Oil Interval for 2016 Commodore SV6

[diallta]

Hello everyone. We have a 2016 Holden Commodore VFII SV6 wagon. I bought it last year with about 75,000km, now it has about 86,000km. It has the GM 3.6 and I know the earlier VE cars were prone to timing chain problems but I think they've all been sorted by 2016. I was wondering if anyone had any direct experience with the newer 3.6 engines and longer oil change intervals. We drive it a few times a week maybe ~10km trips each way, occasionally I drive it ~120km in a day, and two or three times a year we drive it across the country on a long run. I would like to change it once every two years, running maybe 20,000km in that time at most.

I don't want problems with the chain, but oil is very expensive here. I bought ~14L (15 quarts) of Mobil 1 EP 5W-30 from RockAuto in the USA, cost about $300 with shipping and import duty. I also bought some Mann 69/3X filters from Amazon.com, I think they were around $20 each with free shipping as part of a bigger order. That might seem expensive to the Americans but a 5L jug at Repco of Mobil 1 5W-30 is $150 normally, sometimes you can get it for as low as $100 on special, but for whatever reason the M1 sold here is GF-5, API SN/SM, vs. the newer formulations the Americans get. So for the same price it's a better value to ship it from overseas.

Hope to keep this one for a while. Thanks for your thoughts

 

[Johnny248]

That is some crazy expensive oil.

 

[SR5]

Hi Mate,
M1 is a good synthetic oil, but so is Valvoline Synpower, Castrol Edge and Shell Helix Ultra. All these three are cheaper than M1 in Oz. Then you have the locals like Nulon and Penrite.

For example Castrol Magnatec 5W30 DX, is a full synthetic that is Dexos1-Gen3, GF-6 and API SP rated. Nulon Apex+ Long Life is also a 5W30 full synthetic with Dexos1-Gen3, GF-6 and API SP.

Look around and stock up during the sales (Repco, SCA, autobarn) that happen regularly, you should pay about half of what you are paying for M1.

You have a GM-Holden, so Dexos1-Gen3 is what you are looking for. Any oil that carries this is good quality and suitable for your application.

 

[SR5]

OP,
I just had a quick look around, right now at Repco (until 13 Feb) if you become a member (free to join) you can get Nulon Apex+ Long Life 5W30 full synthetic (SP, GF6, D1G3) at $39 for 5L.

Limit of 3 jugs, but some people come back on another day, and they have sold them more.
The regular price is $79 for 5L. So $39 is a good deal.

 

[diallta]

I'm in NZ, so double the price of everything and half the availability you have over there.

Good tip about the Nulon, though, I've used Mobil 1 for a long time but I'm willing to try something else, especially if it meets the standards. Repco (NZ) shows it as a 'one day sale' today for $63.75 for 5L. I've got enough M1 now for one more change, so I won't need to buy oil for at least 18 months, even if I do decide on one year changes.

But...are there any feelings about the two year interval? I used to run my turbo Saab 2.0 on 20,000km intervals every 1-2 years with Mobil 1 and sold it with more than 300,000 never having touched the engine and not leaking a drop. Those Saab engines were very solid, though, and I'm a bit worried about the chain on this 3.6.

Just had a look at the Magnetec 5W-30 DX, 1L bottle is $25 on 'special'. I don't see 5L available at all. On Repco Aus, 5L jug is $79 AUD ($85 NZD).

 

[SR5]

Hi Mate,

Yeah I saw a Holden and I thought Oz, but I should have known that NZ was also part of the ANZAC team.

If you are concerned about timing chains, then I would change the oil every 10,000 km / 6,000 miles / 1 year. I believe your engine is direct injected and this can cause soot to build up in the oil, and soot can contribute to the chain wear. So it's good to get the soot out by changing the oil. That's how I see it at least.

You will be better off keeping your eye out for oils sales during the year, buy up when it's cheap, and change the oil when you need to. Don't bother buying 1L bottles, they are always overpriced. It's the 5L or 6L jugs that offer the best value for money.

Better Nulon every 10,000 km than M1 every 20,000km.
If you had to push the oil change interval (oci) out, then 15,000 km (9,300 miles) would be my personal limit. On any D1-G3 oil.

 

[JavierH19]

Use a euro rated oil that preferably has bmw ll01 and Porsche a40. Change by olm or earlier.

 

[diallta]

No OLM on the Holden.

 

[SR5]

No OLM on the Holden.

Yep, we're old school down here, no robot is going to tell us when to change our oil dagnabbit.

 

[diallta]

Yep, we're old school down here, no robot is going to tell us when to change our oil dagnabbit.

I wouldn't mind it. I heard that the SS cars had a 'hidden' one you could enable, but there is nothing for the SV6. I guess the dealer didn't like customers coming in less often. Didn't get them far as they're all closed, or selling Chinese cars...

