Poll - How many use Synthetic Oil or Regular Oil in their Vibe?

[lovemyraffe]

I use Mobil1 5w-30. I buy it from Costco when there is a coupon. 6 quarts for ~$20. I change it every 10,000 miles and it comes out looking almost new.

[cptnsolo77]

103K here with Castol GTX. I used Mobil 1 for a few oil changes early in my Vibe ownership but went to conventional oil

[rAERRK]

Quote, originally posted by cptnsolo77 »103K here with Castol GTX. I used Mobil 1 for a few oil changes early in my Vibe ownership but went to conventional oil ive started using castrol gtx too. how often do you do changes?

[cptnsolo77]

About every 4000 - 5000 miles. The manual says every 7000 miles. There is no way I would wait till 7000 miles LOL. Not with conventional oil anyhow.The Vibe has been very reliable, I just need to figure out why my power door locks seem to go on vacation & return every so often. For a while they dont work....then they work lol.

[rAERRK]

Quote, originally posted by cptnsolo77 »About every 4000 - 5000 miles. The manual says every 7000 miles. There is no way I would wait till 7000 miles LOL. Not with conventional oil anyhow.The Vibe has been very reliable, I just need to figure out why my power door locks seem to go on vacation & return every so often. For a while they dont work....then they work lol.oh, i decided on 5,000 intervals too.

[vibenvy]

I use regular Penzoil 5W20 in both our '09 GTs. I decided on 2500 mile intervals because 5000 to me seemed way too long. Changing it every 2500 keeps with the 5000 mile interval that GM recommends too.We have used Penzoil in our vehicles as far back as I can remember and have never had a problem. As a matter of fact, my dad's '01 S10 just turned over 248,000 miles (bought brand new) and our '94 Pontiac Sunbird LE Sedan has around 258,000 miles (bought brand new). When our mechanic had to change the head gasket on the Sunbird some years back (it probably had around 230,000 miles on it), he couldn't believe how clean the inside of the engine was. He had always given my dad crap about using Penzoil (he uses Valvoline) until he saw the inside of the engine. He hasn't said anything about us using Penzoil since .

[09Vibe]

GM recommends 5,000 kilometre change intervals in these engines because the vehicles are not equipped with the GM Oil Life monitoring system so they are saying this on the side of caution for sure. My friend with a 2009 Matrix says Toyota recommends 8,000K intervals... go figure. Additionally - the benefit of the OEM specified 0W20 oil viscosity in these engines is increased change intervals / extended life due to the design characteristics of the motors. 5,000K is no longer a maximum, 10,000 is. Personally I change it religiously at 5,000 only because it is so easy (2.4 Litre). And I only use conventional oil at 5W20 because I cannot find 0W20 anywhere. Close enough for sure. The other reason I won't use synthetic in this motor (although I use it in our two other vehicles) is because of the VVTi. Although this is rare - I'm speaking from personal experience. The increased viscosity of synthetic against VVTi cam shaft actuators can affect them. Premature actuation can occur at different RPM, even idle - causing incorrect actuator movement readings to the ECM which in turn cause the ECM to increase transmission line pressure incorrectly(automatics obviously) ... the electronics may even sense the vehicle at WOT (wide open throttle). Not good when the trans is shifting at low speeds! But more often it causes poor shifts to occur from the trans solenoid bank (incorrect high line pressure)Toyota has experienced this kind of issue across the line - so have other manufacturers, it's not always synthetics that play havoc with the VVTi system but more often then not. So it's conventional for me and whatever is on sale (major brands only - I pass on the 99cent per litre stuff!)And before we start the next thread on fuel octane rating... it's regular gas all the way, higher flash point is my preference. Cheers,

[zoomie]

Do NOT use Mobil 1 5W-20 Full Synthetic in 2009+ Vibes. It is NOT an approved oil because it FAILS to meet GM6049M standard which basically means cold weather performance. To me that screams this oil has been around long enough and fails where oils you probably never heard of pass! SHEEEEEEYITTT!roflEDIT: Added "5W-20" to clarify which full synthetic does not meet standard.

[star_deceiver]

5w20: http://www.mobil.com/USA-Engli....aspxExxon claims it to be the equivilent thereof.0w20: http://www.mobil.com/USA-Engli....aspxIt's on the list.

[zoomie]

Hello star_deceiverMobil's 0W-20 is on the GM4718M list.I'm not going to use any Mobil oil, some who think they can depend on its protection by name alone may be deceived!! Mobil 1 5W-20 is not listed here:http://www.gm.com/corporate/re...s.pdfHows it going anyway, Im moving to Kamloops next month.-cheers EDIT: added "GM4718M"

[star_deceiver]

GM 4718M and GM 6049M: http://www.gm.com/corporate/re...s.pdf - Last updated June 2009There are quite a few that are missing...I run is because:Viscosity @ 100ºC, cSt (ASTM D445) 9.0 Viscosity, @ 40ºC, cSt (ASTM D445) 50.1 Viscosity Index 162 Pour Point, ºC (ASTM D97) -42 And I've never had a problem with Mobil in all the years I've ran it.Moving to CarShaft-Circles, eh!!! The +40C Sunny summers and an actual winter season should be a nice change from the Lower mainland!!!

[zoomie]

THanks! BTW "CarShaft-Circles"? I dont get it?That GM4718M that the 0W-20 meets is a higher standard than GM6094M, but am wondering does it focus on high-performance (high temp) and perhaps omit some 6094 tests like cold weather properties...

[star_deceiver]

Car shaft - Kam (camshaft is a shaft in a car)Circles - Loops(it's an old highschool joke...)If it's a higher standard then I doubt that it ommits anything.

