2015 Chevy Sonic used oil

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Jan 13, 2013
Messages
4,161
Location
Texas
Changed oil this AM .

Oil was pretty dark but not black . Re filled with 5W-30 Mobil Super Synthetic .

God bless
Wyr
 
Oil always looks really dark in a drain pan.

Get a paper towel and dip a corner in, that'll tell you the color.
 
Somebody said it was "surreal"? It looks basically real and boring.

You might be seeing Direct Injection's soot. Its almost diesel-like the way these things produce soot.

Try the blotter test.
backup_200207_Editor-Hand.jpg
 
Last edited:
"I'm sorry dear, I don't know why the roast came out tasting like motor oil?"
lol.gif
. Recently changed the oil in our 2017 EB Explorer and while the oil on the dip stick was a dark bronze it was "black" in the drain pan. As said previously oil color doesn't indicate the functional condition of the oil. Was there a lot of metal flakes in the oil, if there were then I'd be worried. Right now I'd be more worried about your "significant other" finding out you used her roasting pan for an oil change
crackmeup2.gif
.

Whimsey
 
Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
Nice surreal picture.

Usually holding a camera phone over a vat of used oil can end in one of two ways.

Is this the 1.8 or 1.4?


1.8l with six speed automatic . I did not want a turbo . I hope to use this car a lot of miles . I am unconvinced of the long term durability of a turbo on a gasoline fueled Chevy . If it does go out , I guess it is a very expensive repair / replacement .

Wife can not drive a manual . I can , but have gotten lazy in my old age .

I managed to avoid dropping the phone in the oil . Thank God !

This drain was a little earlier than usual , but I wanted to get it done . Rain in the forecast . About 2900 miles .

I usually drain at about 55% & 5% on the oil life monitor . I am an old codger & stuck in my ways , to the 3000 mile drain interval . Catching oil & filters on sale , it does not cost me any more than in the days when my Wife and I were both working full time . And she was driving older cars that only called for dino oil & she got it changed at the fast change place .

Also , I am hoping frequent OCI will help keep the cam phaser mechanism clean , longer & trouble free .

God bless
Wyr
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Oil always looks really dark in a drain pan.

Get a paper towel and dip a corner in, that'll tell you the color.


Yes . Looked dark coming out the drain hole .

You are right about the paper towel , but I did not think about it .

The new oil looks to be a light honey color .

God bless
Wyr
 
Originally Posted By: oil_film_movies
Somebody said it was "surreal"? It looks basically real and boring.

You might be seeing Direct Injection's soot. Its almost diesel-like the way these things produce soot.

Try the blotter test.
backup_200207_Editor-Hand.jpg



Do not know for sure , but I do not think it is direct injection ?

God bless
Wyr
 
Originally Posted By: blupupher
Miles on oil/vehicle. What oil?

And as said, can't just go by what it looks like in the pan. Take a drop on put it on a paper towel and let is sit for a while.


Mobil 5W-30 Super Synthetic ( one grade below Mobil 1 ) .

About 37,000 + miles on the car .

About 2,900 miles on the oil .

God bless
Wyr
 
Originally Posted By: WyrTwister
oil_film_movies said:
Somebody said it was "surreal"? It looks basically real and boring.

Do not know for sure , but I do not think it is direct injection ?

God bless
Wyr

the motor in the back of my honda is. yes, even my little small displacement has DI. I did the paper towel test and it was what I categorize as average brown (think: not black) and I use this general test very loosely. The miles is circa ~ 4500 on FF.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Whimsey
"I'm sorry dear, I don't know why the roast came out tasting like motor oil?"
lol.gif
. Recently changed the oil in our 2017 EB Explorer and while the oil on the dip stick was a dark bronze it was "black" in the drain pan. As said previously oil color doesn't indicate the functional condition of the oil. Was there a lot of metal flakes in the oil, if there were then I'd be worried. Right now I'd be more worried about your "significant other" finding out you used her roasting pan for an oil change
crackmeup2.gif
.

Whimsey


She discarded the pan for some reason . I rescued it before it went to the dumpster .

Did not see metal flakes , in the oil , ever .

I posted a photo of the filter in a post on the filtration sub-forum . Did not see any metal flakes on the filter , ever .

Will go ahead and post the photo here , for your viewing pleasure . :)

The old filter looks a little darker than the photo indicates .

God bless
Wyr
 
Modern turbos can last. Most people just buy new turbo cars and run them like their old N/A Honda or small block Chevy - cheap oil changed every year... or two... or whenever the engine gets torn down. My '13 Cruze is at 98,700 and the only non-maintenance part on the engine that isn't original is the coolant outlet. It's one thing to stick to the old method until the new one is proven, but if the car sees 7,500+ miles per year you're wasting money draining any good oil (like Mobil Super syn) before 5,000 mi., especially on the 1.8.

