Viscosity discussion for older LS1`s (100k+)

[Drewie]

My VX SS LS1 has only done 60,000km but has always run on 10w40 Valvoline oil, just recently changed to a new workshop who are a Castrol workshop, they service heaps of
LS1 powered cars, they use Magnatec but it is the Proffesional bulk delivery version which is a 15w40, which is not available through retail outlets, it seems nice and quiet in mine,
maybe even a tad quieter than the 10w40 Valvoline that was in it. Oil level never seems to drop between 5000km servcies, maybe a couple of mm if that.

 

[jay_wr8]

Is castrol magnatec 10w 40 ok for the ls1? it had a bit of knocking noise on start up, but has done it since i got it. the car has 195000km on it. cheers

I tried magnatec 10-40 in my car and it was absolute ****, burnt about a litre in a month and made the engine sound like **** even once it was warm, thats why i've changed to nulon 15-40 and so far its been really good

 

[VYMAD]

Ummm....neither your VY or the Kia is an LS1.

Too true! Just saying that the Magnatec is not a bad oil imo. As far as the v8's oil goes though I'll leave that decision to you guys.

 

[holdenvtman1123]

simple. gtx-2 for summer driving. gtx-3 for winter driving. change every 5k km religiously and it all will be sweet. v8 or v6.

 

[H1GHROLLR]

i use fuchs 60w in my ls1 although it has race bearings etc so the bearing clearences are a slight bigger , although when i was using hpr 40 it use to breathe oil quite heavy

 

[sssmechanicholdenbrisb]

hey under8ed1
what i am saying is the TICKING noise on start up ALL v8's THAT i have been around for is normal for up to a couple of minutes

also NEVER use too thicker oil e.g. dont go too many wt's above stock e.g stock 5w-30 dont go past 15w-50

three "weight's" higher see?

if not sorry i guess do some research and make up your own decision
sometimes other factors come into play like km's higher = thicker oil
had a rebuild = thinner oil due too tighter clearances
etc etc you get the point!~

WHEN A CAR IS DRIVEN HARD OUT COINSTANTLY WILL BURN EVEN MORE OIL GUYS BE AWARE OF THIS PLEASE

also normal in charged engines (turbo/super) too use a little more due to positive crank case pressure's forcing oil into places it wouldn't normally reach like your intake manifold so in this case recommend get a catch can!!!

 

[vxcalais_01]

not an abba fan CORRECT if the recommended oil is burnig too quickly that is 1.0 lt's in 10,000 kms or worse then upgrade BOTH low and HIGH viscosities or you are wasting your time, also flush the oil with about half a liter with sump plug undone too MAKE SURE your not just mixing oils. VERY COMMON complaint is easy fixed BY THE WAY never exceed 3 weights on your oil e.g. dont go from 10w-30 to 40-60 will cause blockages hope this helps guys.

ls1 on start uip ticking or knock noise changes with rpm= fix doesn't exist this where the lifters are not fed enough oil on start up hence the old thing of let it idle for to before you do 6000(rpm) all v8's since vs have had this problem BUT% ITS NOT ONE! the reason behind it is at FULL oil pressure the lifters hold MAXIMUM opening but when no oil pressure lifters barely move often mistaken for LIMP HOME MODE by mechanics,

ok so long story short ticking @ idle on cold start vs-wm/ve v8 ONLY ok if less than 3minutes in duration NO ****
think of it as a protection measure of your engine. yes thicker weight oil can slow or reduce this problem but an engine design that's been used for generations SHOULD NOT BE F**KED WITH except if oil consumption/pass qld transport test is involved

Mate are you ok ? I dont mean to offend you just incase you werent 100% while writing that, but apart from the lifter stuff, prior and after that is just garbage......

 

[sssmechanicholdenbrisb]

right this why the other mechanics at work told me not to bother trying help you people...

if you dont like my posts ignore them

oh and by the way i fu**ed up i have edited the qouted lines after DOUBLE checking my handbooks

SORRY ALL!~

 

[vxcalais_01]

Wow I did not really get your post even after two reading attemps, NAAF, I will try 15~40 or 20~50 next change if 10~40 still does not stop it.

coolvxss, IMO castrol magnatec is fine though not turbo rated which is a bit of a let down its semi synthetic though not sure if the additives are a strong combo, am using that ATM but thats because I had a spare bottle of it stitting in my shed, my uncle reckons that its s##t and has been known to stiffen seals and the whole sticks to surfaces is just a marketing gimmick ,that part I do believe.

If you have a spare bottle, dont waste it and chuck it in for 5000k's. Yes it is Turbo rated. The sticks for the surface is true. The strength of Magnatec lays in the Ester Group 5 base it contains. Its a Group 1 or 2 mineral oil with Group 5 ester. The 3 major benefits of Ester are it has a natural polarity to metal, meaning it sticks to it. Nothing to do with Magnets, but more like static etc. Second, its solvency, which means it has a natural detergent effect on internal surfaces and cleans seals, as well as softening them. (What hardens seals are solvents like kerosene, oil flushes, dirty oil etc). Internal seals are like skin, they need certain properties in oil or additives to keep them soft and pliable. Third benefit is some esters have a natural anti wear/high load bearing capability like zinc etc. Castrol Edge calls its anti wear ester 'Di ester booster' Mobil 1 call is 'Supersyn', and so on. Not all oils need ester to perform(Shell Helix Ultra, and many other semi synth or mineral oils with use more common additives), full ester oils dont need some standard additives to perform(being full ester, have natural detergency so dont need the calcium and seal swellers etc), some oils must use ester to perform(PAO Synthetic like Mobil 1, Castrol Edge, Penrite Sin 1 almost always use ester for seal swell and detergency)

Problem with magnatec is its too expensive, and may rely too much on the ester component which is like 10% and skimp on the rest. For Castrol, Edge is the pick of the crop, some of the best oils out there. Go for Shell Helix Plus High Mileage, 15w50, it is a better Semi Synthetic in that, it has a Group 3+ Synthetic oil as well as the Group 5 Ester Synthetic oil with a good Group 2 base mineral oil.

100,000+ is not old for a LS1 or any engine. Search for the oil threads, many things repeated over and over, many good oils out there, many false opinions and old wives tales as well. Good luck !

 

[sssmechanicholdenbrisb]

hmm might want to check mobil 1 out again there buddy... is a reason it is the designated oil for v8's serviced at holden... although i HAVE noticed in higher km motors excessive oil consumption as i stated above. mobil 1 is overpriced aswell (at least at local w/shops in brisb) but is supposed to be one of a few oils that lasted the engine testing preliminaries (i heard anyway).
each to his own i guess!~