and if the filter is mounted sideways?

 

I use regular dino in my Dodge dooley and Excusion both diesel engines. I was going to do them at 7500 miles. from testing I learned to do the Dodge at 10,000 and the Ford at 5,000. Now both get what they need with no guessing. Evrey large trucking firm or heavy equipment firm uses testing to save money and get the longest possible engine life.

 

The oil life monitor is accurate.
Decades of research prove this.

However, I am suspecting inadvertant resets of the oil life monitor in these cases.

There is a proven glitch, where if one resets the timer function and changes over to oil life indication too quickly, it WILL reset.

Has this been fixed on 08s?

 

That's easy. The 90-95 ZR1 LT5 engines have the oil filter mounted upside down on top of the engine. I fill the filter up completely, then turn it upside down over the oil bottle to drain the center tube...the rest of the oil is held in by the check valve. No mess, no fuss.

 

and sideways?

 

I did too but it got in trouble 2 maybe 3 times

I don't listen to my D.I.C. after I Race I change it every time the magnetic plug has a lot of metal filings on it.

 

Turn the filter sideways after draining the center tube and screw on immediately.

 

And how do you check your magnetic plug?

The notion of counting miles to indicate a time for oil change is ridiculous when you now have technology that can count engine revolutions. This makes MUCH more sense and they further enhance that by also including temperature versus revolutions. This even makes the DIC accurate for road racers. I think GM would not recommend following the DIC if they weren't confident that they could warranty that engine for 100,000 miles.

3,000 mile oil changes are a myth perpetuated by the quick change oil companies. Just a waste of your time, money and resources.

 

S T R O N G L Y
A G R E E D

It's the 21st century folks.
Join it.

 

Never ran into that issue before...
I guess I'd just pour as much in as I could and prime it by cranking it with no ignition for 2x 5 seconds?

 

I completely agree with this since the corvette uses synthetic oil and has the DIC technology.

What are your thoughts for the oil change interval on a car that runs on regular (non-synthetic) oil and does not have a DIC? Just curious.

 

Well of course, if there's no DIC, the only way to GUESStimate the oil use is by the odometer. I think 3-5,000 miles is still a good GUIDEline, you have to remember that engines don't have as much blowby as in the 60's and they have better filters. Even dino oil is better.

As in the past, you should also consider how the car is driven during those 3-5,000 miles. If you're driving ten miles to and from work everyday in Phoenix in the summer or traveling from NY to LA makes a big difference. I wouldn't rush to change my oil after a 3,000 mile trip. I would at LEAST wait till after the return trip if not more.

Fortunately more and more cars are getting these oil management systems and the guess work is less and less likely. Besides all that, you can run synthetic in cars that didn't come with it originally.

 

Read your owners manual and see what it says. I bought an '83 Cavalier new and the manual recommended oil changes every 7500 miles with 5W30. I came from old school where you changed oil every 3000 miles and used 20W50 so when I read that, the first thing I thought was . But I followed that exactly (7500 miles and 5W30), and got 225,000 miles out of the car without the engine EVER being touched. The engine ran just as strong the day I drove it to the junkyard as the day I drove it off the dealers lot. It never burned any oil or had any problems at all and I showed that little 2 liter no mercy at all taking it to its' 6000 RPM redline at least once a day. The only problem I had with the car was the transaxle...it was made in Japan and was the reason for the car going to the junkyard. So much for Japanese quality.

Another thing people lose sight of is the fact that there really isn't much difference between synthetic and regular oil. In normal operating conditions, synthetic really isn't any better than regular oil. The difference comes in when oil temperatures are elevated...synthetic just keeps on going (to a point) where regular oil fails. Synthetics are more like an insurance policy.

 

When in doubt, read the manual.

You bring up another good point. It's a pretty rare situation these days for a car to go to the junkyard because of an engine failure. It's usually other major factors like transmissions, transaxles, rearends or a combination of a dozen little things besides old age.

 

90% of tire failures occur in the last 10% of tread life...

 

Yes, 90% of engine failures will occur in the last 10% of engine life too. The trick is to know when that is. Has nothing to do with the oil.

 

Gets more Men into trouble too.

Good reason not to....

Befor your next oil change Call Bob the Oil Guy and get a kit from him. Send him a sample of your oil for testing.

Bob will analyze your oil and tell what is really going on. Too long between oil changes, use different oil, what chemicals, Cu, Zn, Aluminum or what ever is happening inside your engine.

"Oil analysis can detect:

* Fuel dilution of lubrication oil
* Dirt contamination in the oil
* Antifreeze in the oil
* Excessive bearing wear
* Misapplication of lubricants

Metal Tests
Some of the metals tested for and usually included in analysis of an oil sample and their potential sources are:

* Aluminum (Al): Thrust washers, bearings and pistons are made of this metal. High readings can be from piston skirt scuffing, excessive ring groove wear, broken thrust washers, etc.
* Boron, Magnesium, Calcium, Barium, Phosphorous, and Zinc: These metals are normally from the lubricating oil additive package. They involve detergents, dispersants, extreme-pressure additives, etc.
* Chromium (CR): Normally associated with piston rings. High levels can be caused by dirt coming through the air intake or broken rings.
* Copper (CU), Tin: These metals are normally from bearings or bushings and valve guides. Oil coolers also can contribute to copper readings along with some oil additives. In a new engine these results will normally be high during break-in, but will decline in a few hundred hours.
* Iron (Fe): This can come from many places in the engine such as liners, camshafts, crankshaft, valve train, timing gears, etc.
* Lead (Pb): Use of regular gasoline will cause very high test results. Also associated with bearing wear, but fuel source (leaded gasoline) and sampling contamination (use of galvanized containers for sampling) are critical in interpreting this metal.
* Silicon (Si): High readings generally indicate dirt or fine sand contamination from a leaking air intake system. This would act as an abrasive, causing excessive wear. Silicon is also used as a anti-foam agent in some oils. more on silicon
* Sodium (Na): High readings of this metal normally are associated with a coolant leak, but can be from an oil additive package."




Certain chemical in your oil tells you how your engine is running or if it breaking down.


http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/


And I never understood those DOWN side up oil filters On the Grand Sports or ZR1s

 

I had an 2001 coupe and now I have a 2008 coupe. It was very hard with the 01 to belive the DIC. I think to longest I let it go was 5000 miles. After I bought the 2008 I went back to the dealer after 500 miles (being old school) and their "CORVETTE EXPERT" went on a rant about with the new cars and the new oil not following the DIC was a complete and total waste of money. I still had them change the oil for me. I now have an additional 800 miles on it and have 89% life left. I am going to try my hardest to let it go until I only have 20% life left. People get so wrapped up in these discussions somethings. Just do what you are comfortable with. Some of you guys should liten up a bit.

 

Exactly. With some folks it's their way or nothing. Oil change is like the Z51 discussions. Very subjective. Do your research and make a decision. There is no single right answer.

 

Only the ZR1s had them, the Grand Sport LT4s were just like the LT1s. What do you not understand about them??? Their right on top of the engine with easy access...easiest car I've ever changed the oil on. I'll admit the first time I changed the oil, I thought "what a stupid idea...oil is going to go everywhere when I unscrew it". But not a drop anywhere coming off or going on (with a full filter minus the center tube drained) and I can reach the drain plug from the driver side without jacking it up or going on ramps. Like I said...easiest car I've ever changed the oil on.