What oil should I use?

[KWG88ss]

Hi there, first time poster long time reader. I hated my last car so I didn't care but that has changed. Picked up a 2012 Charger SXT.


1. What kind of vehicle you have - Charger SXT 3.6L Pentastar

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 API certified oil meeting the requirements of Chrysler Standard MS-6395. Manual claims every 8,000 miles. I will have to double check this as I'm looking at the Mobile Dodge App on my phone and not the printed manual which is in the car.

3. Where you live - Central NJ

4. How you drive (easy? hard? fast? slow?) I baby the car for the most part. I have my little spurts of fun from time to time but on the highway it's cruise control @65 in the right lane.

5. What your daily drive is like (short trips? long trips? city? highway?) I commute into work about 3 days a week.
8 miles each way, short trips, highway with stoplights. Sometimes I hit red, sometimes I don't.

6. Whether your car has any known problems- Being awesome.

I was thinking about a WIX filter and PU but obviously wanted opinions! Thanks in advance.

 

[tomcat27]

congrats! sweet car! you will get recommendations all over the board - your combo of Wix and PU is great. PP also great.
Amsoil, PP, and M1 (not necessarily in that order) are what I have been using.

 

[boosted]

Wix filter and PU will be fine, I would only run that combo for 5-6k Max, 8k is pushing it.

 

[fdcg27]

Originally Posted By: boosted
Wix filter and PU will be fine, I would only run that combo for 5-6k Max, 8k is pushing it.


You and I must be looking at a different set of UOAs, then.
PU 5W-30 holds up in service at least as well as M1 5W-30 and so does PP 5W-30.
The Wix is a quality filter.
5-6K would be a very conservative OCI for the OP's suggested combo.
8K should be easy, with more miles possible if the OP wants to invest in a UOA or two after break-in.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Originally Posted By: boosted
Wix filter and PU will be fine, I would only run that combo for 5-6k Max, 8k is pushing it.

You and I must be looking at a different set of UOAs, then.
PU 5W-30 holds up in service at least as well as M1 5W-30 and so does PP 5W-30.
The Wix is a quality filter.
5-6K would be a very conservative OCI for the OP's suggested combo.
8K should be easy, with more miles possible if the OP wants to invest in a UOA or two after break-in.

+1 PU WILL hold up to more than 8K unless there is something going on with the engine. My UOAs of 5W-20 PU at 7.5K show the TBN to be no less than 4.8; it could easily do 8K and probably more than 10K. If you want/need to use a synthetic, then PU would be a fine choice.

 

[KWG88ss]

I would prefer to use a synthetic to be honest. I want something of a high quality and I read somewhere(don't know if this is true) that Ferrari or something only recommends PU for their cars? This could be marketing [censored] etc etc but I keep hearing two schools of thought.

1. PU is the best out there currently(No idea if this is true I'm not an oil god).
2. PU is no better than PP and BOTH are far inferior to M1. Personally I had an engine seize on M1 but granted it was a turbo, things were wrong etc so I won't ever say M1 caused it. Just something I keep in the back of my mind.

 

[fdcg27]

Neither PP nor PU are in any way inferior to M1 in the same grades.
PU may be the best off the shelf oil you can buy, and there are many really good UOAs here with PP.
I have personally posted really clean UOAs of two of our oldest cars running PP.
The common grades of M1, like the 5W-30 or the 0W-30 are nothing special as compared to other synthetic oils.
I should probably don my flameproof underwear having posted that, but it's true.
If you prefer synthetic oil, then why not use it?
If you want to do 5K drains, Valvoline Synpower offers the cleanest UOAs you'll see, but is not suited to long drains.
If you want to go 8K on your OCIs, PP, PU, QSUD or M1 5W-30s will deliver.
I prefer the SOPUS oils to M1, but M1 is certainly a good oil.
I've used plenty of it over the years and have no complaints or regrets.

 

[VicMatson]

What does PU oil stand for, thanks?

 

[fdcg27]

Originally Posted By: VicMatson
What does PU oil stand for, thanks?


Pennzoil Ultra

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: KWG88ss
I want something of a high quality and I read somewhere(don't know if this is true) that Ferrari or something only recommends PU for their cars? This could be marketing [censored] etc etc but I keep hearing two schools of thought.


One has to remember that the European vehicles in general have different oil specifications than the average North American or Japanese car does. Ferrari's specification may be met my a variety of PU, but I bet it's not the "normal" SN/GF-5 5w-30 PU that is on the Walmart shelf. So, it's a bit of marketing, and a bit of what meets a certain specification.

 

[KWG88ss]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Neither PP nor PU are in any way inferior to M1 in the same grades.
PU may be the best off the shelf oil you can buy, and there are many really good UOAs here with PP.
I have personally posted really clean UOAs of two of our oldest cars running PP.
The common grades of M1, like the 5W-30 or the 0W-30 are nothing special as compared to other synthetic oils.
I should probably don my flameproof underwear having posted that, but it's true.
If you prefer synthetic oil, then why not use it?
If you want to do 5K drains, Valvoline Synpower offers the cleanest UOAs you'll see, but is not suited to long drains.
If you want to go 8K on your OCIs, PP, PU, QSUD or M1 5W-30s will deliver.
I prefer the SOPUS oils to M1, but M1 is certainly a good oil.
I've used plenty of it over the years and have no complaints or regrets.


Nice this is what I was looking for. I'm excited for my first oil change.. Hmm that sounds kind of weird LOL

first change is coming up soon so I will touch base in a few weeks and let everyone know what I think. I also have to wait for the Wix filters to come in from Rockauto. No way in [censored] I was putting in a Fram(no offense to anyone that uses them) but I've heard to many horror stories and seen them dissected to think anything positive about them.