Oil for a Chevy Volt?

[kohnen]

OK gents - Got a question for yall:

I drive a Chevy Volt. It is an electric car with a gas engine that is fired up only when the main electric car drive battery is flat. The engine is a 1.4 liter, multi-port fuel injected normally aspirated engine, i.e., no turbo, no direct injection.

It has an OLM that bases oil life both on how the engine is run, and calendar time - no matter how little the engine runs, the oil has to be replaced at least every 2 years. The cat requires Dexos1 5W30 oil.

The way I use the car, the engine only runs about 3,000 miles every 2 years so I'm not wearing the oil out.

Question: What Dexos1 5W30 oil has the best "shelf life" not being used, but mostly just going along for a ride in the crankcase?

 

[redhat]

Mobil 1, Pennzoil Platinum, Castrol Syntec... all great choices for your OCI. Infact I'd shop based upon price.

How do you like the Volt? Considering you've owned it for a couple of years now.

 

[Smoqueed]

I would use any standard synthetic like Pennzoil Platinum, Mobil1, Supertech synthetic, QSUD, etc. Nothing fancy like redline or amsoil. I wouldn't worry too much about the oil, but I would be worried about the gas going bad. I didn't know the Volt had a gas engine in it as well, never paid much attention to them. Can the gas powered engine charge the electric battery when it dies?

 

[dareo]

Any of the Dexos 1 oils will be fine long term. I suggest a high end oil filter like Fram XG. It could probably be fine for five years. Not that its hard, expensive, or to change oil and filter at the 2 year mark just for feel goods. Engine mechanicals will likely never fail on that car before everything else goes out.

As far as oil shelf life, its more about what contaminates that oil while its in your sump. Not sure if they have it where you live but ethanol free gas and possibly some fuel stabilizer wouldn't be too bad of an idea. That or ensure that the car runs the engine and burns your old gas once every few months.

 

[opus1]

From what I recall, the Volt has premium fuel spec-ed for it due to the amount of time gas may sit in the tank.

As for propulsion, think of the Volt as a locomotive. Even when the engine is running, it's running a generator to power the batteries but not the drivetrain.

 

[Chris Meutsch]

Originally Posted By: Smoqueed
I would use any standard synthetic like Pennzoil Platinum, Mobil1, Supertech synthetic, QSUD, etc. Nothing fancy like redline or amsoil. I wouldn't worry too much about the oil, but I would be worried about the gas going bad. I didn't know the Volt had a gas engine in it as well, never paid much attention to them. Can the gas powered engine charge the electric battery when it dies?


Yes, the engine does NOT propel the car. The battery always does.

 

[earlyre]

Originally Posted By: dareo
As far as oil shelf life, its more about what contaminates that oil while its in your sump. Not sure if they have it where you live but ethanol free gas and possibly some fuel stabilizer wouldn't be too bad of an idea. That or ensure that the car runs the engine and burns your old gas once every few months.


Originally Posted By: opus1
From what I recall, the Volt has premium fuel spec-ed for it due to the amount of time gas may sit in the tank.


premium does not always mean ethanol free. in my area, EVERYTHING is E10. there is no such thing as E0 in my parts.

Originally Posted By: Chris Meutsch
Originally Posted By: Smoqueed
I didn't know the Volt had a gas engine in it as well, never paid much attention to them. Can the gas powered engine charge the electric battery when it dies?


Yes, the engine does NOT propel the car. The battery always does.


Originally Posted By: opus1

As for propulsion, think of the Volt as a locomotive. Even when the engine is running, it's running a generator to power the batteries but not the drivetrain.



that drivetrain analogy is untrue...

it's what GM wanted people to think, but under certain conditions, the gas engine is driving the wheels.

"When the engine is running it may be periodically mechanically linked (by a clutch) to a planetary gear set, and hence the output drive axle, to improve energy efficiency. "
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Volt
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Volt#Drivetrain (See #4 under "Operating and Driving Modes")

 

[kohnen]

Originally Posted By: redhat
How do you like the Volt? Considering you've owned it for a couple of years now.


