The proper oil shouldn't need additives.

And FWIW, I put some 0W-40 Castrol Syntec oil in my C-5 a couple of years ago, just before I put it away for the winter. I did this because I like to start it up and let it run for 15-20 minutes, two or three times, during the winter. I thought the "zero" component of the oil would allow it to initially circulate faster, when I started it up.

Long story short, as soon as I started it up, after putting the Castrol in, the lifters began to clatter like crazy. I let it warm up, think that the oil would "thicken" as it warmed, and the clatter would go away. It didn't.......I immediately dumped 7 quarts of new oil, replaced it with 5W-30 Mobil1, and the engine quieted back up.

 

1. "Best" oil? Any high quality full synthetic such as M1, Amsoil, Red Line, Castrol, etc
2. "Best" weight? Appropriate weight for your climate and/or your driving style. Typically 5W-30 or 0W-30
3. "Best" oil filter? Wix or NAPA premium (which is actually manufactured exclusively for NAPA by Wix) Wix manufactures its own filters and is NOT a re-branded or private label filter brand like Mobil 1, Royal Purple, STP, and various other "house brands", etc.

HTH

Btw, are other brands "bad"? Of course not, but you asked about the "best".

 

Mobil 1 with a K & N filter.

 

Motul 5w 30

 

same here.

 

mobil 1 EP 5w30, Purolator Classic

 

Mobil 1 and AC Delco UPF44 Ultraguard Gold.

 

You will find endless discussion about this topic on this and other forums on CF. If you want to do some reading google "Bob is the oil guy". I also recommend watching a nice You Tube Video that shows how well one conventional oil (Walmart - SuperTech) and three synthetics (Including Mobil 1) pour at -40F, if that doesn't convince you of the benefits of synthetic oil - nothing will.

While I normally use Mobil 1 oil, I really do not believe that Castrol, Valvoline, Pennzoil, Shell or other name brand synthetic oils are second rate. Mobil 1 does meet the Dexos specs, but so do a few of it's competitors, and others probably could as well, but chose not to pay the fee for the Dexos certification. I use Red Line Gear oil in my transmission and diff, and would not hesitate to use their engine oils - but they seem to be about twice the price of the Mobil 1.

As for oil filters - I used to be a big fan of the K&N or the Mobil 1 filters - both of which used to be made by Champion Labs. But K&N has moved their manufacturing out of the US, and if you look at the reviews posted on a major on-line retail site - it appears that there are a LOT more negative reviews of the non-US made K&N filters. It certainly appears that K&N's Quality Control has dropped significantly. Maybe it was a problem with initial start-up at the new facility - and maybe it's all fixed - but personally - I would have preferred to see them raise their price a bit and keep Making the filters in the US. The Mobil 1 filters are still apparently US made (look for the country the filter is made in to be ink jet printed on the oil filter housing). So - now I use the Mobil 1 filters. I know a number of people that swear by Wix Gold filters, and I have used them, and think that they are a well made high quality filter as well.

Finally - as to viscosity - I suggest using what the factory recommended. The C5 owners manual I've seen says to use 5W-30 if you are going to start the car in cold temps, but that 10W-30 is fine if the car will only be run in above freezing temps. There are plenty of very valid reasons to use a different viscosity oil - but things like bearing clearances, oil temps, etc. start becoming part of the conversation when you start looking at different viscosities, so unless you know that your engine is built differently than the stock motor - I really don't think it makes much sense to vary too far from the factory recommendations.

There are some people that feel a need for oil with higher levels of the "extreme pressure" lubricants - aka. ZDDP. I'll agree that was something important back in the days before roller lifters, but today - I think the ZDDP levels of oils used for street cars can be quite low with no ill effects.

Bottom line - if you change the oil and filter regularly - I would think that any brand name synthetic oil is fine. Based on my very limited research - I use the Mobil 1 filters, but there are unquestionably other good filters out there.

 

I agree with you 100% about the higher end Fram filters....they are very good and did extremely well in this very comprehensive oil filter test:
http://www.gmtruckcentral.com/articl...lterstudy.html

For the price, they are a bargain for the quality, construction and filtration you're getting. Any top end oil filter will work great. But since the best units cost so little, why not get the better versions offered by the manufacturers?

Regarding engine oil, any name brand oil you pick in the correct weight for your vehicle will work perfectly. No modern vehicle with fuel injection is ever going to wear out because you picked the wrong brand of oil. There is no metal to metal contact in the modern GM engines....high zinc content actually costs horsepower. Zinc does not make things "slicker" as many people often think, just the opposite. It is more of an anti wear additive, great for flat tappets, etc.

I have had excellent results in my track cars with synthetic diesel motor oil. I've been using 5W-40 Shell Rotella T6 for the last 4 years. Why Shell oil?....because it's the cheapest at Wally World compared to the Mobil, Chevron, etc synthetic equivalents. I change the oil every 3 track days in my track cars. I just used the Rotella T6 in my daughters Land Rover Discovery today, drain interval was 6500 miles. On her car I use Napa Gold oil filters (made by Wix I believe) since they are great quality and easy to get for the Land Rover motor and proven to be a good match for fitment, etc.

For the street use the weight of oil your owners manual recommends for your temps and name brand oils and filters and you'll be fine. Your engine will never fail due to the brand of oil you use....lack of oil, yes, but not due to the brand of oil.