[zoomie]

Whats your findings when using 0W-20 compared to 5W-20 (any brand)? Anything from startup, idle right through the performance band as well as fuel economy right to its appearance during the draining would be most interesting

[star_deceiver]

I used Toyota 0w20 for 8000ish kms from May to August this year including a 4 day there and back road trip at the beginning of August to Los Angeles. That was a hot weekend....I noticed no diffrence at start-up. Idle was the same. 0-60 seemed the same. Idle to redline in the 1st 3 gears felt and sounded the same. 115mph top speed and sustained high speed driving felt the same. There were no weird noises. There was nothing of intrest when I cut open the oil filter. It was a very dark brown when I drained it and it looked the same (colour wise) as the Mobil1 5w20 and Pennzoil Platinum 5w20 from past drains.I have never has such good freeway fuel economy, ever. 37 mpg from sustained 90+mph driving through the middle of California, both ways (I was driving the same speed as everyone else because it appears that some countys in Cali have cut back their hwy patrols. Sacramento to L.A. and I only saw one cop...). I posted pics and the mileage from that trip somewhere here... EDIT: here it is http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=42054I'd use it year round if I could find 0w20 Mobil1 or PP in the shopps... but I havn't found it yet this side of the 49th.If anyone tells you that 0w20 can't/shouldn't be used in summer, their full of it!!!Quote, originally posted by somewhere I read »I have a 21st century designed engine, why the hell would I not use a 21st century oil???

[zoomie]

Good review, all my curiosities satisfied, cheers I spent some time a while back reading BITOG posts and my opinion based on what I've read for 0W-20 is that it will flow more like warmed oil until it reaches operating temperature, at which time theres no real difference between it and 5W-20 or 10W-20(?) for that matter.My first oil change had the GM dealer put 5W-30 in July and I ran it until the beginning of October. From a drivers perspective I could not sense any difference or calculate one at the pump to that of 5W-20 Dino.I feel the cost vs benefit weighs in favour of synthetic use when 2 conditions are met:- cold starts @ -15 deg C- prolonged highway driving @ 70mph+ where ambient outside air temperature +30 deg C.Dino 5W-20 is the oil I use in this car, OCI with new filter element every 8000 kms or 3 months whichever occurs first. This is whats stated in the manual and I agree with it. my 2 cents

[star_deceiver]

Quote, originally posted by zoomie »I feel the cost vs benefit weighs in favour of synthetic use when 2 conditions are met:- cold starts @ -15 deg C Yup, we have that- prolonged highway driving @ 70mph+ where ambient outside air temperature +30 deg C. Yup, that too in summer 4.73L of Pennzoil Platinum 5w20 (SM rated, energy conserving) was $25 @ walmarx and right next to it was 5L of Pennzoil Platinum 5w20 (SN rated, resource conserving) for $42... I went with the cost factor and grabbed the last bottle. Mobil 1 5w20 5L was $39, Castrol edge 5w20 5L was $45.

[zoomie]

Synthetic @ almost twice the price, if a person can run it for 16,000 kms or 6mos, then the engine and the wallet benefits. You got some at Dino-mite-price!I'll be sticking with any good quality 5W-20 Dinos that are on sale. Good Stuff! Cheers man

[wt2ga]

[DressedInBlack]

just picked up 5 quarts of Pennzoil Platinum 5w-20 and a K&N filter for $30 at AutoZone. Gotta love those sales! the Wally World near me has 5 qts of the same for $24.50.

[Gekko]

Ive been running full synthetic oil since I bought the car new back in 2002. First oil change i did the switch to synthetic and I have never gone back.

[silverbullet]

My cars always had synthetic as long as I have records. Just switched to castrol edge tho in the summer when I get some more miles on the oil I'm gonna have an analysis done and decide on the interval based on the results

[sbzero]

I am currently running Mobil 1 5w20 in my '09 AWD, but after reading this thread I don't think I'm going back to it, if it really doesn't meet the standards. In the winter I usually run Mobil 1 0w20.Also in my rear differential and transfer case I run Mobil 1 75w90.My transmission I run WolfsHead Universal Sythetic ATF(as of yesterday).

[Salsa Guy]

I started using Mobile 1, 5-30, first oil change after boosting my. I change the filter at 5K miles and oil and filter at 10K miles. Also run AMSoil in the Tranny, Tranfer case and rear dif.

[x_GSEadam_X]

so is Mobil 1 5w-20 not recommended for an 09? I have 5qts of it and as i will be change the oil soon but if it is not recommended i will swap it for something different.

[09vGT]

I just switched back to regular oil. I got tired of paying $70.00 for an oil change at the dealer with synthetic. I was changing it every 5000 miles anyway, and thats what the book says to do on regular. Now, I'm back to paying $35.00, and it feels good.

[star_deceiver]

$70.... ouch... Gotta do it yourself man! And get your oil from the Toyota dealer.... much cheaper!

[circuitsmith]

I use whatever major brand dino (Penzoil, Castrol, Havoline) is on sale and an OEM filter.My last car ('88 Accord LXi) had 219K miles and 20 years of the same routine and burned no oil when I sold it.I bike to work and drive ~4000 miles a year, so I change oil every six months and filter once a year.This fall I put in Mobil 1 0W-30 to see if it saves any gas this winter.So far no difference, but it hasn't gone below freezing.I have about 1000 miles on the M1 so far and it looks nearly clear, no sign of cleaning varnish from the last 4 years of running dino.

[Old Tele man]

5W/20 Kendall (Conoco-Phillips) GF-4 full synthetic at 8,000 mile intervals.