Camaro 2011 LS3 Motor Oil, Tranny, and Rear Diff?

[MADRock]

1. What kind of vehicle you have
Camaro SS2/RS LS3

3. Where you live
San Diego
4. How you drive (easy? hard? fast? slow?)
Easy/Hard
5. What your daily drive is like (short trips? long trips? city? highway?)
I commute to work but its mostly highway with a couple lights to my final destination

6. Whether your car has any known problems
It's a demon.



So I just finished the first 500miles of break in, I need to change the oil? It has Mobil 1 in it from the factory. I am assuming I should stick with that.

But I've done my homework with other Camaro owners who did their Tranny and Rear Diff changes under 3k and noticed excellent changes in shifting and decel popping.

Should I either A. Stick with dealer products(the Dex III) B. Go with Redline or Royal Purple?

Anyone have some experience on the matter?

These are dealer prices:
An Oil Change is $105
The Rear Diff is $150
The Transmission is $175

 

[rclint]

Chance are good that your engine was broke in before the engine was put into the car. I would run the oil to the manufactures recommended OCI.

On the oil to use.. it's always a huge debate, I'm not a huge fan of M, however I don't bash it down as much as it seems to get bashed either.. M1 can be used, but also Pennzoil Platinum, Castrol Edge, and any other oil that meets the specs listed by your manufacture (look in the owners manual for what oil specification is required)

I'm not a huge fan of low mileage transmission, differential fluid changes... I just don't see any benefit, and those you read about that have done these early changes sure they are going to say it is better because they done it... they spent the money...

I would go 100% by the manufacture specs when choosing any type of oil, fluid etc for your car while in warranty, after that it's your choice. The manufactures know what hey are doing when they put the maintenance schedule in the owners manual, and my opinion is that it is best to follow this as the manufacture has done tons of research, and hands on R&D

When it's time for an oil change unless your getting free oil changes I would never pay an extreme price for dealer oil change, I would put the correct oil going by the manufactures specs ( in owners manual) keep your receipts.. document your oil changes in a small notebook kept in the glove compartment etc.. if you don't know how to change the oil then find someone who does, or research it out how to learn to do it yourself.. If you don't know how to do it then I think the dealer may be the best place I would trust to change the oil..

 

[Ayrton]

Your dealer prices seem decent for such a high performance car.

Does the dealer use the Mobil 1?

I'd feel fully confident sticking with the Mobil 1!

 

[5sfe91]

Mobil1 for the engine and RP for the rear diff and tranny

 

[The Critic]

Dexron-LS for rear differential and whatever the OE fluid is for the MT.

 

[NHHEMI]

Originally Posted By: MADRock
1. What kind of vehicle you have
Camaro SS2/RS LS3

3. Where you live
San Diego
4. How you drive (easy? hard? fast? slow?)
Easy/Hard
5. What your daily drive is like (short trips? long trips? city? highway?)
I commute to work but its mostly highway with a couple lights to my final destination

6. Whether your car has any known problems
It's a demon.



So I just finished the first 500miles of break in, I need to change the oil? It has Mobil 1 in it from the factory. I am assuming I should stick with that.

But I've done my homework with other Camaro owners who did their Tranny and Rear Diff changes under 3k and noticed excellent changes in shifting and decel popping.

Should I either A. Stick with dealer products(the Dex III) B. Go with Redline or Royal Purple?

Anyone have some experience on the matter?

These are dealer prices:
An Oil Change is $105
The Rear Diff is $150
The Transmission is $175


Nice vehicle!

Like the other poster I am not a big fan of Mobil fluids. I personally would look for another oil that meets all of your warranty requirements. According to the online manual for your vehicle you need to use a 5W-30 Dexos approved oil( or an oil that meets/exceeds GM4718M and that has the API Starburst if Dexos unavailable ).

Dexos is still new and some mfg's have said they will not formulate/certify to it but there is no problem finding GM4718M API Starburst compliant oils. Pennzoil Platinum( Dexos )/ Ultra( GM4718M & API Starburst ), Valvoline Synpower( GM4718M & API Starburst ), Kendall GT1 GF5( Dexos ), Quaker State Ultimate Durability( Dexos ), etc... all offer oils that will meet your needs and would be my choices over Mobil products. I believe Amsoil offers some oils that would be warranty acceptable as well in their XL and new OE lines too. Mobil 1 is FF so it certainly will do the job. I am just not a fan. Unfortunately, Royal Purple, Redline, and the better oils from Amsoil will not meet your warranty requirements( even though IMO they are all superior to the oils that do ).

If you have an auto tranny you need Dex VI fluid. RP's MaxATF the last I knew was not compatible with Dex VI but Redline offered a fluid that was. If you have the manual tranny it calls for GM 88861800 which is their manual tranny/t-case fluid. RP Synchromax has been used in place of it with great results BUT it would not be warranty acceptable. I have read that the GM 88861800 is basically Dex III but who knows. GM has so many specialty fluids it makes your head spin.

Rear axle calls for 75W-90 synthetic gear oil( GM 89021677 )and friction modifier( GM 1052358 ). That gear oil is the stuff called "Grape Juice" because GM had it grape scented. RP MaxGear replaces it perfectly and is warranty acceptable. The RP fluid comes with FM already in it. I know in some applications calling for FM you don't need to add it with the MaxGear. What comes in it is enough. I don't know if that would be true in your case? You could check some Camaro and Corvette forums to see.

Your listed dealer prices...

An Oil Change is $105 = NO WAY!!!! Far too expensive for an OC. RIDICULOUS even for a full synthetic OC!!! I realize you have an 8qt sump but that is still just way too expensive. You can buy your own oil and filter and have it changed for approx 1/2 that.

The Rear Diff is $150 = That is a little steep for servicing a rear diff. However, the GM fluid is like $30 a qt through the dealers so that is a big part of that bill. You can save a lot by using the RP( or any other brand that offers what you need )which is about $15 and have them do the work using your fluid.

The Transmission is $175 = hard to say on this? If it is an auto tranny with a pan drop and fiilter service it isn't too bad. If this is a manual tranny and is just a fluid drain and refill it is another case of the GM flud clearly being vastly over priced as is their norm.

 

[tig1]

M1 is one of the best oils out there. Send me a PM if you want details. With that said, PP will serve you very well also.

Also, welcome to BITOG.

 

[addyguy]

Be careful to make sure you are using an oil that is actually certified to Dexos-1, if your engine requires that. Not as many are as the previous 4718M cert.

M1, PP, PU, Amsoil OE and XL are some 'defintes' that come to mind.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Oil change price = ripoff. Even at expensive auto parts chains price of $7.99 a quart,an M1 oil change should only be $67.92 plus tax (oil and $4 AC Delco filter).