200K+ club what oil you run in the heat ??

[bayareadude84]

Welp summer days are creeping up here in Oklahoma (Already had some 80 degree days)and wondering what motor oil you guys with 200K+ run in hot summer days ?? 90's/100's can stretch for MONTHS !!!



My 01 burb has 210K miles on the LM7 5.3 and Just did a Magnatec 10W30 oil change but starting to hear some lifter/piston slap with cold start ??? I have a CRAP LOAD of Clearance oil from Walmart 5W40 15W40, 10W40, 5W30 lol. I'm saving the Castrol Magnatec, Mobil 1 10W30, Valvoline full syn 10W30 and pennzoil 5W30 full syn in my private stash


Had enough of the heat and "other southern things" and moving back up north this year but still curious what you guys run with high miles ??


Dave

 

[j91z28d1]

I personally only worry about cold start Temps for oil weight. besides track days where I deal with trying to keep oil under 275deg and high loads or maybe if you have a tow rig. but most daily drivers run in the 220deg range of coolent and 200ish oil no matter the outside Temps once up to operating temperature. so I oil for what the engine sees more so than what outside temp is. that said if it rattles at start up and thicker oil makes it go away, I'd choose what made it quiet and go thinner when you move back to the 0deg cold starts. I'm much further south, so 110deg plus days for months where 90s are considered a cold front.

that being said, my cars are mostly over 100k but under 200k. over 200k guys might deal with different issues than I see.
only my obs tahoe is over 300k thou and it's lived its life on bulk 15w 50 diesel oil and whatever cheap filter I can easily pick up. it shows no signs of any wear or build up. but a sbc is kinda like a tractor in that respect lol. man I miss the sbc. everyone ls swapping and I'm over here wishing I still had a sbc in everything but with today's coil packs, ecm's and head flow rates.




funny I argue with co workers all the time that tell me they run thicker 10w40 in their little Toyota 4cyl daily's because it's so hot here. I'm like man, the engine doesn't really care what the outside temp is, only what temp it's running and it's running the same temp at 80deg as 120deg. just run the 5w20 or whatever the manaual calls for. but that being said, 10w40 doesn't seem to cause any issues for them, besides the theoretical fuel mileage lose. but they don't notice anyways. so yeah, my rambling post when no where haha.

run what makes the engine the quietest?

 

[bayareadude84]

I personally only worry about cold start Temps for oil weight. besides track days where I deal with trying to keep oil under 275deg and high loads or maybe if you have a tow rig. but most daily drivers run in the 220deg range of coolent and 200ish oil no matter the outside Temps once up to operating temperature. so I oil for what the engine sees more so than what outside temp is. that said if it rattles at start up and thicker oil makes it go away, I'd choose what made it quiet and go thinner when you move back to the 0deg cold starts. I'm much further south, so 110deg plus days for months where 90s are considered a cold front.

that being said, my cars are mostly over 100k but under 200k. over 200k guys might deal with different issues than I see.
only my obs tahoe is over 300k thou and it's lived its life on bulk 15w 50 diesel oil and whatever cheap filter I can easily pick up. it shows no signs of any wear or build up. but a sbc is kinda like a tractor in that respect lol. man I miss the sbc. everyone ls swapping and I'm over here wishing I still had a sbc in everything but with today's coil packs, ecm's and head flow rates.




funny I argue with co workers all the time that tell me they run thicker 10w40 in their little Toyota 4cyl daily's because it's so hot here. I'm like man, the engine doesn't really care what the outside temp is, only what temp it's running and it's running the same temp at 80deg as 120deg. just run the 5w20 or whatever the manaual calls for. but that being said, 10w40 doesn't seem to cause any issues for them, besides the theoretical fuel mileage lose. but they don't notice anyways. so yeah, my rambling post when no where haha.

run what makes the engine the quietest?

Thanks for your imput but tell me why in Australia they mainly use W40 weight to deal with their heat ?? 5W40 10W40 15W40

 

[chilerancher]

We've been running 5W-30 consistently in ours for all 375k miles so far here in Texas with no concerns.

For years we bought Chevron 5W-30 conventional at Costco when it was on sale, but now they only carry synthetic (Mobil 1 and Kirkland house brands). Two-ish years ago we switched to Havoline 5W-30 blend.

