Sort of Joe Gibbs LS30, '02 Camaro LS1, 7300 miles

[A_Harman]

This fill of Joe Gibbs LS30 turned into an unintentional Frankenblend when I ran short of top-up oils at two different track days. Apparently, the oil consumption during a track day has increased from 0.5 quarts to 1.5 quarts. Consequently, I wasn't carrying enough LS30 to keep it topped up and ended up putting 1 quart of RT6 and 1/2-quart of VR1 dino 10w30 in it, in addition to 2 quarts of LS30. So with 3.5 quarts of makeup oil added during the OCI, I would expect the oil to still look pretty good.

From Polaris Labs.
7300 miles on oil, 200500 miles on vehicle
Wear Metals
(Element: 193k UOA on RL 5w30, 200k UOA on LS30)
Fe: 103, 33
Al: 16, 10
Cu: 34, 29
Pb: 24, 3
Sn: 5, 2

Contaminant Metals
Si: 21, 15
Na: 20, 40

Multi-source Metals
Mo: 535, 160
Sb: 0, 0
B: 27, 8

Additive Metals
Mg: 105, 252
Ca: 2464, 2624
P: 1076, 1001
Zn: 1403, 1277

Fuel dilution: Soot: Water:
KV100: 10.9 virgin LS30, 12.9 @ 7300 miles
TBN: 10.1 virgin LS30, 3.20 @ 7300 miles
Oxidation: 10 virgin LS30, 23 @ 7300 miles
Nitration: 5 virgin LS30, 14 @ 7300 miles

Polaris Comments:
Oxidation is moderately high. (Yellow caution flagged for being abnormal.)

It's interesting that LS30 is oxidizing in the Camaro. I ran 3 track days on this oil. The oxidation number would probably be even higher if I hadn't added 3.5 quarts of makeup oil. Last year I ran a blend of M1 0w40 and HM 5w30, and got severe oxidation, which Polaris red-flagged. But I didn't add as much makeup oil when I ran the M1 blend, so I can't say that LS30 is more oxidation-resistant than M1. I think what the oxidation readings really mean is that I need to add an oil cooler if I'm going to continue tracking the car. But at 200k miles, is it really worth it?

The really good news is the high Iron and Lead readings of 103 and 24 have dropped to 33 and 3. I think the spikes were caused by the car sitting outside for 3 months during the last OCI waiting for my mechanic to rebuild the transmission. Reference this discussion for more information: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3074694/1

Viscosity has increased from 10.9 to 12.9, no doubt influenced in part by adding 1 quart of RT6 5w40.

TBN held up well, ending at 32% of virgin. Polaris' practice is to trigger an oil change at 35% of virgin, but I think the OCI could have been longer, considering all the makeup oil that was added. I changed the oil because I wanted to get the Frankenblend out of it, to check on the wear metals, and to put in a lighter 5w30 for winter use. I now have PU in it.

 

[gpshumway]

Until I read that you added a quart of RT6 I was scratching my head at the KV100, thinking it was all oxidative thickening.

At first glance it doesn't look like LS30 is that impressive. What are your thoughts relative to Redline? It seems to me that without an oil cooler Redline might be the better choice for track use. IIRC you expected the TBN to hold up better than Redline and that's why you switched, but given all the makeup oil it doesn't seem like LS30's TBN retention is any better than Redline either.

Thanks for sharing.

I was considering using LS30 in my WRX, but decided to give M1 ESP 5w30 a try, we'll see how that goes.

 

[A_Harman]

I'm thinking that part of the viscosity increase is due to oxidative thickening, and part to the RT6.

I've been on a search for an oil for the Camaro with an HTHS of ~3.5, that can stand up to the heat of track days and maintain viscosity, and give extended oil change intervals. I have tried Redline 5w30, a blend of M1 0w40 & HM 5w30, and now LS30. None of them have been stable in viscosity; they have all thickened. M1 and LS30 have oxidized, and even though the Oxidation reading for Redline was stable, it thickened about 15% over the 8000 mile OCI. I was hoping that the LS30 would give better TBN retention, but this "test" was botched by my addition of other oil types. I was also disappointed by the oil consumption on LS30 during normal street use. It was much higher than Redline.

