What oil for new G.M 3.5L 5 banger?

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The owners manual says to use 5W-30.There is a lot of valve train to worry about in this engine.Puts out 220 HP from a 3.5L 5 cylinder engine.My brother just got it in a new GMC Canyon.So far he likes it very much.
 
quote:

Originally posted by sbc350gearhead:
I would do a search in the UOA section for the 4.2 I-6. The 4.2 and the 3.5 are essentially the same engine except for the additional cylinder.

Thanks
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Since it's "brandee" new and still under warranty why doen't you use a quality true synthetic 5W-30 or 0W-30 such as Mobil 1 or GC if you want "off the shelf" oils or if you're willing to order then you got a lot more true synthetics to choose from. Also don't forget Schaeffer's Blends. They show good UOA's and staying power at a price of less than Mobil 1, unless you score some on sale. But even then it's close, at least for me in NJ. Sounds like a neat truck, and I'm a Ford guy
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!

Whimsey
 
quote:

Originally posted by Greaser:
Puts out 220 HP from a 3.5L 5 cylinder engine.

That's not a terribly high state of tune. The 3.5 V6 in my Chrysler 300M puts out 253 HP. Chrysler specs 10w30, but I'm currently experimenting with Pennzoil 5w20. Expect a 3000 mile UOA on this sometime in June.
 
G-man is right. The 3.5 I-5 is a truck engine, and produces its power down low in the rpm range (where it is best in a truck engine)........for instance, its torque peak is 2800 rpm. It really doesn't produce that much power for its size.
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[ May 22, 2004, 02:46 PM: Message edited by: sbc350gearhead ]
 
Wife just got a new Impala with the 2.2L engine. I have GC and 10W30 Amsoil in stock. 10W30 should not hurt, as we are in Florida, where it is HOT.
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They specify 5W30 on the filler cap.
 
The I5 makes 225 ft-lb of torque at 2800 RPM, whereas the old 4.3 V6 made 245 ft-lb at the same RPM. The new engine makes more HP only because it revs much higher.

Although it's a neat concept, a lot of people are going to see the 3.5L I5 as a step down. GM has to find a way to shoehorn that I6 in there. Especially when the new Nissan Frontiers come out with an optional 4.0L VQ motor with a 6 speed.
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Sorry to drag this a little
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Let us know how the truck works out.

M
 
Since you live in the Great White North, I'd recommend a 0w-30 synthetic for year round use. I like to use 0w-30 in these OHC or DOHC engines to get plenty of oil flow to the cams during startup/warmup. Either the German sourced, Castrol 0w-30 or the Amsoil Series 2000, 0w-30 would be excellent. I'm really not a big fan of the Mobil 1, 0w-30, since it doesn't seem to hold up as well as their other grades. If you decide to run Mobil 1, I think their 5w-30 is a more stable formulation. The Redline 5w-30 would also work very well here, if you can find it at a decent price....

Tooslick
www.lubedealer.com/Dixie_Synthetics
 
Redline actually is coming down in price up here Ted. Now that Canadian Tire sells it, it is $12.99 per quart, and often is on sale for just over $10. It used to be almost impossible to find Redline in Ontario for under $17 per quart.

Although at $10, it's still higher priced than M1 5w30 ($7.12 per liter) or GC ($6.66 per liter)
 
Hopefully the 3.5 I-5 produces more low end torque than the 4.2 I-6, because that motor is totally gutless below 3,000 rpm. At the car rental company I work for we have many GMC Envoys with the 4.2, I will say that it is a very smooth motor, but it does not feel like it has the kind of power GM advertises. They also are thirsty for oil. The old 4.3 was a little noisy but it was a good truck motor, with a lot of torque at low rpm's. I think anyone who was used to that motor will be very dissapointed wiyh GM's new offerings.
 
I think the new I-4 and I-5 are cool. Only time will tell. I'm waiting for others to be the guinea pig for a couple of years while I try to nurse my old truck along. We'll see how this engines holds up and how they do.

He get's to be a guinea pig, but I bet they did some testing with M1 for sure. Maybe some GM insiders can chime in.

I'd have a wild guess that an M1 or Syntec 5W-30 would be fine and that something thicker might not be better.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Pick:
Wife just got a new Impala with the 2.2L engine. I have GC and 10W30 Amsoil in stock. 10W30 should not hurt, as we are in Florida, where it is HOT.
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They specify 5W30 on the filler cap.


Um, the Impala isn't availabel with a 2.2.

-T
 
Congrats to your bro' on the new truck. I will probably get the 4 banger Colorado when I trade in a couple years after any bugs are worked out. I would definitely go with 5w30 in this motor and the semi-related 2.2 Ecotoec in our Cavalier seems to like Havoline dino just fine. How cold is winter in Windsor? I can get away with using dino all year.
 
I ran a 2002 Vortec 4200 TrailBlazer for 38k miles on Sam's Club Shell dino 5W30 changing when the computer said to (typically 7000 miles) and needed no oil additions between changes. They have a 7 qt capacity including filter.
 
quote:

Originally posted by mikemc:
Congrats to your bro' on the new truck. I will probably get the 4 banger Colorado when I trade in a couple years after any bugs are worked out. I would definitely go with 5w30 in this motor and the semi-related 2.2 Ecotoec in our Cavalier seems to like Havoline dino just fine. How cold is winter in Windsor? I can get away with using dino all year.

It gets below zero for a couple of days around here but nothing really serious.In summer it gets hot but not really bad..I think he is going to go with Mobil 1 in 5W-30 due to the fact he has used that brand in the past and liked it's performance and Wal-Mart here sells 5 Litre jugs of the stuff at a great price..$28 Can...I use the Delvac 5W-40 in my Jeeps.The "off-Road " package was an extra $2000 and is all bling-bling
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