Can I use 5W-50 Mobil 1 in an LS1??

[VX-355]

Just a quick question, I have been given 4 x 5L bottles of Mobil1 5W-50 engine oil.
I was wondering if It is ok to use in a stock LS1 with about 18,000kms on it or should I stick to the 10W-30.

Tried searching but with no specific recommendation.

[BLACK 346]

Just a quick question, I have been given 4 x 5L bottles of Mobil1 5W-50 engine oil.
I was wondering if It is ok to use in a stock LS1 with about 18,000kms on it or should I stick to the 10W-30.

Tried searching but with no specific recommendation.

I used it that grade of Mobil 1 between 50k and 85k on my LS1 with
absolutely no problems.

[Tron2004]

I've been using Mobil1 5W-50 since around 15,000 kms and have never had any probs.
Engine has never "rattled" or burnt oil or done anything abnormal since using it. Now has 35,000 ks on the clock.

[Alister]

10W-x is really the thinnest oil you should use in the LS1. The 5W-xx is really too thin to use in the LS1 due to the climate and the LS1s internals. I used to use 5W-30 in my U13 Bluebird as the size of the holes that the oil travels through to the camshaft are very small and using thick oils could possibly cause oil starvation problems (when cold).

[Dacious]

5W refers to the oils' behaviour in near-freezing conditions. i.e. when cold, 5W-30 oil will still pour more slowly than straight 60-weight dropped out of a hot engine. The 5W film strength in a synthetic is probably thick enough when cold provided you don't leave it in too long between changes. The maker recommends 10-30 for LS1s in Monaros and HSVs which have a shorter oilchange interval than the 15,000km of VY+ sedans.

You might lose some economy and performance with a thicker oil which will probably be barely noticeable.

You could certainly combine it with 10-30 to get a 'mix' closer to ideal, and use it for topping up.

[solid]

HSV do recommend the use of Mobil 1, as their oil cap denotes :)

[kryten2001]

HSV do recommend the use of Mobil 1, as their oil cap denotes :)

I assume they recommend/use the 10w30 variant though...

Expensive stuff that...

[ls1 VN]

Street Commodore Magazine did an oil test with different oils on bearings, Mobil 1 did very poorly, Valvoline Durablend did well. Best 2 were Penrite and Royal Purple. your choice if you use it.

[el_hefty]

Street Commodore Magazine did an oil test with different oils on bearings, Mobil 1 did very poorly, Valvoline Durablend did well. Best 2 were Penrite and Royal Purple. your choice if you use it.

I addressed this the other day in another thread.

Street Commodores did an oil test - true

My understanding is the tests they used was a Industrial oil film test which is a recognised 'Timken test'.

This test has basically no relevance to automotive as it is a test that Industry uses for oil film strength on 'tapered roller bearings' Timkin being the worlds largest manufacturer of Tapered roller bearings mostly consumed by industry.

So in closing :clown: unless you use the results of this test to lubricate your wheel bearings it really doesnt hold much value.

[burnout9]

Street Commodore Magazine did an oil test with different oils on bearings, Mobil 1 did very poorly, Valvoline Durablend did well. Best 2 were Penrite and Royal Purple. your choice if you use it.

wouldnt look into that much mate, its not like smashing oil against a bearing will create a real world situation

[ls1 VN]

Thanks burnout 9 & el-hefty for putting me straight,
el-hefty use of your icon was unnecessary try to with hold your obvious talent.

[el_hefty]

Haha no dont take it like that. it was for me , i was having a go at me for saying "so in closing"

Because it sounded stupid..a bit OTT:yup:

sorry if you took it the wrong way

[ls1 VN]

no worries thanks for explaining. as a side note i have just had my block rebuilt, i have always used Mobil 1, my bearings were pretty scoured,engine had only done 50k. i wont use it again.

[burnout9]

no worries thanks for explaining. as a side note i have just had my block rebuilt, i have always used Mobil 1, my bearings were pretty scoured,engine had only done 50k. i wont use it again.

how many k's between services did u do mate?

we've had plenty of cars on mobil 1 and no probs at all, its good stuff but in saying that its not the best thing going around

[VX SS S2]

I've used Mobil 1 in my car from the 40,000 km service (just after i bought the car) to now and i've just done the 80,000km service...

My engine does not rattle at all, always feels pretty tight and performs well, power feels strong etc...

There seems to be a little bit of oil usage, but not anything excessive... i'm talking .5 litre per 10,000kms...

i drive to work and back on the Monash (very busy freeway) and i reckon that a thinner oil is better for stop start because the engine can get hot and having it as 5w-50 (50 being the equivalent thickness of a 50 weight oil when hot) i think it's a good idea...

[VX SS S2]

also, i have heard a lot of LS1 owners say that Magnatec is quite good... 10w-40 i think... so is a bit thicker to begin with and being a bit better when it gets hot...

also a good idea if the sticky oil theory works... but i've never tried it... just giving options...

Anyone know how much the 10w-30 Mobil 1 Oil is???? The normal Mobil 1 5w-50 is about $65....

[solid]

HSV recommend using SAE 5W-30. I am not sure how much that retails for

[BLACK 346]

HSV recommend using SAE 5W-30. I am not sure how much that retails for

Thats odd the Mobil website lists 10w30 for all LS1/2 regardless
of whether it be HSV or Holden. Also lists 0w40 as an alternative
if you are unable to get the 10w30. Recommends 6.2 litres with
filter for those that have always wondered.

[Avalanche]

vx-355 is going to need 8 litres for his badboy.:yup:

[CeeVee8]

My car rattled horribly with Mobil 1 5W-50.
I cound'nt wait to get it out and change it.