Love the drivetrain, but lots of stuff unrelated to it being a plug-in electric vehicle are wonky. For example, sometimes the navigation just plain refuses to lock on to the GPS, sometimes the car ignores the key fob in your pocket and you have to place it in the backup position (reserved for when your fob battery is dead) even though the battery is just fine.

It has an "infotainment" system instead of a radio. If you turn off the radio, you can't use the navigation system. It also doesn't come with a spare tire, but a compressor that will inject synthetic snot into your tire.

 

[kohnen]

Originally Posted By: Smoqueed
...but I would be worried about the gas going bad. I didn't know the Volt had a gas engine in it as well, never paid much attention to them. Can the gas powered engine charge the electric battery when it dies?


I have the first generation Volt - it indeed calls out premium gas. The gas tank is a sealed pressurized system. The car tracks how often and how much you've used the engine. If you haven't used the engine in quite a while, it goes into "Engine Maintenance Mode" and runs your engine just a bit to get the oil flowing to keep a good film of oil always. If your fuel hasn't been used for long enough, it goes into a "Fuel Maintenance Mode" that burns enough fuel and nags you to refuel so that you don't have rotten fuel in your tank.

The car doesn't have a mode that permits the gas engine to fully recharge the battery from the engine (that sort of defeats the purpose of an electric car), but there is a way to have the engine charge the battery about half way. The engine is not powerful enough for the car to be able to go up mountain grades at full speed - you also need some battery power for that. So, you can put it into "Mountain Mode," which tries to keep the battery half charged. That way, you can go uphill at freeway speeds using both engine and battery power. If the battery is flat and you put it into Mountain Mode, the engine fires up and charges the battery to half full.

 

[kohnen]

Originally Posted By: dareo
Not sure if they have it where you live but ethanol free gas and possibly some fuel stabilizer wouldn't be too bad of an idea. That or ensure that the car runs the engine and burns your old gas once every few months.


I live in So Cal; E10 is the law-of-the-land. The car, however, keeps track of both the engine and fuel. It will run the engine periodically (Engine Maintenance Mode) to keep an oil film inside. It also has a "Fuel Maintenance Mode" that burns off old gas and nags you to refuel if you're not running the engine enough. (I have not seen the Fuel Maintenance Mode, so apparently I use enough gas).

 

[SilverSnake]

This thread makes me very glad that my fleet of vehicles runs on good old internal combustion engines. I am particularly glad the I have high displacement V8s in 2 of my 3 vehicles (hills are not an issue). I would have the same in the 3rd but my wife wanted a BMW 330i. Keeping her happy is more important than engine displacement.

 

[BigCahuna]

NAPA has 5/30 wt full synthetic Dexos 2 oil on sale this month for $3.49 a qt. If that's any interest to you. You know, I've read in several of Blackstone's UOA'S, that age of motor oil doesn't seem to be an issue to them. I guess oil that's not being exposed to usage in a motor, doesn't cause oil to wear out. I've also read UOA'S from vehicles that have sat for years, and they didn't see anything wrong with the oil. The detergents neutralize any fuel or acid contaminants,according to them.,,,

 

[kohnen]

Originally Posted By: SilverSnake
This thread makes me very glad that my fleet of vehicles runs on good old internal combustion engines. I am particularly glad the I have high displacement V8s in 2 of my 3 vehicles (hills are not an issue). I would have the same in the 3rd but my wife wanted a BMW 330i. Keeping her happy is more important than engine displacement.


I've driven the Volt up some pretty long and steep hills (grapevine in So Cal, So Cal to Vegas) and I've been able to zip along at 80 MPH using the Mountain Mode. True, it's something I have to remember to do about 20 minutes before I get to a hill, but it's by no means a hard thing to do.

