Which Amsoil in rebuilt LS1?

[Megabit]

Well I picked my car up tonight. I'm planning on running Amsoil in it. Should I run the Series 2000 0W30, Series 2000 20W50(I think this is to thick.), ASL 5W-30 or ATM 10W-30? I just had the motor rebuilt 10/1000 over (IIRC min over bore) forged pistons, forged rods, stage 1 heads, LS6 Cam. I drive the car on the street and open track it on RR courses. My track budget is gone till I pay off some of the rebuild expense. So which oil do you all think I should run? How soon should I get a UOA done? Thanks, Mike

 

[outrun]

Call me ol' fashioned, but if newly rebuilt LS1...id run something like Castrol GTX and drain it at 500miles. Get all those shavings and metal chunks out. I think Mobil 1 is ideal for factory new engines, shope rebuilt engines are another story. Idea, i would email Lingenfelter Performance Enginneering for there advice. They know LS1's the best in my opinion.

 

[Megabit]

The shop said it has a "break in oil" in it and to change it out in a couple of hundred miles. I ran Mobil1 in it before when it spun a rod bearing. I don't think the oil was the problem. Mark blames the stock rod bolts and the 5,000 - 6,000 miles on road race courses in the last year or so. I'm planning on running Amsoil this time around, I just don't know which one I should go with.

 

[Patman]

Do like the shop says, change the break in oil early, but stick with dino for one more short interval. I'd recommend Pennzoil 10w40 (it's a thinner 40wt that would work well in the LS1) Then I'd suggest going with the 5w30 Amsoil. The 0w30 is good but a tad thinner at 100c than their 5w30, so I think with the 5w30 being a very high 30wt, it protects the LS1 better. There was a very good 5w30 Amsoil report on here in a C5 too, which is another reason I say to go with this one. I would probably only run the first interval with Amsoil to about 4 or 5k though, but then on the next interval you could go much longer if you wanted (although the UOA will tell the true safe interval for your engine and driving conditions) [ July 18, 2003, 05:01 AM: Message edited by: Patman ]

 

[Pablo]

I also think another short (1000 mile max) with dino oil would be smart. You live in Oceanside. No need for a 5W, so generally I say ATM 10W-30. When the budget opens up, I really recommend the Series 2000 20W-50 racing oil, you need not worry about the 20W. Awesome oil, HT/HS over 5. My turbo shears oil like sharp scissor in paper (some dino oils go water thin in less than 2K!!) - the 20W-50 is hardly touched in 10K.

 

[Megabit]

Thanks for the imput guys. So run dino oil for another 1000 miles or so? I will be taking it in for dyno tunning after 500 miles or so, should I wait till I put in syn to have the dyno tunning done? Pablo, you don't think 20w50 is to thick for street use? If I was still going to the track 1 - 4 days a month I would feel better going to the 20W50. So I should plan on getting a few gallons of ATM.

 

[Patman]

I would definitely wait before getting the dyno tuning done, not necessarily because the synthetic issue, but simply so that you've got more break in mileage on that LS1. I know when I had my 98 Formula, it took a long time for that engine to be fully broken in, it was still increasing in power right up to the 10,000 mile mark!

 

[Pablo]

Series 2000 20W-50 is fine for warm summer street use in a built V8. ATM will be great as well as an everyday work horse.

 

[TexasTDI]

quote:

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Originally posted by Megabit: Should I run the Series 2000 0W30, Series 2000 20W50(I think this is to thick.), ASL 5W-30 or ATM 10W-30?

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Why not meet in the middle and use 10w-40? Amsoil 10w-40

 

[Patman]

quote:

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Originally posted by TexasTDI:

quote:

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Originally posted by Megabit: Should I run the Series 2000 0W30, Series 2000 20W50(I think this is to thick.), ASL 5W-30 or ATM 10W-30?

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Why not meet in the middle and use 10w-40? Amsoil 10w-40

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That's not a bad idea actually, it would probably do very well in the LS1 in the hot summer, especially for those extremely hard driven cars.

 

[TooSlick]

Megabit, I'd also recommend the Series 2000, but i'd use the 0w-30 and not the 20w-50 since you are primarily using this vehicle on the street. The S2000, 0w-30 will give you the lowest oil temps and most power of all the Amsoil formulations. TooSlick

 

[Patman]

I just about had a heart attack yesterday when I was at the dragstrip with my car club. First of all when I saw one guy pouring 15w50 Mobil 1 into his LT1 engine (mind you his is a 396ci supercharged LT1 putting out 500hp, but even still he's losing power with that thick oil) Then another friend of mine with a heavily modified 415ci LS1 with a turbo on it (dynoed at well over 600rwhp) who runs nothing but Kendall 20w50 dino oil in it. I keep telling these guys that even with heavily modded cars they would be better off going no higher than 15w40. Especially since in most cases, even with their engines being modified, the clearances are still set to stock specs, sometimes even tighter on the rings with the LS1 rebuilds just to prevent oil burning. So they'd definitely benefit from staying away from the 50wts.

