Oil Oil Oil Oil!

[PaRaDoX]

hrmmm... time for another oil change for the 5L... this makes oil change 4 since i got the car... (only put 14,000km onto it so far)

given that the car has just clocked over to 229,500 k's and i feel like the oil its running right now is crap.. im wonder whats the best oil to run for performance...

i dont feel this oils protecting the engine like it should

should i be going for a mineral or synthetic or semi, and what grade? 15W-40?

also what brand is best for high performance applications (frequently revving to 5000rpm)

when you start it on a cold start you can hear my (new) lifters clacking for about a second.. i dont like this sound :P

[88GreenVN]

I'm using Penzoil - yellow container from Sprints. Still change it every 5000kms or so.

AND I have stopped using the engine cleaner I was putting in each change.

When I get the oil light staying on for a few seconds on startup I change the oil.

[PaRaDoX]

i used to work for the company that owns penzoil :P (shell)

never heard a bad thing about them... ive also never had a problem with shell oils aswell, but i tried some castrol last time and its just ****...

i do changes ever 5000km, the 5L thanks you for it

[immortality]

i also use penzoil and haven't had oil issues (and i drive fairly hard). did use castrol once and won't touch it again either.

not sure what the ideal grade is for a 5ltr but a full synthetic might be overkill at this stage with the mileage in mind. if oyu rebuild it and get the clearances spot on then i'd definitly go synthetic. otherwise i'd stick to semi-synthetic.

with your new lifters being noisy at startup it might inidcate what your running now might be a bit thick when cold. also consider using a oil filter that has that anti drain back seal so you get oil pressure faster on startup (fram has it and i think valvoline filters also)

[Emackulation]

I used Penrite Sin 15 last, and havnt had any trouble with it. Im due for a change so ima buy the same again.

Btw thats Fully Synthetic 15-40.

[PaRaDoX]

immortality, i think its just thick oil.. its fine once the cars hot enough (ie the oil thins out)

i tried 15w-50...

oh well ill change it this week

[savage1987]

My 5L and my 3.8 both get a fresh dose of Valvoline XLD Premium 20W50 every 5000km in the garage Neither car has ever missed a beat.

[immortality]

immortality, i think its just thick oil.. its fine once the cars hot enough (ie the oil thins out)

i tried 15w-50...

oh well ill change it this week

yeah, thats what i mean. so instead of running a 20w50, run a 15w50 so it's thinner when cold. if you already tried 15w 50, try something with a 10w*** maybe?

[greenfoam]

Yep 10-50 for the win. I find 10 weight is perfect when the car is cold but on the hot side 40 is too runny for old 5 litre after it's been given a work out. I was getting oil lights at idle of and on at the drags. 50 weight fixed that up so 10-50 is the go

[Emackulation]

Yep 10-50 for the win. I find 10 weight is perfect when the car is cold but on the hot side 40 is too runny for old 5 litre after it's been given a work out. I was getting oil lights at idle of and on at the drags. 50 weight fixed that up so 10-50 is the go

Well, since you say 10-50, Ill give that a go next time

Maybe im having my leaking issues because of the 15-40 im running, I should go see if there is a 15-50, not sure about running a 10.

[PaRaDoX]

yeah mack its possible, oil makes all the diffrence..


10-50 sounds good to me

[AirStrike]

HPR-15 in mine!

[bradcad]

penrite syn is not fully synthetic, but group III mineral oil. Just for your information.


Just use a quality oil, not cheap and not Castrol. 10w50 is fine, realistically a minimum. Most people who change to quality 20w50 say their engine is quieter at startup. Consider quality oil offers boundary lubrication at startup before you reach operating pressure- and dont go driving hard untill its warm please. The difference- you can create a higher shear resistance/ load caryying ability in a higher weight oil, and the closer the numbers, the less the oil relies on polymers to meet the high temp figure. These polymers are generally the first part of the oil to wear first, and dont offer any additional lubricity.

