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Best oil at 80k.

zagger

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 22, 2006
Messages
468
Location
San Diego
Corvette
99 C5 Convertible
My 99 vert just rolled over 80k and its time to change the oil. The manual recomends Mobil 1 5/30 which is the same oil I used when the car was new and engine was tight, Now with some weare I'm sure most tolerances have loosened up and I'm curious if the same oil is still the best for the motor. I've heard of Royal Purple oil, is it realy better, has anyone used it and did they noticed any differance. Maybe I should stick to Mobil and just get havier grade like 10/30 or 15/40. Whonder what most of you are runing in your vetts and how it performs.
 
80k? Keep driving!

odometer.jpg


Mobil 1 is what you want to use in either 5W-30 or 10W-30. I wouldn't use any 40 weight oil in the car as the engine is designed for the 5 or 10W-30. Enjoy the ride and keep driving. As 6shooter said, you've just broken it in. ;)

Leon
 
I read somewhere that an engine was tested to 100,000 miles with Mobil 1 and then torn down. No out of tolerance wear was noted. Stick with the Mobil 1 or another synthetic that meets the GM4718M standard and you will be OK.
 
Yeah my engine builder said Mobil 10w30 synthetic is the best thing next to redline. He recommended 10w30 since it is a little thicker.
 
Wow, I did not expect Mobil 1 was so popular. I like cruzer99's analogy "run with what got you there!" Cant argue with that. Thanks for all the :lou replies.
 
Your avatar says you're in California...It doesn't get that cold there, except for recently, I'd run the 10/30 Mobil1. Iuse that in my C-5 for the summer, and change it to 5W/30 for "winter storage".
 
Iuse that in my C-5 for the summer, and change it to 5W/30 for "winter storage".

leadfoot,

Are you saying that you don't drive it with 5W/30 - just store it with that viscosity?

Remo:cool
 
leadfoot,

Are you saying that you don't drive it with 5W/30 - just store it with that viscosity?

Remo:cool

That's correct! I don't drive my 'Vette in the snow/salt/slush of western New York's winters.
 
That's correct! I don't drive my 'Vette in the snow/salt/slush of western New York's winters.

I understand that - none of us drive them in the winter. What confused me was why (if you're not driving it in the colder temps) would you bother to change from 10W/30 to 5W/30.

Remo:cool
 
I understand that - none of us drive them in the winter. What confused me was why (if you're not driving it in the colder temps) would you bother to change from 10W/30 to 5W/30.

Remo:cool

Ther are many varied opinions on the topic of winter storage. My opinion, one that has worked for the past 30 years, is to start the car and allow it to warm up, around every 3-4 weeks. I don't like the idea of gaskets drying out due to lack of oil, a/c compressor seals drying up for the same reason, and most importantly, I don't like valve springs, especially the ones holding valves open, to stay in one position for months at a time.

Because of that, I start the car once in a while, and want light oil, so it starts circulating as quickly as possible. Actually, I used to use 0W-20, however I couldn't find any gallon jugs of it this year, and I was too thrifty to pay the extra $3-4 it would have cost to buy the 6 individual quarts.
 
Ther are many varied opinions on the topic of winter storage. My opinion, one that has worked for the past 30 years, is to start the car and allow it to warm up, around every 3-4 weeks. I don't like the idea of gaskets drying out due to lack of oil, a/c compressor seals drying up for the same reason, and most importantly, I don't like valve springs, especially the ones holding valves open, to stay in one position for months at a time.

Because of that, I start the car once in a while, and want light oil, so it starts circulating as quickly as possible. Actually, I used to use 0W-20, however I couldn't find any gallon jugs of it this year, and I was too thrifty to pay the extra $3-4 it would have cost to buy the 6 individual quarts.

leadfoot - understood, your reasoning is perfect. Thanks for chatting with me.
Remo:cool
 
Ther are many varied opinions on the topic of winter storage. My opinion, one that has worked for the past 30 years, is to start the car and allow it to warm up, around every 3-4 weeks. I don't like the idea of gaskets drying out due to lack of oil, a/c compressor seals drying up for the same reason, and most importantly, I don't like valve springs, especially the ones holding valves open, to stay in one position for months at a time.

Because of that, I start the car once in a while, and want light oil, so it starts circulating as quickly as possible. Actually, I used to use 0W-20, however I couldn't find any gallon jugs of it this year, and I was too thrifty to pay the extra $3-4 it would have cost to buy the 6 individual quarts.

Yeah that is what I was going to do today, the battery just decided to not comply :L
 
I suppose that changing the oil on a vette is as simple as any other car?

Im not even sure what oil they put in my vette before i bought it. Ill have to call the dealer. Ive heard that you cant use syntehtic oil if youve already put in conventional, is that true?

If basic maintenance for a vette is as simple as any other car, id sure like to know so i can do my own instead of paying for it.
 
Snow, salt, slush, what's that.

Well, JimVette,
snow, slush and ice is the side-effect of five consecutive weekends of snowfall. Let me demonstrate (These picture were taken earlier this week.)
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Not pretty, but I couldn't stand keeping the Z06 in the garage for an entire month.

I suppose that changing the oil on a vette is as simple as any other car?

Im not even sure what oil they put in my vette before i bought it. Ill have to call the dealer. Ive heard that you cant use syntehtic oil if youve already put in conventional, is that true?

If basic maintenance for a vette is as simple as any other car, id sure like to know so i can do my own instead of paying for it.

VettePirate,
You can change the oil in your Corvette yourself- do a forum search, there's lots of threads discussing the "how to's" of it.

I would be highly surprised if the previous owner of your Vette did not use synthetic oil. These engines were specifically designed for it, and you would be ill-advised to consider going back to conventional. Stick with the Mobil 1 with a viscosity rating suitable for your local weather and temps for this time of year.

:w
-Patrick
 
Thanks.

Also, does anyone know what kind of maintenance i should ask for when bringing my car to the dealer? If changing the oil is all i need, then i guess i shouldnt have to take it there at all unless i have a bigger problem.

I knew this car would cost me going in - i dont have a problem with that. I just dont want to go in and pay for maintenance i dont need, so any tips on things i should absolutely have examined on a regular basis would be a good start.
 
To Change or Not to Change........

VettePirate,
You can change the oil in your Corvette yourself- do a forum search, there's lots of threads discussing the "how to's" of it.-Patrick

Oh! Patrick - this is tempting - I so want to start a thread called "do you change your own oil?" But I'll contain myself (be calm, count to three.......let it go).

Remo:cool
 

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