 

[LongTime_Lurker]

A maintenance schedule for a Cadillac with a similar engine says to check the oil life at 7500 mile intervals.
https://www.gmc.com/ownercenter/content/dam/gmownercenter/gmna/dynamic/manuals/2016/Cadillac/CTS Sedan/2016 Cadillac CTS Sedan.pdf

7500 miles / 1 Year as base values for the OLM

what does a car computer use to compute oil life remaining?

What are all the parameters a car's computer uses to compute oil life remaining, specifically on a 2011 Buck Lacrosse. I thought it would consider, # of starts, time in idle, and in general crank revolutions. I would have thought taking all of this off of the base millage that I can see it would...

bobistheoilguy.com

 

[SR5]

A maintenance schedule for a Cadillac with a similar engine says to check the oil life at 7500 mile intervals.

7500 miles / 1 Year as base values for the OLM

Good to know, thanks. That 7500 miles (12,000 km) sounds about right to me.

 

[SR5]

I'm in NZ, so double the price of everything and half the availability you have over there.

Just had a look at the Magnetec 5W-30 DX, 1L bottle is $25 on 'special'. I don't see 5L available at all. On Repco Aus, 5L jug is $79 AUD ($85 NZD).

There is also Valvoline SynPower 5W30 full synthetic, it is API SP, ILSAC GF-6A and Dexos1-Gen3.

You can get it at Bunnings-NZ for $61 (NZD) for 5L. It's a good oil.


Ref. Below: NZ Bunnings web page and Valvoline SynPower product sheet

https://www.bunnings.co.nz/valvoline-5l-synpower-5w-30-full-synthetic-oil_p0066180

https://go.lupinsys.com/valvoline/harms/public/materials/99be10bf3c97254ac17e9ab130009ddf-published/attachments_api/639fa5e4da96e01935f027e70a8f2af9/search_api/SynPower_5W-30-PI_Sheet.pdf

 

[diallta]

A maintenance schedule for a Cadillac with a similar engine says to check the oil life at 7500 mile intervals.
https://www.gmc.com/ownercenter/content/dam/gmownercenter/gmna/dynamic/manuals/2016/Cadillac/CTS Sedan/2016 Cadillac CTS Sedan.pdf

7500 miles / 1 Year as base values for the OLM

what does a car computer use to compute oil life remaining?

What are all the parameters a car's computer uses to compute oil life remaining, specifically on a 2011 Buck Lacrosse. I thought it would consider, # of starts, time in idle, and in general crank revolutions. I would have thought taking all of this off of the base millage that I can see it would...

bobistheoilguy.com

Good links, thanks. I did a bit of reading about the issue with soot on the direct injection engines and that might have me convinced to change it at 10,000 km intervals. I'm not yet convinced on once a year, though. While I wrote our typical usage in my original post, there are periods where we might only use the car once a week or less. I don't feel like the oil is getting worse than it is just sitting there.

 

[SR5]

Good links, thanks. I did a bit of reading about the issue with soot on the direct injection engines and that might have me convinced to change it at 10,000 km intervals. I'm not yet convinced on once a year, though. While I wrote our typical usage in my original post, there are periods where we might only use the car once a week or less. I don't feel like the oil is getting worse than it is just sitting there.

I agree, it's the miles driven and fuel burnt that contaminates the oil. With some of my lesser driven vehicles, I would still change the oil at 10,000km but it may have taken me 18 months to get there.

 

[Hohocc]

Fellow Kiwi here...
Supercheap normally have 25 to 30 percent off storewide on Xmas day (I know that doesn't help right now!), so I tend to buy oil in 20l lots then. Last lot (of 15w40) was about $90nz for 20l delivered so sometimes there are wins to be had.
Waitangi day and Easter are very close and will have some sort of sales on. Also suggest trying tradezone, their magazine "caliper" often shows good pricing.
Just got to look around really and try to shop just a little in advance. Good luck!

 

[addyguy]

3.6’s are hard on oil and the timing chains, lots of problems there, well documented.
Want to avoid problems? Short oil change intervals - about 8k km are key.

 

[diallta]

Fellow Kiwi here...
Supercheap normally have 25 to 30 percent off storewide on Xmas day (I know that doesn't help right now!), so I tend to buy oil in 20l lots then. Last lot (of 15w40) was about $90nz for 20l delivered so sometimes there are wins to be had.
Waitangi day and Easter are very close and will have some sort of sales on. Also suggest trying tradezone, their magazine "caliper" often shows good pricing.
Just got to look around really and try to shop just a little in advance. Good luck!

Thanks, yeah I've seen the specials on at Supercheap and might try the Nulon mentioned above next time. I think if I was still running an older pre-VVT, non-turbo (not that the Holden is), non-DI car I'd be happy with the cheaper stuff but I had really good experiences with Mobil 1 in the past, so I always felt it was worth the premium. I'll keep an eye out next Christmas.

My old turbo Saabs recommended Mobil 1 and 2 year/20,000km servicing per the oil life monitor, which worked brilliantly. But based on what I read and what is recommended here that might be too far on the DI engine.