I'm using 25w60, like a few people I know in an ecotec- which is well known for upper cylinder noise, and it is quieter in startup than ever before (except for the starter motor bearing ****ting itself) which has been replicated in a couple of Gen III's. So low temp weight isnt the entire story.

I would consider, more than anything, something that is rated S_ and C_ (ie for diesel use as well) as this simply means it is a high detergent oil, and i would say more likely than not you have some carbon build up in oil galleries and lifters that may be contributing to the noise, unless you have specifically removed this build up by using high detergent oil or additive or mechanical means (removing and cleaning)

Just for some thought......geez i can talk a lot!

[savage1987]

oil that cleans out the motor... hmm. I've never used anything like this, maybe I should.

[PaRaDoX]

lifters are 3 months old, replaced with the cam :P and i did clean alot of gunk out of the inlet valley and upper cylinder bits...

my engine likes to rev to 6k now.. (makes power untill 5600rpm?)
just wondering what the best grade for me is :S

[bradcad]

Oil is supposed to clean carbon deposits from the motor. It is just that some do it better than others.

Paradox my preference for your SS would be something in the order of 20w50, absolutly no lower than 15w40. If you go for Penrite their reccommendation is 15w60 (HPR15) which would also be fine.

If you looked at PM oils I would look at either the 20w50 or 25w60.

[Uber_Matt]

Since I got my 5l 18 mths ago ive used 3 different oils - Castrol Edge street machine 25w60, Shell Helix Plus (the blue one) 20w50, and Penreite HPR 15w60 semi synth.
Wasnt happy with the castrol, it seemed to idle a bit rougher than what came in it when I got it.

Next was the Shell, was good but for some reason I just didnt feel comfortable with it in my engine, there was a leak from somewhere with this too.

Penrite HPR 15 Semi Synth - no noises on startup (in a 320k engine), no odd sounds when warm, and didnt leak at all (even though its a 15weight like the shell). Went well when my car went to a skid pan day where the revs didnt drop below 4k very often.

Doing another change today, using the Penrite Stuff. Highly recommended

[Just_a_stocker]

Penzoil or Penrite for high performance engine, actually worked ok in the VN when I had it.

thats the only time i ever noticed a big difference as for other times i now own a VP exe and just use shell Helix

[vr-man]

i use valvoline xld premium 20w50 great oil. never use engine cleaner bad news got caught once went from using a little oil to lots 2ltrs per 5000klm in a bluebird.

[m3taL]

Doing mine on the Weekend, iv been using BP-Visco 5000 Sinthetic dunno why just got it once i guess....

might use this Penrite HPR 15 Semi Synth stuff and see how she go's.. got a small leak with the thinner BP stuff so w'll see if that go's in the process.

Cheers

[savage1987]

Is your motor still factory m3tal?? If it is I would advise against synthetic. Mineral oil is the choice for a factory VN motor

Sam

[Emackulation]

Put in my Valvoline Syn 10-50 full synthetic today, took her for a run, runs good. Was running Penrite Sin 15-40.

[savage1987]

Hmm... it is always a possibility that I have heard wrong, and that synthetics will work just fine in the older motors... *scratches head*

[greenfoam]

I allways run full syths whenever I can afford it. Semi's when I'm broke . You gain horsepower on full synths it's a proven fact. You can't gain horsepower on oil unless there's less friction and less friction is what oil is all about. Cheap mineral oil is why my and your motor is full of sludge.

P.S. you guys wont be able to remember but 20 years ago, you would be lucky to get 200,000ks from a engine before it was blowing smoke out the rocker cover from ring blow by or out the exhaust. 200,000 is barely run in these days and the metal is still the same, oils got better

[savage1987]

Really? Everyone told me synthetics are for precision-machined newer hardware... hmm

I don't use oil to give me horsepower, couldn't care less about that, I just want to look after my motors!