Over the past three years the truck has done great on several 8-hour Texas summer road trips (even while pulling a trailer with a house full of furniture) and during the 2021 "Icepocolypse" down here when it didn't get out of the single-digit temperatures for three days. I started it every morning at around 7 degress F and ran it until it warmed up (which took a long time at idle). No tapping or clicking noises. Idle performance was the same on cold start as when it was warmed up. Goosing the accelerator would cause a brief stumble after cold start but went away once warmed up.

I might switch to using Kirkland 5W-30 full synthetic...

 

[89Suburban]

Sub'd.

 

[j91z28d1]

Thanks for your imput but tell me why in Australia they mainly use W40 weight to deal with their heat ?? 5W40 10W40 15W40

I have not heard of Australians doing that? but until just now I've never looked either haha. but quick Google showed Toyota and Mazda both recommended 5w30 for new cars? Fords and chevy didn't show up in my quick search.

can you point me to some info? be interesting.

I don't have it handy, but I've seen a chart about oil viscosity based on oil temperatures, something like a 50w racing oil is about like a 5w30 at 320deg oil Temps. that plus how much load your engine is seeing at those Temps corresponds to the oil wedge needed to keep the bearing from touching the crank. but it was a deep dive into racing engines and kinda general.

in the newer c7 z06 corvettes. the ones with the supercharger and meant for track days, they still need dexos for daily, so there's a new "supercar" branded mobile 1. I believe it's a 0w40 so you get thicker than a 5w30 but won't kill the cats, which is the dexos rating is for. but for track days the owners manual says to change to a straight sae 50 mobile 1 racing oil and then change back as soon as the track day is over. the cars are notorious for very high oil Temps in track settings,(as well as over 600hp) and that's the work around. even thou the 50 racing oil is full of zinc, which is great for lube but causes ash that is said to be bad for cats. I personally have run all kinds of stuff with the oem cat still fine on my obs. so I'm not sure how much that matters but gm says oil needs the dexos meaning low zinc rating for long cat life.

also there's one chart that recommends oil weight based on bearing clearances you built the engine too, iron block and aluminum block. aluminum growing more for the same Temps, so clearance ends up different for different Temps kinda thing.

I was listening to that milling oil pump webcast and someone did ask a question about if they could gain hp by running thinner oil in older cars like that new 0w16 stuff in a 60s car by adjusting bearing clearance to tighter spec. the guy on there said it's probably not good to try and reinvent the wheel with 60s technology engines. just run what it calls for and build hp a eaiser way.

now this is all racing stuff. nothing I've seen geared towards our stock daily drivers but I I'm curious. like I've wondered if i could run that 0w20 in my truck. since it's got a variable displacement oil pump. but then I talk myself out of it cause what's the point really haha. it already gets good mpg for a big suv. 0.5 more won't really matter.

 

[j91z28d1]

We've been running 5W-30 consistently in ours for all 375k miles so far here in Texas with no concerns.

For years we bought Chevron 5W-30 conventional at Costco when it was on sale, but now they only carry synthetic (Mobil 1 and Kirkland house brands). Two-ish years ago we switched to Havoline 5W-30 blend.

Over the past three years the truck has done great on several 8-hour Texas summer road trips (even while pulling a trailer with a house full of furniture) and during the 2021 "Icepocolypse" down here when it didn't get out of the single-digit temperatures for three days. I started it every morning at around 7 degress F and ran it until it warmed up (which took a long time at idle). No tapping or clicking noises. Idle performance was the same on cold start as when it was warmed up. Goosing the accelerator would cause a brief stumble after cold start but went away once warmed up.

I might switch to using Kirkland 5W-30 full synthetic...

Icepocolypse haha. I caught part of that even down here and man, I am not up for that level of cold. Originally from Florida and these Texas winters are brutal. coldest I've ever been in my life. I'm definitely not cutout for that frozen north lol



I've heard good stuff about the Kirkland oil from a friend that switched to it. he says he car feels smoother and quieter on it. I've not tried it, or know anything about thou.

