Oil for Cammed LS?

[GMguy84]

One of my mechanics has a super modified '09 Vette Z06 bored, stroked, cammed, super charged around $20K in ad on's on the engine alone

Gave him some of my stash of M1 5W30 Annual protection and hes reported great results no issues with performance


Dave

 

[ARCOgraphite]

The LS376 is not a big block. - No Kidding. Who said it was? Just thought it surprising GM recs 5W30 dexos on the BB ZZ crate motors.

.600 to .650 lift for a DD is going to be fine with a proper setup. - Not needed for strong torque and unlikely to last 10K miles.

Anyone who doesn’t measure pushrod length properly and just does 1/4 turn deserves noise. - Agreed geometry and wear pattern must be checked - basic stuff.

Hydraulic lifters are not even close to being needed to switch out for solid lifters at that lift. OP even has upgraded lifters so it won’t even sweat. - As you will be only seeing under .6" with lash take up, why run it if it does almost nothing.. Solid = better with big cam ALWAYS. Better with small duration with aggressive ramps. Lighter moving mass = lower VS seat and open pressure required. Free HP.
When you have good port flow and velocity you don't have to go back to the "1960's" engine build book.
Racer dreamed of heads like the stock Gen V.
Funny they came on a smogger.

On a DD I would run hydraulic but I wouldn't be running a 230+ cam. If you need that I would be looking for a TRW mehanical cam phaser and run wide a centerline with modest duration and let the phaser move the cam into retard automatically at high rpm. Then you get everything.

 

[OVERKILL]

On a DD I would run hydraulic but I wouldn't be running a 230+ cam. If you need that I would be looking for a TRW mehanical cam phaser and run wide a centerline with modest duration and let the phaser move the cam into retard automatically at high rpm. Then you get everything.

I think you might be a bit out of the loop on some of the modern stuff. High lift levels in both the LS family and the HEMI are pretty standard, here are the specs for the stock 6.4L HEMI cam:
215/221 @ .050"
.353"/.333" lobe lift
.582"/.550" valve lift
121 LSA
108 ICL

Stock LS7 cam:

Duration @ .050 in. (int./exh.)	210°/230°
Valve Lift	0.593 in./0.589 in
Lobe Separation	120°

 

[ARCOgraphite]

I think you might be a bit out of the loop on some of the modern stuff. High lift levels in both the LS family and the HEMI are pretty standard, here are the specs for the stock 6.4L HEMI cam:
215/221 @ .050"
.353"/.333" lobe lift
.582"/.550" valve lift
121 LSA
108 ICL

Stock LS7 cam:

Duration @ .050 in. (int./exh.)	210°/230°
Valve Lift	0.593 in./0.589 in
Lobe Separation	120°

Likely as they are not putting the new engine in a body RWD cars that I would drive. I bet the LS are pretty gutless at low rpm compared to a Gen I with pass car heads Those days are gone, the LLT 3.6 bent sixer is the new "V8" for standard large passenger vehicles. I've read that some LS are running 1.8 ratio rockers. I would consider that excessive, but I haven't researched the failure rates. The Poor Pushrods are getting a workout there !
Maybe I have to own a Silverado but I dont need one, and I cant see myself driving one after my last GM fiasco with my 2007 W/T.

I like a Short box std cab 4x4 with MT. I bought one of the last ones made in 2006. It was a VORTEC 4.3 LU3 W/T MT

They didn't even torque down the throttle body on the intake at the engine factory! I was looking over the PCV system and brake booster for vacuum leaks, I had the wife floor on the accelerator pedal (with the engine off) and the throttle body rotated about 5 degrees! It's a great engine with the DLI and if assembled properly. A Mercury Marine spec intake would help with reliability.

I thought GM powertrain learned their lesson on the 2.8 and 3.1 IM with low torque spec on big fasteners; They WILL loosen. Kids! - can't engineer nothing. No experience except their College.

Yes I am too old and getting too grumpy. AOL just sent me a message they would discontinue app support for my old Nokia Windows 8.1 Phone. I don't like android OS! And forget Apple, I'm a PC guy.

-Ken

 

[TheBig2003]

5W50 all the way. Many moons ago I had experience with a heavily modified LS4 and an LT1 than thrived on 20W50, even happier when eventually on 5W50. Quaker State and Motomaster, both SOPUS at the time, were the choice oils due to availability and cost due to frequency of tear down and fluid changes. No issues in my experience. Sold both cars running and without any internal failures.

 

[BrianSchulze]

Here is what GM performance recommend on their Hi-Po Crate LS376 / 525 horsepower crate engine:
__________________
Camshaft LS376/525:............................... Hydraulic roller tappet Lift:............................................................ 525” intake, .525” exhaust Duration: ................................................... 226° intake, 236° exhaust @.050” tappet lift Centerline: ................................................ 110° LSA Rocker Arm Ratio: .................................... 1 .7:1 Oil Capacity: ............................................. 5.5-quart (with filter) Oil Pressure (Minimum, with hot oil):........ 6 psig @ 1000 RPM .................................................................. 18 psig @ 2000 RPM .................................................................. 24 psig @ 4000 RPM Recommended Oil:................................... DEXOS1 Oil Filter: ...................................................AC Delco part # PF48 Fuel:..........................................................Premium unleaded-92 (R+M/2) Maximum Engine Speed: ......................... 6600 RPM Spark Plugs: ............................................. GM 12609877 ..................................................................AC Delco # 41-985 Spark Plug Gap: ...................................... 040” Firing Order: ............................................. 1-8-7-2-6-5-4-3 Information may vary with application. All specifications listed are based on the latest production information available at the time of printing.
TIA for your answers.

________________

I have a fair amount of Gen I SBC build experience ( along with other marques ). Most of this is experience transferable to all engines, though some have their quirks.

1) Your "tuners" cam choice has too much lift for daily street driving, IMO. Plus a 0.600"+ cam should use solid tappets.
2) This build does not warrant a hi volume oil pump. That is lost HP.
3) The builder (tuner?) likely set the tappet pre-load at 1/4 turn or less. You will get some racket on warm-up.

My rec would be to go to a REDLINE 30 grade or Mobil racing. Yo can always call REDLINE and chat.

Enjoy the car! - Ken

p.s: GM performance specs a "synthetic" 5W30 oil on their warrantied monster crate Gen VI big blocks.

I know this is an old thread but that is the ASA cam and it is very mild. Low lift and high duration=very mild cam lobes. It makes power and is easy on the engine, but sacrifices some low end tq.
Inversely, most modern HP cams are relatively low duration and high lift now. That has to be much more stressful on oil.
And many blow up bc people dont realize they need to check their valvesprings every 30k miles with those cams.
I believe this is what the Driven LS30 oil was engineered to deal with.