[HS2]

I just bought a 2023 2SS with low milage.....only 6,800 miles on it. I know Chevrolet says run 0-40w oil in it. However, I also know they make these recommendations to fit all climates from Alaska to Florida. My situation is that I live on the gulf coast. Over the course of this car's lifetime, the engine may never, ever start when the weather is below 32 degrees. The number of times I'll drive this car when it's below 40 degrees I could count on one hand with fingers left over. It's much more likely to be run during the five months of the year when the weather can be in the upper 90s.

Given that, what would be the best oil to run in this 6.2L engine? This will be s street only car.

[Eric10905]

I used the 0w-40 for quite some time in the Texas summer and "winters" with no issues. including on the track. Due to track usage, I switched a while back full time to 5w-50 or even the 15w-50. No issues with those. But I don't daily the car either.
fwiw

edit: if you have any warranty, you might want to stick with the 0w-40 factory recommendation. Some might say it doesn't matter, but if you have issues, it can't hurt to be using their recommended oil if there is a problem.

[arpad_m]

Look Ma', another oil thread (sorry, couldn't resist)

OP, I don't think you'll gain anything by deviating from the 0W-40 recommendation on a stock LT1 engine.

If you want the best longevity, you could look into higher echelon suppliers like Amsoil or Pennzoil, but that may be used as an excuse by the dealership to deny your warranty repair claims, so it's a personal choice.

[N Camarolina]

It's a common misunderstanding that the first weight number in oil equates to the flow rate at some really cold ambient temperature. In fact, it's more like 100F, so living in a warmer climate isn't really relevant to the argument you were considering. 0W is designed for proper flow (in an LT1) and lubricate the engine bearings when you first start the engine, when pressure is the lowest. Were you to choose a 5W-40 oil, that would probably be OK even though the oil is a little thicker on start up. However, when you move up to even just 5W-50 (never mind 15W-50), the oil is significantly thicker at start up and will likely result in more engine wear at start up. While that doesn't matter if your car is only driven at the track, it probably does matter if you daily drive your car (a lot more start up episodes each year).

Hope this was helpful.

[HS2]

Thank you..........this was the clearest explanation I've seen. Very helpful.

[Rich292]

There is no single best oil for your car. Rather, there's lots of good options.

While you're under warranty, just go ahead and use the dexosR rated oils. There are three of them, all from Mobil 1 in 0W40. There's Supercar, FS Euro, and ESP X4. Any will work fine and maintain warranty coverage. You can get deals from Autozone on the ESP X4, and Walmart has jugs of the FS Euro cheap all the time.

Once you don't care about the warranty, you have lots of options. The first thing to look for is specs. If you look at an oil and it carries API SP or SQ and an ACEA A3/B4 or C3 spec, that oil will be good for your car. Even better if it has a BMW LL01 or LL04, and/or Porsche A40 or C40.

As far as viscosity goes, the 0W40 is fine for the car in all temperatures. It will flow well on startup and has plenty of viscosity for all but the most extreme track temps. You can also use a bunch of other weights. On the winter side, each SAE rating is basically a range of how cold the oil can get before it exceeds a certain cold viscosity. Those limits are set for being able to pump the oil at low temps. 15W is rated to -4 F, 10W is rated to -13 F, 5W goes to -22, and 0W goes to -31 F. So all these oils can go way lower than you think. There's also some relationship to that cold number and how well the oil remains in the bearings. While a thinner oil does flow faster, a thicker oil leaves more of a film on the engine for the next startup. Even so, you're probably best with either a 0W or 5W in most conditions.

On the hot side, you can choose from 40 or 50 pretty easily. There's a bunch of oils that meet the specs in that weight. There are also some 30 weight oils that are good for the car. Those will typically be Euro oils, not the plain dexos stuff, that has the ACEA ratings (part of which is a HTHS value of 3.5 or greater, which is uncommon in most 30 weight oils, but is present in the ACEA rated 30 weights).