 

[buster]

Wow, I think a good 40wt. would be sufficient. I'd run Amsoil's 10w-40, M1 0w-40 or even Delvac 1. Chevy specifically states NOT too even use a 40wt oil in the Vettes. I'm sure they have tested the cars under the most extreme conditions and have found M1 5w-30 to be sufficient. It's this whole mentality that a thicker oil is going to provide better protection and it simply is not true in all cases. Now a modified LS1 like your talking about probably should use a 40wt I imagine. 0w-40 might be a good choice for Vettes bc it's a 0w and will get up there quickly and then the 40wt. should provide adequate protection.

 

[Pablo]

I think we all are just speculating a bit much here - I have no concept what clearance Megabit's engine builder built - while in the past I have been very wary about recommending the Amsoil S2K 20W-50, after using it for so many miles and through so many weather conditions, I can stand with it 100%. For sure if I saw someone dumping in old fashioned dino 20W-50, I may think some things about crud and sludge build up and I, too, Patman would question power loss - but how can I know (standing on the outside) what kind of clearances he has? Never have done or seen an analysis on the Amsoil 10W-40 (full syn AMO). I don't really want to recommend it until I do. To be honest - I am wary about recommending the 0W-30 to someone with a built V8, not because of the viscosity but because of the spotty UOA's.

 

[Gebo]

10W-30 ATM after a little more on the dino, say, 1000 miles (I like nice round numbers!) I'd use the Chevron 10W30 up to the 1000 mile mark. I used to use the 0w-30 exclusively and according to my testing on 4 different cars at 5000 and 10,000 mile intervals, it performed fine. But after coming to BITOG, I've made a switch to the 10W30 and my oil analysts, so far, are "unchanged." Just got more money in my wallet PLus, now I only have to purchase one oil for everything.

 

[Alex D]

Honestly, if you road race your car (oil temps easily reach 300F + degrees....get an oil temp gage), I would select a heavier oil for the LS1 when racing. In Germany (autobahn!!) the recommendation for the C5 is M1 15W-50 in the factory manual! I would run this oil in racing conditions. Per M1 specs it also has more additives than the other M1 oils (see their site) for protection. other oils I would consider is Redline 10W-40 or M1 0-W40....... I think your engine failure can be attributed at least some to running an oil not suited for racing.....my deceision point on your queastion is that there is need for higher viscosity oil at both, high temps and high rpms...... All of these can also be driven on a daily basis if your ambient temps are above 60F..... I am always amazed at teh myth that 10w-30 will give you more viscosity then 5W-30......they only differ in cold viscosity......at hot viscosity all XW-30 oils from M1 provide the same viscosity..... [ July 20, 2003, 07:05 PM: Message edited by: Alex D ]

 

[buster]

quote:

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Never have done or seen an analysis on the Amsoil 10W-40 (full syn AMO). I don't really want to recommend it until I do. To be honest - I am wary about recommending the 0W-30 to someone with a built V8, not because of the viscosity but because of the spotty UOA's.

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This is what makes Pablo different from the other sales reps. outthere. The good thing about Amsoil is, they have many different viscosities to offer so if one doesn't satisfy you, try another. They are bound to have an oil that works great in this car.

 

[Mike_dup1]

I have a 2002 WS6 Trans Am and I am using the 10W-30 (ATM) in mine for the last 5,000 miles of the 10,900 +- total miles. So far the oil has not gone down from the full mark. All of the ones you mentioned would be acceptable but I would stay away from the 20W-50 for normal steet driving. They are normally not recommended for production street engines that see oil temps below 225°. btw-The 5W-30 (ASL) and the 10W-30 (ATM) are their biggest selling oils, both PAO oils and so stated on the new box's. [ July 20, 2003, 12:50 PM: Message edited by: Mike ]

 

[vettenuts]

I am running Amsoil ASL in my 2002 LS-1 Corvette and have one UOA under my belt. Results were very good, but I don't race the car. Will re-check this fall with second UOA. [ July 21, 2003, 12:20 PM: Message edited by: vettenuts ]

 

[pedaltothemetal]

Hi Mike, Keep an eye on the oil pressure gage. I'm using 15w40 RP now, and this hot weather is causing a drop of 3psi from the norm. I think it's important to find the right oil for the temps your oil will see. So if you see a drop in the pressure while you are racing, I would increase the grade. Leo