Oil Changes - Page 5 - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

Mcarltonjr · 02-01-2014, 09:19 AM

I was told today by the dealership that is supposed to give me free oil changes they will only do it every 10,000 miles. That oil monitor system is a joke. It's doesn't take into fact about driving conditions or were you live. I'm in az. I drive my car hard sometimes and it's my daily driver. As a mechanic I recommend doing it between 5-6k but that's based of my driving habits. I'll be doing my own oil changes from now on at my shops expense.

Indydriver · 02-07-2014, 03:21 AM

If you really want to understand the condition of YOUR oil in YOUR engine, you need to do a couple of Used Oil Analyses (UOA). Be sure to have the TBN tested. This will tell you how your additives are holding up. There are many, many LS3 UOAs over on BITOG. Spend some time over there and you'll learn a lot about Oil Change Intervals (OCI).

Each engine is obviously different. Every driver uses or abuses their engine differently. Trip length is a key factor in oil condition. I believe it was the OP who stated that he has a 3 mile commute. I have a 4 mile commute and I can tell you that is very hard on oil, especially in my DI turbo 4 cyl in my Mazdaspeed3. The engine doesnt get hot enough to burn off fuel dilution that is a natural characteristic of all DIs, so even a good syn is pretty well shot by 4,000 miles.

OTOH, our V6 2012 Toyota Sienna minivan comes OE with 0W-20 syn, a 10,000 mile OCI and no oil monitor. But because it's a torquey engine and a minivan, it rarely gets revved above 3,000 RPM and the oil looks great after the recommended OCI.

I just ordered my first LS3 so I'm certainly no expert on this particular engine. But, I'm doing my homework. One of the keys to oil life in this engine is it's sump size. It holds 8.0 qts!! That's a lot of synthetic oil to chew up. My guess is that a 5,000 mile UOA on an LS3 under almost any conditions would show quite a bit of TBN or additive life remaining.

Many of you who've been around here much longer than me are probably familiar with the article below on the development of the current Gen LS3. If you haven't read it and you are interested in issues like engine design, air flow for power, blowby and break-in, you will profit from reading it. You will learn the great lengths the engineering team went to to reduce issues in the prior Gen such as blowby (maybe you really don't need that catch can anymore) and cold startup piston slap. For example, did you know that the piston/cylinder wall clearance is designed with a slight "interference fit" as it comes from the factory? Makes you think that maybe, just maybe, those break-in recommendations in the owner's manual are there for a reason. Anyway, good reading for all you engine nerds like me.

http://www.camarohomepage.com/ls3/

02-07-2014, 03:21 AM	#58
Indydriver Drives: '14 2SS/RS Vert 6M/KTU/NPP/DTA/ARH Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Indianapolis Posts: 2,826	If you really want to understand the condition of YOUR oil in YOUR engine, you need to do a couple of Used Oil Analyses (UOA). Be sure to have the TBN tested. This will tell you how your additives are holding up. There are many, many LS3 UOAs over on BITOG. Spend some time over there and you'll learn a lot about Oil Change Intervals (OCI). Each engine is obviously different. Every driver uses or abuses their engine differently. Trip length is a key factor in oil condition. I believe it was the OP who stated that he has a 3 mile commute. I have a 4 mile commute and I can tell you that is very hard on oil, especially in my DI turbo 4 cyl in my Mazdaspeed3. The engine doesnt get hot enough to burn off fuel dilution that is a natural characteristic of all DIs, so even a good syn is pretty well shot by 4,000 miles. OTOH, our V6 2012 Toyota Sienna minivan comes OE with 0W-20 syn, a 10,000 mile OCI and no oil monitor. But because it's a torquey engine and a minivan, it rarely gets revved above 3,000 RPM and the oil looks great after the recommended OCI. I just ordered my first LS3 so I'm certainly no expert on this particular engine. But, I'm doing my homework. One of the keys to oil life in this engine is it's sump size. It holds 8.0 qts!! That's a lot of synthetic oil to chew up. My guess is that a 5,000 mile UOA on an LS3 under almost any conditions would show quite a bit of TBN or additive life remaining. Many of you who've been around here much longer than me are probably familiar with the article below on the development of the current Gen LS3. If you haven't read it and you are interested in issues like engine design, air flow for power, blowby and break-in, you will profit from reading it. You will learn the great lengths the engineering team went to to reduce issues in the prior Gen such as blowby (maybe you really don't need that catch can anymore) and cold startup piston slap. For example, did you know that the piston/cylinder wall clearance is designed with a slight "interference fit" as it comes from the factory? Makes you think that maybe, just maybe, those break-in recommendations in the owner's manual are there for a reason. Anyway, good reading for all you engine nerds like me. http://www.camarohomepage.com/ls3/ Last edited by Indydriver; 02-07-2014 at 06:04 AM.

02-01-2014, 09:19 AM	#57
Mcarltonjr Drives: 2013 F150 STX Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Phoenix AZ Posts: 140	I was told today by the dealership that is supposed to give me free oil changes they will only do it every 10,000 miles. That oil monitor system is a joke. It's doesn't take into fact about driving conditions or were you live. I'm in az. I drive my car hard sometimes and it's my daily driver. As a mechanic I recommend doing it between 5-6k but that's based of my driving habits. I'll be doing my own oil changes from now on at my shops expense.