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best motor oil

00SilverGTP said:
I wasn't aware the 6.0l Vortec Max was an LS engine. And I find it strange it only did it with the Royal Purple and not at all since I switched to mobil 1. I would lose a ful litre between oil changes with RP. With the mobil 1 I have yet to see it leave the full line on the dip stick.
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I didn't say it was.

In order to increase HP and MPG, GM has been using looser piston rings in some newer engines.

This causes blow-by and oil consumption.

This was (and is) common in the LS2 as GM wanted to claim a 400HP/400lb-ft TQ engine. One trick to loosen the engine up is to have looser piston rings. They use this same trick across their engine line.

My guess is that GM has a TSB or something similar for your engine for standard oil consumption.

The only reason I bring up the LSX engine is that it's famous for oil consumption.

Also - oil can tend to burn more in an AL block as AL has MUCH less heat capacity and will also expand more than a normal cast iron block.

Bottom line: oil consumption for engines is normal. Normal to the point that your engine mfg will specify how much is normal. It's not evaporation.
 


SJAndrew said:
I didn't say it was.

In order to increase HP and MPG, GM has been using looser piston rings in some newer engines.

This causes blow-by and oil consumption.

This was (and is) common in the LS2 as GM wanted to claim a 400HP/400lb-ft TQ engine. One trick to loosen the engine up is to have looser piston rings. They use this same trick across their engine line.

My guess is that GM has a TSB or something similar for your engine for standard oil consumption.

The only reason I bring up the LSX engine is that it's famous for oil consumption.

Also - oil can tend to burn more in an AL block as AL has MUCH less heat capacity and will also expand more than a normal cast iron block.

Bottom line: oil consumption for engines is normal. Normal to the point that your engine mfg will specify how much is normal. It's not evaporation.
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LS2 engine problems don't account for the rest of us with other RPO codes, lol. Did you ever have Gm rebuild yours for you? I am guessing not, too bad because they did for some guys and it helped a bit anyhow. Low tension oil control rings are garbage and guess what your LS2 came with from the factory?

The piston slap crap is unrelated being the short skirt pistons can rock in the bore slightly when the engine is cold. Some of them do it all the time depending upon whether or not the pistons skirt expands enough to keep it true in the cylinder. The piston slap thing started with the Gen 1 Vortec 262/305 and 350's back in the 90's though. Again just a short skirt piston doing what it does best. Even the aluminum engines still have cast iron sleeves in them so it's a moot point at best.

Most of GM's TSB's on the LS's dealing with oil consumption is a problem with the fixed orifice PCV valve not having enough baffling and allowing the engine to suck oil into the intake manifold. This is really pronounced on engines that rev higher as naturally more oil is slung around under there. Throw a catch can on your LS2 and you will probably find a good chunk of the oil you are missing from the oil pan. Not saying your engine might not have the LS2 based wall or ring issues but yours isn't "the norm" for all of us.

You want oil burner LS's try the AFM 5.3's and 6 liters. That's a nice recipe for disaster and there are lots of documented cases of those. The lifters and PCV cause part of it. Overactive lifters that throw too much oil into the top of the head..... and personally I see ring issues with those over time with uneven heating of the cylinders with 4 that constantly can cycle off. Maybe not but who knows.

I have run LQ4's, LQ9's, LY6's plus the odd LM7 for most of the past 10 years and have yet to have one that burnt any amount of oil even on 6000 mile changes. The only one was a LC9 in a 2008 Suburban, but it was an AFM engine too, lol. My current 05 LQ4 uses absolutely nothing at 6000 mile changes with 72K miles on the clock. It sees the 5600 rpm limiter often too so it's not like I drive like a grandpa either.
 
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Lol I didn't literally mean evaporation, hence the quotation marks. It was more a smart ass way of me saying a quart was mysteriously disappearing.
 
Here's all I was trying to say (I didn't talk about RPO etc)....

Oil consumption is normal for any engine - period.

The only way you're not consuming oil is not running your engine. You can have 100 piston rings that are 10X tighter than normal and you will never scrape the cylinder wall of everything - period. This ignores loss in valve seals, front and rear main seals, and local burning inside the engine out your PCV system etc.

Every car consumes oil when it runs.
 
SJAndrew said:
Here's all I was trying to say (I didn't talk about RPO etc)....

Oil consumption is normal for any engine - period.

The only way you're not consuming oil is not running your engine. You can have 100 piston rings that are 10X tighter than normal and you will never scrape the cylinder wall of everything - period. This ignores loss in valve seals, front and rear main seals, and local burning inside the engine out your PCV system etc.

Every car consumes oil when it runs.
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This is true, but when it's not measurable in the oil pan or by the level on the dipstick you do not have issues in any specific area. Some engines use more than others of course because of specific problems.There are lots of engines that can go upwards of 6K on a change and show no discernable loss on the dip stick. They are losing oil to the walls, the PCV and the valve guides but it's measured in milliliters and not liters of useage. My last LY6 used about 1/2 liter of oil in 15000 miles.... that's very little...... Or maybe it should be said that it's normal and healthy!

LS2's, LS6's and whatever else with low tension oil rings are fighting a different battle entirely, period!
 
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A good example is my 3.8 in my GTP. I never see it move on the dipstick.

What I was trying to say is that blaming oil 'evaporation' on a brand of oil is foolish. It's not evaporating and it's not due to the brand - it's burning and it's because of the engine. Morover, some amount of burning is normal per the manufacturer's own specifications.

