[Rich292]

Short answer to your question would be to look for an oil with the appropriate weight and that has both an API SP or SQ rating and an ACEA A3/B4 or C3 rating. Appropriate weight would be generally anything from 0W to 15W on the cold side, and anything from 30 to 50 on the hot side, but you probably want to stick with 0W40, 5W40, or 5W50 in most cases. As always, consider your warranty when choosing an oil. Without dexos ratings, you always run the risk of a warranty rejection. Also, if you do choose a different oil, you would probably want to do an oil analysis to see if the oil life monitor still applies to the non-dexos oil of your choosing. It should, but it’s good to double check.

Either the Pennzoil Ultra Platinum or Amsoil options are probably good. However, they are far from your only options, and there are some caveats. For the Pennzoil, you would want an oil with a high temp high shear (HTHS) over 3.5. Most 40 weight oils have that, but not all of them do. I can’t find anything on the Pennzoil that gives me that spec. Just because it’s good for a Hemi doesn’t make it good for an LT, especially since the LT is DI. As far as Amsoil, they make a good product, but I have never found them to be worth the price and hassle of ordering oil.

If you’re interested in more detail, I’ve outlined my reasoning below:

These cars have had several different weights specced in different model years. Originally it was 5W30 dexos1 for street and 15W50 for track, then 0W40 or 5W40 dexos2 for street or track, and now 0W40 dexosR for street or track. Something to keep in mind is that the Mobil 1 Supercar 0W40 is only barely thicker than a 30 weight oil at high temperatures. However, it does have a HTHS that’s over 3.5. The reason they went to a 40 weight in the first place is to get that higher HTHS. The original 5W30 dexos1 oils have HTHS around 3.1, which is a little low on track. Most 40 weights meet the standard, but there are some 30 weight oils that do, too. For example, there is a Pennzoil 5W30 Euro oil that has a HTHS of 3.5. That oil is probably fine on track for a Camaro, but you do need to be careful which 30 weight you are choosing. Unfortunately, not all oil manufacturers publish the HTHS, so you need to find it in other ways with the oil specs as explained below.

On the cold side, I would be comfortable with a 0W or 5W in any temperature. I would also be fine with a 10W or 15W for a car that doesn’t see temps below 0*F, which is most of these cars. If you do see severe winter, stick with 0W or 5W. If not, the 10W or 15W will work fine. The oils with the higher winter weight (10W or 15W) do have some advantage in that they require less viscosity index improver additives, so they will usually shear less and maintain their hot viscosity better over time. That is just a generalization, though, and isn’t always true.

Getting an oil with an API SP or SQ spec is important on these cars. These two specs are oils designed for DI engines and have additive packs that help prevent low speed preignition and that reduce intake valve deposits. I would definitely want something with this spec if you aren’t using a dexos oil (the dexos oils all have similar requirements for LSPI and intake valve deposits). Don’t let the old timers fool you, either. Everything I’ve seen in testing shows that the new additive packs in the API SP oils are giving better protection than the older oils with higher levels of zinc.

If you want an oil that is also good on track, the ACEA specs should tell you that information. The first thing to know is that dexos2, which was the first oil that was specced for street and track use, basically mirrors the ACEA C3 specification. That spec requires HTHS of 3.5 or more. ACEA A3/B4 is a slightly older specification, but it has the same standards for wear, prevention of engine deposits, and HTHS. The newer C3 spec was designed to help keep gasoline exhaust particulate filters from getting clogged up, but since none of the Camaros ever had particulate filters, this isn’t an issue.

So, working through the specs, dexos2 was good for track use and is basically ACEA C3. The original dexos2 oil was Mobil 1 ESP Formula, which then was rebranded without any formulation changes into Mobil 1 Supercar, which is now dexosR. So, a dexos2 oil met the dexosR spec, and the dexos2 spec is the ACEA C3 spec, so that should be good. ACEA A3/B4 spec is basically the same as ACEA C3, but without the particulate filter protection that these cars don’t need.

You can confirm this line of thinking with the GM Dexos website. They recently added Mobil 1 ESP X4 and Mobil 1 FS to the DexosR approvals to help with the truck recall. Those oils are both API SP rated, and the ESP X4 is ACEA C3 and the FS is ACEA A3/B4. Those overlapping approvals should be a good stand in for dexosR.

Oils that have both API SP/SQ and ACEA A3/Br or C3 include most of the major brand Euro oils in 0W40, 5W40, and 5W50. Mobil, Pennzoil, Valvoline, and Castrol all have a variety of options.

If you want something that is not a Euro oil, then try to find something API SP or SQ and that you know has the HTHS over 3.5. There is always the Mobil 1 15W50 (it’s now API SP on the shelves, even if their website hasn’t updated yet). Castrol Edge 5W50 is good, too. The Pennzoil Ultra Platinum probably falls into this category, but I can’t find anything online that lists a HTHS number.

You can also find a number of boutique oils from Amsoil, Redline, Motul, and others. Usually the amount of money and effort to get those oils isn’t worth it, though.