Currently I have been using and pretty happy with Mobil Synth S 10W-40

[solid]

Thats odd the Mobil website lists 10w30 for all LS1/2 regardless
of whether it be HSV or Holden. Also lists 0w40 as an alternative
if you are unable to get the 10w30. Recommends 6.2 litres with
filter for those that have always wondered.

SAE 5W-30 is the grade written on the HSV oil caps. I am considering running Mobil 1 5W-50 in my new SV8 and I have been searching lots of threads for information it. It seems to be fairly unpopular. A mate runs it in his VXSS and he has had a sticky lifter noise on and off and it consumes a little bit (nothing excessive). I'll probably stick to using 10W-40 Magnatec.

I've searched many threads for this issue with no results. I can find plenty of information about cold start piston slap and gudgeon noise etc... Does anyone know the reason LS1's make the good old rattle and clunk when the engine is turned off? Some are worse than others, but I have heard plenty make the noise?

[ls1 VN]

Burnout9, I changed my oil every 5k sometimes sooner, my bearings should never have looked like they did with only 50k. i intend using Penrite when run in.

[Dacious]

Your bearing problems could have been caused by anything from bad run-in, to poor QC on the bearings/assembly/crank maching from new. No oil can protect against components which are under/oversize, got swarf on them on assembly or not run in sympathetically.

This is one area where the guys who advocate 'driving it like you stole it' are probably prematurely wearing their motors. New engines are deliberately built a little 'tight' including the crank bearings/journals so when the wearing surfaces polish each other the resulting clearance is right and the engine will not wear out prematurely. If you force the engine to spin or work too hard, too soon you can induce lubrication failure in any oil and flog the bearings out - you can't commute the laws of metallurgy.

[burnout9]

Your bearing problems could have been caused by anything from bad run-in, to poor QC on the bearings/assembly/crank maching from new. No oil can protect against components which are under/oversize, got swarf on them on assembly or not run in sympathetically.

This is one area where the guys who advocate 'driving it like you stole it' are probably prematurely wearing their motors. New engines are deliberately built a little 'tight' including the crank bearings/journals so when the wearing surfaces polish each other the resulting clearance is right and the engine will not wear out prematurely. If you force the engine to spin or work too hard, too soon you can induce lubrication failure in any oil and flog the bearings out - you can't commute the laws of metallurgy.

good post, but people shouldnt use synthetics oil's on bed in of an engine

but in saying this hsv use mobil 1 strait up so i dunno ?

[el_hefty]

HSV, Porsche, Mclaren with the Mercedes SLR the corvette's Bently, Tickford did, and there are other manufacturers that use it from day dot...

Is bedding in an engine as important with modern finishes and materials which i presume have come a long way in the last few decades?

Im no expert but i dare say some of the manufacturers above are...

[pah]

Hi all,

As far as I can see, a 5W - 50 oil has to be better than a 10W - 30 oil. The wider the range, the better the protection offered by the oil.

5W - 50: The 5W means that the oil has the viscosity required to protect the engine during cold starts down to 5 degrees in winter (W stands for winter). The 50 means means that the oil also has the viscosity required to protect the engine during hot running on 50 degree days. The wider the range, the better the protection and 5W - 50 beats 10W - 30 . If the oil is capable of providing the correct viscosity on 50 degree days (are they getting ready for global warming?), I can't see how it's gonna be thinner than a 10W - 30 oil. Here's a quote:

At cold temperatures, the polymers are coiled up and allow the oil to flow as their low numbers indicate. As the oil warms up, the polymers begin to unwind into long chains that prevent the oil from thinning as much as it normally would. The result is that at 100 degrees C, the oil has thinned only as much as the higher viscosity number indicates. Another way of looking at multi-vis oils is to think of a 20W-50 as a 20 weight oil that will not thin more than a 50 weight would when hot.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question164.htm






PAH

[pah]

And one more quote:

Thinner motor oils such as 5W-20 or even 0W-20 are becoming more popular these days and are even specified by some OEM's (FORD & HONDA) on new 2001 cars.

Although these oils are promoted as "energy conserving" they generally trade a gain of less than 0.1 MPG in Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) for shorter useful engine life.

FORD which has previously designed cars to have 10 year or 150,000 miles life has reduced the mileage life expectation to "beyond 100,000 miles" on vehicles that are operated on SAE 5W-20 Motor Oil.

HONDA only claims "useful life" as 7-years or 70,000 miles in EPA certifications for their CIVIC which uses SAE 5W-20 Motor Oil, while the previous model that utilized SAE 5W-30 Motor Oil was certified for 10 year or 100,000 mile durability.

Since both HONDA and FORD Warranty their NEW cars for ONLY 3-years or 36,000-miles the reduction in engine life expectancy is not a factor.

By contrast Mercedes-Benz recommends use of ONLY Synthetic Motor Oil that is at least SAE 5W-40! This is a recent increase in recommended viscosity from SAE 5W-30. Apparently customer research indicated that engine longevity is more important to typical MB customer than fuel economy.

Even more important is the High-Shear High-Temperature MINIMUM specification in SAE J300. In tables below you will notice that there are "two" SAE 40 specifications, one with minimum HSHT value of 2.9 cP for Automotive Oils (SAE 0W-40; 5W-40; 10W-40) and the other for Heavy Duty Oils (HDO) (SAE 15W-40; 20W-40; 25W-40; 40).

http://www.synlube.com/viscosit.htm




PAH

[Victor]

The recommended oil for my WK LS1 Statesman is 10W-30, OR 20W-50 if that is not available. Hell of a difference between the two!