Oil recs for Corvette Z06 LS7

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radchad3

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Nebraska
Hello everyone! I have started reading quite a bit here on oil but would like some recs for my Z06. It has 7000 miles on it and is only street driven during the nice days here in Nebraska. I have looked into Redline, Amsoil Z-rod, and a little into Royal Purple. Also, someone over on the vette forum recommended Joe Gibbs.

#1: I was thinking of going with a 0w-30 for better cold engine start-up performance. My oil temp rarely gets above 175 with the Mobil 1 5w-30 I currently use.

#2: Looking for something with a higher ZDDP. Will these oils kill my cats early?

#3: Any recs on what I should buy?


Thank you all for your time!

Chad
 
Why not use what is recommended in your manual? I think it is Mobil 1 5W-30. I am not being sarcastic. Just think that the engineers designed this engine around the properties of this oil.
 
M1 5w30 or other Dexos approved 5w30 meeting the spec in your manual i believ its GM4718M

that engine is a new high-tech pushrod engine it does not need a high ZDDP oil. that will do more harm than good.

Run what the factory recommends. The 5w30 M1 has more than adequate start up flow.
 
Welcome to BITOG! GM invested many hours in specing a new oil for their cars (dexos 1).To use anything other than what is called for in the owners manual would be a mistake IMO. Higher ZDDP oils are a myth in engines using roller tappets and are something to avoid. The dexos 1 list has been expanded greatly in recent months and has many quality oils from which to choose. Don't overthink your decision. You have a great car, now give it one of the oils chosen by GM. FWIW--Oldtommy
 
The GM-approved Mobil 1 5w30 will work quite well.

If you want to step up to something more expensive, I would consider something like Red Line 0w30. The high viscosity index should help with cold start performance.
 
If the car is still under warranty you may want to stick with approved API lubricants.
I'd suggest Pennzoil Platinium 5W-30 which is about the lightest OTC 30wt you can buy or the even lighter Sustina 5W-30.

If you're not concerned about warranty, with oil temp's of only 175F you could likely run an oil such as Mobil 1 AFE 0W-20.
As long as you can maintain 50 psi oil pressure at elevated rev's you don't need to run anything heavier.

I don't think there would be any benefit to running a higher ZDDP level oil.
 
Mobil 1 5w30 in the SM, dexos1-approved spec is pretty wonderful stuff. The LS7 was designed to use low-zddp oils, so it's not necessary to use it for engine wear protection. I'm not impressed much with M1 0w30. It actually has higher viscosity than M1 5w30 at all temperatures down to about 0F, so it won't give any better cold start lubrication.

German Castrol, Syntec 0w30, is not an API SM oil, and has higher zddp than is allowed for the LS7 (from a warranty point of view).

Redline 0w30 has even more zddp than the Castrol 0w30.

The only other "0w30" I can think of that would give a cold start benefit and not have far too much zddp is the "Caterham Blend" of M1 0w40 and Toyota Genuine 0w20.
 
Originally Posted By: dparm
If you want to step up to something more expensive, I would consider something like Red Line 0w30. The high viscosity index should help with cold start performance.


IF you are not worried about the warranty, THIS^^^.
You are also getting the strongest add pack of ANY 0W-30 out there (save for MPT's 30K, or Millers Nano Drive), even though most seem to rag on the need for this with this engine/your uses.

If so, then the M1 0W-30 AFE is now Dexos approved (I think??), since you mentioned wanting to run a 0W-30 (albeit, this has a much lower VI than the Red Line 0W-30, so the start-up flow will not be as good
frown.gif
).
 
Thank you all for the thoughts on this! I am probably over thinking this. There has just been some discussion over on the vette forums about some of the higher ZDDP oils such as Redline quieting the valve train noise that the LS7 is known for. Also the big scare with the exahaust valves had me research different oils. I thought if there was a consensus to switch I would but it doesn't sound like making a switch to the higher ZDDP would be worth it.

Also, I buy my Mobil 1 at Wally World. I have heard that may be a different spec/oil than Mobil 1 sold at other stores? Any thoughts on that?

Thank you all again!

PS: I am out of warranty so a different oil is not a problem for me.

Chad
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: radchad3
Thank you all for the thoughts on this! I am probably over thinking this. There has just been some discussion over on the vette forums about some of the higher ZDDP oils such as Redline quieting the valve train noise that the LS7 is known for. Also the big scare with the exahaust valves had me research different oils. I thought if there was a consensus to switch I would but it doesn't sound like making a switch to the higher ZDDP would be worth it.

Also, I buy my Mobil 1 at Wally World. I have heard that may be a different spec/oil than Mobil 1 sold at other stores? Any thoughts on that?

Thank you all again!

Chad


If it is good enough for GM's race programs, I'd say it is good enough for your car
smile.gif


And the oil sold at Walmart is the exact same product sold elsewhere. Buy with confidence.
 
Originally Posted By: radchad3

Also, I buy my Mobil 1 at Wally World. I have heard that may be a different spec/oil than Mobil 1 sold at other stores? Any thoughts on that?

No it's the same everywhere in the States.
 
Originally Posted By: radchad3
PS: I am out of warranty so a different oil is not a problem for me.

Chad


If you're not worried about eventually poisoning your cats, Red Line 0w30.

But really, M1 5w30 will do the job.
 
You don't need high zddp. If you did I'm sure chev would have had Mobil mix something up for it.
If warranty isn't an issue then I suggest red line or amsoil or pennzoil or any name brand 30 grade. That engine is roller everything and not really overly hard on oil. Personally I'd use a conventional changed at 5000 miles so I could monitor oil colour and smell etc.
 
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