First Oil Change

[texasnavy05]

I'm about to change my oil for the first time.  Book says 8 quarts of 5w-30 synthetic.  What brand of oil are you guys running?  Is premium oil worth the extra money?

[diyer2]

Search this forum.

Lots of info about your questions.

Short story IMO.

Pick oil and filter that makes you happy.

Change it when it makes you happy.

Gobs of opinions on these questions on here.

Every concieveable answer to your quetions are here if you look around.

 

 

[Ralph Ciardullo]

I would think a good quality premium oil is well worth the extra money when considering the amount of coin we drop for our new rigs. 

[Grumpy Bear]

1 hour ago, texasnavy05 said:

I'm about to change my oil for the first time.  Book says 8 quarts of 5w-30 synthetic.  What brand of oil are you guys running?  Is premium oil worth the extra money?

Synthetic is a key word here. Here's a list of currently approved synthetics. 

 

https://www.gmdexos.com/brands/dexos1/index.html

 

You will note that there is not a single 'synthetic blend" one on the list nor any conventional oils. 

 

In general an oil that has an API service class of SN-PLUS meets the GM DEXOS standard with some minor exceptions. One just noted is there are some Syn. Blends that are SN-PLUS that are not DEXOS1 Gen2 approved. DEXOS demands a minimum "FULL SYNTHETIC". DEXOS has a lower NOACH upper limit than the API standard. 13% V 15%. You will also notice that the DEXOS1 GEN2 standard does not cover 10W30 or higher SAE viscosity grade oils nor anything lighter than 0W20 although a great many of them meet the API SN-PLUS standards. So there is the third difference. SO

 

1.) Lower NOACK (13% maximum)

2.) Full Synthetic content

3.) Nothing heavier than 5W30 or lighter than 0W20 (no 0W16) Note: there is only ONE 0W30 on that list.

 

A.) In addition both SN and SN-PLUS have both an upper and lower limit on Phosphorus. Range is 600 to 800 ppm

B.) SN-PLUS also has an upper limit on calcium at 1000 ppm or 0.1% It is the PLUS in SN-PLUS. 

 

Having said that you will find on the shelves a few oils that meet ALL DEXOS1 GEN2 standards and yet are not 'Certified'. Use your best judgement if you choose one of those.

 

Now lets get to the common sense part of common sense. ANY oil that carries the DEXOS1 GEN2 logo will be: 

 

A FULL SYNTHETIC, meaning Group III / Group IV blend of base stocks. It will meet the additive requirements set by GM engineering both in type and in amount. ANY differences in those oils will fall BETWEEN the specifications of the standard. Anything past that is marketing. 

 

A word on Premium Oils. By this I'm going to assume you mean AMSOIL, SYNLUBE, Red Line. Of those three only one meets the calcium and phosphorus requirements of the  DEXOS standards. Red Line HP has too much phosphorus and SYNLUBE is past the SAE Viscosity grade. There maybe someone out there I don't know about yet, some boutique blender that checks all the boxes but...So your question boils down to is AMSOIL Signature Series 'worth it'.

 

Well here's what makes it different. It is a POA/POE blend of base oils that exceeds the DEXOS1 GEN2 Group III/PAO blend standard. And yet one that does not carry the logo on the front label. YET. It has about half the NOACK of the others, 6%.  It has a robust acid neutral / detergent package intended for extended OCI's.  Those are the biggest differences. Used at OEM OCI's its detergent package and POE content (a solvent) will leave the motor cleaner longer. It will take more heat longer. Not huge but notable. So....is any of that worth it to you? 

 

  

[Colossus]

Quote

 

The oil filter is more important than the oil.  Most modern oils are of great quality and will get you 5000-10,000 miles just fine.  Don't believe me?  Have oil analisys done on just standard dexos approved oil, for example the full synthetic Costco brand now.  But a filter... NEVER cheap out on the filter.  Always run the premium. 

[Black02Silverado]

3 hours ago, texasnavy05 said:

I'm about to change my oil for the first time.  Book says 8 quarts of 5w-30 synthetic.  What brand of oil are you guys running?  Is premium oil worth the extra money?

All good answers above.  How long do you plan on keeping your truck?  Are you going to be going by the oil life monitor, "OLM"? 

[SkidooSteve12]

I'm curious if you already had your first free maintenance visit at the dealer? I just had my first oil change on my 2020 6.6L gasser at the dealer and they used the AC Delco full synthetic oil, and I assume the PF63E oil filter. I asked about the Mobil 1 oil they also offer and she said they normally use that oil in the Cadillacs and high performance engine vehicles. It is a $37 upcharge for 8 quarts of Mobil 1 at the dealer. Funny that it would cost around $40 for 8 quarts of Mobil 1 5W-30 from Wal-mart and $4.41 for an AC Delco oil filter. I just went to the dealer for the free maintenance. I am at 5000 miles and was at 34% OLM. Planning an 800 mile trip in a week pulling my 29' snowmobile trailer, so wanted to get it changed before the trip.