The litany of variables that define what's normal oil consumption does not, to my knowledge, ever include oil brand.
 


go ahead and explain how that works before i just accept that. you could never burn enough oil to cause issues like that.

im talking like coating the inside of your exhaust so that it doesnt rust from the inside out...
 
In addition to that, the cross-hatch of a cylinder bore is DESIGNED to have oil cling to it. The hatch DOES have depth to it that WILL maintain oil even WITH a PERFECT cylinder ring.

The oly way to NOT have this is to NOT have a hatch. In this case, the piston skirts will run dry against the walls - good luck with that...
 
SJAndrew said:
In addition to that, the cross-hatch of a cylinder bore is DESIGNED to have oil cling to it. The hatch DOES have depth to it that WILL maintain oil even WITH a PERFECT cylinder ring.

The oly way to NOT have this is to NOT have a hatch. In this case, the piston skirts will run dry against the walls - good luck with that...
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And your point being? Lol. Anyone that has ever had an engine apart or knows how to machine one knows this.

Look at it this way. Your engine uses enough oil to warrant adding between changes. Mine and a good chunk of other peoples engines in the world don't use enough to have to have to add between changes. I'm sorry yours burns oil, lol.
 
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Bio248 said:
go ahead and explain how that works before i just accept that. you could never burn enough oil to cause issues like that.

im talking like coating the inside of your exhaust so that it doesnt rust from the inside out...
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Sure you can, it's pretty prevalent with LS's and new Gen Hemi's. They suck enough to through the PCV that it pools on the bottom of the intake manifold and in turn gets sucked into the intake ports. Oil of course has no octane value so it leads to aiding with detonation. It's why people install catch cans on LS's and Hemi engines. A simple search of any Gm LS engine board or modern Hemi board will show what I am talking about. Or type catch can and detonation into Google, whatever. I had a knock retard issue with the 6.1 in my old SRT8, a catch can made that knock go away, no other changes.
 
SJAndrew said:
A good example is my 3.8 in my GTP. I never see it move on the dipstick.

What I was trying to say is that blaming oil 'evaporation' on a brand of oil is foolish. It's not evaporating and it's not due to the brand - it's burning and it's because of the engine. Morover, some amount of burning is normal per the manufacturer's own specifications.

The litany of variables that define what's normal oil consumption does not, to my knowledge, ever include oil brand.
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Like I said. I don't actually think its evaporating. I used evaporating as a smart assd way of saying that I was losing a litre of oil between oil changes.
And Blaming it on a brand isn't foolish in anyway when the evidence is there. Bottom line is with royal purple I'd lose a litre over 5000kms since switching to mobile one the oil level has not left the full line on the dipstick in 5 oil changes. My driving habits are pretty consistant. The truck goes from home to work and back everyday. 180km round trip all highway. So for that dramatic of a difference in how much oil is being burned probably has something to do with the brands formulation. Not just my engine. You can theorise or whatever all you want, but the proof is in the pudding. My truck burned more oil with RP than it does with Mobil 1, this is FACT. You can't argue or debate fact. You can however theorise and debate why it burns more RP than Mobil 1
 
Badass69 said:
Sure you can, it's pretty prevalent with LS's and new Gen Hemi's. They suck enough to through the PCV that it pools on the bottom of the intake manifold and in turn gets sucked into the intake ports. Oil of course has no octane value so it leads to aiding with detonation. It's why people install catch cans on LS's and Hemi engines. A simple search of any Gm LS engine board or modern Hemi board will show what I am talking about. Or type catch can and detonation into Google, whatever. I had a knock retard issue with the 6.1 in my old SRT8, a catch can made that knock go away, no other changes.
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that is completely different. i am talking about on a NORMAL operating engine. yeah, with a crappy PCV setup or if your piston skirts are gone you can burn oil like its going out of style. however, if you have a stout motor you should never have an issue with burning enough oil to cause adverse running conditions.
 
:th_blahblah: Come on people, its Friday night -RELAX!!! How much effort does it take to add a little oil now and then.

So what if it uses some oil, keep it in the safe zone and find something better to worry about.
 
I have no issue with adding oil if needed. My point was that royal purple has issues. the fact my vehicle burns it significantly faster than other oils, and the fact that it bubbles/foams while your engine is running is not a good sign. And I have heard this on multiple forums. People having the same issues with Royal Purple as I am having.
He just seems to not be open to the idea its not my engine, its the oil. Royal Purple is not what it used to be. Its an inferior product.
This is why I asked if the company had gone into new ownership or management or something. If the formulation has changed. Because years ago It was touted as the best of the best.
 


Bio248 said:
that is completely different. i am talking about on a NORMAL operating engine. yeah, with a crappy PCV setup or if your piston skirts are gone you can burn oil like its going out of style. however, if you have a stout motor you should never have an issue with burning enough oil to cause adverse running conditions.
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No it's not completely different than anything, it's exactly what I have talked about in the few posts prior. Unfortunately yes the PCV isn't the best on the LS's, Hemi's and even some of the Modular Fords ( particularily blown ones). LS's and Hemi's are plenty stout, but of course no match to a 3.8 right........... Lol. :th_laugh-lol3: It's a design thing and it's a flaw. A simple oil catch can for use on any old air compressor does the trick and alleviates the issue.
 
00SilverGTP said:
Thats interesting. does it stay foamy long after the engine is off? or just while its running? I personally dont tend to pull the dipstick out while the engine is actually running
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Sure.

Right after you turn it off, but if its been sitting no.

Does it matter? Its time for 0W-20
 
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