general oil question - NJFBOA - Home of New Jersey's Camaros and Firebirds

madness410 · 07-30-2010, 06:34 PM

2002 3.8 camaro..

not sure what type of oil was used in it before hand, but i want to take real good care of this motor and am looking to do a synthetic oil change next time around.

ive heard horror stories of people putting synthetic oil in and then having their motor go to crap because the crappy conventional oil was what was keeping their motor running. my motor has 64,000 miles on it, and runs amazing. do you think that just swapping the oil out and putting synthetic in the next oil change would be any kind of problem?

methdmx · 07-30-2010, 08:55 PM

I'm not an expert, but I've read that synthetic's molecules are smaller so you might get gasket leaks when there was none before. If you swap and there are no leaks I'd think you'd be good... Experts weigh in?

BonzoHansen · 07-30-2010, 10:12 PM

no, no problems. don't listen to the real old guys and their 5th hand stores from the 70s.

madness410 · 07-31-2010, 01:04 AM

hmm two different answers i dont know who to believe lol...does anyone else have any input? im not due for an oil change for a little while but id like to know if i could put synthetic in without any problems in case any good sales come up

_87TA_ · 07-31-2010, 02:47 AM

You will NOT have any problems. I can almost guarentee(sp?) it. Go for it.

Firebird92 · 07-31-2010, 05:44 AM

put oil you know is good
redline--- i love the stuff i put it in my mom van to my firebird
castol edge-- im still testing there 15000 mile oil change in my DD
Pennzoil--- never had a problem going to try there new pennzoil ultra after i get some freeback on it.
Royal Purple-- OMFG it's Purple lollol but i have a friend that swears by the stuff he purples everything never had a problem
mobile one--- never used it but if Nascar can do 500 left turns on it hahahh
Brad Penn--- regular oil but with a HIGH zinc concentration (fights heat build up )
AMsoil--- is a other good one

but on a real note regular oil smokes and burns quicker then synthetic if you motor eats oil that is, a gasket isn't going to leak just form changing the oil, unless it there was sludge or some engine gunk blocking a hole or hold it together, because all synthetic have clean agents some more then others and " it will" get what the regular oil can't not out your engine.

and how i see if pick an oil for your driving and area.

Castol edge-- if it's you DD and you take it easy and want long oil change times I'm up too 7342 miles and it's still green-ish
Pennzoil-- if you want a engine you can eat off of or just to clean it (personal i would use this just to get it clean and all the gunk out it will take 2 -4 oil changes if there's alot)
Amsoil, royal purple or redline... for that racing protection or if you drive like me (pedal to the metal balls to the wall and always sideways )

so that should help you out some

NJ Torque · 07-31-2010, 06:30 AM

You'll be fine. I went for a weeks training on motor oil, trans fluid, and flush additives from Valvoline. If you can't mix them, then there could be no such thing as a synthetic blend oil.

madness410 · 07-31-2010, 09:32 AM

thanks for the input guys. next oil change im going to throw mobil one in there mainly because of its popularity, some of the oils firebird92 mentioned ive heard of but have never seen in stores

Firebird92 · 08-01-2010, 03:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by madness410

thanks for the input guys. next oil change im going to throw mobil one in there mainly because of its popularity, some of the oils firebird92 mentioned ive heard of but have never seen in stores

you have to order them on summit but brad penn is only sold in 5 stores in NJ

madness410 · 08-01-2010, 08:00 AM

yeah thats what im saying...are there really major differences in synthetic oil that one brand is sold in only 5 stores and another is sold in every auto parts store accross the country like mobil1

Firebird92 · 08-01-2010, 06:36 PM

Yea brad penn you will see at the track or someone that has a turbo or superchargered or an old timer. not many ppl hread or even seen this oil. It only comes in reg oil not syn its made in PA so it made in the USA lol if that means anything lolol, the zinc levels in it and just how good it is for being reg oil and marketing I guess. But as I said before get oil that match ur driving and what grade do u run ? 5w30 or 10w30

madness410 · 08-01-2010, 07:01 PM

i couldnt even tell you off the top of my head...i think 10w 30 but im not even sure about that

BigAls87Z28 · 08-01-2010, 07:19 PM

The horror stories you are hearing about are more related to engines that are super gunked up, and that thick sludge builds up where it was leaking
Modern oils, especially synthetic oils have a large package of detergents in them to clean out this gunk.
When it does, you start to see leaks. The engine was already a problem, the oil was just doing its job.
You should be just fine.
Same goes for trannies. They shift fine for 120k because all the crap thickens the fluid, expanding the tollerences between the clutch packs, etc etc, giving you a nice firm feel to shifts. But when you clean that all out with new fluid, all that is gone, so those large tollerences between everything are now going to cause a problem, and it wont shift right.

