1st Oil Change

upde188 · March 18, 2008

My 2008 DMax has 2% of it's oil life left. It's going in soon for it's 1st oil change. Are you guys running synthetic or conventional oil? What viscosity? I'm sure the dealer will have their own opinion. What's the consensus around here?

upde188 · March 20, 2008

Bump

Bruce03Silverado · March 20, 2008

First oil change in every one of my vehicles (except for the Firehawk since it came with Mobil 1 from factory) gets Mobil 1. Been using it for years!

jnpaddison · March 20, 2008

after my inital 500 miles - changed to Mobil 1

03blackburb · March 21, 2008

Make the switch to either Mobil 1 full synthetic - Delvac or Shell Rotella. You can go out to the Mobiloil site and this is what they recommend for your truck. Because it is a diesel DO NOT use regular Mobil1 synthetic.

This is from the Mobil1 site:

What's the right oil for my car?

Your vehicle has a specific recommendation

The company that manufactures your vehicle recommends this Mobil 1® product, or has a special requirement.

Current Vehicle:

Year: 2008

Make: Chevrolet

Model: Silverado 2500 HD

Engine Type: 8cyl. 6.6Liter Duramax Turbocharged

Mobil Delvac 1 ESP 5W-40

Mobil Delvac 1 ESP 5W-40 is a fully synthetic supreme performance heavy duty diesel engine oil that helps extend engine life while providing long drain capability and potential fuel economy for modern diesel engines operating in severe applications. Another option is Mobil Delvac 1300 Super 15W-40 available at retail stores.

jpringle3 · March 24, 2008

I have an LMM and I got it in August of 2007, When I went to change the oil the only one that was available was Shell Rotella 15/40. I bought a pail so I will use it in the late spring, I first changed it first time at 7100K and was disappointed to find it did not have a magnetic drain plug, I had a pencil magnet from Craftsman, so I drilled it to .195 and while it was hot drove in the magnet. It measured .200, I do all my own servicing. I will be using synthetic in the fall, the Mobil one site tells you what to use but I never found any-where that it said the oil was CJ rated. When I find it I will buy it.

BlackSilver · March 24, 2008

I've always used Rotella T "dinosaur" oil in all my diesels. In my opinion, diesels load the oil with soot and need changing long before the lubricating qualities are reduced, so synthetic is a huge waste of money, other that to give you a warm fuzzy.

whitesnake01 · March 25, 2008

Mobil-1 works great. Have used it for 10+ years on my cars and trucks. I have no reason to think switching back to regular oil would be an advantage. Do not forget the filter. Get a good one, such as the stock A/C Delco one.

TexasAl · March 25, 2008

I decided to stick with regular Dino oil for my first oil change (500 mi.) I am planning on going to full synthetic when the Oil monitoring system give the notification (or 6 months). Amsoil reccomends that you wait until after the break in period. I can't remember if it was 5000 or 10000 miles. I looked for the amosil link, but the server is down right now. I'd personally wait until 10,000 mi., just to make sure your engine breaks in properly. I will try to get the correct mileage for you soon. What is your current mileage?

-Al

Zembonez · March 25, 2008

I'd probably opt for a nice extra virgin pressing of olive oil... with a touch of fresh basil.

hubbycap · March 25, 2008

I'd probably opt for a nice extra virgin pressing of olive oil... with a touch of fresh basil.

Basil is for trycycles. Rosemary.

03blackburb · March 25, 2008

There is really no breakin required on any new vehicle. You can switch to synthetic at anytine. Just run the original oil until you are ready to do a change. If you wait till the OLM reminds you, you not go to PURGATORY as some people think. Even dino oils are not subject to the 3K changes that your grandparents used. Chemistry has come a long way in the last 15 years.

regular dino will protact upwarde to 7500 mile driven, If you switch to synthetic you can go over 20K on a comlete drain You still need to change the filter at 5 to 7.5K miles and top off.

I known I am going to start a war but I have been doing this for over 100K and no problems.Come and get me!

TexasAl · March 25, 2008

My suggestions where borrowed from Amsoil, a well respected oil manufacturer. They suggest that you wait, so that the engine can break in properly. Manufacturers state that there is a break in period on vehicles as well, so I'd play on the safe side, and wait until you are at least at 10,000.

03blackburb, you are right about everything else. The oils of today are capable of much longer change intervals. You are also right about starting something.

-Al

The Factory Man · March 25, 2008

Many manufacturers use Mobil 1 synthetic engine oil as a factory fill. If proper break-in was an issue they wouldn't use it.

The following is an article taken from the Dec, 2007 issue of Tech Link sent monthly to GM dealerships from General Motors.

ENGINE OIL MYTHS

Separating Fact from Fiction

Over the years there has been an overabundance of engine oil myths . Here are some facts you may want to pass along to customers to help debunk the fiction behind these myths.

The Pennsylvania Crude Myth -- This myth is based on a misapplication of truth. In 1859, the first commercially successful oil well was drilled in Titusville, Pennsylvania.

