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All oils that meet major manufacturer specs are very good. Presuming that you change oil and filter according to recommendations, and don’t do extremely severe driving such as frequent track use, odds that you will have an oil related problem with any of them are low. That said, full synthetics such as Mobil1 or any number of other full synthetics are slightly better lubricants. The biggest single advantage of full synthetics is that they don’t need much, if any VI improver to make specs, and VI improver can break down and lead to viscosity loss. But VI improvers have gotten more robust over the years, so that risk has dropped from significant to modest. Basically it boils down to your philosophy. Do you want to pay more for something that exceeds requirements when something that simply meets requirements is probably good enough.
As to ACDelco’s Dexos spec oil, as EVRose said, it has at least until recently been a synthetic blend, meaning a roughly 50/50 mix of group 3 synthetic and group 2 dino oil. Z28LT1 says it is now full synthetic. I haven’t heard that from others, and the ACDelco web site does not say. When I checked a few other web sites such as Amazon and a few car parts places, they show ACDelco Dexos2 oils as full synthetic, but that’s the diesel spec. ACDelco Dexos1 gasoline spec oils are still listed as blends. That said, I can’t rule out the possibility it’s been upgraded to a full synthetic. You’d have to look on the container to know for sure. The container cannot say full synthetic if it has any group 2 dino oil. If indeed the container still says synthetic or synthetic blend, then the dealer’s ad is false advertising.
Thanks for the informative post.
As for the Delco Dexos 1 being Full Synthetic, that is what my dealer claimed they used for the daily driver and what is showing on the AC Delco site here:
As for the Delco Dexos 1 being Full Synthetic, that is what my dealer claimed they used for the daily driver and what is showing on the AC Delco site here:
Interesting. Apparently they have upgraded, or at least are in the process of upgrading. A minor but troubling detail is that if you go to the web site you referenced, while the text in the site says full synthetic, the label on the pictured bottle of oil still says synthetic blend. It’s also not clear if the new, full synthetic is replacing the synthetic blend or whether they will now carry both. So if you are concerned about full synthetic versus synthetic blend, you should pay attention to the label before you put it in the car. Even if the old synthetic blend is being discontinued, it seems likely that at least some of it is still in inventory, waiting to be cleared out.
I've had it 3 years, but I put very few miles on it. Probably 3000 miles a year and don't race or really abuse it. Mainly just a cruiser. I know I should change it every year, but I guess I was waiting on the DIC to say it needed changing. I think it still says 30
If I take it to them I plan on walking the car down with the service person and explain I only want the oil change, don't touch anything else. But good advice.
I suppose I could if I really had too or wanted too. I mean I know how. I don't have ramps; I only have a low profile jack and jack stands. So for me it's just easier to take it some where.
Thanks for all the input.
One oil change in 3 years. Not good. A once a year oil change is cheap, even if you had to pay a dealership $90.00 for a Mobil 1 full synthetic oil change. Why do people not follow the recommendation of the people that design and build the car. Your oil is probably full of moisture and unburnt fuel, which has severly deluted the oil additive package. I guess the only way to find that out is to send an oil sample to an oil lab for analysis.
One oil change in 3 years. Not good. A once a year oil change is cheap, even if you had to pay a dealership $90.00 for a Mobil 1 full synthetic oil change. Why do people not follow the recommendation of the people that design and build the car. Your oil is probably full of moisture and unburnt fuel, which has severly deluted the oil additive package. I guess the only way to find that out is to send an oil sample to an oil lab for analysis.
Closer to two years, but yeah I let is slip a little.
Oil was changed when I bought it, then I had a free oil change which I used about a year after I bought it. I suppose my thinking is that the car has about 7K miles since the last oil change, and the DIC still says 30% of life is left.
But yeah, I should change it every year regardless.
