I just purchased a 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix with a supercharged 3800 engine. The Carfax is clean and shows that the PO had regular oil changes performed at a dealer in IA for the most part, with the last few performed at an EZ Lube in SoCal, at about 3,000 mile intervals. There are some 12,000 mile gaps between some of the Carfax service entries, but I'm guessing the owner took it to quick lube places and/or the services were not reported to Carfax by the facilities. The last oil change was performed in November 2011 with 129,000 miles on the odo. It currently has a bit over 131,000 miles on it and the OLM shows just under 50% oil life remaining, but I plan on changing it as it has been more than one year since the last change.
The car will be driven about 70/30 highway/city and will probably get four to six 30+ mile runs each week (I'm still figuring out the local travel extent following a promotion) for a total of 1,000-1,500 miles per month. I generally drive pretty sedately, but with the supercharger, I may mash the pedal from time to time. The area where I live is sometimes dusty; not Midwest dust bowl but there is always a layer of dust on my cars' exteriors, even only hours after washing.
The manual calls for a 5W-30 that is API certified (SM at the time, I believe) and meets GM6094M (since superseded by dexos1, IIRC). My initial thought was that heat generated by the added fuel and air resulting from the boost from the SC would require a syn, but there is nothing about that in the manual. I did some searching on these boards and saw good UOA results from PP by another user with a NA 3800, but wasn't planning on going full syn. If you all think full syn with an extended OCI is a good idea, then I may try it out. Maybe go through 1 1/2 or 2 OLM change reminders between drains?
I have a mini-stash of 5W-30 Valvoline MaxLife NextGen, which I figure I'll run for the first OCI to help clean up any buildup that may be in the crankcase. Don't need the added seal conditioners at this time as the only oil leak is a slight one from the oil pan gasket and that is an RTV gasket so the conditioners won't do any good anyway. I like the idea of NextGen, so wouldn't mind sticking with the conventional, semi-syn HM, or new full syn. Also planning on running a Bosch Premium filter as they are abundant and relatively cheap.
After this next fill, any recommendations on oils and filters?
The car will be driven about 70/30 highway/city and will probably get four to six 30+ mile runs each week (I'm still figuring out the local travel extent following a promotion) for a total of 1,000-1,500 miles per month. I generally drive pretty sedately, but with the supercharger, I may mash the pedal from time to time. The area where I live is sometimes dusty; not Midwest dust bowl but there is always a layer of dust on my cars' exteriors, even only hours after washing.
The manual calls for a 5W-30 that is API certified (SM at the time, I believe) and meets GM6094M (since superseded by dexos1, IIRC). My initial thought was that heat generated by the added fuel and air resulting from the boost from the SC would require a syn, but there is nothing about that in the manual. I did some searching on these boards and saw good UOA results from PP by another user with a NA 3800, but wasn't planning on going full syn. If you all think full syn with an extended OCI is a good idea, then I may try it out. Maybe go through 1 1/2 or 2 OLM change reminders between drains?
I have a mini-stash of 5W-30 Valvoline MaxLife NextGen, which I figure I'll run for the first OCI to help clean up any buildup that may be in the crankcase. Don't need the added seal conditioners at this time as the only oil leak is a slight one from the oil pan gasket and that is an RTV gasket so the conditioners won't do any good anyway. I like the idea of NextGen, so wouldn't mind sticking with the conventional, semi-syn HM, or new full syn. Also planning on running a Bosch Premium filter as they are abundant and relatively cheap.
After this next fill, any recommendations on oils and filters?
