C3 General General C3 Corvette Discussion not covered in Tech
Sponsored by:
Sponsored by:

Oil Question

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Sep 2, 2013 | 01:38 PM
  #1  
1978vett's Avatar
1978vett
Thread Starter
Racer
10 Year Member
 
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 423
Likes: 6
Default Oil Question

I'm getting ready to change the oil for the first time in my 78, I am looking for advise on what kind and what weight to use.. It is a 78 with L82 motor, auto trans... with headers,,42000 miles .. It will be driven in warm weather mostly.. Thanks for your help ..
Reply
Old Sep 2, 2013 | 01:44 PM
  #2  
briankeery's Avatar
briankeery
Melting Slicks
10 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 3,453
Likes: 67
From: Midland Ontario
NCM Sinkhole Donor
Default

Oh oh, here we go.........Valvoline VR-1
Reply
Old Sep 2, 2013 | 01:58 PM
  #3  
dar322's Avatar
dar322
Burning Brakes
15 Year Member
All Eyes On Me
Liked
Loved
 
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,086
Likes: 22
From: Crystal Lake IL
St. Jude Donor '12-'13
Default

do your homework and read the stickie in the c3 tech and performance unless you wanna start an argument.
Reply
Old Sep 2, 2013 | 02:28 PM
  #4  
1978vett's Avatar
1978vett
Thread Starter
Racer
10 Year Member
 
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 423
Likes: 6
Default

Originally Posted by dar322
do your homework and read the stickie in the c3 tech and performance unless you wanna start an argument.
excuse me for asking....
Reply
Old Sep 2, 2013 | 02:42 PM
  #5  
kenpofan's Avatar
kenpofan
Instructor
10 Year Member
 
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 249
Likes: 7
From: Wentworth North Carolina
Default

IMHO Classic Car oil with good Zinc levels..
In the past this has been a heated debate issue.
Reply
Old Sep 2, 2013 | 02:55 PM
  #6  
1978vett's Avatar
1978vett
Thread Starter
Racer
10 Year Member
 
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 423
Likes: 6
Default

Originally Posted by kenpofan
IMHO Classic Car oil with good Zinc levels..
In the past this has been a heated debate issue.
Thanks for your reply,, I wasn't trying to cause any drama,, I'm new to Corvettes and am just trying to get answers from the people who have owned them for a while..
Reply
Old Sep 2, 2013 | 04:13 PM
  #7  
kenpofan's Avatar
kenpofan
Instructor
10 Year Member
 
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 249
Likes: 7
From: Wentworth North Carolina
Default

Originally Posted by 1978vett
Thanks for your reply,, I wasn't trying to cause any drama,, I'm new to Corvettes and am just trying to get answers from the people who have owned them for a while..
We have experts on everything here , the problem is they for the most part can't agree on oil types or e-10 gas .

FWIW
I like this oil. http://www.castrol.com/castrol/gener...tentId=7032644

easily available and high zinc.
Reply
Old Sep 2, 2013 | 05:34 PM
  #8  
MelWff's Avatar
MelWff
Race Director
20 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
 
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 18,703
Likes: 2,572
Default

this is the highly debated thread, I use 10W30 Valvoline VR1 but only drive about 1k per year.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-t...test-data.html
Reply
Corvette Stories

The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts

story-0

Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!

 Michael S. Palmer
story-1

Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!

 Joe Kucinski
story-2

150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter

 Joe Kucinski
story-3

8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time

 Verdad Gallardo
story-4

Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)

 Joe Kucinski
story-5

Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!

 Verdad Gallardo
story-6

Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!

 Brett Foote
story-7

Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!

 Michael S. Palmer
story-8

10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know

 Joe Kucinski
story-9

5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2

 Michael S. Palmer
Old Sep 2, 2013 | 08:57 PM
  #9  
Lupigiato's Avatar
Lupigiato
Melting Slicks
15 Year Member
Conversation Starter
All Eyes On Me
Liked
 
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 2,207
Likes: 26
From: Ocean County NJ
Default

Originally Posted by briankeery
Oh oh, here we go.........Valvoline VR-1
I have a 68 rebuilt, high performance engine setup. I also have a stock 73 and use Valvoline VR1 20W-50 in both. As Brian said, everyone has a different and emotional, loyal and strong preference to their oils. If you search and read the threads on this topic, you will not come away with one brand and viscosity. I chose my oil based on a Corvette experts opinion and that was good enough for me and have 0 complaints. I tried synthetic oil once and will never go back, as it leaked all over the place. I like a thicker oil in these old cars.
Reply
Old Sep 2, 2013 | 09:22 PM
  #10  
STINGRAY1WORD's Avatar
STINGRAY1WORD
Racer
20 Year Member
All Eyes On Me
 
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 319
Likes: 3
From: santa clara ca
Default

No need to play engineer if its stock, just go with what GM recommended.
Reply
Old Sep 2, 2013 | 09:30 PM
  #11  
briankeery's Avatar
briankeery
Melting Slicks
10 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 3,453
Likes: 67
From: Midland Ontario
NCM Sinkhole Donor
Default

GM recommended everything from 5w30 to 20w50. That's not as important as realizing that zinc levels have changed since your '78 was built. Therefore the arguement that develops is how much zinc you need in your oil for your original flat tappet cam engine. As mentioned, read the sticky if you like and maybe that will help you understand people's choices.
Reply
Old Sep 8, 2013 | 05:29 PM
  #12  
C6DuffMan's Avatar
C6DuffMan
Drifting
15 Year Member
Active Streak: 30 Days
Active Streak: 60 Days
All Eyes On Me
 
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 1,647
Likes: 5
From: Roseville CA
Default

I'm using 15W50 Mobil 1 in my 71 454 and it's starting to leak. It's leaking at the back of the oil pan and out the valve covers.

I'm going to try the Valvoline VR-1.
Reply

Get notified of new replies

To Oil Question





All times are GMT -4. The time now is 08:57 PM.

story-0
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!

Slideshow: How to Protect A Convertible Top: 10 DOs & DON'Ts

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-04-03 00:00:00


VIEW MORE
story-1
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!

Slideshow: The 10 most explosive Corvettes ever built based on power-to-weight ratio.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-20 07:23:03


VIEW MORE
story-2
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter

Slideshow: From C1 to C8 we compare every Corvette generation by the numbers.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-12 16:54:12


VIEW MORE
story-3
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time

Slideshow: Some Corvette pace cars became collectible legends, while others perfectly captured the look and attitude of their era.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-11 09:50:51


VIEW MORE
story-4
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)

Slideshow: Ranking the top 10 Corvette engines by torque output.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-05 11:58:09


VIEW MORE
story-5
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!

Slideshow: A Corvette pace car nearly matching IndyCar speeds sounds exaggerated, until you look at the numbers.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-04 20:03:36


VIEW MORE
story-6
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!

Among a rather large group of them.

By Brett Foote | 2026-05-04 13:56:44


VIEW MORE
story-7
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!

Slideshow: the top 10 things Corvette owners want in the C9 Corvette

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-04-30 12:41:15


VIEW MORE
story-8
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know

Slideshow: 10 Important Corvette 'firsts' that every fan should know.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-04-29 17:02:16


VIEW MORE
story-9
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2

Slideshow: Should you buy a 2020-2026 Corvette or wait for 2027?

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-04-22 10:08:58


VIEW MORE