Oil question

[scottscott]

I know there are tons of oil threads flying around, but I have a very simple quesiton that doesn't require a very technical molecular/chemistry type answer. A local shop by me does the oil changes for about half what the dealer charges and they say they use valvoline oil instead of mobil. I know most enthusiasts recommend the saab or mobil 1 oil, but has anyone had experience using this? Valvoline's webiste shows that for full synthetic the closest they make to the mobil grade is 5W-40

Thanks

[JonV]

There are alternatives to Mobil 1, most here would recommend looking for the GM LL A 025 Spec on the Oil. If your going to use another fully synthetic you may want to consider shorter change Intervals. Ignore the OLM in the SID, because it is calibrated for M1 0W40.

They'll be lots of opinion on your "simple question".

[Hugh]

You do not say what model or year of car so the quick answer is to follow the manual. Recent models require 0W-30 or 0W-40 full synthetic meeting the GM-LL-A-025 specification.

[JMarkert]

I think the simplest answer is that using this oil won't do any harm in the short term. It probably will even be fine in the long-run.

There are two potential difficulties, however. First, the SID oil quality meter is calibrated for the Mobil 1, so it won't be reliable

Second, if your car is still in warranty, you'll want to use an oil that meets the GM LL spec.

A final consideration, you might be wary of going for 10 K miles using this non-recommended oil. It probably is just fine, it's just you can't be 100% sure. I don't know much about valvoline, but you might check out the 'bob is the oil guy' website to reassure yourself that it's decent stuff.

[JonV]

Using non GM Spec Oil will not Void a Warranty, I've asked. Just do appropriate service.

To quote my Service Mgr "We'll put in any Oil you want as long as you change it regularly".....Reinertsten Motors, Denville, NJ