But at 200k miles, is the engine starting to use oil anyway? Only time will tell. I'm still in uncharted territory because I've never run PU in it either. If the oil consumption goes back to a reasonable level over the winter in daily driver use, I'll consider the engine as being in good condition, and maybe put an oil cooler on it. Then perhaps I could run commonly available synthetics and get the performance I'm looking for.

 

[addyguy]

2 oils to consider are GC 0w-30 and Amsoil HDD 5w-30.

 

[Ramblejam]

Originally Posted By: A_Harman
I've been on a search for an oil for the Camaro with an HTHS of ~3.5, that can stand up to the heat of track days and maintain viscosity, and give extended oil change intervals.


Originally Posted By: addyguy
Amsoil HDD 5w-30


That's exactly what I was thinking for this application.

https://www.amsoil.com/lit/databulletins/g1301.pdf

 

[gpshumway]

Originally Posted By: A_Harman
I've been on a search for an oil for the Camaro with an HTHS of ~3.5, that can stand up to the heat of track days and maintain viscosity, and give extended oil change intervals.


That may be an impossible dream. It's possible that nobody makes such an oil because most track-day people change frequently any way. It's also possible that making such an oil is a very difficult technical challenge.

Quote:
But at 200k miles, is the engine starting to use oil anyway? Only time will tell. I'm still in uncharted territory because I've never run PU in it either. If the oil consumption goes back to a reasonable level over the winter in daily driver use, I'll consider the engine as being in good condition, and maybe put an oil cooler on it. Then perhaps I could run commonly available synthetics and get the performance I'm looking for.


You've certainly gotten your money's worth out of the engine with 200k on it including lots of track days. I agree, oil cooler and more common oil may be the way to go. Pennzoil Ultra looks pretty close to the boutique oils at least on paper, and a lot less expensive. The 5w30 is better for winter, but I'll bet the 10w30 would hold up pretty well to track-days. Maybe switch between them seasonally?

 

[A_Harman]

Originally Posted By: addyguy
2 oils to consider are GC 0w-30 and Amsoil HDD 5w-30.


You're a mind reader. I have one OCI's worth of GC that I'm planning on running, and AMSOil HDD is on my list to try also. I had the PU in my stash along with PUE 5w40 with the intention of doing a PU blend to get to 3.5 HTHS on Pennzoil synthetic.

 

[A_Harman]

Originally Posted By: gpshumway

Pennzoil Ultra looks pretty close to the boutique oils at least on paper, and a lot less expensive. The 5w30 is better for winter, but I'll bet the 10w30 would hold up pretty well to track-days. Maybe switch between them seasonally?


Yes, I'm liking the PU so far. I became seriously interested in PU after looking at the big comparison of 30-weights that AMSOil did earlier this year. Of course the AMSOil entry came in first, but it was PU that came in second. I just can't understand SOPUS' marketing practices that makes this oil so hard to find.

 

[gpshumway]

I suspect retailers share some culpability for the unavailability of PU as well. I walked out of Pep Boys empty handed the other day because the PU 5w20 they had was still GF-4! Autozone around here has stopped carrying it as well, online is basically the only place left I can get it.

 

[A_Harman]

Late-breaking news: My local AutoZone now carries PU in all the flavors. 5w20, 5w30, 10w30, 5w40 Euro, and 0w40 SRT. $9.59/qt everyday price. I bought a quart of 5w30 for top-up. Hope they have a sale soon.

 

[DragRace]

Originally Posted By: A_Harman
Late-breaking news: My local AutoZone now carries PU in all the flavors. 5w20, 5w30, 10w30, 5w40 Euro, and 0w40 SRT. $9.59/qt everyday price. I bought a quart of 5w30 for top-up. Hope they have a sale soon.


I would not pay that much for PU,I'd order Amsoil @ PC cost and save $$.

Just me!