I have a 2013 Grand Sport (dry sump LS3) I can't decide which oil to go w/for my next oil change. I am trying to decide between Amsoil 0w-30 Signature series Which I have in it now: (http://www.amsoil.com/shop/by-produc...?code=AZOQT-EA) OR switch to Driven LS30 5W-30 (http://www.drivenracingoil.com/dro/l...etic-5w-30html) I have not heard much about the Driven LS30 oil. Does anyone have any first hand knowledge about this oil?

 

What makes either of those better than Mobil 1 which is what is recommended by GM?

 

I would stick with the Amsoil; more than adequate unless you a racer.

 

zddp

 

So Mobil 1 has no ZDDP additive?

 

Penzoil Ultima 5-30 has the best pressure rating of any of the oils. Some of the oils with ZDDP lost pressure values when added. Be careful with additives or oils with additives.

 

I can't say that Amsoil or Driven is 'better' than Mobil 1...I use Amsoil 0W-30 Signature series in my car & If I changed to a different oil, there would have to be a great deal of evidence to facilitate the oil brand change. I guess it's the same as: If I bought Longtube Headers for the dry sump Grand Sport I bought; I would choose Kooks over any other brand- LG, Stainless works, Billy Boat, American Racing, JBA. It doesn't matter who, I Just prefer Kooks...I had them on my '08 & If I got Headers again for my '13 they would also be Kooks.

 

The question that needs to be asked is: How do you drive your car?
Primarily track?
Occasional track?
Never track, but very aggressively?
Daily driver?
Long road trips?
Weekend cruises?
How long do you intend to keep the car?
How long have you had it?
What is the current mileage?

 

Red Line is Ester base group 4 synthetic. Not all synthetics are created equal, high quality base stock cost more than conventional base stock, translating into a much more stable product. Driven makes nothing and has someone else make it for them.

Here are the specs for Red Line.

ACEA Service Class A3 B3/B4
API Service Class SN/SM/SL/CF
Viscosity Grade SAE 5W30
Vis @ 100°C, cSt 11.9
Vis @ 40°C, cSt 71
Viscosity Index 166
CCS Viscosity, Poise, @ °C 60@-30
Pour Point, °C -45
Pour Point, °F -49
NOACK Evaporation Loss,1hr @ 482°F (250°C), % 6
HTHS Vis, cP @150°C, ASTM D4741 3.7

 

I don't have the chemical breakdown of the Driven oil, but I used it on my last oil change. I can say from the oil pressure readings that it maintains the same oil pressure as the Euro 0w40 I used? The oil temp was 210*

Its not a cheap oil from summit.

Most technical articles dealing with oil pressure Vs temp state to use a viscosity that gives you 30 psi at idle with the oil at full temp or generally 210-220* @270* the oil life breaks down pretty quick.

Bobtheoilguy.com has an article that goes into depth on the subject. Its carried by a few sites.

 

Considering the fact that these engines are every day, normal Chevy V8s with absolutely nothing special about them internally. Normal clearances, basic bearings, not high revving, certainly not a purpose built engine in any way, etc......

All you can do to protect the engine at its highest level is to use off the shelf, non-synthetic oil and change it every 3,000 miles.

All of this super-duper special magical synthetic oil is all marketing. It offers zero in extra protection over non-synthetic. My last fully forged LSx engine, 436ci stroker lasted 173,000 miles. The reason it failed is because a piston got cocked in the cylinder on the upstroke at 160mph and caused the rod to snap and take out everything else. It was built to take a 400 shot of nitrous and was only supposed to last 40,000 miles before rebuild time....and it lasted 173,000. It got cocked because it was a 4.125" stroke in the old shorter Darton sleeves, it finally worn down and got cocked. Looked spotless inside as far as oiling went.

Regular oil is all you need. I ran Castrol GTX 20w50 its entire life. But to each his own. Personally, I think its nuts to keep oil in an engine for 4,5,6,000 miles. If you're gonna do that, at least change the oil filter every 3,000 miles.

 

That's blasphemy!! Turn in your Corvette Owners card

 

Yeah, he's officially off the D-bag list.......

 

I don't drive it on a track. Just on the street. After the car is warmed up, I'm not afraid to get on it some (Which seems to be when the oil temp is 160-175 or so...I can drive this Grand Sport around for an hour or more and the oil temp will only get up to around 180.) The temperature outside is 85-95 in Texas. Then some of you guys say: "You're not driving it hard enough" blah blah...I don't go around doing burn outs and beating the crap out of my car but I do drive it hard from time to time and the highest oil temp I've seen in it is 187. I bought it w/ 6 miles on the odometer it has 6150 on it now. I changed out the factory fill to Amsoil 0w-30 Signature series at 4k miles and used the recommended Royal Purple oil filter 10-48.

 

LOL

Just the facts man. A purpose built race engine whether it be dragrace , road race, sprints........can be built with a VERY BIG difference in everything below the intake. Also spinning 6,000 rpms as our LSx engines do.....isn't much. My 436ci stroker was built to spin to 7,300 rpm and it saw that all the time when I raced it (every week for 10+ years. So my builder told me to only use 20w50 down here in HOT South Florida. My new engine, LSx 390ci iron fully forged built for boost, the builder AES, told me to also use 20w50. But my friend who builds a lot of road race engines and 6-7 second single turbo drag engines that get beat to death, he recommends all the other types of oils. Tolerances are different throughout those engines.

Our factory LSx engines are basic engines.......nothing special at all. They are made to run for 250,000 miles for the every day Joe Blow who only puts gas in it, gets the tires changed and takes it in for service. Its by no means a race type engine.

Off the shelf....non-synthetic is all these engines need and they will run for a long time....just cant keep it in there for more than about 3,000 miles.

 

Stick with the Amsoil... it has good specs for your application and is widely accepted as a good oil in general. No reason to change horses in the middle of the stream

 

It appears you tend to keep a car about 5 years and drive about 6K miles annually, so you'll likely sell this one with 30K on the clock. Since you don't flog it regularly, it's doubtful that you could hurt it by using most any oil that's at least one step better than donkey snot. In reality, the low oil temps will have more long term wear issues than the brand of oil you use.

If you want to preserve the engine in great condition for the next owner, then continue to do the ~4K mile oil changes with the oil you presently use and either block off part of the oil cooler or install an inline oil t-stat to bring up the temps.

 

Design flaw or what-have-you, I should not have to beat the **** out of my car to get it 'up to temperature'. I generally don't get on it hard until the oil temp is above 175. If you have a link to the inline oil thermostat would you mind sharing it? I have thought about doing that but I was thinking, that kind of modification would bring up warranty issues if it were to fail. Warranty will not be an issue in a year or 2 from now when I get Longtubes for it.

 

The op had his mind made up before posting, so opinions won t matter.

 

Pennzoil Plat/Ultra use to be very good, but they just changed the formula and the ratings are way down.

I use Amsoil Zrod 10-30w. Only other oil I would use is Redline.