[S.Macias]

With Mobil 1 0W-40 Supercar oil rising in price almost hourly, would their 5W-50 Supercar be a reasonable replacement.

Climate on the Central Coast rarely drops below 30 in the winter so I’m not too concerned with the 0W or the 5W. Average temps in Greenfield lately have been in the 80’s and 90’s. Car is generally autocross only with 30-100 miles of driving to and from. It’s also considered high mileage at 160,500 which may benefit from the thicker viscosity. Car is also a V6.

Any input helpful

[SWFLZL1]

I’ve been running 5w50 supercar in mine the past few changes. No scientific evidence to share, but seems to be working just fine. I also live in SW Florida, so we never have cool days, to worry about the cold flow.

[Rich292]

So, for the V6 engine, as far as I know, that's supposed to take 5W30. Any 5W30 dexos1 oil will be fine for that car. The dexosR type oils are only required in the V8 models.

However, if you want to go to something with the dexosR type protection (which definitely won't hurt anything in your use case, there was another poster asking basically the same thing. Here's a link to the other thread with a longer explanation of how to choose a substitute oil:

https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=633858

The short answer to what other oils you can use:
Mobil 1 5W50 Supercar
Mobil 1 FS Euro 0W40
Mobil 1 ESP X4 0W40

Those are all dexosR oils. The 5W50 won't hurt your car unless you're going to extremely cold temperatures.

Generally speaking, if you didn't want to use one of those, then pick an oil with these characteristics:

API SP in combination with ACEA A3/B4 or ACEA C3. If the oil is also rated for BMW LL01 or LL04 or Porsche A40 or C40, even better. Pick a 0W40, 5W40, or 5W50 and you'll be all set.

These are typically going to be the Euro versions of oils. You can find oils that meet all of those requirements from Mobil, Pennzoil, Valvoline, and Castrol. With that many choices, you'll be able to find something.

[GreyGhost702]

Originally Posted by S.Macias

With Mobil 1 0W-40 Supercar oil rising in price almost hourly, would their 5W-50 Supercar be a reasonable replacement.

5w50 is fine, just pay attention to oil temps, as you should be doing anyway. From a cold start, there is a lot of thermal action at play with internal metal parts and clearances. The difference in oil pressure while the oil is cold is also noticeably higher. As you go up in Viscosity, overall pressure will go up as well. So give the car a chance to heat up that oil before pounding on the go pedal. At least 180 degrees before WOT/high RPM fun. Coolant temp doesn't count, either. Coolant will be at operating temp long before oil temps.

As far as cold weather operation, unless you specifically are leaving the car exposed to sub zero weather, 5wXX will flow just fine. No, not as fast as 0w. The first couple hundred RPM we all rely on that "leftover" film strength to get us by until the oil pump delivers. It all happens in the first couple hundred RPM. As I stated earlier, give the oil a chance to get up to temp before play, that's all. My winter temps are regularly below freezing, I run 5w50 all year. Well... last year anyway, as this build has only been alive since last July. Before that, I was running 0w40 Euro oil. No issues, engine looked perfect during tear-down.

On that note, if you're looking for a cost alternative, 5w50 is kind of a hard to find Viscosity, and pretty much special order for any brand. As an alternative, you could run 5w40. It's just a touch thicker than 0w40 but 5w40 is readily available at most walmart's or parts stores. You can also run 0w40 Euro oils, but due to their typically higher ZDDP package they often don't comply with Dexos standard, and will be a little harder on your cats over time. You could just run it in the short term until your favorite 0w40 is stabilized and available again.

[FlukeSS]

Don't quote me but I believe 5w40 and 10w40 conventional oil would work as a substitute as well.

I use 10w40 in my car with the modifications atm, and use it all year round even in winter cold temperatures. (snow ice etc)

Worst case: May have to change it every 3000-3500 miles but it is signifcantly cheaper than synthetic.

[S.Macias]

Thanks for the input everyone. The 5W-50 Supercar I can find readily available at $62 for a case of 6. Thankfully the V6 only uses 5.5 Quarts.

Car is well maintained, and fun usually doesn’t start until oil temp hits the 180 plus mark. I’ll be sure to keep an eye on the pressure. My main concern was if there would be any negative to running the oil in the car but from input it doesn’t sound like it.

As mentioned, the Camaro has become an autocross beast with driving to and from events, with the occasional weekend drive to keep the car in running shape. Think I’ve put 1,800 miles on the car since November of last year (7 months). Good to know there’s positive experiences with this 5W-50. I expected price to jump for the 0W-40 but not almost double in a few short weeks.

[IMCWORTH]

Haven't tried Amsoil yet but the Testing of AMSOIL Signature Series already outperforms the dexos R specification.
The dexos R icon will be added to Signature Series 0W-40 and 5W-50 packages.

[2SS Capt]

Originally Posted by S.Macias

Good to know there’s positive experiences with this 5W-50. I expected price to jump for the 0W-40 but not almost double in a few short weeks.

No offense, but I bought a $50k car (more expensive than any car I've every bought (by about $20k), if my once a year oil change goes from ~$110 to ~$220, I'm not gonna freak out and look for cheaper oil, I'm gonna use what is recommended by the engineers who designs the engine... It comes down to the cost of ownership of a high performance vehicle...

[S.Macias]

Originally Posted by 2SS Capt

No offense, but I bought a $50k car (more expensive than any car I've every bought (by about $20k), if my once a year oil change goes from ~$110 to ~$220, I'm not gonna freak out and look for cheaper oil, I'm gonna use what is recommended by the engineers who designs the engine... It comes down to the cost of ownership of a high performance vehicle...

Appreciate the insight. Ordered the 5W-50 since the 0W-40 is popping up as back ordered on some sites. Guess I’ll have to cheap out on my other three vehicles…

[p47dman]

Cap't is very right in his answer. Not only the SS, but I've got a $100,000 engine in the Pete and I don't put Holiday gas station oil in her.

[BarryWayne]

Originally Posted by p47dman

Cap't is very right in his answer. Not only the SS, but I've got a $100,000 engine in the Pete and I don't put Holiday gas station oil in her.

I got a $200,000 engine in my Scotty and I put Santa clause juice in it… you see how douchey that sounds? Nobody ****ing cares bro. Go jerk your own dick somewhere else

[KingLT1]

Oil threads are the plague.

[arpad_m]

I'm quite entertained by oil threads, actually. Sometimes people even criticize Amsoil and Pennzoil, then start arguing about the myriad variants of Mobil1 0W-40 as if this was a[n engine] life or death question... to me it's innocent fun on a board otherwise not particularly active these days.

[mlee]

Another thread posted in the wrong section

Moved