2017 Corvette / Mobil 1 5w30 / 750 mi / break-in

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Chevy stipulates a 500-mile oil change as part of the break-in for all C7 Corvettes. I'm not sure what the factory fill is, but I think it's Mobil 1 5w30. The break-in procedure is to avoid excessive engine load, limit idling, and vary engine RPMs. The redline is reduced slightly to prevent you from driving too hard.

The car had 146 miles when I bought it, and the drive home was over 400, so I missed the 500-mile mark by a little bit.

The sample quantity also was not large enough to test viscosity -- just spectral analysis and TBN+TAN. Blackstone said they expect the elevated iron, copper, and silicon to drop as the engine continues to break-in. I sent this off just for fun and expected the elevated particulates.


Code:
OIL Mobil 1 5w30

MILES IN USE 741

MILES 741

SAMPLE TAKEN 4/12/2017



ALUMINUM 3

CHROMIUM 1

IRON 48

COPPER 28

LEAD 1

TIN 0

MOLYBDENUM 84

NICKEL 0

MANGANESE 2

SILVER 0

TITANIUM 0

POTASSIUM 10

BORON 106

SILICON 74

SODIUM 7

CALCIUM 1043

MAGNESIUM 624

PHOSPHORUS 692

ZINC 753

BARIUM 0



INSOLUBLES -

WATER 0

FLASHPOINT ºF SHORT

SUS VIS 210ºF -

cSt @ 212ºF SHORT

TBN 6.2

TAN 1.9
 
Did you find it easy enough to cover that highway mileage while varying your RPMs? Was there a "drive between x,xxx and x,xxx RPM every x minutes"?
 
Originally Posted By: RichardS
Did you find it easy enough to cover that highway mileage while varying your RPMs? Was there a "drive between x,xxx and x,xxx RPM every x minutes"?




The guidelines weren't that specific. What I did was periodically shift to a different gear and varied my speed between 65 and 80mph. I basically just went up and down in 4th through 7th gears throughout the drive every 30 minutes or so. I didn't use cruise control.

For whatever it's worth, 4th gear is 1:1 and 5th-7th are all overdrives, so the engine isn't working too hard at 70mph. 7th gear is 0.48:1!
 
Congrats on your new Corvette. The numbers are typical of a break in period. What does Chevy recommend as a oil change interval for this vehicle?
 
LOL, we had 250+ CU in our Honda Accord V6 VCM first oil change. I don't think you have anything to worry about.
 
Originally Posted By: PimTac
Congrats on your new Corvette. The numbers are typical of a break in period. What does Chevy recommend as a oil change interval for this vehicle?




It's got an intelligent OLM but Chevy pays for the first 4 oil changes.

I only drive about 5-6,000 miles a year but do take the car to the track 1-2 times per month, so I'll probably change it once a year.

Chevy actually suggests running M1 15w50 if you track the car.
 
If your going to track the car run track weight oil(all the time). You don't want to run the 5/30 out on the track, seen to many uoa's with high wear numbers with the thin oil. Dodge, Chevy and Ford all call for a heavier grade oil when you track the car. So with the 15/50 or 5/50 you lose 1 or 2 mpg, whats the big deal. You didn't buy the car for the gas mileage so use the oil that it says to use on the track. If you mean the drag strip as the track then you can still use the 5/30 but if you mean going out on a track for 15 min. or more(road course) than you need the protection that the thicker oil offers you.

ROD
 
Whats interesting is that Camaros with the same engines do not have the same 500 mile break in oil change or reduced redline, I am going in 2nd week of may will have ~1000 miles
 
Originally Posted By: thescreensavers
Whats interesting is that Camaros with the same engines do not have the same 500 mile break in oil change or reduced redline, I am going in 2nd week of may will have ~1000 miles



The break-in oil change was actually formalized after the Corvette had been on sale for a while.
 
Use classic Mobil 1 5W30 as that is what GM recommends. Make sure to run the factory AC Delco oil filter. GM has a new TSB out that will void your warranty if any engine related failures occur due to the use of any aftermarket oil filter. Just an FYI.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: dparm
The break-in oil change was actually formalized after the Corvette had been on sale for a while.

Was this a result of car magazine reviewers lunching engines?
 
Originally Posted By: GM4LIFE
Use classic Mobil 1 5W30 as that is what GM recommends. Make sure to run the factory AC Delco oil filter. GM has a new TSB out that will void your warranty if any engine related failures occur due to the use of any aftermarket oil filter. Just an FYI.

Thats not what the TSB said. And if you have to use the AC Delco filter to keep your warranty(which you don't) then they have to give it to you. If you use the correct filter from any other oil filter co. and you have a problem then one of two will have pay to fix it, either the filter mfg. or Chevy.

ROD
 
Well, GM certainly doesn't have to cover damage from aftermarket filters, but we've known that a long time. The kicker, of course, was that it was the original equipment filters that were causing them trouble.
whistle.gif
 
Why take a chance with warranty issues? Run the OEM filter and be worry free. Would you want to spend the time and money to battle GM for warranty claims due to using an aftermarket oil filter. Apparently, GM is finding engine issues attributed to aftermarket oil filters, especially in the full size trucks and SUVs.
 
I just had my 500 mile oil change done on my 2017 Grand Sport yesterday. I asked the service writer and he said they use Mobil 1 on the Corvettes per GM.
 
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