Wife's 2012 Equinox OCI

[oldhp]

Need your input guys/gals.
Wife's 2012 Equinox 2.4, looks like shes going to put on 2000 miles in about 4-5 month time frame.
I have read that the D.I.engines are hard on oil, fuel dilution being main one.
I am using NAPA Gold oil filters and Valvoline Durablend 5W30 now with 3000 OCI's.
I am not familiar with this engine and it's needs.
Should I be running full synthetic? Or am I OK with what I'm using and my planned 3000 OCI's with the Durablend?
Thanks In Advance
oldhp

 

[Nyquist]

You need to run a dexos1 compliant oil. Durablend won't hack it.

http://www.gmdexos.com/licensedbrands.html

I run Pennzoil Platinum or Quaker State Ultimate Durability each in 5w30.

 

[Bill in Utah]

You need ANY Dexos1 approved oil and follow the OLM.

Its GM's motor till 100k if you do that.

Bill

 

[Eddie]

DI engines are not necessarily hard on oil as my Mazda DI turbo engine has demonstrated through several UOAs. I would follow the owners manual as to the OCI and use any name brand oil which meets the owners manual requirements. I think doing a 3 K oil change with synthetic is a total waste of money and resources.

 

[oldhp]

I know Durablend is not "licensed" by GM because Valvoline won't pay the ransom fees. Val's website says it meets/exceeds Dexos specs.
I was more concerned with the blend or full syn? ....and is 3000 OCI's OK or should they be shorter/longer if I go to full syn because of short trip low miles thing.
Thanks!!!
oldhp

 

[Nyquist]

I would think the short trips would lend itself to a shorter OCI. Honestly what I do is buy the dexos1 oils on the list when I can get them for $4/qt or less.

Looking at the TDS of Durablend -- http://valvoline.com/pdf/durablend.pdf -- I see that the sulfated ash is around 0.99%. It was discussed a while back on this forum on how higher values of sulfated ash have been correlated with more deposits in GDI engines.

 

[Bill in Utah]

Originally Posted By: Nyquist
I would think the short trips would lend itself to a shorter OCI. Honestly what I do is buy the dexos1 oils on the list when I can get them for $4/qt or less.

Looking at the TDS of Durablend -- http://valvoline.com/pdf/durablend.pdf -- I see that the sulfated ash is around 0.99%. It was discussed a while back on this forum on how higher values of sulfated ash have been correlated with more deposits in GDI engines.


Luckily the everyday price for Dexos1 is around $4 a quart if you buy the 5 qt jug! And PP is below $4 a quart right now with no rebates or stuff like that.

Bill

 

[buster]

Yeah just go to Walmart and grab the cheapest dexos1 oil you can find. Good to go.

 

[oldhp]

Didn't see the ash content when I looked at it.
The Dexos list is a little confusing....CarQuest full syn 5W30 is OK, but NAPA full syn 5W30 is not ok. Same exact oil, different bottle. NAPA doesn't pay ransom fees.
Where can you find Dexos1 oil? Is it labeled that way?
Or just say the heck with it and run Mobil1/PP etc 5W30 and be done with it.
Thanks!
oldhp

 

[johnachak]

Both, Mobil 1 and PP 5w 30 are Dexos1 approved oils.... So yeah, good idea!
Enjoy the ride!

 

[bourne]

Durablend is being discontinued. The latest formula maxlife should b hitting the markets soon. Using it now isn't hurting your engine. We have used durablend in plenty of dexos requiring vehicles including fleet cars without issues.

 

[volk06]

Originally Posted By: bourne
Durablend is being discontinued. The latest formula maxlife should b hitting the markets soon. Using it now isn't hurting your engine. We have used durablend in plenty of dexos requiring vehicles including fleet cars without issues.


Durablend being discontinued doesn't surprise me as Maxlife is a synblend with a stronger add pack.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: volk06
Durablend being discontinued doesn't surprise me as Maxlife is a synblend with a stronger add pack.


Agreed. At least up here, synblends tend to be the same price as HM oils (which tend to be synblends anyhow), and MaxLife HM has about the best regular price of the HM oils anyhow and has the latest ratings. Durablend would be redundant, so long as Ashland can convince people that if they need/want a synblend, there's nothing wrong with MaxLife because it has North American/Japanese warranty approved specifications.

 

[bourne]

Yup. We honestly barely moved any durablend but do over 50% maxlife oil changes on our customer cars. The advantages of durablend over maxlife was excellent cold flow properties ( thinner than Synpower 0w20 at 40C cst ) and resistance to fuel dilution ( this is true for almost all Valvoline PCMO btw ).


Now with the new Maxlife syn blend , its resource conserving and exceeds Dexos specs. The only category it lacked previously for Dexos was Fuel Economy. It exceeded all the wear test requirements anyways. Im going to see our rep on Monday, if anyone has any questions, I will definitely try to find some answers to them.

 

[tsduke]

From what I've seen on 2.4 DI UOA's I would NOT follow GM oil change recommendations. No way I'm taking the OLM to 0. Fuel dilution is quite common and the oil shears out of 5w-30 range.

 

[jkhawaii]

Originally Posted By: tsduke
From what I've seen on 2.4 DI UOA's I would NOT follow GM oil change recommendations. No way I'm taking the OLM to 0. Fuel dilution is quite common and the oil shears out of 5w-30 range.

actually GM recommends the oil changed before 0% the oil change reminder comes on at 5%. one problem with running the OLM to 0 for the dealer is. How long was the OLM at 0? 100 miles, 2000 miles? Always check your oil level in between oil changes.
the Delco Dexos the dealer uses (or likely uses) is OK but bare minimum spec wise to keep the cost low.

 

[tsduke]

Originally Posted By: jkhawaii
Originally Posted By: tsduke
From what I've seen on 2.4 DI UOA's I would NOT follow GM oil change recommendations. No way I'm taking the OLM to 0. Fuel dilution is quite common and the oil shears out of 5w-30 range.

actually GM recommends the oil changed before 0% the oil change reminder comes on at 5%. one problem with running the OLM to 0 for the dealer is. How long was the OLM at 0? 100 miles, 2000 miles? Always check your oil level in between oil changes.
the Delco Dexos the dealer uses (or likely uses) is OK but bare minimum spec wise to keep the cost low.


You know what I mean. I didn't mean "zero" literally. I meant not anywhere even close to zero.

 

[Aerojoe]

In my Gf's 2012 Buick lacrosse I run M1 5w30 around 7k miles which is around 10-15% left on the OLM. I also run a standard non e core delco filter. Figure the OLM works off a syn blend oil as thats what the dealer's dexos is per 3 different dealers so the full syn has got to be better.