Oil & Filter Combo: 2011 Chevy Impala

[Tino]

Hey all,

First, I'm Tino. Nice meeting you all, as this is my first post to this site.

A little bit of background about my car, since I know it can have an influence on what goes into the thing: It's a 2011 Chevy Impala LT w/ ~32K miles on it. Before I had it, it was a part of Enterprise's rental fleet (with God-knows-who driving it doing God-knows-what with it). 3.5L V6 3500 Series engine. I live in Milwaukee, WI, so the seasons change. When summers are hot, they're hot, and winters are usually cold and kinda long. Most of my driving consists of short-ish trips within the city. I don't get stuck in traffic very often, just a good amount of stop-and-go driving.

I'm here asking you guys what kind of oil I should put in my car, and what would be a good filter to go with it. The owner's manual on my car suggests a 5W-30 oil that is dexos approved (0W-30 for bitter cold weather). From what I read in the Motor Oil University part of this site, it sounds like I could get away with a 0W-30 all the time, and have the same viscosity at operating temps, but take advantage of the reduced wear at startup. Am I understanding this correctly? Would it be safe to experiment with using, say, a 20 grade oil instead of 30? Should I use a synthetic, conventional, or blend?

As far as filters, do "performance" filters (i.e. K&N, Bosch, Mobil 1) really justify the higher cost as opposed to, say, Fram or ACDelco?

Sorry for all the questions, or if any of these seem dumb. Cars are something I'm just getting into, and I tried to cram all of MOU into one sitting, lol. Thanks in advance for your time.

-Tino

 

[Tino]

A little bit of additional information: I tend to be a little bit of a hard driver, but have gotten a lot better. The car I'm inquiring about is the very first car to be in my own name, so I've been taking it pretty easy on the thing. Also, while the owner's manual calls for dexos certified oil, it does say that I could use any oil that has the API starburst and is SAE 5W-30 grade if I had to, but also says that using oil without the dexos cert. could result in reduced performance, and even cause cause damage that isn't covered by the warranty. Is this legit, or is GM just trying to scare me into using oil from manufacturers that have played ball with them?

 

[Gene K]

I feel better running a synthetic if running the OLM down to 0%. I think Quaker State Ultimate Durabilty 5W30 is $20.57 for 5 Qt at my Walmart last I looked and about as good a deal as you will find in a Dexos certified Synthetic. Im not a huge filter snob. I personally think a $3.27 Purolator Classic from Walmart will work just fine when following the OLM.

I personally think a Puralator Classic L25288 is a better filter than the basic Fram.

 

[yonyon]

It's your first nearly new car. Of course you want to take care of it. A DexOS1 logo indicates a higher minimum standard, but any name brand 5w30 or 0w30 should be perfectly good and probably could qualify for that DexOS1 logo if the manufacturer wanted to pay extra and charge you extra for the privelage of displaying it. If you're cool with paying a little more for a little more peace of mind, choose an oil that's rated DexOS1 and also 4718m or change it a little more frequently. There's probably no need for it. Keep your oil close to full and change it frequently enough and you should be fine.

If you want to make this car last:
-Add an extra transmission oil cooler.
-Read the owner's manual.
-Don't beat on it.
-Read the owner's manual.
-Stay out of deep puddles.
-If you don't store it out of the sun, wax is good. Underbody rust treatments are good too.
-If a yellow or red light comes on, find out why.
-When you're driving, pay attention to your driving.
-Stay out of deep puddles.
-Read the owner's manual.
-Don't let women drive your car except for those few women who make their living driving or working in a technical trade.
-It's 2012. A lot of men born since Reagan became president have been trained to think like women so the above applies to them as well.
-You purchased this car second-hand, so it may not have come with an owner's manual. If that's the case, buy two; put one in the glove compartment and read the other one.

Don't shoot me. That's just my opinion and you're free to disagree with it.

 

[Caliberguy]

the 3500 is a solid engine design and will last forever. use the 5w-30 (any store brand is ok) and purolator or Napa/Wix?carquest filter

 

[dave123]

One stop at WM I would get QSUD 5W-30 and a Fram XG under 30 dollars out the door and run full OLM.

 

[bodeh6]

You could always get Mobil 1 5W-30 with M1 filter when it is on sale at an auto supply store for around $30.

 

[46Harry]

I own a 2010 Impala with the 3.5 engine with 18,000 miles which also came out of the Enterprise fleet. I've been using PP 5W-30 and a Wix filter. My engine doesn't require a Dexos oil but Pennzoil has an SN rating and the specs exceed GM recommendations for those engines, so I feel comfortable using it. I did a couple of short OCI's because I saw a bit varnish when I looked down the oil fill hole. I don't think that rental cars get frequent oil changes as the cars are put out of service after a short period.

 

[MuzzleFlash40]

That engine is very easy on oil, and is a solid basic design. Run anything you want that meets the specs, and follow the OLM. I think someone else mentioned a trans cooler, which is a great idea. Should last you many thousands of miles without breaking a sweat.

 

[Bgallagher]

I would run PP and a P1 filter and use the OLM. 3.5 is a solid engine and will give you many miles on that oil/filter combo.

 

[addyguy]

Buy any 5W-30 syn oil you can get on sale - QSUD, PP, M1, or even house-brand syns.

It sounds like GM isn't being uber-strick on the Dexos-1 requirement for this engine, so you can pretty well use whatever you want.

 

[accent2012]

I also agree on having a transmission cooler because of your stop and go driving, but have the cooler with a stop valve. During cold winters, close the valve so that the transmission can warm up quicker stay warm since the cold winter can have the fluid below optimal operating temp if its circulating through the cooler. During the hot summer months open it up so it can circulate and keep it from overheating.

I'm sure there are good write-ups on this on Impala enthusiast forums as it's a popular car.

As for oil.... Stick with 5w30 that has dexos (either conventional or synthetic).

As for oil filter... use at least a Purolator classic filter (cheap in terms of price only) or a pure one or mobil or bosch filters.

 

[Durango]

Tino,

I have an 08" Impala SS that I bought in 09" as a left over and so my GM dealership offers Mobil 1 or Castrol "Syntec" as synthetic alternatives in the same weight as you mentioned. I have use M1 and a standard GM filter and go on my marry way for my usual 6K OCI's based on OLM tells me too.

Congratulations on your car purchase cuz during my time I was trying to get the 6 cylinder but all those models weren't available anywhere in area. So I wound up with the SS.

Durango

 

[SEMI_287]

Quaker State Ultimate Durability and AC Delco PF52 filter. OLM to 0% will be a great choice.

 

[Tino]

Thanks for all the input so far, guys. The tranny cooler sounds interesting. Gonna have to look more into that. Is that a part I could add w/o voiding the engine and transmission warranty I still have remaining?

Originally Posted By: accent2012


I'm sure there are good write-ups on this on Impala enthusiast forums as it's a popular car.


Funny you bring that up, accent. I was over there asking this same question and they sent me here, lol.

 

[JGW]

I would go with the correct grade of PP, or Mobil 1, or pretty much any major brand that's on sale. As for a filter, a Bosh Distant, or a P1, IMO.

Since the car was from rental fleet changing the tranny fluid probably wouldn't be a bad idea.