[GreenZLE]

Originally Posted by GreyGhost702

GM Already back-peddled on this, according to their latest recall update they are going to do engine swaps but dump the 0w20 oil spec back in.

According to Lake Speed and other reputable oil labs, Amsoil like many boutique oils has a higher tier base oil. The biggest advantage to straying from the off-the-shelf oils comes in choosing an additive package that fits your engine build and application best. If you're just stock NA - FBO NA there's really no need to get fancy with your additive package or get too worked up about jumping up in viscosity. 0w40 will fit most. The same is mostly true for the off-the-shelf oils, pick a 0w40 that meets API spec and is dexos for your emissions. It's pure bullshit folks stating you can't run the "Euro" oil, too. I ran M1 Euro 0w40 for the first 4 years of my stock engine life, I'm happy to show you my bearings. I also ran a 5k/mi OCI. If SuperTech had 0w40 when I was stock, I would've put that in over M1, too. If anything, Euro spec is usually better for your engine in terms of higher ZDDP package. Whether or not it will carry a Dexos cert is unlikely, because most Euro formula's prioritize engine protection over emissions protection, but if it meets API-SN (SP) you're good to go.

Obviously, if you're worried about your warranty, you'll want a dexos cert but honestly dexos is just protecting your emissions equipment, and even then it's not going to make your cats live forever. Just live long enough to get you through your warranty period lol. Dexos is GM's way of pulling the leash on oil manufacturers to meet minimum standards. Yes, the cert does have minimum standards for performance and wear protection, but they cap out the additive packages to do the least harm to emissions equipment. There are non-dexos certified oils that would even meet dexos spec, but the brand refuses to pay for the stamp. I'd much rather run an oil that does the best job protecting my engine than protecting my ****ing cats. If I had cats, I'd weld a new pair every year over pulling an engine for a rebuild every 5 years. Just how I feel about. But I'm also not concerned about warranties, either. Everyone has to come to their own conclusions. You can stick what GM recommends in your car, for warranties sake. Just remember it's their responsibility to make their shareholders rich, first. And they're putting 0w20 back in the L87's.

I also ran the Euro Spec 0W-40 in my car without a problem. In 30K miles, the only emissions problem I had was due to an exhaust leak at the cylinder head.


Now that I'm modding the car, I'll probably go with something with a ZDDP package thats about 1400PPM. If it kills the cats in 15K miles, I dont really care. Having a great anti scuff package is far far more important to me.

[GreyGhost702]

Originally Posted by GreenZLE

I also ran the Euro Spec 0W-40 in my car without a problem. In 30K miles, the only emissions problem I had was due to an exhaust leak at the cylinder head.


Now that I'm modding the car, I'll probably go with something with a ZDDP package thats about 1400PPM. If it kills the cats in 15K miles, I dont really care. Having a great anti scuff package is far far more important to me.

I don't think you need to go that high in ZDDP, unless you're talking about an old-school flat tappet engine or maybe the oil change after your first fire oil change on a fresh build. Or perhaps just for racing purposes.

For your every day street use, back on Amsoil for example, typically in the signature series you'll find ~2600ppm calcium and ~1,000ppm zinc/~900ppm phosphorus. This runs in-line with M1 FS (Euro) series, Castrol Edge, Pennzoil Platinum Ultra, and most of the top shelf formulas. Though I think Pennzoil has an even higher calcium level, I want to say 3200ppm? Anyway, that balance between Calcium and ZDDP, Calcium is helping out the ZDDP in terms of anti-wear. If you overload on ZDDP you lower your detergency and you could see higher deposits in the rings and injectors which could result in LSPI issues. And definitely start choking the cats faster.

Again, situationally a higher ZDDP package is great for break-in oil where parts are shaking hands for the first time or under race conditions where oil is getting beat to hell and burned up, but for the street car I'd be cautious about going balls out VR-1 style race oil in normal driving conditions.

[N Camarolina]

Originally Posted by Msquared

The 0w40 x3 and its successor, x4, are both better oils than Supercar for high-temp/high-shear and resisting long-term viscosity breakdown. They are also Dexos R approved. Regardless of the availability of Supercar, x4 is a no-brainer choice for Camaro owners, especially if you have any plans to track or even just aggressively drive your car.

Totally agree. Unfortunately when I ran out of X3, I stocked up on Supercar as it was the only Dexos 2 left on the market (I'm still under warrantee). So I'll be changing out the Supercar more frequently (track days) and will soon start stocking up on X4.

[m6-lt1]

Originally Posted by N Camarolina

Totally agree. Unfortunately when I ran out of X3, I stocked up on Supercar as it was the only Dexos 2 left on the market (I'm still under warrantee). So I'll be changing out the Supercar more frequently (track days) and will soon start stocking up on X4.

How often are you planning on changing your oil between track days?

[cdb95z28]

Honestly, if you are tracking your car and can't find any Dexos R oils, just use Mobil 1 15W50. I use it street and track.

[Msquared]

Originally Posted by cdb95z28

Honestly, if you are tracking your car and can't find any Dexos R oils, just use Mobil 1 15W50. I use it street and track.

Better to use Supercar 5w50: it is at least Dexos approved (almost certainly lower calcium) and therefore should be nicer to your cats and intake valves. Plus, it's 40C viscosity is lower for cold starts.

[Rich292]

I already wrote this up for another oil question on the general section of the forum for alternatives to the Supercar oil, but I am reposting it here since it might be helpful to some people.

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.