Need advice,2012 Chevy Impala 3.6

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Wife has a new 2012 Impala with a 3.6 engine. I was thinking about using either Mobil 1 or Extemded preformance. I was also going to use the Oil Life Monitor. The wife drives about 8K miles a year and it is almost all off dighway driving. Back roads with short trips.

Can I trust those oils with the Oil Life Monitor and is the Mobil brand filter a goos choice or should I stick with the AC delco?
 
I don't see the need for M1 Extended Performance.

Using the OLM, you would be safe even using a conventional oil. Using Mobil 1 (non-EP) would still give you an additional margin, just to be sure.

Either an AC Delco or an M1 oil filter would perform fine.
 
Yes those oils will be fine going off the oil life monitor. Either one of those filters are fine..the Mobil 1 is probably a little better. You may also want to consider Pennzoil platinum or ultra..any of them are great oils
 
M1 is dexos1 approved. I would use a P1 filter or Bosch EP. Change the air filter early along with the oil because of the driving conditions.
 
Pennzoil Platinum and a PureONE filter. Rinse, repeat.

Also, I was unaware until now that the Impala gets the new 3.6L and 6A. Good news. However, despite that I still think the impala is due for a ground up redesign, though it has many good points.
 
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I was told at the dealer that if I don't use the dexos oil i should stick with 3k oil changes.

Yes, this Impala has the new 3.6 engine. I had read a few posts that it may be an engine that is hard on oil. But I have nothing to back up that claim.
 
The only real reason that engine would be hard on oil is because it is DI, but most recent UOAs show that it really isn't that bad, not as bad as it was when new. That's why I'm slightly concerned about the nox, I have no idea what to expect out of that 3.0 DI. But I will tell you, I'm not one bit concerned about the DI itself at all.
 
So it sounds like the opion is that if I run with Mobil 1 and use either a Mobil or AC Delco filter I will be fine using the oil change monitor. I do know my wife hopes to keep the car for 200,000 miles.
 
Wouldn't the Mobil filter void the warranty, and I would want to be sure to have the correct pressure coming out of that filter to safeguard that brand new engine. As far as price, they are very close. As long as the oil is dexos rated it would be a good idea from all I've read is to go 5k oci's.
 
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Originally Posted By: rjh245
So it sounds like the opion is that if I run with Mobil 1 and use either a Mobil or AC Delco filter I will be fine using the oil change monitor. I do know my wife hopes to keep the car for 200,000 miles.



Mobil 1 isn't a bad oil, but I would go with PP as I said before. It's about the same price, but I personally feel that it's a better oil. It's JMO though, so take it for what it's worth. PP is one of the favorite oils here on BITOG. A lot of engines seem to run quieter on it, and fwiw, most PP UOAs look better than M1. But that doesn't really mean all that much.

There is no reason to spend that much on a filter though. Use a Purolator PureONE. They are half the price, and are still excellent filters.
 
I am told the M1-212 is a cross reference to the pf-63. Maybe that is incorrect.
 
Originally Posted By: rjh245
So it sounds like the opion is that if I run with Mobil 1 and use either a Mobil or AC Delco filter I will be fine using the oil change monitor. I do know my wife hopes to keep the car for 200,000 miles.




I'll bet she gets real tired of that car before 25 years are up. Yes, I agree that you should use any dexos approved oil in conjunction with the oil life monitor and you will be fine.
 
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Originally Posted By: MuzzleFlash40
QSUD is dexos approved and is a fine oil!


+1

Comparing the specs:

Pennzoil Platinum

vs.

Quaker State Ultimate Durability

In the 5W-30 dexos spec the QSUD has slightly better numbers in my opinion. The big plus, at least in my area, is that QSUD can be had for $4-5 less per oil change than PP.

Either is a great choice along with M1. But for the money I cannot beat QSUD in my applications.
 
Originally Posted By: rjh245
So it sounds like the opion is that if I run with Mobil 1 and use either a Mobil or AC Delco filter I will be fine using the oil change monitor. I do know my wife hopes to keep the car for 200,000 miles.



Even though you may use good oil on this new Impala, keep in mind that other engine related issues may come up unexpectedly. I thought I would get 200k+ out of my Grand Am but it has gasket issues. I wonder if GM used good gaskets on this 3.6 engine?
 
Originally Posted By: mike7139
Originally Posted By: rjh245
So it sounds like the opion is that if I run with Mobil 1 and use either a Mobil or AC Delco filter I will be fine using the oil change monitor. I do know my wife hopes to keep the car for 200,000 miles.



Even though you may use good oil on this new Impala, keep in mind that other engine related issues may come up unexpectedly. I thought I would get 200k+ out of my Grand Am but it has gasket issues. I wonder if GM used good gaskets on this 3.6 engine?


GM hasn't had gasket problems in years. None of their newer engines suffer from any of those maladies. The 3.6L and 3.0L High Feature V6s are miracles of engineering. Seriously, the 3.0L Makes 264HP. The 3.6L Makes 310. the 3.6L may have more torque, but both are excellent engines.

All modern Ecotec 4cly engines are nearly trouble free, with the exception of the camshaft actuators on the 2.4, a problem that is exclusive only to the equinox version of that engine, strangely.\

Say what you will about GM, their new engines are extremely well engineered.
 
The 2012 OLM is programmed for Dexos 1.

Their are currently only 3 Synthetic Blends available (to the best of my knowledge). They are made by Mobil and SOPUS.
AC Delco (Mobil)
Pennzoil (SOPUS)
QuakerState (SOPUS)

Generally the cheapest name brand full synthetic at Walmart is:
Pennzoil Platinum or Quaker State Ultimate Durabily. Both are Dexos 1 certified.

Standard Mobil 1 is certified. EP isnt required. No need to pay for EP when the standard M1 is more than capable of OLM mileage.

I suspect once they become mainstream in the market the SOPUS Blends will be the cheapest option.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick R
Originally Posted By: mike7139
Originally Posted By: rjh245
So it sounds like the opion is that if I run with Mobil 1 and use either a Mobil or AC Delco filter I will be fine using the oil change monitor. I do know my wife hopes to keep the car for 200,000 miles.



Even though you may use good oil on this new Impala, keep in mind that other engine related issues may come up unexpectedly. I thought I would get 200k+ out of my Grand Am but it has gasket issues. I wonder if GM used good gaskets on this 3.6 engine?


GM hasn't had gasket problems in years. None of their newer engines suffer from any of those maladies. The 3.6L and 3.0L High Feature V6s are miracles of engineering. Seriously, the 3.0L Makes 264HP. The 3.6L Makes 310. the 3.6L may have more torque, but both are excellent engines.

All modern Ecotec 4cly engines are nearly trouble free, with the exception of the camshaft actuators on the 2.4, a problem that is exclusive only to the equinox version of that engine, strangely.\

Say what you will about GM, their new engines are extremely well engineered.



Yes GM engines are extremely well engineered but keep in mind that these gasket issues didn't show up until years later. Sure, when an engine is new it is going to perform very well with no problem but for those of us that like to keep our cars 200k+ I would like to see some high quality parts being used in the engine.
 
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