Hey everyone, So I have an 06' Monte SS and It's getting to be about that time for it's first oil change, since I have had it. It has been run on just regular as far as I know, so I'm probably not going to run synthetic in it since it's at 58K which I have always learned is a little late to start running synthetic. What oil do you guys run and how much? I have done some research and looks like it takes 6.1 liters of 5w-30. Does that sound right?

 

5w-30 is correct. Not sure on the amount for the V8 though.

I WOULD switch to synthetic. It's not to late to switch at all. Personally, I would never run anything but synthetic in any vehicle I own. I'm pretty loyal to Mobil 1 myself.

 

Yea I want to switch to synthetic so bad. But I have always been told that anything over 35-40k Miles was kind of pushing it and you could run into leaks and all of that non sense lol. You think I would be ok with synthetic?

 

I know you would be ok. I've seen several family cars switched to synthetic with mileage. 00 Bonneville switched at 60K to full synthetic, 178K when it was totaled, never leaked oil. 89 Chevy truck, 350 V8 switched to synthetic at almost 200K, now at 238K and no oil leaks.

You won't have issues...like I said, if it was me, I wouldn't settle for less than synthetic.

 

Nice, I will probably switch over to synthetic then and if I have any leaks I'll just blame you haha

 

You'll be fine switching back and forth. 5w-30 and do 5.5 quarts of oil.

The oil change on the LS4 is one of the easy ones. Everything is right next to each other. Given the size of your drip pan, you can easily pull the pan plug and oil filter at the same time.

After you refill the 5.5 quarts, drop the car, start it, check for leaks, then turn it off and wait a few minutes and check the level on the dipstick.

 

I use conventional in all my cars and Slick 50 every 50K miles. I've run Valvoline, Halvoline, Castol, Mobile1, just about any name brand oil. I also change my oil between 3,000-5,000 miles, never an issue. My last car had 215K on the clock when I sold it and it's still running ('94 Grand Am with a 3100).
But, when it comes to filters, I favor BOSCH oil filters. It just appears that the oil comes out cleaner (this is not based on a study or any testing, just my simple observation).

Ultimately, I think the biggest key, stick with a name oil and name filter and change both religiously. On conventional I would NOT go past 5,000 miles. Synthetic is supposed to gain you more miles between oil changes (but since I've never ran synthetic, I cannot speak on it).

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've always been told that if you are running conventional, then stay conventional. Switching to synthetic will do a fantastic job of cleaning out the inside of your engine block from all the built up oil deposits, but then all of that stuff ends up in the bottom of the pan and clogs the oil pickup... which results in having to drop the oil pan so that the pan and pickup can be cleaned.

 

It's all myths. There is nothing wrong with switching back and forth.

I personally have run the Monte on conventional its whole life, all 13 years and 188,000 miles, and I'm switching it to synthetic this year when I supercharge it.

 

i run conventional and always have in all the cars ive owned.