Shadyish "performance shop" - Suspectful of Wrong Oil in GDI Engine

Just interested, how did you end up here on Bitog for this problem?

Also what shop is this exactly?
 
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When in doubt, change it out. Learn a lesson from the experience, next time DIY, or bring the oil and filter you want used and watch as they do the work.
 
gasguy6565 said:
Hello everyone. I had an oil change done as well as an alignment at a so called "performance" shop. I told them several times I wanted full synthetic 5w-30. A comment was made by another person working there that makes me suspicious of what they actually put in my car. When I picked up my car and was talking to the manager about the oil type, the employee said to me "the tech said full synthetic can't be put in a car that is still in the break in period." Break in period was brought up because my car has a few more miles on the break in and I asked them to go easy on it on any test drives.
If the tech who did the oil change is thinking it can't take full synthetic, then I'm wondering what he actually put in there. I asked and the manager claimed "we only carry full synthetic. We don't have anything else."
I asked if I could see the empty bottles of oil and manager told me they come in large drums which he did not offer to show me. He said they had put in liqui moly spec tec, and the invoice says - "5w-30 spec tec".

I called black stone and asked if an analysis can differentiate between conventional and full synthetic and they told me no.

Looking through I can't find anything in the manual where it specifically calls for a full synthetic. The car is a 23 elantra n.
So my questions are
1) If indeed they put a conventional or a hybrid and not a full synthetic, will I be ok doing two track days in my car this weekend? My plan was to change the oil again immediately after the track days.
2) Does liqui molly make a conventional or hybrid oil?
Thanks for any help on this.
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You're fine. LM "Spec Tec" is their normal synthetic moniker. LM has a bunch of different types of syn with "Spec Tec 5w30" in the name.

LM does sell conventional for classic cars which I doubt any shop in the US carries.
 
gasguy6565 said:
A good shop will put in what the customer asks for.
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Agree to disagree but I will say that a good shop should address that before any work is performed.

A good shop doesn’t want stuck in the middle when Mercedes says the warranty won’t cover engine work since the customer has been using 5w30 SN rated bulk oil until the maintenance minder comes on instead of 0w40 euro spec. Or 5w30 SN in a Ram EcoDiesel or any of the other reasons I’ve heard people throw a fit about not being able to schedule a 19.95 oil change when I was at a Ford Dealership.

Everyone says they’re ok with the risks until they’re on the wrong side of it. Then a whole bunch of them want someone else to pay the bill. You may not be one of those people at all but unfortunately they’re the majority and have caused most shops to make sure they cover their tail at all times. Tire repairs are another great example.
 
I mean get not everyone will want this/has their own oil preferences but this is more than ok for the car here. The only non-syn oils LM makes are for classic/older cars and are 10W40 etc.
Capture.JPG
 
This seems to be making a mountain out of a molehill but it seems to me it shouldn’t be that hard to call the shop and ask for a picture of the label on the drum or something. Just play it off as the car feels great and you’d like to know exactly what it is for future reference.
 
Brice said:
I would venture to guess they put in the synthetic that they invoiced you for. Why would they go out of their way to not use their standard "bulk" oil? Just my opinion.
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The reason for the doubt is that the employee said the mechanic who actually did the oil change said the car can't be given full sythentic while its in the break in period.
 
gasguy6565 said:
The reason for the doubt is that the employee said the mechanic who actually did the oil change said the car can't be given full sythentic while its in the break in period.
Click to expand...
But I'll just have to go on good faith and change the oil again next week. I'll probably get the oil from that oil change analyzed just for peace of mind.
 
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