Let's talk oil

[idahovette]

I get my Mobil 1 from Walmart. Cheapest I have seen so far. My new 2019 Buick Encore takes
0W-20. Never even knew this stuff existed.

My 15 Tahoe runs DEX-OS 0W-20. "0" WTH Don't understand "0". I know with all the new tech stuff, but still. Used to run Valvoline 40w in my Chevelle when it had the LS6 engine in it. Times change

 

[dajn37]

My 15 Tahoe runs DEX-OS 0W-20. "0" WTH Don't understand "0". I know with all the new tech stuff, but still. Used to run Valvoline 40w in my Chevelle when it had the LS6 engine in it. Times change

I dont understand that stuff either. Because of government regulations, they really have to get creative to make an engine pass the emissions. So you get less compression. You have not only crank and cam sensors but also solenoids for intake and exhaust. It really becomes complicated. I don't pretend to understand it. The one thing I do know about some of these modern engines is that it is imperative that you have clean oil and the correct oil. For instance, If you have a 2.4 ecotec engine, you better make damn sure you always have clean oil in it. And the correct oil.

 

[Kim Burke]

My BB in the 1979 has been rebuilt as the avatar shows. Broke in and dyno’ed, it has used oil a minimum of 1qt/1K mile since the beginning.
I changed oil and put a Napa Gold filter with Valvoline full synthetic 10w40 thinking that would be better, instead, the oil consumption was as bad or worse.
Talked to the rebuilder this weekend and was told that full synthetic has a film that coats and clings to the bearing surfaces and cylinder walls in the new engines that doesn’t work in the older motors. He was emphatic that synthetic will unseat the rings causing oil to bypass the rings. He in fact put 10w40 conventional oil in it after the “break in” oil change and dyno’ed it.
I will be changing the synthetic out and going back with a conventional oil. Not claiming I know what I’m doing but the 76 I owned didn’t use a full qt between oil changes(3K mile). Always used straight 30w Valvoline for the 80Kish miles I owned it. I thought I was doing something great using modern tech oil in the old tech engine. Now I’m not so sure.

Like Someone else said on here, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.

 

[77 K20]

My 15 Tahoe runs DEX-OS 0W-20. "0" WTH Don't understand "0". I know with all the new tech stuff, but still. Used to run Valvoline 40w in my Chevelle when it had the LS6 engine in it. Times change

With 0 weight oil the oil pump doesn't work as hard so you gain a tiny bit of MPG.

They shave a tiny bit anywhere/everywhere they can.

 

[shanegtr]

Just to clear things up, a 5W-40, 10W-40, 15W-40 etc... all have the same (ok maybe not exactly the same, but within allowable range) viscosity at operating temp (100degC - 212degF). Were they differ is in the cold flow rates - so the 5W will flow much better at freezing temps compared to a 15W oil (the W part is the winter rating). This is exactly what a multigrade oil is designed to do. On the other side a 5W-20, 5W-30 and 5W-40 will all have similar viscosity characteristics at the same below freezing temps, but will have very different viscosities at operating temp as its the second part of the grade that determines the oils viscosity grade at the previously mentioned 100degC or 212degF (that's the standard temp its rated at).

With 0 weight oil the oil pump doesn't work as hard so you gain a tiny bit of MPG.

They shave a tiny bit anywhere/everywhere they can.

A 0W oil will only pump easier when cold if the second part of the grade is the same ie - 0W-30 vs 5W-30, otherwise at operating temp this two grades will be the same

 

[Frankenchevy]

My BB in the 1979 has been rebuilt as the avatar shows. Broke in and dyno’ed, it has used oil a minimum of 1qt/1K mile since the beginning.

A quart every 1000 miles seems high any way you slice it. Even my 1962 327 barely used a quart every 3k when I pulled it. Hopefully the tolerances are correct. I’d be interested what the plug, valves and combustion chamber in general looked like after a few oil changes.

 

[77 K20]

.

Yes, and he had mentioned 0W-20 which a lot of new cars are going to. This helps car makers make CAFE standards.

There are some 0W-40 oils that are common for older European vehicles- which as you said don't increase gas mileage. Just help for cold weather starts.

 

[Kim Burke]

A quart every 1000 miles seems high any way you slice it. Even my 1962 327 barely used a quart every 3k when I pulled it. Hopefully the tolerances are correct. I’d be interested what the plug, valves and combustion chamber in general looked like after a few oil changes.

