Oil Recommendations

[ouimetteracing]

I spoke with an engineer from Wix Filters the other day and he claimed that all of the testing results for Mobil 1 and Amsoil Motor Oil were false and that they are no where near as good of an oil as most people believe. Anyways I didnt know what to believe so I figured Id come here and ask people who have experience with oil testing.

Anyways I am currently running Mobil 1 5w30 extended performance in my 2000 Chevrolet Silverado with the 5.3 liter v8. It has 210000 miles on it and has had mobil 1 in it since the day it was purchased. Oil has been changed between 3000 miles and 7500 miles at every oil change. It doesnt really leak any oil, but it does have some lifter tick on startup. what do you recommend for oil for me? Is it ok for me to stick with the mobil 1 or should I switch to something different? The Wix filter engineer recommended I switch but I wanted other opinions.

Also I have a 1989 Corvette with a freshly rebuilt carburated sbc 383 making 425 hp. It has about 4000 miles on the motor and I have been runnin Amsoil 10w30 Signature series in it. I drive this car on the street and I also take to the drag strip a few weeks a year, I autocross it probally 5 times a year, and I also plan on running a few HPDE's this year. At these it will see Rpms around 6300 quite frequently. I would like to change the oil between 3000 and 6000 miles depending on the amount of hard driving it sees in that time period. Should I stick with Synthetic or switch to conventional oil and change the oil at 3000 miles all the time? That is what the engineer from wix filters recommended.

 

[OldCowboy]

Just goes to show you that oil filter guys don't know anything about motor oil.

Mobil 1 and Amsoil are both well respected motor oils. You have nothing to worry about using either of them.

If you hang around this site much, you'll find out there is no "best" motor oil.

 

[Oregoonian]

I think your good with Mobil 1 5w30EP....Its a top-tier oil.

If your thinking of a change...you might try.... Pennzoil Plat or Ultra 5w30. Both are highly recommended by many of the BITOG posters. Maybe a change might eliminate that lifter tick at start-up.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Yeah,I`d stick with the M1 too. I`ve experimented with a few different oils,and M1 seems to work the best for me.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Originally Posted By: OldCowboy
Just goes to show you that oil filter guys don't know anything about motor oil.

+1 Both of the oils that are mentioned are high quality and well respected on the site. Without the specific data to which the WIX guy is referring, it could be argued many different ways, but based upon the literally thousands of posts here, I would say he is a bit of an expert (in the words of Jim Allen) in bovine scatology.

Use those oils with no worries; as suggested by others, perhaps a change of brand may help with the ticking.

PS...

 

[tpattgeek]

+1 I've used it with great results. Also, I'm sure several other brands will do serve you well with that OCI.

 

[Dakota1820]

I would say this. Are they as good as people think no. People are willing to pay more for certain stuff because of the name. Is it good stuff you bet. Is of Better than anything else....well maybe buy probably not enough to matter . There was a guy named Frank orsenik his Chevy truck made it to 1million miles. No rebuilds no gaskets replaced nothing. He ran regular Pennzoil conventional. That tells me its pretty darn good oil. Can you ask for better? I would say any oil you choose stick to a reasonable oil change routine as well as other maintenance and you should be golden. Mobil 1 and amsoil are both good . But I bet if you ran some Valvoline conventional you wouldn't know the difference. The test is tear apart an engine with some miles on it and checkbthe engine. My buddies truck at 186,000 miles looks brand new no build up or varnish it's only had Valvoline conventional every 5000 . So yes the oils you mentioned are good . Are they worth the money me personally I don't think so. I think conventional every 5000 will make any motor last a long time.

 

[NHGUY]

So what did the WIX guy recommend instead? WIX/Affinia brand sythetic oil? Oh yea,they dont make oil at all do they...

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Run a race oil in the SBC not any PCMO. Not nearly adequate. Amsoil also makes some good race oils for engines with high power density and high cam loading, as does Lucas, Mobil, Brad Penn, etc.

 

[A_Harman]

PCMO's are fine for track days in a high-performance SBC.
My 1985 Corvette has run for 10 years of track days on street oils. First on Castrol GTX, then on M1. For 8 of those years it had flat-tappet cams, and for the last 2 it has had an hydraulic roller.

Since your car is carbureted, maybe you should stick to 3000-4000 mile oil change intervals.

Just make sure you have stable oil pressure in the turns and keep the oil temperature under control. (~240F max in the supply gallery.) Although if you're going to run a conventional oil that hot, maybe change it sooner.

Is it an hydraulic roller cam?
How much duration?
How much compression ratio?

 

[ouimetteracing]

Thanks for all of the fast responses. The guy from wix filters never did really give a recommendation on oil other than saying that Mobil 1 and am soil were junk. As far as my SBC is concerned its just a baby 383 with a slight cam hydraulic rollers and 9 to 1 compression. I'm not exactly sure on the duration at this time but I can look it up when I get back home. Btw I did go ahead and put a canton racing road race oil pan on it for those track days.
My next question is how do y'all feel about german castrol? I had a bunch of people recommend it in my truck. Also how about Valvoline Vr1 for my Corvette?

 

[SteveSRT8]

My favorite engine in my stable is a SBC roller that makes 550 at the crank. It has a LOT of expensive parts in it and revs to 7500.

I run Amsoil Dominator in it. EXCELLENT oil and verified by analysis.

You can bad mouth Amsoil about marketing or ads but their oils are top notch.

 

[mechtech2]

"all testing is false" [by M1 and Amsoil].

Enough to end the discussion with that filter guy.

 

[lexus114]

I dont know where filter guy`s brain is?

 

[nleksan]

I use "street" synthetic oil in my track car, always have, and with ~10.5:1CR and over 16psi sustained boost, I have had zero problems. And with over 160whp/L, that is pretty good I think.
I personally use Royal Purple (SL) and Redline fluids exclusively and have found them to be exceptional. I also think MobilOne is overrated but people will say the same about the oils I use so go with what works for you. Also, perhaps irrationally, refuse to purchase Amsoil because I think their claims are ridiculous (local seller told me I could "run it for 25k easy in your boosted car, check out the website and see where people have gone 4x that long!"), and while RP may not be the poster child of ethics in advertising, I have also never had one of their employees recommend anything longer than a 7.5k OCI without a UOA to ensure it is holding up.
I look at it like this, and if you have money in your motor I would suggest you try as well... With over $35k under the hood alone, I am not going to fuss over spending $9-$11/qt instead of $6-$7/qt for oil. That extra $10 per oil change is cheap insurance, and based on teardowns, effective insurance. Perhaps the others could perform as well, but I am not willing to take that gamble.
Figure out what works for you and then enjoy it. Most importantly, with a car that is performance oriented, change your oil and filter more frequently than you normally would, and you will keep everything clean and happy. Oil doesn't kill motors, it's a lack of oil or other necessary preventative maintenance that does them in.