SuperTech Full Syn 20 weight 7461 miles 16 Silverado 4.3 V6

[AtlasFBG2]

Here is my used oil analysis on my 2016 Chevy Silverado 4x4 4.3 Ecotech3 V6 with 7461 miles on the oil.

Oil was a mix of 3 quarts 0w20 and 3 quarts of 5w20 Walmart SuperTech Full Synthetic. No make up oil was added. Oil life monitor was at 1% remaining.

Oil filter was SuperTech st10575. Air filter was the original factory and was changed with oil.

Factory recommends this engine to use 5w30 oil. I wanted to try a 20 weight oil to get the truck in v4 mode more often for fuel savings.

Looks good except cooper is a little higher than average for this engine.

 

[benjy]

save a little fuel but add some xtra wear. 5-30 might make a 1/4 mpg less as lighter oils are for the epa standards manufacturers want to meet!

 

[IndyFan]

Originally Posted by benjy
save a little fuel but add some xtra wear. 5-30 might make a 1/4 mpg less as lighter oils are for the epa standards manufacturers want to meet!


And what evidence do you have that there was more wear than with 5w30?

 

[dnewton3]

The 4.3L engine is based on the old GM 5.7L with two cylinders lopped off. That old first gen engine was not known for great wear rates, so it's no surprise that this one example is wearing about the same. The copper is just one reading, as are they all. Let's not read too much into this year. The avg Fe is about 4ppm/1k miles; that's actually a tad lower than the avg for this engine design. I'm not saying the old design won't last a long time; they will run a long while if you care for them. But the wear rates are higher than what we'd see from other brands/designs. And if this engine has AFM cylinder deactivation, that also adds wear from the cam system.

Looks decent. Keep running it.

 

[A_Harman]

The Ecotec 4.3 is based on the LT series of engines. Direct injection, replicated porting, deep-skirt cross-bolted engine block, aluminum block and heads, with deactivating roller followers on two cylinders.
I think the OP should run 5w30 as specified by GM. The smaller displacement engine in a standard-size truck works harder.

 

[diyjake]

I would never use thinner oil than recommended.

 

[dnewton3]

Originally Posted by A_Harman
The Ecotec 4.3 is based on the LT series of engines. Direct injection, replicated porting, deep-skirt cross-bolted engine block, aluminum block and heads, with deactivating roller followers on two cylinders.
I think the OP should run 5w30 as specified by GM. The smaller displacement engine in a standard-size truck works harder.


Well I may be way off base then. I thought the 4.3L was still based on the old architecture. They may have added wizardly and gizmos, but it's not the same old design? Not same bore center and deck height? Not the same journal sizing? I stand corrected quite likely, then.

The cyl deactivation typically adds a couple PPM per 1k miles. I've seen that repeatedly in the Vortec engines.

 

[Macsignals]

Was this truck optioned with an oil cooler? The 4.3 doesn't come standard with one but it can be added as a factory option. That's some people's reasoning for GM specifying 5W30 in the 4.3 versus the 5/0W20 they spec in the 5.3L and 6.2L V8s.

And yes aside from bore spacing carrying over from the small block and LS series, these new 4.3s are a clean sheet based on the LT series. Displacement wise it is basically a 3/4 LS1, but in the LT series so it has the direct injection and everything else.

 

[AtlasFBG2]

Originally Posted by dnewton3
Originally Posted by A_Harman
The Ecotec 4.3 is based on the LT series of engines. Direct injection, replicated porting, deep-skirt cross-bolted engine block, aluminum block and heads, with deactivating roller followers on two cylinders.
I think the OP should run 5w30 as specified by GM. The smaller displacement engine in a standard-size truck works harder.


Well I may be way off base then. I thought the 4.3L was still based on the old architecture. They may have added wizardly and gizmos, but it's not the same old design? Not same bore center and deck height? Not the same journal sizing? I stand corrected quite likely, then.

The cyl deactivation typically adds a couple PPM per 1k miles. I've seen that repeatedly in the Vortec engines.


From what i read the 4.3 was redesigned in 2014. Here is some info on it and the 5.3 http://gmauthority.com/blog/gm/gm-engines/lv3/

 

[AtlasFBG2]

Originally Posted by Macsignals
Was this truck optioned with an oil cooler? The 4.3 doesn't come standard with one but it can be added as a factory option. That's some people's reasoning for GM specifying 5W30 in the 4.3 versus the 5/0W20 they spec in the 5.3L and 6.2L V8s.

And yes aside from bore spacing carrying over from the small block and LS series, these new 4.3s are a clean sheet based on the LT series. Displacement wise it is basically a 3/4 LS1, but in the LT series so it has the direct injection and everything else.


The truck has the factory towing package. I think it has a oil cooler. There are lines on both sides of the radiator. I would have to crawl under the tuck and trace the lines to be certain on that.

There is another ecotech3 4.3 v6 uao i found that used the factory recommend 5w30 oil. Comparing the reports mine is lower with the exception of tin. The other report has the copper at 103 and iron at 40. Although the other report only had like 12,000 miles on the engine.

Here is a link to the other 4.3 report https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/4589307/Searchpage/1/Main/280062/Words/%2Bsilverado+%2B4.3/Search/true/16-silverado-4-3-ecotec-6-802-miles#Post4589307

 

[dave1251]

This is a stout engine but I recommend using the recommended grade and honestly if you're not getting the fuel economy desired from this power train I full size pickup isn't for you.

 

[diyjake]

Looks like ST held up pretty good especially for 7,400 miles

 

[jayjr1105]

In agreement with others... Run the recommended weight. Sometimes we're tempted to go a little heavier but I see no advantage to a thinner than recommended oil.

 

[AtlasFBG2]

Ran a test on the second run of using 20 weight oil. This is the same mix of Supertech full synthetic three quarts of 0w20 and three quarts of 5w20.

 

[ad244]

I'd be curious to see how the Synthetic would compare using the same viscosities. Probably very little would change.

Thanks for posting this up OP

 

[jakewells]

The modern 4.3 is a different animal compared to the 4.3 in my truck.

 

[FastLane]

Run 5W30 and not as long OCI.

 

[AtlasFBG2]

Originally Posted by FastLane
Run 5W30 and not as long OCI.



Why?

What do you see bad about the reports that I don't?

 

[wemay]

Report looks very good.

 

[dave1251]

Report is fine but I would still use the recommended grade. If GM could use a 20 grade and get the additional CAFE credits I'm sure the company would.