Agree 100%. I’m going to drive the s$*&t out of it and see if the rings seat better. I only have maybe 4-5K on the motor at the most. My speedo was crap for a lot of the build. Have put less than 1500 mile on it since the speedo was fixed. The speedo is ~13% fast, so that’s even less real mileage.

 

[Frankenchevy]

That’s how I was always told to break in sport bikes, just rail on them...

Different beast, but may work none the less

When I do top ends on my two stroke dirt bikes, it’s similar. As soon as you get a couple heat cycles in the cylinder, you have to rail on them, or the rings won’t properly seat.

 

[Frankenchevy]

A wet vs dry compression test would also be telling after a few oil changes.

 

[Kim Burke]

That’s how I was always told to break in sport bikes, just rail on them...

Different beast, but may work none the less

When I do top ends on my two stroke dirt bikes, it’s similar. As soon as you get a couple heat cycles in the cylinder, you have to rail on them, or the rings won’t properly seat.

 

[richiemoe]

My stuff isn't anything special, but my daily drivers have all made it over 200k, and an old truck that ran to almost 300k before selling, and i've been using NAPA Full Synthetic for the past 8-10 years. Before that, i just used NAPA Conventional. Which NAPA is the same thing as Valvoline... Maybe it is good marketing, but the NAPA guys do say there are extra additives in the Valvoline High Mileage Full Synthetic. Plus i use the Platinum filter. And i buy in bulk, when on sale, which is about every other month.

On a side note, multiple people have told me to try Amco? I think that is the name. Apparently that is the "good" stuff? But also expensive? The first time a person contacted me about the stuff, was on a Jeep forum when i was looking for stuff for axle gears. I was thinking of trying it in my 2 cycle engines first, as they STINK when they run right now.... Yes, I know different types of the stuff for gearing vs engine oil. haha

 

[Wumbo]

My BB in the 1979 has been rebuilt as the avatar shows. Broke in and dyno’ed, it has used oil a minimum of 1qt/1K mile since the beginning.
I changed oil and put a Napa Gold filter with Valvoline full synthetic 10w40 thinking that would be better, instead, the oil consumption was as bad or worse.
Talked to the rebuilder this weekend and was told that full synthetic has a film that coats and clings to the bearing surfaces and cylinder walls in the new engines that doesn’t work in the older motors. He was emphatic that synthetic will unseat the rings causing oil to bypass the rings. He in fact put 10w40 conventional oil in it after the “break in” oil change and dyno’ed it.
I will be changing the synthetic out and going back with a conventional oil. Not claiming I know what I’m doing but the 76 I owned didn’t use a full qt between oil changes(3K mile). Always used straight 30w Valvoline for the 80Kish miles I owned it. I thought I was doing something great using modern tech oil in the old tech engine. Now I’m not so sure.

Like Someone else said on here, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.

Your builder is full of it.

What kind of valve seals? Umbrella?

 

[KilgoreTrout]

I've run dino rotella and rotella t6 in my 4.0l jeeps and Honda CBR1000 for years because it was cheap. I'd stock up every year when the rebates came around. At least 150k+ miles I ran it. Still do in my bike.
I always changed it right at 5k miles (give or take 5k miles.....lol)
I've used Mobil 1 0-20 in my Mazda 6 and ex wife's Corolla for years and a pile of miles, too.
Honestly? I'm really not worried about oil brands. I think it's all gotten much better over the years, and I've never actually had an oil related failure, so....
I used nothing but conventional castrol in a civic hatch for like 200k miles. I rarely ever changed the oil (I was a bit young and dumb). It got to the point where the rings were pretty toasty, so I swapped them out.
Im pretty sure it wasn't castrol's fault that I did 10k-40k OCIs. [emoji16]


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[Daveo91Burb]

Just put Mobil 1 5w-20 in my new 383. I sure hope the the bit about synthetic causing rings to unseat is incorrect. This is my first time using synthetic in one of my old cars - I've always worried it would seep past seals but I'm giving it a shot this time. I also eliminated the factory oil cooler (leaky hoses, doesn't help much with cooling, simplify, etc.) and installed a regular oil filter adapter and the 2qt AC Delco filter.