Oil Preference?

[HSKR R/T]

Prepping for a long road trip in a few weeks, I just did my first oil change today with roughly a few miles over the 2k mark. I used the XL Boosted knowing it’s a good quality oil to protect my baby. I’ve used Amsoil in 2 of my previous Silverado’s.

Side topic: anyone have any other issues getting the factory installed oil filter off? Mine was murdered and crushed by the time I finally got it off. Seriously, it looked like a crumpled up paper cup. I did discover that it’s easier to come at it from the front right behind the grill. I was able to sit up with my head between the grill and the frame and have a good vantage point to see it. Used the baggie trick as well and worked like magic!

Used a strap wrench with engine warm. My filter spun right off

 

[Nails]

^^ agree on engine warm. Made a difference to my experiences

 

[cervelo15]

^^ agree on engine warm. Made a difference to my experiences

I did a spin around the block and let it idle for about 15 mins while I was prepping the ramps and getting everything lined up.

 

[JLaw297]

Oil is always so highly debated. Anything off the shelf that meets current API standards (and MS-6395 under warranty) is more than sufficient protection wise for regular intervals and is usually the most cost effective. I think Amsoil and Redline may have an edge if you want to do extended drains or are towing heavy frequently. I'm not sure how excited to get about the moly levels in certain oils. There are different types of moly, Dinuclear and Trinuclear. I've read that 60-80ppm of TN is equal to 200-250 of DN. So Quaker States 181ppm is no more beneficial than the Pennzoil's 80ppm.

I ran Pennzoil Platinum in the past on my 6.2 Sierra, great oil, but got frustrated with the oil consumption vs others I ran. This seems to be common on BITOG forums in other vehicles as well. I tried Valvoline Advanced my last 5k in the RAM based on the great additive package (decent moly, nice dose of Ti and Boron) but lifters seemed a little noiser at low rpm. Now running Castrol Edge (black bottle) and it is performing very well so far. Quietest and smoothest this engine has ever been. Will likely be sticking with it because that's what seems to work best for me and in my truck.

 

[HoosierTrooper]

Oil is always so highly debated. Anything off the shelf that meets current API standards (and MS-6395 under warranty) is more than sufficient protection wise for regular intervals and is usually the most cost effective. I think Amsoil and Redline may have an edge if you want to do extended drains or are towing heavy frequently. I'm not sure how excited to get about the moly levels in certain oils. There are different types of moly, Dinuclear and Trinuclear. I've read that 60-80ppm of TN is equal to 200-250 of DN. So Quaker States 181ppm is no more beneficial than the Pennzoil's 80ppm.

I ran Pennzoil Platinum in the past on my 6.2 Sierra, great oil, but got frustrated with the oil consumption vs others I ran. This seems to be common on BITOG forums in other vehicles as well. I tried Valvoline Advanced my last 5k in the RAM based on the great additive package (decent moly, nice dose of Ti and Boron) but lifters seemed a little noiser at low rpm. Now running Castrol Edge (black bottle) and it is performing very well so far. Quietest and smoothest this engine has ever been. Will likely be sticking with it because that's what seems to work best for me and in my truck.

That’s a good point about the the different types of molybdenum. I’ve read on Infineums site exactly what you said, anything above around 75 ppm does not provide any benefit. More isn’t always better.

 

[Mountain Whiskey]

This is a scary thread. If the new 5.7 is so delicate I'm not sure it is worth it. My old military surplus '77 with a 318, full time 4wd and Dana 60's front and rear was indestructible. You could use gear oil with a little pond water in the crank case and be good until the next change.

 

[aklalani]

I have always used Mobil 1 Extended Performance Synthetic 5w20 along with a Mobil 1 Extended Performance Oil Filter. Love both products.

 

[Jako]

This is a scary thread. If the new 5.7 is so delicate I'm not sure it is worth it. My old military surplus '77 with a 318, full time 4wd and Dana 60's front and rear was indestructible. You could use gear oil with a little pond water in the crank case and be good until the next change.

There are some nice things about older model vehicles.
My 1985 Toyota Corolla SR 5 was pretty bullet proof and very easy to work on (rear wheel drive), 5 speed and I think 75 horse power. Didn't need the dealer at all and the service manual was easy to read and understand. My wife's 2017 Civic is 6 speed, 175 HP, dual turbo (front wheel drive) and got 47 mpg on high octane no ethanol on one trip.
My 2001 Dodge Ram 1500, 230 HP (rated 16 mpg hwy), 2019 Ram 1500 395 HP and have gotten 22 mpg on a few hwy trips (just maintained the speed limit, no traffic).
It is nice to know your vehicle and be able to diagnose and fix.
My 2019 would not come out of first gear at one point, it was do to a 2 year old battery.
Complexity is the price we pay for better performance and mpg.