 

[Marky Dissod]

In all 4 Caprices I owned, and the Fleetwood (all IronBlock LT1s with iron heads):
0W30 group 4 synthetic for the winter oil change, for cold start oil flow advantage
5W40 group 4 synthetic for the summer oil change, 'cause they all ran a wee bit hotter in the summer

For my Tahoe's L59 - and any 6.0L or 6.2L I may someday swap in - 0W30 group 4 synthetic only, the longest filter I can screw in under there, and a PCV catch can before I notice any fuel consumption.
It's got 150,000 miles, and I see no reason why it shouldn't make it to 250,000 miles before the 6.0L / 6.2L upgrade.

 

[Mudsport96]

5w30 in my 5.3 Silverado till about 250k then moved to 10w30 till approximately 390k. Now winther is 10w30 and summer is 15w40 so it carries decent pressure. Father in law had it from basically new till i got it at 395k. Probably wouldn't need the heavier oil now if when he started having pressure problems he would have called me... instead he gave me the truck with a noise and no pressure. So i put a pick-up oring in it to fix that. But other than maybe slightly lower than id like pressure it is fine. 35ish at highway speed hot in july. But it will go to 60 if i wind it up to 5000.

 

[chilerancher]

5w30 in my 5.3 Silverado till about 250k then moved to 10w30 till approximately 390k. Now winther is 10w30 and summer is 15w40 so it carries decent pressure. Father in law had it from basically new till i got it at 395k. Probably wouldn't need the heavier oil now if when he started having pressure problems he would have called me... instead he gave me the truck with a noise and no pressure. So i put a pick-up oring in it to fix that. But other than maybe slightly lower than id like pressure it is fine. 35ish at highway speed hot in july. But it will go to 60 if i wind it up to 5000.

Dangit, I've been curious about our oil pick-up o-ring for a couple of years because of posts on this forum. Current readings are 25-30 psi at idle and almost 40 at hightway speeds. Two mechanics have advised me that the o-ring is not the problem and said that the low-ish oil pressure was because of the car's mileage..."don't waste money an an o-ring replacement". Ugh. Replaced the oil pressure sender, no change in the reading.

(Apologies, off-topic for this post, I know...)

 

[rockola1971]

I run 5w-30 until they die or 10w-30 if the leak like a F-14 Tomcat.

 

[bayareadude84]

Dangit, I've been curious about our oil pick-up o-ring for a couple of years because of posts on this forum. Current readings are 25-30 psi at idle and almost 40 at hightway speeds. Two mechanics have advised me that the o-ring is not the problem and said that the low-ish oil pressure was because of the car's mileage..."don't waste money an an o-ring replacement". Ugh. Replaced the oil pressure sender, no change in the reading.

(Apologies, off-topic for this post, I know...)

You have 2 VERY stupid mechanics. Every time I purchase one of these GMT800s first thing I do is run some oil flush, throw on a crap oil filter and dino oil drive for 100-200 miles, dump oil, replace that $3 oil pump o-ring, oil pan gasket, oil filter adapter gasket, replace with GOOD oil filter, and top tier oil

a $3 o-ring is cheaper than a new engine or rebuild


Dave

 

[bayareadude84]

I have not heard of Australians doing that? but until just now I've never looked either haha. but quick Google showed Toyota and Mazda both recommended 5w30 for new cars? Fords and chevy didn't show up in my quick search.

can you point me to some info? be interesting.

Multiple sources: Have chatted with some Australian car guys visiting the US in my travels, read on a oil forum, youtube

 

[MassHoe04]

My 04 LM7 5.3L is about 212k miles. I bought it with about 187k. Run 5W-30 year round.

We get close to 100 F in the summer for short bits and I have no idea what people do in Australia or why.

That said, my engine maintains normal operating temperature all year round regardless of how hot it gets. Pressure is great and no issues with cold starts in -0 F temps in winter...

Unless something changes, like @rockola1971 describes and starts leaking like crazy, I will continue to run 5W-30.

I get whatever is on sale locally. Sometimes Valvoline full synthetic, but I have no problem going NAPA synthetic blend (which is actually rebranded Havoline).

 

[iamdub]

Just under 222K, often 80° at sunrise and mid- to upper-90s and into the 100s during the days of our 9+ months of summer. I run a 50/50 mix of 5W-40 and 15W-40 Rotella T6 for a 10W-40 average. Mine sees a lot of hard throttle and higher RPM.