In exchange for this minor inconvenience, I get the ability to run 90% of my total miles on electric, which is stable in pricing and (in So Cal, just a little bit) cheaper than gasoline. I'll continue to do my bit to reduce demand for, and price of gas for your vehicles!

 

[kohnen]

Originally Posted By: BigCahuna
NAPA has 5/30 wt full synthetic Dexos 2 oil on sale this month for $3.49 a qt. If that's any interest to you. You know, I've read in several of Blackstone's UOA'S, that age of motor oil doesn't seem to be an issue to them. I guess oil that's not being exposed to usage in a motor, doesn't cause oil to wear out. I've also read UOA'S from vehicles that have sat for years, and they didn't see anything wrong with the oil. The detergents neutralize any fuel or acid contaminants, according to them.


I bought Napa 5W30 Synthetic Dexos1 back when it was only $3.00 per quart. Now have 20 quarts left (4 quarts used in wife's Toyota).

I corresponded with Mobil about running their M1 Annual Protection in my Volt for 2 years (as per the Volt's owner's manual) and they rather emphatically said that I MUST change it after only ONE year. (Using M1AP for 1 year and 1,500 miles would be 100%, absolutely and totally completely NUTS!)

 

[Linctex]

There's several members on here that have sent in UO samples after being in the crankcase for over five years. Apparently, Calendar time does not affect oil quality.

Save the environment - Buy a good synthetic and reset the OLM even if you have low mileage and leave the oil in. Change it when the OLM warns you again.

 

[kohnen]

Originally Posted By: Linctex
There's several members on here that have sent in UO samples after being in the crankcase for over five years. Apparently, Calendar time does not affect oil quality.

Save the environment - Buy a good synthetic and reset the OLM even if you have low mileage and leave the oil in. Change it when the OLM warns you again.
The net effect would be to put 6,000 miles on the oil over 4 years.

 

[dareo]

Just for discussion, not an actual recommendation: What if you changed to a high end oil like Amsoil or Mobil 1 EP, best filter you can find, and you never changed it again. Just top off oil as needed. If you are doing 6,000 miles of engine use over 4 years i would estimate the engine would not wear out. Not before the entire car is obsolete or it costs too much for a battery pack. We have seen people run obscene mileages on a single fill of oil and the engine lives to tell about it. So why not an extreme amount of age in a low use scenario like the Volt?

I couldn't bring myself to do it if i owned a Volt but i would love to see the results of a 12+ year oil run in one.

 

[NH73]

Originally Posted By: kohnen

I corresponded with Mobil about running their M1 Annual Protection in my Volt for 2 years (as per the Volt's owner's manual) and they rather emphatically said that I MUST change it after only ONE year. (Using M1AP for 1 year and 1,500 miles would be 100%, absolutely and totally completely NUTS!)


Probably just the phone operator reading off a script. Because doesn't Mobil also say, "Follow OEM recommendation"?

 

[steve20]

Originally Posted By: dareo
Just for discussion, not an actual recommendation: What if you changed to a high end oil like Amsoil or Mobil 1 EP, best filter you can find, and you never changed it again. Just top off oil as needed. If you are doing 6,000 miles of engine use over 4 years i would estimate the engine would not wear out. Not before the entire car is obsolete or it costs too much for a battery pack. We have seen people run obscene mileages on a single fill of oil and the engine lives to tell about it. So why not an extreme amount of age in a low use scenario like the Volt?

I couldn't bring myself to do it if i owned a Volt but i would love to see the results of a 12+ year oil run in one.



Yeah, he'd probably want to stay within warranty guidelines

 

[kohnen]

Originally Posted By: dareo
Just for discussion, not an actual recommendation: What if you changed to a high end oil like Amsoil or Mobil 1 EP, best filter you can find, and you never changed it again... I couldn't bring myself to do it if i owned a Volt but i would love to see the results of a 12+ year oil run in one.


I couldn't bring myself to do it either. Warranty reasons and, I'm an engineer - it's the way we are. But, yeah, I could see that in my case, I could have lifetime oil.