I gave my 1985 Toyota Corolla last fall to a mechanic who wanted to restore and older Japanese car. It had sat in my backyard since 2006 (long story, not started in many many years). He started the motor up, no problem from what I was told.

 

[Scram1500]

Pennzoil (PUP) 5w-20 per the owners manual, will try Shell Helix one day for ****s and giggles

 

[jdefoe0424]

I recently traded in my 1500, but before I did that I took an oil sample. I was using AMSOIL OE 5W-20 with a WIX filter. In this case, I believe the truck was around 2% on the OLM when the sample was taken with 7139 miles on the oil. I would say my daily drive is probably considered severe service (8 miles one way) and the truck also pulled a 7k lb travel trailer about 2k miles.
The oil started with a viscosity of 8.6 and crept up to 8.8, increasing is typical but very small increase. Up to 9.3 is still considered a 20 weight oil.
TBN started at 8 and was down to 2.59. Oxidation and Nitration are still low, could have easily gone to 8k miles.

 

[HoosierTrooper]

I recently traded in my 1500, but before I did that I took an oil sample. I was using AMSOIL OE 5W-20 with a WIX filter. In this case, I believe the truck was around 2% on the OLM when the sample was taken with 7139 miles on the oil. I would say my daily drive is probably considered severe service (8 miles one way) and the truck also pulled a 7k lb travel trailer about 2k miles.
The oil started with a viscosity of 8.6 and crept up to 8.8, increasing is typical but very small increase. Up to 9.6 is still considered a 20 weight oil.
TBN started at 8 and was down to 2.59. Oxidation and Nitration are still low, could have easily gone to 8k miles.

Nice to see a UOA being used as intended, which is primarily to estimate if the oil is capable of the OCI, instead of worrying about a few PPM of "wear" metals, and to show any contaminants such as water, fuel etc. In this case the OLM was pretty conservative considering the TBN, oxidation and nitration, which makes me even more confident in the accuracy of the 5.7L OLM.

One minor nitpicking point, the upper limit for 20 grade, not weight, oil is <9.3 as per SAE J300, not 9.6.

 

[silver billet]

That’s a good point about the the different types of molybdenum. I’ve read on Infineums site exactly what you said, anything above around 75 ppm does not provide any benefit. More isn’t always better.

There is something about Redline's formula, which is unique to Redline, and so far is the only oil to quiet the hemi tick. As in; you run other oil, it ticks; run Redline, tick goes away; re-run first oil or run 3rd oil, tick is back. There have been many user reports on this to just dimiss them entirely as quackery or bogus. Redline works.

The only other one that works was some other oil (forget the brand) and they used an additive to get the moly back up and that worked better than nothing, but not as good as Redline.

All backed up by many pages of UOA's of course. You guys should check out the other forum, ton of knowledge there going back to 2013.

 

[834k3r]

Just to add some more to this thread, the guy that runs the Project Farm YouTube channel tested RP vs Amsoil. (

)

He does a lot of comparative tests; he's done a lot on tools, but many on automotive supplies, too.

 

[jdefoe0424]

Nice to see a UOA being used as intended, which is primarily to estimate if the oil is capable of the OCI, instead of worrying about a few PPM of "wear" metals, and to show any contaminants such as water, fuel etc. In this case the OLM was pretty conservative considering the TBN, oxidation and nitration, which makes me even more confident in the accuracy of the 5.7L OLM.

One minor nitpicking point, the upper limit for 20 grade, not weight, oil is <9.3 as per SAE J300, not 9.6.

ah. Got the number mixed up...was typing while my boss was talking his way through our morning meeting!

I agree, I wish I had done more but didn't always have time to grab it when I was doing changes and what not.
The copper does seem to be a little high to me, but I'm sure MDS is hell on thrust bearings too.

 

[HoosierTrooper]

There is something about Redline's formula, which is unique to Redline, and so far is the only oil to quiet the hemi tick. As in; you run other oil, it ticks; run Redline, tick goes away; re-run first oil or run 3rd oil, tick is back. There have been many user reports on this to just dimiss them entirely as quackery or bogus. Redline works.

