oil for 6.0 LS2 GTO? (Corvette owners pls post!)

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M1 5w30 is fine for track days. I ran it in my LS1 Camaro for 150k miles over 9 years and ~70 track days and never hurt the engine.

Since then, I have been on a BITOG-inspired quest for the "perfect" oil. I have run M1 HM 5w30, Redline 5w30, M1 0w40, and currently am running Joe Gibbs LS30. They have all worked fine. Other oils I'm planning to run are Pennzoil Ultra, German Castrol, and AMSoil HDD. I'm trying to find an oil that can stand up to the heat of track days, give at least a 10k mile OCI, and is suitable for year-round use. But at the end of the process, I'd probably go back M1 5w30 HM. For an oil that I can go down to my local Meijer and buy for $7/quart every day, it's hard to beat.

Regardless of the oil that is run, one thing that is recommended for LS-series engines running track days is to fill 1/2 to 1 quart over full to help with oil starvation in the turns. I run my Camaro 1/2-quart over because I found that if I run 1 quart over, oil carries over through the breather system and the car smokes out the exhaust. I recommend that you start with 1/2-quart over full, and check the oil level before every lapping session.
 
Originally Posted By: Turk
Originally Posted By: pavelow


LS2s are known to drink oil, especially with a thin 30wt, like say Mobil 1 5W30. They do better with a thick 30wt like German Castrol or a thick 30wt/light 40wt like Mobil 1 0W40. Plenty of evidence to back this up on the various LS2 and LS2 equipped vehicle forums. This engine has been around for a long time now.....all of it's secrets have been exposed.


Huh. We'll, gee, I must be lucky with my LS2, it doesn't drink ANY oil.

What vehicle do you own that has a LS2? I don't see any listed in your signature.
 
Originally Posted By: Turk
Right.

My LS1 has almost 200,000 miles and STILL does not use oil. 8,000 mile OCI's and it's still full!

I said LS2, not LS1.
 
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: pavelow
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
More than likely any stout Dexos 30w is fine for daily driving, these engines are NOT hard on the oil at all.

Without temps and pressures at an HPDE who knows. My car has used M1 0w-40 at many and it runs up to 300 degree temps. The M1 tested just fine repeatedly. So it kicks arse pretty well.

If you really want something that wins races go with Dominator by Amsoil.


LS2s are known to drink oil, especially with a thin 30wt, like say Mobil 1 5W30. They do better with a thick 30wt like German Castrol or a thick 30wt/light 40wt like Mobil 1 0W40. Plenty of evidence to back this up on the various LS2 and LS2 equipped vehicle forums. This engine has been around for a long time now.....all of it's secrets have been exposed.


Absolute nonsense. Are you aware of how many are out there? All you hear from is the noisy forum attention seekers, not the zillions of happy owners who are just tooling around and enjoying their cars.

We have a fleet of 4.8/5.3/6.0 powered GM trucks, Silverados and Savanas. They do not all burn oil. Nor are they hard on oil at all. I have done 100's of UOA's on these engines across years and years and they consistently return great numbers on almost any oil.
I said LS2. And yes, the LS2 engines do use some oil when used hard. Tests have shown the LS2 prefers a thicker 30wt like GC or M1 0W40. Fact. If you want REAL data, join the fourms that cater to LS2 powered vehicles, otherwise keep your arrogant [censored] quiet........but I digress.
 
Originally Posted By: pavelow
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: pavelow
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
More than likely any stout Dexos 30w is fine for daily driving, these engines are NOT hard on the oil at all.

Without temps and pressures at an HPDE who knows. My car has used M1 0w-40 at many and it runs up to 300 degree temps. The M1 tested just fine repeatedly. So it kicks arse pretty well.

If you really want something that wins races go with Dominator by Amsoil.


LS2s are known to drink oil, especially with a thin 30wt, like say Mobil 1 5W30. They do better with a thick 30wt like German Castrol or a thick 30wt/light 40wt like Mobil 1 0W40. Plenty of evidence to back this up on the various LS2 and LS2 equipped vehicle forums. This engine has been around for a long time now.....all of it's secrets have been exposed.


Absolute nonsense. Are you aware of how many are out there? All you hear from is the noisy forum attention seekers, not the zillions of happy owners who are just tooling around and enjoying their cars.

We have a fleet of 4.8/5.3/6.0 powered GM trucks, Silverados and Savanas. They do not all burn oil. Nor are they hard on oil at all. I have done 100's of UOA's on these engines across years and years and they consistently return great numbers on almost any oil.
I said LS2. And yes, the LS2 engines do use some oil when used hard. Tests have shown the LS2 prefers a thicker 30wt like GC or M1 0W40. Fact. If you want REAL data, join the fourms that cater to LS2 powered vehicles, otherwise keep your arrogant [censored] quiet........but I digress.


