What is the Best Engine oil for my VT?

[commsirac]

"

I dont recommend any body should use a particular brand of oil, simply because I dont know which is better/believe they all do a reasonable job anyway.......but I do have one brand which I wouldnt personally use.....guess which(pm me if you want details)"

That is your post commsirac, your mention brands not grades......If you feel an oil is no good, why not say it ?

Oh dear,: not misquoting this time....but selective quoting, grades of oil was not recommended in that post because the post that it addressed wanted to know which brands!
If you want details of which oil I wouldnt recommend, pm me just like half a dozen others have bothered to do if they really want to know! Why not post it on the forum: Just dont want to start a ****fight amongst the brainwashed.

 

[vxcalais_01]

Sorry commsirac, i should have paid more attention to previous post on using the light, guage etc, there is a possibility it could be of a benefit to us. Look, each to their own, wether you wanna publicly or privately recommend or not recommend an oil thats up to the individual.

Heffer Slayer, hows the oil going so far ?

 

[Immortality]

i'm gonna put my 2 cents in here. don't use castrol, it's crap and i've had trouble with it and wouldn't touch it. i use penzoil and not had any troublewith it. i have heard some complain that penzoil carbons up quick, but look at the other side of the coin, if the carbon isn't in the oil that means it's building up in the engine somewhere.

commsirac, interesting suggestion in regard to the oil pressure readings. i do have a gauge and i have lots of oil pressure on startup, but then it only drops a few psi when hot(idle) so there isn't much difference from cold-hot. i take that to mean 1. my engine must be in reasonable condition 2. the oil i'm using must be about right.

vxcalais_01 as mentioned most judge oil performance from startup noise, i too do this. i currently run a 15w-40 semi-synthetic. i ahve previously run a 5w-50 full synthetic and did note a few more rattles at startup. although more expensive it didn't survive long before i drained it out and repalced it with the semi-synthetic. in my opinion, a full synthetic 5w-50 is to thin for use in the earlier holden V6 engines (buick and ecotec) unless used from new or have very few km's on the clock. a common mistake i have seen made is that people suddenly start using full synthetic oils on engines that have 200,000km on the clock

as a note of interest. most people recommend that you change oil every 5000km if the car is only used for short trips and stop/start city driving. this is true, however what i do is to take mine on a nice long run every few weeks, this heats the oil properly and helps burn of moisture and contaminats that can build up in the crankcase. i still change mine at 10,000km intervals and have had no adverse side effects. i do however run a much larger oil filter then standard. also note that here in NZ (auckland) we regulary see temps as low as 0-3degrees C in winter and lower in other regions

 

[vxcalais_01]

Good 2 cents immortality although commsirac might say its not good enough as the new zealand exchange rate is lower than the ozzy dollar, only teasin you commsirac .

I was gonna say it, but then thought i shouldnt but i have to agree, I will never ever, and have never(unless the person before me used it) used Catrol. And i rank Pennzoil in my top oils along with Fuchs, ULX and PM. Pennzoil is a fantastic oil, at the end of the day it only got a bad reputation as it was the most widely used oil at the time and released all its specs so was easily scrutinsed. But on the oil interval, check the Pennzoil site, U.S one and they recommend changing at 5000. Same as Valvoline. The Penzzoil 10W40 Semi Synth and the GT Street machine 20W50 are the real deal.

So you agree with New Zealands very cool weather that 5W is too thin ?

 

[commsirac]

commsirac, interesting suggestion in regard to the oil pressure readings. i do have a gauge and i have lots of oil pressure on startup, but then it only drops a few psi when hot(idle) so there isn't much difference from cold-hot. i take that to mean 1. my engine must be in reasonable condition 2. the oil i'm using must be about right.