[ShotgunZ71]

9 hours ago, SkidooSteve12 said:

I'm curious if you already had your first free maintenance visit at the dealer? I just had my first oil change on my 2020 6.6L gasser at the dealer and they used the AC Delco full synthetic oil, and I assume the PF63E oil filter. I asked about the Mobil 1 oil they also offer and she said they normally use that oil in the Cadillacs and high performance engine vehicles. It is a $37 upcharge for 8 quarts of Mobil 1 at the dealer. Funny that it would cost around $40 for 8 quarts of Mobil 1 5W-30 from Wal-mart and $4.41 for an AC Delco oil filter. I just went to the dealer for the free maintenance. I am at 5000 miles and was at 34% OLM. Planning an 800 mile trip in a week pulling my 29' snowmobile trailer, so wanted to get it changed before the trip.

I just had my first service as well at the dealer. Truck had almost 6700 miles and was at 5% OLM. I have debated to continue taking it to them, especially while under warranty, or do them myself from now on.

[SkidooSteve12]

12 minutes ago, ShotgunZ71 said:

I just had my first service as well at the dealer. Truck had almost 6700 miles and was at 5% OLM. I have debated to continue taking it to them, especially while under warranty, or do them myself from now on.

Nice! I had calculated that I could wait and it would be well within my OLM percentage after this trip, but this is going to be the first trip pulling a trailer and figured 5K was enough miles for using the "engine break in" oil. Amazing how many people change their oil multiple times before their vehicle gets to 5,000-6,000 miles.

 

This dealer has online coupon specials and it is $88.50 for their AC Delco full synthetic oil, filter, and tire rotation. $125.50 for Mobil 1 full sythetic oil, filter, and tire rotation! Both for their 8 quart oil change. I can do it for $45ish and have all of the tools already.

 

Side note: I just posted in the thread about 2020 2500HD trucks pulling to the left in the Trouble shooting section. When new the truck pulled to the right bad during test drive, so the dealer swapped the tires left to right when I bought it and it then would pull to the left slightly, even though the dealer said it was fixed. At this different dealer that did the oil change and tire rotation, they swapped the tires left to right, not front to back, and now my truck pulls to the right bad again. I need to make some phone calls today as this tire pulling issue was supposed to go away after the tires "wore in" but obviously didn't in my case.

[diyer2]

I'm one of those people.

Just changed the oil and filter in our new car at 700 miles.

As Frank S. said " I did it my way"

 

[Grumpy Bear]

6 minutes ago, diyer2 said:

I'm one of those people.

Just changed the oil and filter in our new car at 700 miles.

As Frank S. said " I did it my way"

 

I like your Avatar. Real CAT-a-tude. 

[MaverickZ71]

Shell Rotella Gas Truck motor oil and Wix (same as NAPA Gold) oil filters used here, after much research and experimentation with a few different brands.  

 

Just be sure to use a Dexos-rated motor oil and a good quality (NOT the cheapest Fram) oil filter and you'll be good.  

Edited January 30, 2020 by MaverickZ71

[SkidooSteve12]

16 hours ago, texasnavy05 said:

I'm about to change my oil for the first time.  Book says 8 quarts of 5w-30 synthetic.  What brand of oil are you guys running?  Is premium oil worth the extra money?

 

As stated, use Dexos-rated motor oil. Prices are fairly close from what I see, varying from Valvoline 5 qts for $17.01 and Mobil 1 5 qts for $25.47. 8 quarts would be $27.22 for Valvoline and $40.75 for Mobil 1 Advanced Full Synthetic. I would trust either of those brands, but personally use Mobil 1 Advanced Full Synthetic with an AC Delco oil filter.

[It's Tim]

3 hours ago, SkidooSteve12 said:

This dealer has online coupon specials and it is $88.50 for their AC Delco full synthetic oil, filter, and tire rotation. $125.50 for Mobil 1 full sythetic oil, filter, and tire rotation! Both for their 8 quart oil change. I can do it for $45ish and have all of the tools already.

That's pretty cheap considering the dealership is supporting all of their employees.

$125.50 is like dinner & a movie for two. lol

[diyer2]

If you check Walmart online for oil it goes down in price every so often.

I buy oil filters from Rock Auto.

I can do my truck, 6 qts. and filter for $27.

Rotation free. My time.