# Coming Up On My First Oil Change



## cdb09007 (Aug 7, 2013)

So i bought my 13 LT about 8 weeks ago and its coming up for its 6k oil change. I bought the car new and i believe they fill it with a semi synthetic which im going to assume is what they plan to change it out for. 

should i ask them to fill it with full synthetic oil this time and all the times from here on in? I'm not too familiar with the differences between semi and full synthetic. I always get the worst advice of "Semi is the same as synthetic minus the price" which i hate hearing. Any input?


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## plasticplant (Mar 26, 2013)

Since it's a 1.4L with an oil cooled turbo, I personally would run a Dexos1 approved full synthetic (it’s more $$$ but well worth it). Blended synthetic oils tend to "gum up" the turbo and that's the last thing you want. Also, full synthetics tend to stand up to the high temps that a turbo generates much better then synthetic blends. At the end of the day though, it’s your call.


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## Evofire (Oct 3, 2013)

Im new to this car and to turbos, but I would think that whatever GM recommends would be what is best. I know my first oil change is free, then half price after that for the life of my car, as long as i own it. So my dealership will probably be doing all my changes. 

Im my supercharged car, i used 5w40 penzoil because the extra heat from the blower and the 120 degree arizona summers like to break down the oil a bit faster. It gets changed about every 2500.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

Evofire said:


> Im new to this car and to turbos, but I would think that whatever GM recommends would be what is best. I know my first oil change is free, then half price after that for the life of my car, as long as i own it. So my dealership will probably be doing all my changes.
> 
> Im my supercharged car, i used 5w40 penzoil because the extra heat from the blower and the 120 degree arizona summers like to break down the oil a bit faster. It gets changed about every 2500.


The above is not true. I will explain. 

In the 2011 and 2012 Cruzes, GM was having people go up to 10k miles on one oil change. Even under light driving conditions, the factory fluid cannot go beyond 6,500 miles and is not recommended over 6,000 miles. GM realized this and changed the oil life monitor calibration for the 2013 and up model years. We have done oil testing analysis to prove all of this. If you have your dealership do your oil changes, I would recommend going no longer than 6k miles. 

Even so, the GM fluid is of rather poor quality, and it it not difficult to determine that the primary factor in using a synthetic blend over a full synthetic (which is superior in a number of ways) was cost. Those of us who use full synthetic oils and have analyzed that oil have discovered that we can go 10k miles or even longer on one oil change. 

I would recommend you send your oil off to blackstone labs for oil testing analysis to determine how long you can actually go on an oil change in your supercharged car. A high quality full synthetic 5W-40 will not break down like you think it will under heat. Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that turbochargers get a whole lot hotter than superchargers do. Have you ever seen a supercharger glow?


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## NYCruze2012 (Jan 16, 2012)

As of right now I am still going to my dealership for oil changes. Typically I get the full synthetic oil which at my dealership they use Mobil 1. I always bring it in when the OLM reads 30% which is about 7000 miles. Sometimes they are so jammed up they cannot take me and I end up going in when the OLM reads 20% which is 8000 miles. All of my driving to work is highway driving so I do not believe that I am stressing out my engine or my oil too much. 150miles/day. 90% highway/10% back roads.

Sent from my last surviving brain cell


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## 99_XC600 (Feb 24, 2013)

XtremeRevolution said:


> Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that turbochargers get a whole lot hotter than superchargers do. Have you ever seen a supercharger glow?


Couldn't agree with you more. The turbo motors really need to utilize the full synthetic to keep the turbos in good shape. Even though most turbos are water cooled and the bearings are lubricated pretty well. It does not discount the immense amount of heat these turbos generate. I'm not sure when the car is shutoff, if it still circulates water through the turbo housing but the oil in the bearings still needs to be good enough so it's not cooked within the housing until it cools down.


On my sled, I use full synthetic. After a hard run, if you open the hood, the turbo is glowing cherry red. It's amazing to see how these little turbos can survive in such extreme conditions. If you were to use a conventional oil it would be vaporized on the bearings.

I'll need to take some pic's of the turbo this winter.


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## cdb09007 (Aug 7, 2013)

All right, i'll have them put in full synthetic (as my first is free so why not bring it to them), then i'll just put synthetic in myself from there on out.


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## Vetterin (Mar 27, 2011)

Believe me that if you have the dealer put in full synthetic your first oil change will NOT be free!
And to Evofire....even through YOUR dealer is only going to be charging you half price be prepared to still be paying at least $20.


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## Evofire (Oct 3, 2013)

im good with a 20 dollar half price oil change if its full syn...ill talk to them when i get there as far as how it goes.


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## Vetterin (Mar 27, 2011)

I would probably be happy with $20 for plain old Dexos but just be prepared. I hope you have a really good dealer and I am wrong though. I'll be interested to see what they say. Good luck!


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## Evofire (Oct 3, 2013)

well the half price comes via coupons. so im not sure...i havent been to a service department in years as i have always maintained my own cars...so i dont even know what one cost.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

Evofire said:


> well the half price comes via coupons. so im not sure...i havent been to a service department in years as i have always maintained my own cars...so i dont even know what one cost.


One of the guys on the Trifecta group on FB took his to the dealer every change. Decided to do it himself now after buying some Amsoil from me. 

Drain plug was so tight he could barely get it off. Don't assume that the dealer knows better. The torque spec is very clearly labeled but it would appear that some dealer techs can't read or don't care. Just another reason I don't let anyone touch my car unless it's for warranty work.

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## tecollins1 (Nov 6, 2011)

XtremeRevolution said:


> One of the guys on the Trifecta group on FB took his to the dealer every change. Decided to do it himself now after buying some Amsoil from me.
> 
> Drain plug was so tight he could barely get it off. Don't assume that the dealer knows better. The torque spec is very clearly labeled but it would appear that some dealer techs can't read or don't care. Just another reason I don't let anyone touch my car unless it's for warranty work.
> 
> Sent from AutoGuide.com App


I had the same problem with my Fiancé's car when she took it to replace the oil drain plug...
They put it on extremely tight... 


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