The only other one that works was some other oil (forget the brand) and they used an additive to get the moly back up and that worked better than nothing, but not as good as Redline.

All backed up by many pages of UOA's of course. You guys should check out the other forum, ton of knowledge there going back to 2013.

I would not dismiss anyone’s claim that Redline quieted down their engine. My question, and this is in my nature to try to look deeper into things, is if there is something in the RL formula that is actually fixing the problem by preventing possible damage or is it just masking the tick sound? Obviously the only way to know that would require very in depth, long term testing of multiple engines.

 

[HoosierTrooper]

ah. Got the number mixed up...was typing while my boss was talking his way through our morning meeting!

I agree, I wish I had done more but didn't always have time to grab it when I was doing changes and what not.
The copper does seem to be a little high to me, but I'm sure MDS is hell on thrust bearings too.

Hate it when work gets in the way of important stuff!

 

[HoosierTrooper]

Just to add some more to this thread, the guy that runs the Project Farm YouTube channel tested RP vs Amsoil. (

)

He does a lot of comparative tests; he's done a lot on tools, but many on automotive supplies, too.

Please don't take any of the silly, amateurish oil "tests" he does in his garage seriously. They do not represent what actually happens in an engine and he does not use ASTM approved equipment or test protocols to reach his conclusions. It's just clickbait that makes him a lot of money.

To read about how oil is really tested download the document known as API 1509 that outlines the tests an oil has to pass to be certified by the API. Also read the tests that an oil has to pass to receive the GM Dexos1 Generation 2 certification, which is even tougher in some areas than the API sequence tests. With all of the tests an oil has to go through in state of the art labs done by trained professionals using state of the art equipment conducted under strict ASTM protocols there's nothing a guy in his garage using PVC pipe and a griddle can prove.

 

[SpeedyV]

Please don't take any of the silly, amateurish oil "tests" he does in his garage seriously. They do not represent what actually happens in an engine and he does not use ASTM approved equipment or test protocols to reach his conclusions. It's just clickbait that makes him a lot of money.

To read about how oil is really tested download the document known as API 1509 that outlines the tests an oil has to pass to be certified by the API. Also read the tests that an oil has to pass to receive the GM Dexos1 Generation 2 certification, which is even tougher in some areas than the API sequence tests. With all of the tests an oil has to go through in state of the art labs done by trained professionals using state of the art equipment conducted under strict ASTM protocols there's nothing a guy in his garage using PVC pipe and a griddle can prove.

I tend to spend too much time on bobistheoilguy (as opposed to Project Farm) if I'm interested in going down this rabbit hole.

 

[jdefoe0424]

I would not dismiss anyone’s claim that Redline quieted down their engine. My question, and this is in my nature to try to look deeper into things, is if there is something in the RL formula that is actually fixing the problem by preventing possible damage or is it just masking the tick sound? Obviously the only way to know that would require very in depth, long term testing of multiple engines.

Don't forget that it would be extremely expensive!

The Project Farm tests are valid in a way...in the specific way he tests them. Now whether they accurately translate to the conditions inside an engine, that's a different story.
I've heard of bearing tests where a group 2 or 3 oil will "outperform" a group 4 or group 5 oil...and that's all due to additives. But you wouldn't be able to put nearly the number of miles/hours on that group 2/3 oil because the additives will wear out and the poor base oil will break down faster.

 

[HoosierTrooper]

Don't forget that it would be extremely expensive!

The Project Farm tests are valid in a way...in the specific way he tests them. Now whether they accurately translate to the conditions inside an engine, that's a different story.
I've heard of bearing tests where a group 2 or 3 oil will "outperform" a group 4 or group 5 oil...and that's all due to additives. But you wouldn't be able to put nearly the number of miles/hours on that group 2/3 oil because the additives will wear out and the poor base oil will break down faster.

And that's what's wrong with the PF "tests", he wants the viewer to believe his "tests" prove one oil is better than another and people love to see tests that prove the product they use is the best. An oil isn't "better" because it trickles down some PVC pipe faster than its competitor, or less burns off in a coffee pot on a griddle.

Here is a newsletter from Blackstone they sent out back in 2017. Inexpensive analysis like Blackstone have some limitations on measuring wear rates but they did a good job comparing the results from thousands of reports they have in their database and couldn't conclude that any one particular oil is the "best". I'll take that over an amateur Youtuber conducting made up tests in his garage.

https://www.blackstone-labs.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Aug-17-ENG.pdf