If the oil pressure is constantly at the max pressure reading, it is indicating that you are either right on the limit of the pressure relief valve or have exceeded that limit in which case the oil is being bypassed back to the sump rather than going through the engine......how much is being bypassed, impossible to tell without other sensors. If the gauge is at max pressure for much of your driving(especially on the highway), Id have some concern either about the relief setting on the spring or the viscosity of the oil.

How much is just right, I couldnt really say........perhaps just something to monitor when you try out different oils. I can tell you that only 5W oil( the lowest Ive used) would achieve full oil circulation at 20C (in one of my older holdens), ie not go to max pressure on the oil gauge. At O C it would reach max pressure.

 

[Immortality]

If the oil pressure is constantly at the max pressure reading, it is indicating that you are either right on the limit of the pressure relief valve or have exceeded that limit in which case the oil is being bypassed back to the sump rather than going through the engine......how much is being bypassed, impossible to tell without other sensors. If the gauge is at max pressure for much of your driving(especially on the highway), Id have some concern either about the relief setting on the spring or the viscosity of the oil.

How much is just right, I couldnt really say........perhaps just something to monitor when you try out different oils. I can tell you that only 5W oil( the lowest Ive used) would achieve full oil circulation at 20C (in one of my older holdens), ie not go to max pressure on the oil gauge. At O C it would reach max pressure.

sorry, to clarify, by max pressure i mean the max pressure for my engine (50psi) max pressure on the gauge is a lot more. cold idle is close to this, once it warms it drops a few psi (idle)but not a lot and is above the minimum 40psi (@1850rpm) as stated in the gregories manual.

a good indicator of general engine condition is the presure drop at idle from cold to hot. a small drop is normal(the normal change in viscosity), a large drop indicates excesive clearances somewhere. but again you would need a presure gauge in the car to notice

 

[Immortality]

Good 2 cents immortality although commsirac might say its not good enough as the new zealand exchange rate is lower than the ozzy dollar, only teasin you commsirac .

I was gonna say it, but then thought i shouldnt but i have to agree, I will never ever, and have never(unless the person before me used it) used Catrol. And i rank Pennzoil in my top oils along with Fuchs, ULX and PM. Pennzoil is a fantastic oil, at the end of the day it only got a bad reputation as it was the most widely used oil at the time and released all its specs so was easily scrutinsed. But on the oil interval, check the Pennzoil site, U.S one and they recommend changing at 5000. Same as Valvoline. The Penzzoil 10W40 Semi Synth and the GT Street machine 20W50 are the real deal.

So you agree with New Zealands very cool weather that 5W is too thin ?

i've never had any issues with 10,000km changes. car manufacturers recommend (i.e. holden for the V6) 20w-50 or 15w-40 for colder weather. i don't think a full synthetic 5w-? is to low for our conditions(in fact it might be better even), it's just not suitable for the buick or ecotec V6, especially high mileage units. newer engines with tight clearances will love the stuff

 

[commsirac]

sorry, to clarify, by max pressure i mean the max pressure for my engine (50psi) max pressure on the gauge is a lot more. cold idle is close to this, once it warms it drops a few psi (idle)but not a lot and is above the minimum 40psi (@1850rpm) as stated in the gregories manual.

yes to clarify, max pressure being the highest reading one ever sees on the gauge at any time, which should be a measure of the relief spring setting and will typically be reached with regular oil when cold at moderate rpm

 

[Immortality]

for those not familiar with oil pump operation and to prevent confusion. oil pumps are designed to provide more then adequate oil pressure at low rpm thus resulting in a bypass situation once moderate to high rpm is reached. this is normal and not anything to worry about.

hence the reason most car manual specify a minimum oil pressure when hot at a specific RPM. for the VS ecotec it's 55psi@1850rpm (engine @ operating temp)

 

[vxcalais_01]

I agree immortality, at the end of the day, i am talking in relation to our vehicles, especially in respect to the title of this thread. New cars, different cars, tighter tolerances, means different oil specs. Also fantastic information on oil pressure from Commsirac and yourself