Best oil for LS3 in warm to hot conditions?

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KennyBling71

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Hi guys,

I live in Perth ,Australia where the temperature is floating around the 40-44C or around the 105F. It's generally a pretty hot place to live. My car runs an LS3 with about 10000 miles on it. I drive it easy most of the time but do like to give her a rev here and there. I will be changing my oil every 3000 miles. I want the absolute best engine protection I can get. So based on all the information given can i get recommendations on what oil and grade to run and why ? Thanks in advance
smile.gif
 
I'm not concerned about price to much mate. If Mobil 1 0-40 is the best oil I can buy then I'll give it a crack otherwise if there is better ill jump to that regardless of price.
 
What does the manufacturer specify for your engine in Australia? In the US, Chevy specified a 5w30 for that motor (Corvette, G8 etc).
 
If you want the best protection, I wouldn't change the oil every 3,000 miles on a non-tracked car.

I am very familiar with LS engines and would double that mileage on syn.
 
What does the owner's manual say for oil viscosity selection at temperatures above 40C? As far as I know, GM does not recommend anything above 30-weight for any of their passenger car engines, regardless of ambient temperature. But I'm not sure about what they recommend in Australia. It doesn't sound as though you are running the engine hard for extended periods. Occasionally going through the gears for 10-15 seconds doesn't qualify as severe use. Unless your owner's manual says different, I recommend a dexos1 licensed 30-weight oil.

By the way, what car is this engine installed in?
 
Originally Posted By: A_Harman

By the way, what car is this engine installed in?



LS3 + Australia = Holden Monaro, Maloo, or something else equally as awesome :)
 
Welcome
welcome2.gif
40-44C Nice. Want to trade places for a while?
It's -12C (10F) today where I live.
lol.gif
Anyway, At those temps. I
would go with a 40 weight oil unless car is under warranty and it calls
for 5w30. If not then Mobil 1 or any top brand name 40 weight oil will
be fine to use.
 
Last edited:
If GM allows for xw-40, buy a premium 5w-40. Red Line is my favorite, but you'll have to work hard to find it. International distributors are listed on their website.
 
Thanks guys ! It's in a HSV E3 Senator 2012 model. Truely an awesome car! I see you are all going the Mobil 1 direction. I thought perhaps the Amsoil may offer slightly better protection from what I've read so far, but if you all say Mobil 1 I'll give it a shot. Yes the manufacturer specifies it but I had a less than exciting time with it in my LS1 back in 2001 and kind of turned me away. Wouldn't 0-40 be better in the heat?
Whats wrong with changing the oil every 3000 miles? Surely it must be better than 7 or 10 ect??
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Bandito440
If GM allows for xw-40, buy a premium 5w-40. Red Line is my favorite, but you'll have to work hard to find it. International distributors are listed on their website.


Redline is available here and I have just found a place who sells Amsoil as well hence my original question. I thought I'd be stuck with only one or two options but that doesn't seem to be the case. Btw I used to run Royal Purple after my Mobil 1 issues early on. That has been in 4 ls1 engines and a CB4 Callaway LS1. It was ok.
 
If Amsoil is not a hassle to obtain go with it. Since you are not tracking your car just stick with a 30 grade oil no reason to go thicker. If you need to go thicker than a 30 there are some other issues that needs to be resolved.
 
Originally Posted By: KennyBling71
Originally Posted By: Bandito440
If GM allows for xw-40, buy a premium 5w-40. Red Line is my favorite, but you'll have to work hard to find it. International distributors are listed on their website.


Redline is available here and I have just found a place who sells Amsoil as well hence my original question. I thought I'd be stuck with only one or two options but that doesn't seem to be the case. Btw I used to run Royal Purple after my Mobil 1 issues early on. That has been in 4 ls1 engines and a CB4 Callaway LS1. It was ok.

Red Line is a very stout oil. I don't think you could do much better as far as protection goes, although it is expensive.

Show us a photo of the car!
 
I'm a fan of M1 0W40. While not ls engines we run it in both a 440 and 512 (400 block) with great results. Last time we had the heads off the 512 the bores were perfect after around 5k miles and few hundred 1/4 mile passes.

Can't go wrong with Redline either however.
 
Originally Posted By: KennyBling71
Thanks guys ! It's in a HSV E3 Senator 2012 model. Truely an awesome car! I see you are all going the Mobil 1 direction. I thought perhaps the Amsoil may offer slightly better protection from what I've read so far, but if you all say Mobil 1 I'll give it a shot. Yes the manufacturer specifies it but I had a less than exciting time with it in my LS1 back in 2001 and kind of turned me away. Wouldn't 0-40 be better in the heat?
Whats wrong with changing the oil every 3000 miles? Surely it must be better than 7 or 10 ect??



Go with the M1 0w40! There are tons of hot rodders running it. It has amazing start up protection and is very stable with heavy loads/ extreme heat.
No need to change it early. I live in Texas where we see temps just as high and I dont change until 6k+. Its not heat that hurts good oil, its cold temperatures.
M1 0w40 IS ARGUABLY one of the best oils on the planet
 
Originally Posted By: LoveOil
If I was you, I would use Mobil Delvac MX ESP (CJ-4)
15w40
HT/HS is 4.3
Under hard acceleration, it will protect your engines bottom end bearing and other components more than Mobil 1 0w40.


Mobil 1 0W40 will protect his LS3 just as well, if not better. The LS3 cars in the US run 5W30.
 
Originally Posted By: Bandito440
Originally Posted By: KennyBling71
Originally Posted By: Bandito440
If GM allows for xw-40, buy a premium 5w-40. Red Line is my favorite, but you'll have to work hard to find it. International distributors are listed on their website.


Redline is available here and I have just found a place who sells Amsoil as well hence my original question. I thought I'd be stuck with only one or two options but that doesn't seem to be the case. Btw I used to run Royal Purple after my Mobil 1 issues early on. That has been in 4 ls1 engines and a CB4 Callaway LS1. It was ok.

Red Line is a very stout oil. I don't think you could do much better as far as protection goes, although it is expensive.

Show us a photo of the car!


Yes, but I would run Red Line's full add pack, higher VI, 0W-40 over their low(er) SAPS/weaker add pack 5W-40, if there was no warranty issue/concern.
wink.gif


IF the M1 0W-40 were not so costly down under (could it actually cost MORE than Red Line there??) it would be ideal as it is a good compromise between GM/Dexos recommended 30 weights (with it's relatively high VI, and lower than most 40 weights' 3.8 HTHSV), and the Ozzie penchant/habit/tendency for running thicker oils to handle the heat (supposedly).
 
5W-40 T6 Rotella is a gas/diesel oil that has worked well for us in Ford, GM, John Deere, MF, B&S, Polaris, etc.

It is good for AK to FL for most all engines.
 
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