 

[SnowDrifter]

Not 200k... Yet....
But I run some euro-spec 0w-40 year-round (thinner 40w oil with good viscosity-temp characteristics. Actually flows better than 5w30 when cold). From negs, to triple digits. I don't believe in putting "thicker" oil in for the summer. The engine isn't air cooled. It keeps its own homeostasis regardless of temp. We also don't have shear-down issues with modern synthetics like we did in the 70s, 80s, 90s. So, like, no point in trying to put something thick / fewest viscosity modifiers in there when temps allow because it won't thin-out over time. Meh.


data:

 

[j91z28d1]

Dangit, I've been curious about our oil pick-up o-ring for a couple of years because of posts on this forum. Current readings are 25-30 psi at idle and almost 40 at hightway speeds. Two mechanics have advised me that the o-ring is not the problem and said that the low-ish oil pressure was because of the car's mileage..."don't waste money an an o-ring replacement". Ugh. Replaced the oil pressure sender, no change in the reading.

(Apologies, off-topic for this post, I know...)

without looking it up, I think that's well within what gm calls for hot temp oil pressure by rpm.

but I believe the simple test is find a steep drive way or something like a loading dock. back up it and see if your oil pressure goes up. you just gotta cover the o'ring at the front of the engine so it doesn't suck air. I've heard a few extra qt of oil will do it too, pick up some cheap oil before your next oil change and add it in. go check to see if you have higher pressures. but again, check the specs, I'm pretty sure that's good to go. don't leave the extra oil in for long or high rpm.

edit.. I believe this was a 2010ish 5.3 with afm specs. and the ecm allows for 6psi below that for setting a light.

doesn't take much oil pressure to cruise around town, but sucking air and it foaming isn't great for it.

 

[j91z28d1]

Multiple sources: Have chatted with some Australian car guys visiting the US in my travels, read on a oil forum, youtube

interesting. you got me searching for why.

I did run across this, it seems European sold corvettes call for a euro spec 0w40 instead of 5w30 dexos rating.

the web site in the thread where they test oil is interesting too.

sorry if linking to other forums is against the rules here, mods just remove it not.

5W30 vs 0W40 - CorvetteForum - Chevrolet Corvette Forum Discussion

C6 Tech/Performance - 5W30 vs 0W40 - For Corvette C6, Z06 owners, many of the U.S. guys like to use is what they call, the 0W40 Euro blend Mobil 1, rather than following GM?s U.S. Corvette recommendation of using 5W30 Mobil 1. The 0W40 oil is what GM calls for in the Owner?s Manual and also on...

www.corvetteforum.com

 

[rockola1971]

interesting. you got me searching for why.

I did run across this, it seems European sold corvettes call for a euro spec 0w40 instead of 5w30 dexos rating.

the web site in the thread where they test oil is interesting too.

sorry if linking to other forums is against the rules here, mods just remove it not.

5W30 vs 0W40 - CorvetteForum - Chevrolet Corvette Forum Discussion

C6 Tech/Performance - 5W30 vs 0W40 - For Corvette C6, Z06 owners, many of the U.S. guys like to use is what they call, the 0W40 Euro blend Mobil 1, rather than following GM?s U.S. Corvette recommendation of using 5W30 Mobil 1. The 0W40 oil is what GM calls for in the Owner?s Manual and also on...

www.corvetteforum.com

Likely because the European spec equivalent of the U.S. Spec is not available or even made. It would be almost impossible to find the constant steady stock of U.S. spec oil in Europe so the auto manufacturers (in the U.S.) had to try some spec to see if it meets the engine requirements and came of with the Euro Spec of 0w40 which would meet the warranty needs.

 

[bayareadude84]

Just under 222K, often 80° at sunrise and mid- to upper-90s and into the 100s during the days of our 9+ months of summer. I run a 50/50 mix of 5W-40 and 15W-40 Rotella T6 for a 10W-40 average. Mine sees a lot of hard throttle and higher RPM.

Hmmm.... I do Have some old Carquest(valvoline) fulll syn 5W-40 SN rated diesel oil from when they switched to Fram products !! Also have some gallons of Delo 400XSP 15W40 full syn but not sure if thats to thick even for our southern 100+ summers ???

I do know that my rig didnt like the Rotella gas/truck 5W30 I ran in it last summer !! Boy was she pinging BAD during accelration !!!! Luckily some "Free" Mobil 1 10W30 saved the day and ALL noise went away !!

Dave