Now that's funny.

Your anecdotal info gathered from the mouth breathers may indicate something to you but that is only your arrogant [censored] talking, not your brain. Congratulations.

I have a TON of LS based engines in my driveway, many in fleet trucks but a couple of LS2's in the immediate area as well. Since their introduction we have used and abused them until they wear out, we run one of the most difficult duty cycles in the industry. We have run them since their introduction. And they are not fundamentally different at all across the entire line up. Our family machine shop turns out a half a dozen of these a week, as they are very common.

NO real test exists that "proves" anything on the "Fourms" (nice) that you regale, only dolts using a couple of engines and declaring their advanced knowledge to the world. We run 5w-30 M1 in all our newer 6.0's and they never use a drop of oil. Perhaps you should learn a few details about break in?

IME the only time we have oil consumption is the far side of 150-200k miles of hard usage. I'm somehow certain you know better than the folks who made the engine in the first place...
 
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I think M1 5W-30 is fine for any street or drag use, but for road race laps, M1 0W-40 sounds a little better. Keep an eye on your oil pressure gauge in the turns, if it's falling below 10 lbs, that's big trouble. The tip above about overfilling 1/2 quart sounds like a good one.
 
Originally Posted By: A_Harman
M1 5w30 is fine for track days. I ran it in my LS1 Camaro for 150k miles over 9 years and ~70 track days and never hurt the engine.

Since then, I have been on a BITOG-inspired quest for the "perfect" oil. I have run M1 HM 5w30, Redline 5w30, M1 0w40, and currently am running Joe Gibbs LS30. They have all worked fine. Other oils I'm planning to run are Pennzoil Ultra, German Castrol, and AMSoil HDD. I'm trying to find an oil that can stand up to the heat of track days, give at least a 10k mile OCI, and is suitable for year-round use. But at the end of the process, I'd probably go back M1 5w30 HM. For an oil that I can go down to my local Meijer and buy for $7/quart every day, it's hard to beat.

Regardless of the oil that is run, one thing that is recommended for LS-series engines running track days is to fill 1/2 to 1 quart over full to help with oil starvation in the turns. I run my Camaro 1/2-quart over because I found that if I run 1 quart over, oil carries over through the breather system and the car smokes out the exhaust. I recommend that you start with 1/2-quart over full, and check the oil level before every lapping session.


Very good advise there.

To the OP.
FWIW, I occasionally drive a 2006 HSV GTO (LS2) with my version being a little more performance orientated than the US spec Pontiac GTO's.
To give some background.
It comes standard in Australia with the M12 transmission and firmer suspension, it also has the top spec factory optioned AP Racing brake package which consists of 6 piston callipers on the front working on 365 mm diameter slotted rotors, and 4 piston callipers on the rear working on 343 mm diameter slotted rotors.
The vehicle is currently stock but I make sure the engine gets it's throat cleared every time I drive it just so it doesn't forget what's it's built for.

Factory fill was Mobil 1 10w-30 grade(no longer available) which is the only oil recommended in the owners manual. It was formulated as a GF-5 oil.
As a GF-5 oil formulation it had a HTHSv of about 3.1 which I consider to be the minimum requirement.
After warranty, I continued running the equivalent oil in Amsoil(ATM) signature series.

The engine despite the usage pattern I described above does not consume any oil that I can detect. AT ALL.
UOA's are carried out religiously at every oil change and as reported here on this forum with other examples of the LS engine family, I utterly consider the engine to be easy on the oil given the data derived from the UOA's.
The only exception being elevated Copper levels early on in the engines life, which have slowly tapered off and stabilized at a very acceptable equilibrium.
After investigation, I simply put the elevated Copper down to the cam bearings.

I have been looking at alternative full synthetic oils for this engine, with the following being main contenders keeping in mind a totally new and more powerful LS2 for the vehicle in the future.

Going forward, all possible oils will have a HTHSv greater than 3.5 which leaves the options open to 5w-30 grade A3/B4 oils(Castrol Edge) or some variation of a 40 grade.
I am also mindful of the volatility of the oil.

After looking at a large number of oils I have virtually concluded the search, arriving at the Shell Helix Ultra 5w-40 grade.
The equivalent of this oil is available in the USA by SOPUS under the Pennzoil Ultra brand.
It carries all the main manufacturer approvals of any significance, along with meeting my above mentioned criteria.
It can be purchased anywhere at a reasonable price point, without taking into consideration any special deals that may be offered by major retailers which ultimately makes the oil dirt cheap in comparison to others that are available.
Cheap but by no means nasty at all.
So far the feed back on this oil on this forum is very encouraging.

In summary, you may like to take it into consideration.
 
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