In my 1.4T Cruze I've drained Synpower every 5,000 mi. - it comes out black but the engine is still about as clean as it could get.
 
Last edited:
I dont think the 1.8 and 1.4 EcoTec engines are DI. But the 1.4 is a bit harder on oil w/ the turbo. The chevy dealership i bought my malibu from tried to get me in a sonic w the 1.4T, told them [censored] no to small.

My malibu is DI and i run the OLM down to 15% before i change it, Which is about 5-6k on the cheapest full syn 0w20. On the dipstick the oil is a light brown but when i drain it its black as can be.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: FermeLaPorte
How did you get your hands on Mobil Super Synthetic? I cannot find it where I live!


Do you have an Advance Auto Parts store locally ? If so , sign up for their Speed Perks program .

I get a monthly sales flyer via email . And occasionally other sales / coupons .
 
Originally Posted By: Alex_V
Modern turbos can last. Most people just buy new turbo cars and run them like their old N/A Honda or small block Chevy - cheap oil changed every year... or two... or whenever the engine gets torn down. My '13 Cruze is at 98,700 and the only non-maintenance part on the engine that isn't original is the coolant outlet. It's one thing to stick to the old method until the new one is proven, but if the car sees 7,500+ miles per year you're wasting money draining any good oil (like Mobil Super syn) before 5,000 mi., especially on the 1.8.

In my 1.4T Cruze I've drained Synpower every 5,000 mi. - it comes out black but the engine is still about as clean as it could get.


Goes along with what I suspected .

When I was a teenager in the late 1960's , I read Hot Rod magazine , when I could spare the change . Remember an article on turbos . At that time , they said you could buy a turbo that used the engines oil for lubrication / cooling . Or you could buy a turbo that had its own oil supply / system . They recommended the latter . It was not dependent on whether the owned changed oil / filter regularly .

I like to think I would fall into the latter category . But if I had a car with a turbo , and knowing Murphy , my luck would be to get the 1 in a 1000 or 1 in a 1000000 that had problems . :-(

I know I could probably go longer on an OCI , but I figure it is cheap insurance ( doing it your self with consumables purchased on sale ) .

I would have had no problem buying a Cruz , if I could have found one at the same price as the
Sonic .

Thanks , :)
 
Originally Posted By: WyrTwister
Originally Posted By: Whimsey
"I'm sorry dear, I don't know why the roast came out tasting like motor oil?"
lol.gif
. Recently changed the oil in our 2017 EB Explorer and while the oil on the dip stick was a dark bronze it was "black" in the drain pan. As said previously oil color doesn't indicate the functional condition of the oil. Was there a lot of metal flakes in the oil, if there were then I'd be worried. Right now I'd be more worried about your "significant other" finding out you used her roasting pan for an oil change
crackmeup2.gif
.

Whimsey


She discarded the pan for some reason . I rescued it before it went to the dumpster .

Did not see metal flakes , in the oil , ever .

I posted a photo of the filter in a post on the filtration sub-forum . Did not see any metal flakes on the filter , ever .

Will go ahead and post the photo here , for your viewing pleasure . :)

The old filter looks a little darker than the photo indicates .

God bless
Wyr


Filter looks good. What brand is it?
 
Either AC Delco or Purolator . Not sure which . I have / have had both . The one I installed this AM was a Purolator .

Thanks , :)
 
Originally Posted By: gabriel9766
I dont think the 1.8 and 1.4 EcoTec engines are DI. But the 1.4 is a bit harder on oil w/ the turbo. The chevy dealership i bought my malibu from tried to get me in a sonic w the 1.4T, told them [censored] no to small.

My malibu is DI and i run the OLM down to 15% before i change it, Which is about 5-6k on the cheapest full syn 0w20. On the dipstick the oil is a light brown but when i drain it its black as can be.


My Wife & i are in the large economy size . The Sonic is just big enough for us . As I get older with more aches and pains , I notice the car's interior space more . Especially on road trips .

We would have looked at a Malibu , when we purchased the Sonic , if we could have gotten it for the same money .

For that reason ( and others ) about a month ago , we purchased a 2006 Buick Lacrosse CX 3.8l automatic with 37,000 + miles on it . More room , smother , quieter .

It calls for dino oil at 3000 miles . I think . The dealer supposedly had the oil changes before we took delivery .

A few weeks ago Home Depot had Shell 5W-30 dino oil on sale for $ 10 for a 5 quart jug . I bought 5 jugs . May use it in the Buick and / or the lawn mowers .

I agree , I do not think the 1.8l is DI . Hope not , I read of oil deposits building up on the back side of the valves . I think the latest and greatest uses both DI and intake port or intake runner injection ?

Thanks , :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top