Thoughts on oil for an 06 cobalt

[DennisM]

I came across this site a few days ago when looking for info on Castrol Edge and how it compars to other oils out there. There seems to be a few people here that really know their stuff so I thought I'd ask for thoughts on what oil to use.

1. What kind of vehicle you have
-06 cobalt 2.2
2. What your owner's manual says -- not just viscosity, but certifications (look for acronyms like API SM, ILSAC GF-4, etc.) and change intervals as well
-5w-30 GM standard GM6094M
3. Where you live
-Colorado
4. How you drive (easy? hard? fast? slow?)
-Mostly easy driving, occasionally I'll beat on it a little.
5. What your daily drive is like (short trips? long trips? city? highway?)
-About 50 miles a day, mix of highway and city driving.
6. Whether your car has any known problems
- Happy to say it's doing great.

I have been using Mobil 1 since the car was new, it has 60,000 miles now. I have been pretty good at changing the oil every 3-5,000 miles, which may be more often that it needs, but it's cheap insurance. I'd like to be able to get more miles out of every oil change and maybe gain a little fuel economy at the same time.

I have seen that people here are saying 10,000 miles is a good goal for some oils. Are you changing the oil filter during that period or is that even necessary?

 

[gfh77665]

You are doing just fine. Go 5000 to 7500 on the Mobil 1 and new filter, it will be perfect.

 

[JHZR2]

+1 or PP.

 

[Bill in Utah]

Your engine is VERY easy on oil and so is your use.

Any 5w-30 API SM rated oil using the OLM for your OCI. There will be no difference in MPG from the most expensive oil to the normal oils. Your right foot and brain make much more difference.

Using Mobil 1 for anything less than a full run of the OLM is a waste. Really doing short oil changes with anything is a waste.

Your "cheap" insurance adds up. Paying $20-30 every 3000 miles vs the same amount every 7-9k is a BIG DIFFERENCE.

($23 for a 5 qt jug of Mobil 1. $5 for a filter = $560 for just oil in 60k miles.

If you did 6000 mile OCIs with the same oil = $280

IF you did the same 6000 mile OCI with $12.50 Pennzoil (for example) and same $5 filter = $175

In the end, the engine will be as well protected and last just as long.

$560 - $175 = $385 in just 60k miles. $385 is 128 gallon of $3 gas which @ 30 mpg (your Cobalt should be doing better) is 3850 MILES of driving.

Again all in only 60k miles (for me 60 k miles is not much driving)

That is how much "cheap insurance" is...

Just something to point out)

Your engine was designed to run on any oil. GM tests their engines for many millions of miles before they figure something out.

All filters will go the distance of your OLM. You'll find here quite a few non-factual bashers of certain brands/types of items as they have their mind set.

to the board. Spend some time reading and hopefully you'll get some info through the posts.

Take care, bill

PS: OLM = Oil life monitor
OCI =oil change interval (just in case)

 

[DennisM]

Thanks Bill, I guess my rationelle was a little off, but I've heard the 3,000 mile rule for years and years and just stuck with it.

Do I understand you correctly that (in my case) cheap decomposed dinosour oil is as good as a high quality synthetic? This does go against what I have been lead to believe over the years but it could very well be the case.

If that is the case, I assume I should just find the cheapest GM approved oil and change it based on my OLM?

 

[Bill in Utah]

Originally Posted By: DennisM
Thanks Bill, I guess my rationale was a little off, but I've heard the 3,000 mile rule for years and years and just stuck with it.

Do I understand you correctly that (in my case) cheap decomposed dinosour oil is as good as a high quality synthetic? This does go against what I have been lead to believe over the years but it could very well be the case.

If that is the case, I assume I should just find the cheapest GM approved oil and change it based on my OLM?


That is what I'd do and not worry a bit. (and most other owners and they go hundreds of thousands of miles with no oil related problems)

3000miles / 3 months is SUPER SAFE. But not needed (esp in your operation and vehicle)

Many here are doing the same as you (using syn and changing way too early) and they have been here way to long not to figure it out.

Don't worry about it. We are all here to learn the FACTS. Some are learning and well.. the others are

Today's conventional oils are better than yesterdays syn IMO. The bridge between syn and conventional is very close and for normal vehicles (most) you will not tell the difference when it is all said and done.

A lab here in Utah used Toyota Corollas/Vibes for their runners. They took those cars well past 250k (and quite a few to over 300k) and they all were still running (the drivers seats were trashed) fine. Passing dyno smog here with flying colors.

They retired their fleet and bought HHRs. They have well over 100k on each and every one following the OLM. And with that, the OLM may be going off for a few thousand miles before they "get to it" and get the oil changed.

I'm waiting to see how far they take those. Today's vehicles go a long way with little problems.

I wished my Toyota and Subaru had a OLM. I'd follow it with normal oils with out question. Because I don't I've had to spend a few (okay a LOT) of $$ on UOAs to get the best value on my oil.7-8k with my use seems to be fine.

I guess I'll find out when I have 1/2 million miles on the Corolla...

Take care, bill

 

[Finklejag]

Welcome!

Just stick with Mobil 1, and change it when the OLM goes off. If you want to try a different oil to gain a few MPG maybe. Then try Castol Edge 5W-30. It has a lower viscosity 9.7 @ 100c vs 11.3 @ 100c with Mobil 1 5W-30.

 

[98dakarM3]

My family recently sold our 2007 Chevy Cobalt.

The ecotecs are easy on oil. That being said, I chose to run a respectable synthetic and follow the OLM. The car seemed to love Pennzoil Platinum 5W-30 and I could rest easy knowing it would provide proper protection.

GM put a lot of work into developing the OLM and I recommend following it to avoid wasting your time, money, and oil.

Regardless, the engine/tranny combo in that car will far outlive the other [censored] components GM used in building that car so I wouldn't spend to much time sweating the details.

 

[tig1]

I have doing 10K OCIs with M1 for 32 years and no filter change in between.

 

[5sfe91]

most house brand oils are gm approved like pepboys proline or napa oil

 

[chet2]

i have had 2 ecotecs with a combined 102k on them and they ran great on any oil...i go 6500k usually with syn OCs half the time and other OCs any regular oil but really any brand will go at least 8k and 10k in warm weather, i just dont like going that far cuz i like buying and changing my oil