A myth got started before World War II claiming that the only good oils were those made from pure Pennsylvania crude oil. At the time, only minimal refining was used to make engine oil from crude oil. Under these refining conditions, Pennsylvania crude oil made better engine oil than Texas crude or California crude. Today, with modern refining methods, almost any crude can be made into good engine oil.

Other engine oil myths are based on the notion that the new and the unfamiliar are somehow "bad."

The Detergent Oil Myth -- The next myth to appear is that modern detergent engine oils

are bad for older engines. This one got started after World War II, when the government no longer needed all of the available detergent oil for the war effort, and detergent oil hit the market as “heavy-duty” oil.

Many pre-war cars had been driven way past their normal life, their engines were full of sludge and deposits, and the piston rings were completely worn out. Massive piston deposits were the only thing standing between merely high oil consumption and horrendous oil consumption. After a thorough purge by the new detergent oil, increased oil consumption was a possible consequence.

If detergent oils had been available to the public during the war, preventing the massive deposit buildup from occurring in the first place, this myth never would have started. Amazingly, there are still a few people today, 60 years later, who believe that they need to use non-detergent oil in their older cars. Apparently, it takes many years for an oil myth to die.

The Synthetic Oil Myth -- Then there is the myth that new engine break-in will not occur with synthetic oils. This one was apparently started by an aircraft engine manufacturer who put out a bulletin that said so. The fact is that Mobil 1 synthetic oil has been the factory-fill for many thousands of engines. Clearly, they have broken in quite well, and that should put this one to rest.

The Starburst Oil Myth -- The latest myth promoted by the antique and collector car press says that new Starburst/ API SM engine oils (called Starburst for the shape of the symbol on the container) (fig. 3 and 4) are bad for older engines because the amount of anti-wear additive in them has been reduced. The anti-wear additive being discussed is zinc dithiophosphate (ZDP).

Before debunking this myth, we need to look at the history of ZDP usage. For over 60 years, ZDP has been used as an additive in engine oils to provide wear protection and oxidation stability.

ZDP was first added to engine oil to control copper/lead bearing corrosion. Oils with a phosphorus level in the 0.03% range passed a corrosion test introduced in 1942.

In the mid-1950s, when the use of high-lift camshafts increased the potential for scuffing and wear, the phosphorus level contributed by ZDP was increased to the 0.08% range.

In addition, the industry developed a battery of oil tests (called sequences), two of which were valve-train scuffing and wear tests.

A higher level of ZDP was good for flat-tappet valve-train scuffing and wear, but it turned out that more was not better. Although break-in scuffing was reduced by using more phosphorus, longer-term wear increased when phosphorus rose above 0.14%. And, at about 0.20% phosphorus, the ZDP started attacking the grain boundaries in the iron, resulting in camshaft spalling.

By the 1970s, increased antioxidancy was needed to protect the oil in high-load engines, which otherwise could thicken to a point where the engine could no longer pump it. Because ZDP was an inexpensive and effective antioxidant, it was used to place the phosphorus level in the 0.10% range.

However, phosphorus is a poison for exhaust catalysts. So, ZDP levels have been reduced over the last 10-15 years. It's now down to a maximum of 0.08% for Starburst oils. This was supported by the introduction of modern ashless antioxidants that contain no phosphorus.

Enough history. Let's get back to the myth that Starburst oils are no good for older engines. The argument put forth is that while these oils work perfectly well in modern, gasoline engines equipped with roller camshafts, they will cause catastrophic wear in older engines equipped with flat-tappet camshafts.

The facts say otherwise.

Backward compatability was of great importance when the Starburst oil standards were developed by a group of experts from the OEMs, oil companies, and oil additive companies. In addition, multiple oil and additive companies ran no-harm tests on older engines with the new oils; and no problems were uncovered.

The new Starburst specification contains two valve-train wear tests. All Starburst oil formulations must pass these two tests.

- Sequence IVA tests for camshaft scuffing and wear using a single overhead camshaft engine with slider finger (not roller) followers.

- Sequence IIIG evaluates cam and lifter wear using a V6 engine with a flat-tappet system, similar to those used in the 1980s.

Those who hold onto the myth are ignoring the fact that the new Starburst oils contain about the same percentage of ZDP as the oils that solved the camshaft scuffing and wear issues back in the 1950s. (True, they do contain less ZDP than the oils that solved the oil thickening issues in the 1960s, but that's because they now contain high levels of ashless antioxidants not commercially available in the 1960s.)

Despite the pains taken in developing special flat-tappet camshaft wear tests that these new oils must pass and the fact that the ZDP level of these new oils is comparable to the level found necessary to protect flat-tappet camshafts in the past, there will still be those who want to believe the myth that new oils will wear out older engines.

Like other myths before it, history teaches us that it will probably take 60 or 70 years for this one to die also.

- Thanks to (Name Removed) – GM Powertrain Fuels and Lubricants Group