pencero, you said synthetic oil in the op's engine would fry it but you still have not explained how that would occur. You also said the oil companies lied, what lie are you referring to?
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Oil Recommendation
- Thread starter RICKDIZZLE
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For a 85 cutlass I believe 10-30 should be fine and if I'm not mistaken 5qts will do you well. Rear main leak will not be fixed with oil or an additive, even if they claim they will stop a leak all they do is swell seals that are getting hard.
If you want to do syn, I say give mobil 1 a try just do a oil change at the very least every 3k miles if you make the switch as with any good quality oil will clean out the crap like pensoil, ect.
You will want to make sure the oil you choose does have zddp in it, as flat tappet cams do require that or you'll be replacing that motor much faster then you think.
If you wanted to step up to Amsoil they do have a Z-Rod oil and a Premium Protection oil as well. I use Amsoil in all my vehicles. I went from mobil 1 to Royal purple and now have been using Amsoil for 4 or 5years. Using syn on an older car does not mean it will do any harm but it will clean up a dirty engine quickly, so I would use a good filter when you make a change. Mobil 1 filters are actually pretty good, besides running ACDelco, you could use a good Wix(napa gold) or baldwin/hastings are also good, but with a non synthetic rated filter you will have to change that more often then your oil, I know people that run delco or baldwin and change a filter every 2k miles and do a full oil change every 6. But to each their own
If you want to do syn, I say give mobil 1 a try just do a oil change at the very least every 3k miles if you make the switch as with any good quality oil will clean out the crap like pensoil, ect.
You will want to make sure the oil you choose does have zddp in it, as flat tappet cams do require that or you'll be replacing that motor much faster then you think.
If you wanted to step up to Amsoil they do have a Z-Rod oil and a Premium Protection oil as well. I use Amsoil in all my vehicles. I went from mobil 1 to Royal purple and now have been using Amsoil for 4 or 5years. Using syn on an older car does not mean it will do any harm but it will clean up a dirty engine quickly, so I would use a good filter when you make a change. Mobil 1 filters are actually pretty good, besides running ACDelco, you could use a good Wix(napa gold) or baldwin/hastings are also good, but with a non synthetic rated filter you will have to change that more often then your oil, I know people that run delco or baldwin and change a filter every 2k miles and do a full oil change every 6. But to each their own
5qts 10w30 what I do and later topped off with stp oil additive with zinc/zddp. The lie is about the missing zinc / zddp and syn being good on older cars. Synthetic is a much better choice on a newer car but why spend like $45 on what could be more like a $15 oil change + $4 additive instead; on a 3.8L v6? It's not like he's going to get more horespower out of it. When I said he would fry the v6 I meant like, if there are deposits from high mileage and it never took synthetic he could find himself like me unclogging cats and not going anywhere for a minute. This car ran too rich and it smoked until I went back to regular oil. 'O- rings' o0oOoOo lol
You have to be careful with the zinc additive you have to use the right amount to much zinc isn't good either.
Don't believe oil companies. I worked at a chemical plant on a line before and half of the competing brands were the exact same oil in different looking packaging only. Some brands use a different combination of detergents or dye oil from the exact same batches as their competitors. 50 barrels in a row same oil same shipment 3 different brands, only 1 with a different combination of detergent additives, 1 line, same day, shipped. What's more ridiculous is how the same oil could be in 1 brand and they can fool you into paying $5 when the same quart of oil in a different package is there for $2.99 and you would never know it. This is not true for AMS/ Penzoil/ Brad Penn or castrol high mileage oil however.
Companies in all lines of buisness are like that. I worked at a food packaging plant and we labeled the same product for different stores and each sold at different prices.
I'm a member of the BITOG forum so here is my suggestion. 3.8s are pretty easy to please. Buick motors tend to like a thicker oil, run 10w-30 at a minimum. You can run dino or synthetic, whichever you prefer. Synthetics are far superior but a good Dino will be fine. Amsoil is good stuff but outrageously priced and not really worth it IMHO. My top recommendations would be Pennzoil Yellow Bottle, Valvoline Maxlife Semi Syn, or Pennzoil Platinum HM or Valvoline Maxlife Full Syn.
I believe the best bang for your buck oil is the Valvoline Maxlife Semi Syn.
There's a lot of oil myths running around. Don't believe everything you hear. You can switch back and forth between synthetic and conventional, and you can mix the two. Any API-SN rated oil won't give you any trouble.
I believe the best bang for your buck oil is the Valvoline Maxlife Semi Syn.
There's a lot of oil myths running around. Don't believe everything you hear. You can switch back and forth between synthetic and conventional, and you can mix the two. Any API-SN rated oil won't give you any trouble.
To clear a few things up here, don't use diesel oil in a gas engine. Diesel oil has ash in it that will clog up gas engine intake valves. Don't use use excessively thick oil, especially thicker than what the factory recommends. Thicker than specified motor oil can increase wear since it doesn't flow as well when the engine is cold where the majority of wear occurs. Also many parts in engines like the distributor gear rely on splash lubrication, and thicker oil doesn't splash as well, leading to increased wear.
Ive been using Chevron Delo 10w-30 in my 1994 Lesabre since I bought it at 60,000 miles. Now at 130,000, The intake valves couldn't be cleaner as per my borescope. My Chevy K1500 has had Rotella 15w-40 in it for some time. Diesel oil is more robust than gasoline oils, and it also has stronger adhesive and cohesive properties than gasoline oils, which makes up for the lack of startup flow.
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