Best oil for the 5.3

[Colossus]

Let's remember that many of those high millage vehicles out there got there using just the good old fashion 10W30 or 5W30 dino oil aka whatever they put in at the lube places. I don't think there is really a crappy oil out there now a days. Be more worried about the filters.

[Cowpie]

I would agree with that. One of the most overlooked oil that puts many synthetics to shame and has a very robust additive package is good 'ol Pennzoil "yellow bottle" 10w30 conventional. PQIA tested it, and retested it because the characteristics were so good they thought they had screwed up the first test. A very good oil. It had a NOACK volatility that was 4.2. Some full synthetics aren't nearly that good. Dexos1 spec is 12 or less.

Edited September 12, 2016 by Cowpie

[HondaHawkGT]

Anyone use a higher weight oil? 5w-30? Thinking about 100+ degree days. No need for 0w so I'll run either 5w20 or 5w30.

GM didn't mention 5w30 being approvved for our trucks BUT they did for the C7 Corvettes. I wouldn't hesitate for a second to use 5w30 in the summer or 0w30 year round. FYI, In the vette manual they say in regions where temps fall down to -20F, use 0w30.

 

I wouldn't use anything heavier though. The engine oil pump is a vane style pump designed for specific viscosities. The cam phaser and AFM system are also designed for a specific viscosity and flow rate. There are enough used oil analysis for these engines now and they show that 0w20 performs just fine. I love the 0w's in the wintertime.

Edited September 17, 2016 by HondaHawkGT

[Cowpie]

Has some to do with the situation the individual vehicle is in in those cold temps. My vehicles are parked in heated garage in the winter. So the idea of needing a 0w30 is removed. And any engines that have to live out in the cold all the time, I have engine oil pan warmers installed on them, also removing the need for an oil that will not turn into grease at low temps. And when the engine warms up, 0w30, 5w30, 10w30, and straight 30w all have the same pumping viscosity. The only real difference is the amount of viscosity modifiers need to meet the spread in temperature flow viscosities. More VM's and less oil in very low cold flow mixes. Reliance on more polymers instead of base oil to provide engine protection. And VM is what can break down under pressure. Now we are in the realm of needing to know the quality of VM the oil brand uses in their formulations, and that is almost impossible to know unless you work for them. And those oils that need fewer VM's also have lower NOACK (burn off vaporization rates) and are less prone to shearing that can lead to fewer deposits and oil coking on internal components like rings, valve lifters, etc.

 

One has to wonder how it is that many folks in the upper Midwest relied on 10w30, and even straight 30w oils for decades and had excellent results from their engines, many going well into the 250,000 mile or more range without major engine repairs on their cars and pickups. And how it is, that the vast majority of commercial truck engines have been using 15w40 oils, from the Rio Grande on up into Canada, year round, and it is not uncommon for them to go beyond 1 million miles without a major engine component failure and repair. And it isn't because the component tolerances are less with those commercial engines. It can be argued very effectively that the reverse is true.

 

GM's recommendations also take into account the worse case scenarios and the possibility of the owner being about as brain dead as a brick, many not operating their engines properly and in many cases not allowing engines and oils to reach full operating temps because they jump in, start, take off, and drive 3 blocks, shut it off, repeat. Some folks, like me, have several miles to just get to town, let alone running around town when we get there. A round trip to town and back home is a minimum 30 miles each time my vehicles get used. The engine and oil always reaches full operating temperatures every time the vehicles are operated.

Edited September 18, 2016 by Cowpie

[Colossus]

If you folks have some free time and want to be entertained, have a look. I found it a bit amusing.

 

[Cowpie]

Yeah, seen it before. I actually lived in temps below what they were testing at. The only difference is, we weren't stupid enough to leave a engine alone at -40F or even down to -72F, the worse I saw it, with many days of high temps at -50F or less without plugging in block heaters, battery warmers, and oil pan heaters. We also always used winter grill covers on all of out vehicles, gas or diesel. I still have winter grill covers for my pickup and commercial trucks along with block heaters and oil pan warmers installed for when I might need them. All of those tests are fascinating, but really don't mean much except to those that are myopic enough to set a vehicle out in that kind of cold and not take preventative measures. We seemed to get by just fine all thru the 80's without Amsoil, Mobil 1, etc. I used a 10w30 conventional there in the interior of Alaska also. Only difference now, is that I use a 10w30 synthetic. Never had a single major engine problem or any problem that could be attributed to oil.

