crainholio

I switched my truck (Toyota 4.7L V8) from Mobil-1 5W-30 to their "High Mileage" synthetic 5W-30...more zinc and other anti-wear additives according to the spec sheet...and I'm noticing the engine noises I previously had are gone.

With the regular Mobil-1 it had a bit of piston slap-sounding noise at cold (<30degF) startup, and an audible tick at idle similar to a lifter tick. Neither sounded catastrophic, but were noticeable, and are now gone w/ the High Mileage synth.

I'd been running M-1 high mileage 10W-40 in my LS1 last season and the engine was happy. Quiet and very little oil consumption compared to M-1 5W-30. I'll try the High Mileage 5W-30 in it this Spring when hybernation is over.

bobby777

GO to sears--they have 50 gallon drums of used oil--I believe they will fill up your 2 gallon can for $2.57-- You will get a blend of syn. and conv. along with many brands--

T A WS6 M6

Jeez people. Take it easy on the guy. It's obviously his first experience with a vehicle like this. Heaven forbid he asks some odd questions. You know, there are some communities that see conventional as better stuff than synthetics for their application.

This is probably the most rational, well thought-out response in this thread. Take this advice, and don't get too caught up on the brand. I've personally used many different brands in my various Gen III/IV small blocks, and not one blew up my motor or made it dead quiet with 30 extra horsepower. I'm not a fan of Mobile 1, but it will work just fine, as will any other brand mentioned by rws, plus a few others like Royal Purple or Amsoil.

Enjoy your Corvette!

Ikester

FAIL!

retired cop

Why doesn't the f bodys require synthetic oil its the same engine? I use Penzoil Platinum. I just always wanted to know the reason.

Cruncher

Try this for K&N filters: http://www.corvetteguys.com/corvette-oil-filters.html (& $0.00 shipping). I also use Amazon for these filters...when you purchase 3 filters, it's a little over $9 each. Either place is fine with me, based on my experience.

m6 c5

I know ET answered this question a while back and it seems like it had to do with they way they breath, corvette is a bottom breather and the camaro breaths from the front bumper. They may also run at different temps but Im not sure.

retired cop

ok just wondering why

m6 c5

Well Im not positive but it seems like thats what I remember him saying, but personally I would run synthetic in the camaro too.

ctusser

Conventional oil would work just fine if you followed regular change intervals and didn't track the car. The synthetic will work better for severe duty use such as in track conditions and is specified for the car in case it is used for that purpose, and b/c the oil life monitor is programmed for synthetic (longer change interval).

Some people here tend to obsess about what weight, what kind, what brand etc. and many just mostly polish the car and drive it a couple thousand miles a year. With that kind of use it wouldn't matter what kind of oil they ran. Others obsess about gaining longevity by using a certain brand or type, yet they are power junkies and rebuild or replace the motor before it's near worn out anyway.

I deal with work vehicles that have 250K+ miles on them still running strong on conventional oil. I do like to run synthetic b/c I can get away with longer change intervals in my personal vehicles mainly just b/c I'm lazy and would like to change the oil less frequently.

retired cop

When I was working we ran the patrol cars really hard. 2 hours idling in 90 degree weather, full throttle code 3 runs. One morning we had a chase that lasted almost 45 mins, full throttle all the way. The dept used cheap bulk oil and in 15 years we only blew 2 motors. These were 4.6 liter Fords. After 120,000 miles the cars were auctioned off. They were mostly sent to Haiti to be used as cabs. Regular oil is not bad. But like I said I use Pennzoil Platinum but I think you could run a vette on regular oil. You cant imagine the abuse a patrol car takes I felt sorry for them LOL!!

kp1

They don't run at different temps and air intake through a proper filter isn't going to matter.

The only reason is that one car has a Corvette badge on it.

When is full synthetic really full synthetic? Seems to me that most oils labled full synthetic now are using highly refined dino as the base stock.

retired cop

Maybe Mobil greased GMs wallets

machz800ps

Thank you, I have 3- 6.0 liter silverados 2500 (work vehicles)a 02,05,09 all have had nothing but conventional oil in them and have gone 8000 miles at times between oil changes the 02 has 160k on it and the 05 has 140k never any problems due to oil. Now my 04 z06 does get mobile 1 every 3000 miles but its my toy and a high performance engine so i treated better. Oil is Oil daily drivers dont last forever.JMO

Steve

m6 c5

It was the air intake temp that he was referring to if Im not mistaken, as the vette getts hotter air right off the road and the camaro is cooler as it is taken from higher up. And I know that with the camaro the air intake temp is within a few degrees of the outside air temp where the vettes is several degrees higher.

narfdanarf

The conventional I use costs more than most synthetics, but it's not about money, it's about superior lubrication and high load carrying capability with a lot of zinc.

manley845

Use what ever makes you feel comfy. Oils are different, they all have different additive packages, but all oils will protect your engine from oil related failures so long as you keep it changed regularly.
Oil essentially get dirty at the same rate for a given interval, but conventional oil begins to lose its viscosity much sooner and therefore should be changed sooner than synthetic oil. But if you're a 3000 mile/3 month kinda guy, the use whatever you like because any oil will give protection under those intervals.

Any SM rated oil will be just fine. Obviously though, the Mobil 1 5w-30 or 10w-30 is manufacturer recommended.

I run Mobil 1 10w-30 currently, but may be switching to Castrol Edge for giggles. I also prefer Valvoline conventional oil, if I were to go that direction, due to it's low ash content.

02HREBlue

My previous BMW had 16000 miles on the FIRST synthetic oil change, and even then they reluctantly changed it. The new oils are just that good. IMHO, unless you are tracking the car this subject is moot. BMW would never risk new turbo engines under warranty just to save a few bucks on oil changes. Just wont believe it, way overhyped this oil change thing.

C66 Racing

Steve,
Confirming what others have said above, the owner's manual spec for your 03 is GM 4718M which required a synthetic to meet, though not all synthetics met it. The basis behind requiring a synthetic was the high heat the oil could see in a car designed to operate without an oil cooler in a performance application.

Making things a little more complicated for you, this year GM came out with a new spec, Dexos1, that replaced both their prior synthetic spec (GM 4718M) and conventional spec (GM 6094M). They say that this oil is backwards compatable and over time you are going to see fewer and fewer oils labeled to meet GM 4718M which I'm not sure exists anymore. Also complicating things, to meet Dexos1 can probably be done with a synthetic blend, though most Dexos1 oils will likely be at least Group III highly hydroprocessed mineral oil (allowed to be labeled as synthetic by the NAD) similar to the vast majority of synthetic oils on the market today.

AMSOIL already has two Group III synthetic oils on the market labeled for Dexos1 and will likely change their two Group IV PAO synthetics basestock oils for Dexos1 this year.
AMSOIL XL Synthetic 5w30 (Product Code XLFQT)
AMSOIL OE Synthetic 5w30 (Product Code OEFQT)

Here is an interesting article on Dexos1 in a lubricant industry periodical:
Will Dexos Tease the Synthetic Tier

Quicksilver Vert 01

Very interesting article indeed!