as well as the fact it can be bought at walmart for a great price. but any good 5w30 will serve you well.

 

[Kuato]

What type of driving do you do?

 

[Rock_Hudstone]

Originally Posted By: Outlawiroc88
hey all. i hear you guys are the best when it comes to oil stuff, so here goes.

i just bought a 2002 chevy camaro z28 with 87k miles on it. the guy i bought it from hadnt had it long, and didnt change the oil. so my question to you is what should i put in it? most guys with these cars use synthetic 5w30 or 10w30, but i want to see some suggestions from some oil guys. the car is going to be a daily driver for the time being.

Z28 in a warm to hot climate and probably you're going to do some, Ahem, spirited driving every now and then.

Therefore, I'd suggest Shell Rotella Semi-Syn 10w30. A much better oil than regular PCMO and only a couple of dollars more.

 

[aquariuscsm]

10W30 synth/AC Delco (non-ecore) filter.

 

[Merkava_4]

MaxLife 10w30 with AC Delco (non-ecore) filter.

 

[mercuryblues]

I understand this is perhaps going off-topic a bit, plus I might be wrong about this, but I was wondering if the GM 4718M spec also applied to the standard Z28 models. I had thought the only Camaro model where that oil spec was required was the Z28 SS.

 

[04SVT]

I used to have an SS myself. Great cars. I used to run Mobil 1 10w30. It did great. I'm in North central Texas. Since I had mine; formulations are a bit different as viscosities too. I think I'd try a good 5w30 now days. 5w30 is what GM still recommends. I think I'd even try a good 0w30 from Mobil, Amsoil, or Redline. All are good oils with Mobil being the least expensive and most readily available. I always ran a Mobil 1 oil filter too.

p.s. congrats on the new to you car.

 

[ArrestMeRedZ]

Assuming the engine is stock, over the years excellent results have been obtained from German Castrol (GC) 0w30 and Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 in the LS1. Patman on this site has done extensive research and has completed numerous oil samples going back 8 years or so, so you might do a search on his posts

While I have no problem with Mobil 1, when I switched to GC in my '02 Z28 the valves got significantly quieter.

 

[Outlawiroc88]

wow. so many replies. thank you all. i didnt think i would receive this much input. the car is definitely a daily car with maybe a few days of spirited driving here and there, but no track days or anything like that are in my future for now.

looks like synthetic gets the vote here too, so i guess it's just down to the brand. i've used Pennzoil platinum and mobil 1 in some of my other cars, so i guess i'll stay that route. is it good to switch from conv. (if that's what's in the car now) straight to synth.? i've never done the switch in any car before. does it really matter? should i do a blend in between?

 

[aquariuscsm]

Won`t hurt a thing. If I had your car,I`d go with Synpower or Syntec 10W30. Castrol and Valvoline have always been my two favorite brands.

 

[Outlawiroc88]

update: went with pennzoil platinum 5w30. the valvoline and castrol were 10 bucks a bottle, so i went the cheaper route. i did go in the store looking for castrol, but just couldnt do the price right now with the holidays around the corner.

i want to say thanks to everybody for their input and help on the issue. i love you guys here already.

 

[bodeh6]

German Castrol Syntec 0w30 FTW

 

[Mr_Incredible]

I've used a number of different oils in my '99 Z28 throught the years: 5w-40 Mobil 1 Truck and SUV, German Castrol 0w-30, Mobil 1 10w30, Mobil 1 5w30, Pennzoil Platinum 5w30, Castrol Synthetic 5w30, and Havoline 5w30.

They all gave good numbers in oil analysis'. I stick with Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 now, though. It's good oil. The price is reasonable at Wal-Mart. I use Purolator filters.

Works for me.

 

[daman]

Good choice on oil just make sure to run it out more then 3k,what are you using for oil filter?

 

[Outlawiroc88]

fram.


j/k pureone

 

[dailydriver]

For 'off the shelf' China Mart oils, you CANNOT go wrong with Pennzoil Platinum, or Ultra.

(And yes I know that most on here will claim they are just as good as, if not BETTER than the pricey 'boutique' stuff I use, but that is MY choice.)

The old standby Mobil 1 0W-40/Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy 0w20 mix is also a great choice, as is the bargain Quaker State Ultimate Durability.

LS1s do well on almost any good to great oil, just do not nget on it until the oil is up to operational temps.

 

[Outlawiroc88]

roger. coming from a 4 cyl turbo car, i'm very cautious about fluid temps and such. i'm sure this wont me my last oil change, so maybe i can experiment a couple more times with oils and weights.

 

[jigen]

I had the same car, 02 with a manual transmission. I used a lot of oils and ended up liking how the engine sounded and how my oil analysis looked with Pennzoil Platinum 5w30.

 

[Outlawiroc88]

sweet. maybe i wont have to try any other oils then.