Edited September 19, 2016 by Cowpie

[Colossus]

Amen

[gone_fishing]

Yeah, seen it before. I actually lived in temps below what they were testing at. The only difference is, we weren't stupid enough to leave a engine alone at -40F or even down to -72F, the worse I saw it, with many days of high temps at -50F or less without plugging in block heaters, battery warmers, and oil pan heaters. We also always used winter grill covers on all of out vehicles, gas or diesel. I still have winter grill covers for my pickup and commercial trucks along with block heaters and oil pan warmers installed for when I might need them. All of those tests are fascinating, but really don't mean much except to those that are myopic enough to set a vehicle out in that kind of cold and not take preventative measures. We seemed to get by just fine all thru the 80's without Amsoil, Mobil 1, etc. I used a 10w30 conventional there in the interior of Alaska also. Only difference now, is that I use a 10w30 synthetic. Never had a single major engine problem or any problem that could be attributed to oil.

 

Holy crap! Where were you at that it got down to -72°F?

[Cowpie]

First time... Destruction Bay, Yukon Territory 1983. They say you never forget your first time, and that is soooo true. That was a killer wake up call to the next 10 years in the interior of Alaska. It was rare to get that cold. Most times the worse was in the -50F to -60F range. As a side note, they do not even close the schools down till the daytime HIGH temp is below -50F. My kids still remember those times walking to school just down the street at -40F. And that is actual temp. No one even mentions wind chill up there. Last Halloween there, in '92, the temp was -32F and the kids would trick or treat at one house, come to the Bronco and warm up, then go to the next house. The day we left in June '93, it snowed. A freak occurrence, but it happened nonetheless. The area just down the highway from where we lived was the Cold Regions Test Center for the military. Just outside Delta Junction, AK. I worked there as a civilian employee, and most of it outside in the cold. No desk job.

[gtbigup01]

Has anyone ever used Amsoil signature series 0W20 and gone the 25,000 miles on it, or close? I plan on using their filter as well. I got my 1st oil change with the signature series but it's a dealer oil filter so I will change it next week according to the on-board computer. I drive 55.5 miles one way for work 5 days a week, with about 45 of that is on I24. Truck is 3 months old with 8945 miles on it lol

[Black02Silverado]

Has anyone ever used Amsoil signature series 0W20 and gone the 25,000 miles on it, or close? I plan on using their filter as well. I got my 1st oil change with the signature series but it's a dealer oil filter so I will change it next week according to the on-board computer. I drive 55.5 miles one way for work 5 days a week, with about 45 of that is on I24. Truck is 3 months old with 8945 miles on it lol

I have not seen anyone go that long on Signature Series oil in these new engines yet. I did have a customer that had a 2005 suburban with the 5.3 and they went 20k miles which was once a year and the UOA came back fine.

 

I suggest if you want to go that long to do a UOA at 10k miles and see how well it is doing. That way you will know for sure and then you can extend and recheck.

 

Yes AMSOIL claims 25 miles or one year. In most cases the average individual does severe driving and then AMSOIL recommends 15k or one year.

[gtbigup01]

I have not seen anyone go that long on Signature Series oil in these new engines yet. I did have a customer that had a 2005 suburban with the 5.3 and they went 20k miles which was once a year and the UOA came back fine.

 

I suggest if you want to go that long to do a UOA at 10k miles and see how well it is doing. That way you will know for sure and then you can extend and recheck.

 

Yes AMSOIL claims 25 miles or one year. In most cases the average individual does severe driving and then AMSOIL recommends 15k or one year.

 

Ok I appreciate the feedback. I'll take that recommendation at 10K and see how it goes then try 20K

[KARNUT]

I don’t drive that many miles anymore. Once I’m out of warranty I go extended. I’ve been doing since the 90s with Amsoil. My family business I’m retired from are Amsoil dealers with hundreds of diesel and gas engines using and tested.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[gaspass3]

On 9/9/2016 at 2:30 PM, burntorngelonghorn said:

Anyone use a higher weight oil? 5w-30? Thinking about 100+ degree days. No need for 0w so I'll run either 5w20 or 5w30.

Your engine runs at around 220 degrees when at operating temp. 100+ degree days are kind of irrelevant, your engine does not know the difference.  Also, why would you advocate using a thicker winter oil because it was hot in the summer?  How does that make any sense at all?

[flyingfool]

On 9/12/2016 at 1:44 PM, Cowpie said:

I would agree with that. One of the most overlooked oil that puts many synthetics to shame and has a very robust additive package is good 'ol Pennzoil "yellow bottle" 10w30 conventional. PQIA tested it, and retested it because the characteristics were so good they thought they had screwed up the first test. A very good oil. It had a NOACK volatility that was 4.2. Some full synthetics aren't nearly that good. Dexos1 spec is 12 or less.

yes the old Yellow bottle is all I used in my 1990 Suburban, had it for 24 years, that old pig never failed me, over 280K miles on old technology. never touched the motor , and sold it in fine running condition. 

 

all my current GM products all use the RedLine 5-30w synthetic stuff for obvious reasons.

Edited December 9, 2020 by flyingfool