[KLG]

Originally Posted by Magnum922

I am going to change my oil myself and I am reading a lot of differences that people say the camaro SS oil capacity is. It ranges from 9.5 quarts to 10.5 quarts. I wonder if it's a question of how they Jack the car up to change it. Front up in the air on ramps or jacking the whole car up level on stands. Maybe you get more old oil drained one way as opposed to the other?

I have the front end on ramps, about a 6" rise. I drain the oil with the engine warm to hot. I usually let it drain for an hour or so.

New filter and 10 quarts back in.

With the car level and after running briefly to circulate the fresh oil, it puts the level about in the middle of the cross-hatched area of the dip-stick.

[ember1205]

The oil check procedure in the manual is pretty much worthless. Follow the general suggested method of checking when the engine is cold (sat overnight) and you should always be able to get consistent readings.

As long as the oil is within the hashed area on the dip stick, there's nothing to do.

[Need4Camaro]

I am just dead curious on one thing. I’m not exactly objecting to anything but just wondering, why did they give the LT1 engines a high oil capacity? I didn’t own a 5th Gen SS but the 4th Gen LS1’s and LS6’s only took 5.5 Quarts. I’m not sure if the LS3’s do. But anyway I know these motors are two generations apart but is there any reason the LT1 requires more oil than its precedors?

[CamaroSSStlfan]

How much is an oil change for an SS running at your local chevy dealers for full synthetic right now?

[Need4Camaro]

Originally Posted by CamaroSSStlfan

How much is an oil change for an SS running at your local chevy dealers for full synthetic right now?

Mine costs about $110 for Mobil 1 Full Syn

[2SS Capt]

Originally Posted by CamaroSSStlfan

How much is an oil change for an SS running at your local chevy dealers for full synthetic right now?

Mine costs me about $105 USD doing it myself... If the dealer is charging you less than $150 USD I'd be suspect to which oil they are using...

[SSDan]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

I am just dead curious on one thing. I’m not exactly objecting to anything but just wondering, why did they give the LT1 engines a high oil capacity?

I'm sure others can give you a better technical answer but as I understand it GM wanted an all around performer (drag strip and road course) in the Gen 6. So much so that they were willing to honor drivetrain warranty for track use. To back that up the SS and ZL1 models come with three radiators plus coolers for engine oil, tranny and rear diff plus the high capacity oil pan to avoid high G oil starvation when used on the track.

[SSDan]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

Mine costs about $110 for Mobil 1 Full Syn

I paid $130.00 for the same.

[vtirocz]

Originally Posted by KLG

I have the front end on ramps, about a 6" rise. I drain the oil with the engine warm to hot. I usually let it drain for an hour or so.

New filter and 10 quarts back in.

With the car level and after running briefly to circulate the fresh oil, it puts the level about in the middle of the cross-hatched area of the dip-stick.

That exactly matches with my experience. I always ensure I drain it for a long time, put exactly 10qt in, start car, check on level surface, and the level is always 1/2 way up the dipstick hashmark.

[vtirocz]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

I am just dead curious on one thing. I’m not exactly objecting to anything but just wondering, why did they give the LT1 engines a high oil capacity? I didn’t own a 5th Gen SS but the 4th Gen LS1’s and LS6’s only took 5.5 Quarts. I’m not sure if the LS3’s do. But anyway I know these motors are two generations apart but is there any reason the LT1 requires more oil than its precedors?

Originally Posted by SSDan

I'm sure others can give you a better technical answer but as I understand it GM wanted an all around performer (drag strip and road course) in the Gen 6. So much so that they were willing to honor drivetrain warranty for track use. To back that up the SS and ZL1 models come with three radiators plus coolers for engine oil, tranny and rear diff plus the high capacity oil pan to avoid high G oil starvation when used on the track.

I think SSDan is correct here. The 6th gen LT1 has a large oil cooler setup,
piston cooling nozzles (both adding volume), and likely the pan has larger volume/design to ensure adequate scavenge performance at the lateral/braking loads of the SS 1LE (uses same oil circuit / cooling package as non-1LE).

For comparison, the C7 version of the LT1 without the Z51 package has a capacity of 7 qt., while the Z51 (w/ dry sump setup) has a capacity of 9.8qt.

[Magnum922]

Originally Posted by Magnum922

I'll do that and let you know tomorrow. Thanks

Checked it this morning. It's almost half. ( 10 quarts )

[ember1205]

Originally Posted by 2SS Capt

Mine costs me about $105 USD doing it myself... If the dealer is charging you less than $150 USD I'd be suspect to which oil they are using...

My dealership has a fairly reasonable cost for the oil changes in my truck and they use full syn. While I don't disagree that you should question what oil is being used, it is possible that the dealership could simply understand that they have to be competitive on price to keep the business.

It costs me under $40 to do my own because I use 5W-30 dexos1 oil that's GM certified but not a major brand name...

[CamaroSSStlfan]

Originally Posted by ember1205

My dealership has a fairly reasonable cost for the oil changes in my truck and they use full syn. While I don't disagree that you should question what oil is being used, it is possible that the dealership could simply understand that they have to be competitive on price to keep the business.

It costs me under $40 to do my own because I use 5W-30 dexos1 oil that's GM certified but not a major brand name...

Wal-mart will be about 25 percent cheaper than the dealer. The wal-mart by me I have to say isn't bad. I took my Mustang there for oil changes and batteries and never any issues.


Took my Dads Sonata years back to the dealer for the oil change and they didn't screw the oil filter tight enough and that was a disaster when I left the dealer.


Depending on dealer you go to it's not always the best place. I'm just not used to taking a car and paying dealer prices but I dunno with these engines I wanna trust just anyone doing it. At least if dealer Fs up I might get it fixed easier.

[ember1205]

Originally Posted by CamaroSSStlfan

Wal-mart will be about 25 percent cheaper than the dealer. The wal-mart by me I have to say isn't bad. I took my Mustang there for oil changes and batteries and never any issues.


Took my Dads Sonata years back to the dealer for the oil change and they didn't screw the oil filter tight enough and that was a disaster when I left the dealer.


Depending on dealer you go to it's not always the best place. I'm just not used to taking a car and paying dealer prices but I dunno with these engines I wanna trust just anyone doing it. At least if dealer Fs up I might get it fixed easier.

It's all about the individual, really. I've had really great service from "cheap" places and pretty poor service from "expensive" places. In fact, one of the absolute worst service experiences I've ever had was at MacMulkin Chevrolet in Nashua and they're lauded as one of the premiere Corvette dealerships out there.

In all seriousness, do oil changes yourself. I always did them myself until the very late 90's. At that point, I had moved into a condo complex where the units didn't have garages and you were expressly prohibited from doing any work on your vehicles in the parking lots. I continued paying someone else to do my maintenance until I bought the Camaro and now I'm back under the hood for the oil changes and such. It's simple, saves me quite a bit of money, affords me an opportunity to do a close-up check on things all around the car, and I know it's done right.