I wonder what kind of oil GM put in the Camaro Z28, Firebird Transam engines as oppose to the synthetic oil for the Corvette?

If GM put in dino. oil for the Camaro, Firebird, then the Corvette engine really do not need to use synthetic.

 

It may well be true that 99% of our Corvettes don't really NEED synthetic oil.
We use it, as does GM, for insurance.

...that, and Corvette owners are ****, don'tcha'know?

Larry
code5coupe

 

It would probobly run on McDonalds but don't you think the best deserves the best

 

 

I believe that when GM starting using synthetic as the standard oil in the Vette, they eliminated the oil cooler. I don't know if the TA or the Camaro still had oil coolers or not, but if they did, that would explain if non-synthetics were used.

I have a friend that drives an 02 SS Camaro, and his car came with synthetic.

Steven

 

i have a '90, with factory oil cooler, and i certainly don't waste my money on synthetic. i also change it every 3,000-4,000 miles. ran 5w-30 dino oil in it since the day it was rebuilt, and simply decided not to change to synthetic.

 

What about other cars that do not have oil cooler, do they all need to use expensive oil? I think synthetic oil in Corvette engine just a marketing thing so Vette owner would use the expensive oil. What do I know, I am just a humble Corvette owner

 

synthetic oil is for use in high performance engines. If your Vette is designed to run on premium gasoline and not regular 87 unleaded then I wouldnt use anything but synthetic oil. I still use synthetic oil in my '85 just cause it seems to run smoother with it.

 

As long as its not Pennzoil, I run whatever the wonderful "oil techs" at Jiffy lube put in there. At least in the 89. Got a bunch of miles at this point, not like its a virgin anymore.
The Z I run Mobil 1

 

So is the vette motor any better than the Fbody motor, or are the vette owners just more likely to be suckers?

 

I use synthetic oil in all my vehicles,but I do think that as long as you change your oil on a regular basis you can probably use any oil that`s on the market today.

 

And at Walmart I think 1 gallon of Castrol Petroleum oil is around $10.00 and Mobil 1 is Around $20.00 I think the Mobil 1 is worth the extra $10.00.

 

I run synthetic in everything,...isn't peace of mind worth 10-20 bucks?
When i was racing and never had to pay for oil, i tryed everyone on the market, just cuz i wanted to know. In the altered when i switched to syn from regular oil the car picked up close to 750 rpm at idle and simply ran better, on tear down it had less wear, letting me go more rounds between teardowns.

 

There actually was a time when regular oil was decent motor oil--may still be. I'm not knocking it. Something I remember about "Pennsylvania crude" being somewhat better than other crudes. I recall seeing a teardown of an engine after about 110K miles after having used mostly, but not exclusively, Pennzoil (even the wide spread, 10W40) about every 3-4000 miles. Most of the internals looked like they had less than 5K-10K miles, even the chain guide which if I recall was plastic. And this was no pro-built motor.

Times change though, and while it might be safe to use regular oil, it's a tossup to some: less dollars for oil, sooner engine rebuild OR more dollars for oil, and later for engine rebuild. Each of us has a choice. I make mine every oil change.

 

At my local Wally-World, I've seen the Castrol Syntec for $19.00 for the five-quart jug and the Mobil 1 go for $21.99 in the same size container.

 

Absolutely more likely to be suckers. We think our engines/cars are something special, when in reality they are just good-running Chevys.
We are also much more likely to run premium, synthetic oils in our babies than the average Camaro owner.
But, then, you knew that......

Larry
code5coupe

 

So when we the (cheap) owner of older C4 upgrade to C5, we will have to use synthetic oil for the C5?

 

I run Dino-and because of the year 87 and hasn't been apart yet-101,000 miles. I will not switch to synthectic-to many stories about seals leaking after changing.Today the "experts" say change your dino every 5000 miles-I'm old school and still do it every 3000. Two advantages to synthetic are 1. it's lasts longer-recommeded to be changed every 10,000 miles-I don't know anyone going that long in between changes. 2. It can withstand higher engine temps-or oil temps
before it starts to break down. To me, if you're still changing engine oils between 3000 and 5000 miles and using synthetic-you're wasting your money. THAT is just my opinions-to each his own.

 

I believe the criteria for using synthetic vs. regular oil is whether you with to drive the car harder, in more severe conditions, or want to extend intervals between oil changes.

It would not be a stretch for GM to assume Corvette owners may do any/all of the above. If YOU aren't going to do that, you don't need synthetic.

As for Camaros and Firebirds, well... they're more of a cost cutting sportscar. Why not put cheaper oil in them to keep the sticker price down.

 

From a design standpoint, there is an expectation that Corvette drivers will subject their car to a more rigorous and demanding environment than the run of the mill passenger car.

Use of synthetic oil in the LT1 allowed for the removal of the oil cooler while maintaining oil temperatures at an acceptable level.

This doesn't mean that cars that typically don't come with optional or standard oil coolers should be using synthetics. It's application dependant - Corvettes are more likely to see severe duty than Buick Roadmasters. Proportionally more Corvette owners race their cars than owners of Buick Roadmasters (for example). With Grandpa at the wheel of his Roadmaster, it probably doesn't matter if he has synthetic or not.

In fact, if all you do is use your Vette to drive on public roads, careful not to task the engine very much or very often, then you probably don't need synthetic oil. You probably don't have to worry too much about the gas you put in it, either.

I also don't see where GM would gain a big benefit from using synthetic (the marketing ploy you allude to). GM doesn't make any money on dealer sales of synthetic, and it seems unlikely that Mobil was writing checks to GM because of this, either.

It basically boils down to a personal philosophy with respect to how you maintain your vehicle and where you choose to invest your maintenance dollars.

Steven