My TA has 61,000 miles on it and its about time for me to change the oil for the first since I have owned it. Lets say the car has always had regular old motor oil in it. Would it be better to use it again or go ahead and switch to Synthetic.

If I should switch what is the best for the LS1


--Later

 

This is a touchy subject with some on this board. My personal experience with my previous two F-bodies is that they racked up well over 100K miles without needing any work related to engine oil. Admittedly, I didn't race the cars, but dino oil worked just fine for all those years. I just use the current highest SAE rating that's indicated on the container.

 

You can't go wrong with Synthetic, sure it's more expensive but it's worth it. I personally use Mobil1 and it works fine, I don't really think the brand matters, as long as it's Synthetic you'll be fine.

 

I've been using conventional ('dino') oil in Z28 since I bought it new in '02; but I change my oil regularly (about every three months of driving or 3000 miles/5000 kms) and I don't race the car either

As far as I know in '02 the Z's came with conventional oil from the factory and the SS's came with synthetic . . . I do know people who swear by synthetic oil and run it in everything they own, but so far din oil is good enough for me - just make sure it's at least as good as what the car's manual specs

 

synthetic is the best. It will last around 5,000 miles between changes and is much better for our engines. Plus if the previous owner ever used synthetic it is bad to switch to regular oil. Switching will damage seals in the long run.

 

Mobil 1 Synthetic 5w-30.

That's what most high performance cars come with from the factory, including the Corvette

 

I dont see how the factory is going dry ship LS1 engines based on their future home. .Every SS starts as a Z.. I would reckon that all LS1's start life with synthetic.. Otherwise, I dont see why the factory manual would tell you to change when the light goes on. Conventional oil isnt supposed to last into the 7K+ range.

I dont change my oil until the light comes on. It only gets synthetic..
I have had 0 problems and I do race the car and drive it HARD..

 

I pamper my car as is, why not go further and buy it 6.00 per/qt. oil.

 

In theory, synthetic should hold up well for 5,000 miles and beyond. But you'd want to do some oil analysis to make sure that the engine isn't contaminating the oil before doing any extended drains.


Really? Care to explain?

I've switched between synthetic and regular for the last 100k miles on my car with no problems.

 

Ask anyone else its not good for the seals in your engine. Once you put synthetic oil in it will start to remove the sludge that has built up around your seals. Regular oil eventually dries out your seals and the only thing holding the oil in is the sludge and gunk. I have know a couple of my buddies that have changed to synthetic oil after 70 or 80 thousand miles of regular oil and wake up the next day with puddles of oil under their cars. But thats just my experience with them so if you want to chance it go right ahead.

 

Well thats a good explanation.

 

yeah I edited that because I hit the submit button before I was done.

 

I started using synthetic when I got my car (60k on it already) and haven't had any problems.

Either I'm lucky or your buddies aren't.

 

maybe your car started off with synthetic early in its life. Are you trying to start an arguement over oil or something. Take a deep breath and relax its just oil buddy.

 

the leaking can also be caused by worn seals. Dino oil is obviously thicker no matter the weight. When you switch to synthetics at flows easier and can find the small holes the regualr oil didnt and leak.

Thats just my opinion. not arguement intended.