Now if you want to get technical, the syntheic oils you buy in the store are not true Grou IV base synthetic oils, at least most of them arent. Most are just scientificly restructured versions of dino oil to protect like sythetic oils do.

And before you ask, change your oil as per manufacture spec, do not extend the oil life. The oil change intervals are based on how long till the oil reaches a certain point where it can no longer clean and contain the crap inside your engine. At that point, its time to change it.
Modern cars go longer now not because of synthetics, its because they put larger oil pans on them. My 2.4 in the malibu holds 4.5 qts. Thats .5-1 qt less then a Gen 1/2 small block.

madness410 · 08-01-2010, 07:31 PM

thanks for the info. all is understood except for the second paragraph. you mean dont change my oil every 4/5000 miles because its synthetic or change it every 3000 according to manufacturer specs

Firebird92 · 08-01-2010, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by madness410

i couldnt even tell you off the top of my head...i think 10w 30 but im not even sure about that

whats the manual say?
if anything i would run 5w30

WildBillyT · 08-01-2010, 10:42 PM

I have 152,000 on my 3.8L. Ran M1 10w30 until 125k, then M1 High Mileage 10w30 until now.

BigAls87Z28 · 08-01-2010, 11:11 PM

correct, follow what the manufacture says to change the oil.
The extended performance M1 is designed to handle up to 15k, that doesnt mean that you should wait that long to replace it, its just that it wont start to sheer till 15k.

Knipps · 08-02-2010, 06:33 AM

Soon manufacturers are going to be telling people to change their oil every 10k miles. OMGZ TECHNOLOGY

madness410 · 08-02-2010, 10:12 AM

thanks al I will keep that in mind

and zOMG technology

BigAls87Z28 · 08-02-2010, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Knipps

Soon manufacturers are going to be telling people to change their oil every 10k miles. OMGZ TECHNOLOGY

Already been done....we havez the tecknologies!

The Fixer · 08-02-2010, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Knipps

Soon manufacturers are going to be telling people to change their oil every 10k miles. OMGZ TECHNOLOGY

One of the teachers I work with just bought a new Honda Accord. It has an oil change life monitor, so you don't change it until the car says it is at 20%. I think she's gone over 8K miles already and it still said it was at 40%. I have no idea what that percentage means - whether its how effective the oil is or what, I dunno.

Anti_Rice_Guy · 08-02-2010, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TPI Monte SS

I have no idea what that percentage means - whether its how effective the oil is

That's my take on it - how much effectiveness (life) is left in the oil.

EchoMirage · 08-02-2010, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TPI Monte SS

One of the teachers I work with just bought a new Honda Accord. It has an oil change life monitor, so you don't change it until the car says it is at 20%. I think she's gone over 8K miles already and it still said it was at 40%. I have no idea what that percentage means - whether its how effective the oil is or what, I dunno.

GMs oil life monitor works on a mathematical equation of run time, idle time, load, and temps to determine the time to change. it doesnt actually measure the oil itself. it calculates how the oil should be given the information gathered by the computer. honduh probably has about the same system.

BigAls87Z28 · 08-04-2010, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EchoMirage

GMs oil life monitor works on a mathematical equation of run time, idle time, load, and temps to determine the time to change. it doesnt actually measure the oil itself. it calculates how the oil should be given the information gathered by the computer. honduh probably has about the same system.

This.
I usually do it around 20% as well.

NastyEllEssWon · 08-04-2010, 06:38 PM

just watch the miles and check the oil often. i got in the habit a long time ago to check my underhood once a week, usually on sundays. ive used royal purple before, broke down quick. mobil 1 for me, but the ion has been on a healthy diet of mobil clean 5000 since new and never had a problem yet.