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I think I going to switch oils


Bill K

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I am at 33% oil life and have considered Mobil One before. Much discussion about synthetics has kept me with dino to this point. That plus the $. I guess I'll loosen up a bit and see if I notice any difference(which I doubt) or any of the much dreaded leaks.

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As for the cost, don't forget that with 12,000+ mile oil change intervals, the average driver will change the oil just once a year. So, cost isn't as much as a factor as it used to be with premium synthetics. The oil will cost less than a tank of gas.

2003 Seville STS 43k miles with the Bose Sound, Navigation System, HID Headlamps, and MagneRide

1993 DeVille. Looks great inside and out! 298k miles!

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Nice to see that the tradition goes on, and we still have a supply of home powertrain engineers at our disposal. If it's not required in your owner's manual, why on earth would you think you need synthetic oil? The only single unique characteristic of synthetic oil that MIGHT be applicable to engine design is its resistance to high temperature thinning. Since I don't think you are planning to overheat you Caddy.....you don't need it.

I say MIGHT, because you don't even know if you're really buying true synthetic oil these days. Thanks to Castrol, any synthetic blend or heavily modified, hydrotreated base oil present in any percentage, qualifies as synthetic. For the oil makers, this translates to PROFIT!

Never underestimate the amount of a persons greed.

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I am at 33% oil life and have considered Mobil One before. Much discussion about synthetics has kept me with dino to this point. That plus the $. I guess I'll loosen up a bit and see if I notice any difference(which I doubt) or any of the much dreaded leaks.

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Bill, check out this thread, my eyes were opened up... Mike

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/north...-cars-long.html

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Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year  http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm

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Today's dino oil has markedly improved over the last few years. Unless the manufacturer requires it, there really is no reason to use One type of oil over another.

Either way, PAO or Hydrocracked Syn, or a blend, the average driver will change the oil just once a year in a later model Caddy. We can all thank the guys at GM and the lubricant companies for making this happen.

On the other hand.....

Regarding Mercedes' recent lawsuit to extend warranties for certain engines (1998-2001), it's interesting to note that Mercedes said that if an engine had Synthetic oil its whole life, the owner need not be concerned. However, if synthetic had not been used, then the owner needs to be check the engines for sludge. This being engine that didn't require synthetic.

An excerpt from the legal announcement: "The alleged problem with the FSS occurs when the driver uses conventional oil instead of synthetic oil"

FSS is Mercedes version of GM's OLI.

Bottom line: With only one oil change a year, you'll spend an extra $20 to $25 a year by buying Mobil-1. On the other hand, with only one oil change a year, you'll save an extra $20 to $25 a year by buying regular dino oil.

If you're concerned about the reduced levels of ZDP in oils, you can buy Mobil-1 Extended Performance (I think that's the name). I understand it's the Mobil-1 with extra ZDP. Do a search to be sure.

You spends your monies and you takes your chances. Good thing we're talking peanuts here.

2003 Seville STS 43k miles with the Bose Sound, Navigation System, HID Headlamps, and MagneRide

1993 DeVille. Looks great inside and out! 298k miles!

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Lately I've been adding a quart or two of diesel oil for the extra ZDP. Since my engine has over 219K miles on it I suspect it shouldn't matter whether I use dino without a ZDP supplement. On the other hand, since it's a high mileage engine more ZDP certainly won't hurt. Then again, the high mileage oils simply have extra ZDP. I remember this topic being discuss a while back and we were told the latest oil formulas have less ZDP, which I tend to think about when I buy oil. So, I'm not totally convinced there is sufficient ZDP in the latest oil formulas to fully protect a '94 Northstar. Nevertheless, name brand oils still state that they meet or exceed the SH or SG standards recommended for my Northstar.

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Lately I've been adding a quart or two of diesel oil for the extra ZDP. Since my engine has over 219K miles on it I suspect it shouldn't matter whether I use dino without a ZDP supplement. On the other hand, since it's a high mileage engine more ZDP certainly won't hurt. Then again, the high mileage oils simply have extra ZDP. I remember this topic being discuss a while back and we were told the latest oil formulas have less ZDP, which I tend to think about when I buy oil. So, I'm not totally convinced there is sufficient ZDP in the latest oil formulas to fully protect a '94 Northstar. Nevertheless, name brand oils still state that they meet or exceed the SH or SG standards recommended for my Northstar.

Another option that you might consider is using about one ounce of Valvoline Synpower Oil Treatment at every oil change. This stuff is almost pure ZDP. One ounce will give you that greater protection level that you seek while not ruining the energy conserving properties of the 10W-30 motor oil.

Never underestimate the amount of a persons greed.

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Valvoline Synpower Oil Treatment - that's very interesting! Does this stuff come in a small bottle or a quart-sized container? Is it available at Wally World?

2003 Seville STS 43k miles with the Bose Sound, Navigation System, HID Headlamps, and MagneRide

1993 DeVille. Looks great inside and out! 298k miles!

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Lately I've been adding a quart or two of diesel oil for the extra ZDP. Since my engine has over 219K miles on it I suspect it shouldn't matter whether I use dino without a ZDP supplement. On the other hand, since it's a high mileage engine more ZDP certainly won't hurt. Then again, the high mileage oils simply have extra ZDP. I remember this topic being discuss a while back and we were told the latest oil formulas have less ZDP, which I tend to think about when I buy oil. So, I'm not totally convinced there is sufficient ZDP in the latest oil formulas to fully protect a '94 Northstar. Nevertheless, name brand oils still state that they meet or exceed the SH or SG standards recommended for my Northstar.

Another option that you might consider is using about one ounce of Valvoline Synpower Oil Treatment at every oil change. This stuff is almost pure ZDP. One ounce will give you that greater protection level that you seek while not ruining the energy conserving properties of the 10W-30 motor oil.

