Oil recommendation 2011 Corvette

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ledslinger

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A friend just got a 2011 Corvette Grand Sport Heritage yesterday and since I help him maintain his stuff I will be involved in oil changes. He got dealer provided oil changes for I think 4 years, but they will likely be for longer drain intervals than he will want, and I don't know if I should trust the dealer to use the right oil anyway.

Mostly fun driving, but will be driven on 500 mile round trips nearly every weekend when he goes to his boat.

I don't know the motor model but it is 430 HP. I suspect the specced oil is 5W-30 Dexos which is commonly Mobil 1 in vettes.

Missouri weather

Car has 3K miles on it and likely hasn't ever had an oil change even though it is a 2011 model.

Should I trust the dealer to install synthetic or will they use buik Dexos? If there is any risk they would not use top quality oil, it is worth it to dump and spend $50 on a known oil.

I was thinking of using Mobil 1 0W40 and draining whatever the dealer put in. Should I use this or Mobil 1 5W30 Dexos which is likely called for?

I understand if Dexos 5W30 oil is specced it is adequate and that Mobil 1 0W40 isn't Dexos approved.

The bad part is he already told me he was going to hang keys in the garage for me to come over and drive it whenever I want to. Same as with his triple engine 50 foot Fountain.
 
+1. But verify it with the dealer just in case. If they aren't using M1 but the sticker recommends it, Id push it a bit and then transition to DIY.

My 135i has free service, so I verified the oil, and do intermediate changes myself. It works out well.
 
Your friend's Corvette has the all aluminum LS3 engine (base engine) which uses 5W-30 Mobil 1 as the factory fill. (Dexos 5W-30 oil is recommended for all model year 2012 Corvettes.)

Almost every dealership I've ever been involved with uses bulk oil for their basic oil changes and bottled specialty (e.g., semi-synthetic, synthetic) oils for their upgraded oil changes. Have your friend find out from the dealership what type of oil they will use for his oil changes as well as the interval. (Late model Corvettes use a oil life monitoring system to determine when to tell the driver to change the oil.)

Depending upon the type of driving, RPM observed, and mileage accumulated, your friend's Corvette should see the oil life monitor recommend an oil change about every 7K miles since the majority of miles will be freeway.

You're correct in that Mobil 0W-40 isn't Dexos approved (the zinc level higher at a nominal 1100 ppm); however, I've found that the Mobil 1 5W-30/10W-30 works well in all my Vettes. (I switched to Mobil 1 for all my Corvettes back when the new 1992 Corvettes first came out with a Mobil 1 factory fill and used it ever since.) The only recommendation I would make is don't use Mobil 1 EP on your friends car as the oil life monitor doesn't know that the oil is fortified for 15K OCI's and will recommend an oil change around 8K.

Hope this info helps.
 
I'm sure the dealer used the proper oil. If GM spec'd M1, that's what they used. No reason to assume they used something inferior.

The car is still under warranty. The liability is too high for the dealer to use an incorrect product. The savings is not worth the hassle to the dealer.

I'll bet it had an oil change for the reasons above. Change it out if it makes you feel better.
 
Actually GM specs Dexos and ANY oil that meets that spec is the oil to use. NO difference no matter what brand used.

Quaker state, Pennzoil, Mobil all make oils that will perform the same in the vehicle following the OLM.

If I had a Corvette I'd prob use QSUD 5w-30 myself.

Bill

PS: Many dealers would use something other than Mobil 1. Whatever they get the deal on. (and hopefully it meets Dexos)
 
Originally Posted By: tig1
A little history of M1 oils and Corvette.

http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Factory_Fill/Corvette_Performance.aspx


Nice marketing piece.
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I would want more ZDP in a 430 hp engine than an ilsac oil provides. Dont know if the 40 is too viscous to maintain a good/ proper bleadown rate for the hyd tappets in low rpm driving.
 
Stick with M1 5w-30 and an ac-delco filter for the warranty then switch to whatever you want (PP and a P1 would be nice for the vette.)
 
Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
I would want more ZDP in a 430 hp engine than an ilsac oil provides. Dont know if the 40 is too viscous to maintain a good/ proper bleadown rate for the hyd tappets in low rpm driving.


It (M1 0W-40) IS one of the lowest HTHS 40 weights, but still thicker than all(?) of the approved 5W-30s.
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I thought it might be a no brainer for the Mobil 1 5W30 Dexos, but I thought I would see if anybody thought M1 0W40 was a better choice. Maybe for a track day after the warranty expires?

I took it for a spin today and on the dry sump reservoir cap it said Mobil 1 5W30.
 
No M1 0W-40 is not a better choice even for track use; it's simply heavier than necessary. Even a Z0-6 can't generate high enough oil temp's in most track situations to justify the much heavier M1 0W-40.
 
Originally Posted By: ledslinger
I thought it might be a no brainer for the Mobil 1 5W30 Dexos, but I thought I would see if anybody thought M1 0W40 was a better choice. Maybe for a track day after the warranty expires?

I took it for a spin today and on the dry sump reservoir cap it said Mobil 1 5W30.


Even all of the Grand Sports get dry sumps nowadays??!!
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