Johnny,

Are you sure of that? Their product info states that Zinc is .270% by weight. I am assuming that Zinc is the ZDDP.

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Also remember the Northstar had gone threw some changes lately, and lets not forget their are other engines than the Northstar in the Cadillac lineup.

I'd be all for using a diesel oil....but since its been in single digits every day (or no digits at all!) this week (with wind chills well below zero) I tend to think such thick oils would cause some startup wear. Manual says 5w-30 and 10w-30. Not 20w-50 or what not.

Honestly I think the ZDDP scare is more or a less a problem with hot rod engines that have tappet problems from just being so darned high performance.

For our daily driver Cadillacs I don't think we need to worry, with a 7.5qt oil capacity and a low maximum 7500 oil change interval, I think we are safe.

Just for example my car is looking to put the interval this time at 3,500-4,000 miles , short trips, cold temperatures, my lead foot, cut that 7500 max down to 4000 fast.

For the highway drivers 12,000 mile changes on the newer northstars will be fine, but you can bet that short city trippers and cold climate types will half and quarter that interval.

The trick is not looking at it as a 12,000 or 7500 interval. It's taking that number as the pristine conditions and then adjusting it for your car, you can't get more personal to you than this system besides used oil analysis.

The Green's Machines

1998 Deville - high mileage, keeps on going, custom cat-back exhaust

2003 Seville - stock low mileage goodness!

2004 Grand Prix GTP CompG - Smaller supercharger pulley, Ported Exhaust Manifolds, Dyno tune, etc

1998 Firebird Formula - 408 LQ9 Stroker motor swap and all sorts of go fast stuff

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OK, OK, Maybe PURE wasn't the right word to use here. The point is, it is VERY high in ZDP, so much so, that you can actually feel the difference, and how it sticks to things when you get it on your fingers. It is a thick oil additive, like the old STP oil treatment, so I would never recommend adding a whole bottle. The "ONE OUNCE" trick was posted on the old BITOG web site, and I picked it up from there. Members of that board were able to determine a SIGNIFICANT increase in ZDP based upon USED OIL ANALYSIS, after adding only one ounce per oil change.

The idea here is to fortify the ZDP content of motor oils, without significantly changing the flow characteristics of the base oil. We have just discussed the reasoning behind this with the new SM motor oils. Whether it is a valid concern or not is another matter. Remember, we also should try NOT to defeat the reason that ZDP was lowered in the first place...to prolong catalytic converter effectiveness throughout its service life.

The product is sold in about a pint bottle, and the directions suggest adding the whole thing. I'm sure Valvoline would like that to happen every time.

I believe the concern most of us owners of flat tappet engines have, is that ZDP is the only additive that will protect them from premature wear, so adding a little extra, might help some in the long run. However, I recently read an article in one of the car magazines that stated that poor production tolerances occurred in the manufacturing of tappets and lifters as the automotive industry moved to roller tappets, and the demand for flat tappets fell. They stated that this happened over the last 5 years, so the concern is still NOT valid for owners of older Cadillacs.

Never underestimate the amount of a persons greed.

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The product is sold in about a pint bottle, and the directions suggest adding the whole thing. I'm sure Valvoline would like that to happen every time.

Didn't someone on CadOwners add "the whole bottle" only to have it go and clog his oil pump?...If I recall correctly he then ran the enigine and threw a rod (due to lack of lubrication)...Needless to say after that thread Im scared Sh__less to put anything "thick and gooey" into my Engine. That being said I don't think an ounce could hurt anything.

A.J.

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Didn't someone on CadOwners add "the whole bottle" only to have it go and clog his oil pump?...If I recall correctly he then ran the enigine and threw a rod (due to lack of lubrication)...Needless to say after that thread Im scared Sh__less to put anything "thick and gooey" into my Engine. That being said I don't think an ounce could hurt anything.

I don't go to that site, but there are too many variables to blame that incident on one small bottle of oil additive. You've really got to ask yourself why they thought a whole bottle was needed to begine with. Was it to quiet down a knocking noise in the engine? Was it -15° out? Too many variables.

I doubt that a reputable company, such as Valvoline, would market a product that would harm an engine after just one application, not to mention all the other makers of thick oil additives. I also doubt that a liquid, even one with that viscosity, would "clog" anything. Thicken the oil, yes....clog, NO.

Never underestimate the amount of a persons greed.

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The link you gave is for regular motor oil, not the oil treatment. Is there indeed a separate product that's an 'oil treatment' and not a regular motor oil?

2003 Seville STS 43k miles with the Bose Sound, Navigation System, HID Headlamps, and MagneRide

1993 DeVille. Looks great inside and out! 298k miles!

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The link you gave is for regular motor oil, not the oil treatment. Is there indeed a separate product that's an 'oil treatment' and not a regular motor oil?

Try this one.

http://www.valvoline.com/pages/products/pr....asp?product=21

Didn't someone on CadOwners add "the whole bottle" only to have it go and clog his oil pump?...If I recall correctly he then ran the enigine and threw a rod (due to lack of lubrication)

I don't recall that, but maybe it was in a section I don't frequent.

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according to Valvoline this is all i need :):

http://www.valvoline.com/crmo/recommendation.asp?cid=157354

The Green's Machines

1998 Deville - high mileage, keeps on going, custom cat-back exhaust

2003 Seville - stock low mileage goodness!

2004 Grand Prix GTP CompG - Smaller supercharger pulley, Ported Exhaust Manifolds, Dyno tune, etc

1998 Firebird Formula - 408 LQ9 Stroker motor swap and all sorts of go fast stuff

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