Since the dealer ended up resetting the change oil light by disconnecting the battery on the Vue, I'm going to go ahead and do an oil change since it's been in there 5600 miles now. I'm going to try synthetic oil in the car, but am curious if I should wait for the next oil change, or go ahead and go over to it now? Any thoughts? The car now has 6600 miles on the odometer.

For those not familiar with newer GM cars, oil changes are no longer a set interval. There is a light on the dash that indicates when it is time to change the oil. The time period varies according to driving style. Average for me is 5500 miles - based on the results from my last Saturn.

The debate rages on over the that very subject.
My feeling is run synthetic from day one but others feel it will impeed initial ring seal. Whether its a new or rebuilt engine I use stn oil for the initial startup or in the case of a new vehicle about 500k, drain and change the filter, fill'er up with synthetic and never look back.

My wifes Oldsmobile Alero has the same thing. To reset the light on here's there is a button on the fuse block that you push and the light starts flashing and then push the button again. I would think that you should be fine in putting the synthetic in the Vue. I put synthetic blend in hers around that time. I think that i waited till the next oil change though. I like the looks of the Vue. I dont know how you can be such a sled head and live in Texas. I can barely take the heat we have hear in PA :thumbsup: SWRules

Originally posted by XCR583@Oct 8 2002, 03:24 AM
My wifes Oldsmobile Alero has the same thing. To reset the light on here's there is a button on the fuse block that you push and the light starts flashing and then push the button again. I would think that you should be fine in putting the synthetic in the Vue. I put synthetic blend in hers around that time. I think that i waited till the next oil change though. I like the looks of the Vue. I dont know how you can be such a sled head and live in Texas. I can barely take the heat we have hear in PA :thumbsup: *SWRules
Well, I moved down here from Colorado. Believe me, summer is torture here. I typically hide inside and keep the house cold. Everybody that visits complains about how cold my house is. :D

The more I think about it, the more I think that this place will be temporary. I want to go back to winter.

The Vue had the obligitory 1,000 mile oil change to insure that any metal bits left over from manufacture were gone.

i have amsoil in my tranny and works good i was also thinking about going to synthetic oil i have heard good things about the distance it cann go and it keeps the engine in good condit ill try it out someday

got the same indicator on my silverado... that thing is like a dang nintendo game with its secret codes....ignition on, then off, click doors locked then open... pump gas pedal rapidly, get out and do the hokey pokey, rub your head and pat your belly at the same time.. then the light goes out. I hate having a car that does all the thinking for me. If I want my lights to come on, I will turn on the switch. If I want the doors to lock when I put it in drive, I will lock them... and I will still change my oil every 3000 miles whether there is an idiot light or not. have a great day :D

Your safe to run synthetic oil now. Use a good type like amsoil.

I'm not a huge believer in running synthetic enine oil.If you change the oil
at regular intervals like every 5000k or 300mi the engine will last just as long as if you were running synthetic.And being a lisenced mechanic with many years in the industry i know what i'm talkin about.

I run Mobil 1 in my 2000 GMC Sierra.
Ever since I took the heads off of a 1990 Mustang GT with 130K on the clock and saw how clean it was :) It ran Mobil 1 from the day it was new.

Since manufacturers run Mobil 1 from the factory (Corvette), I would say you could switch over anytime after you take delivery.

Wolfman you are definately safe to switch over to synthetic now. I would trust that switch as much as a service engine now switch. lol. My Dodge is Amoiled from front to back. I run the Amsoil 15w-40 heavy duty marine and diesel oil. I run it for 15000kms with 3 fleetguard stratapore filters during that time. Engine oil analysis proves that the oil is still perfectly fine at 15K but I choose to change because of soot buildup. Soot particles are less than 2 microns so not even a bypass filter will stop them, but being of that small of a size they do no engine damage. They just make the oil look black :0:

I usually wait till 5-600mi to install synthetics. I allways used Mobil 1, till I switched everything over to Amsoil. I use Amsoil in allmost every application a lubricant is needed. Great stuff.

Originally posted by z800rtx@Oct 8 2002, 01:52 PM
I'm not a huge believer in running synthetic enine oil.If you change the oil
at regular intervals like every 5000k or 300mi the engine will last just as long as if you were running synthetic.And being a lisenced mechanic with many years in the industry i know what i'm talkin about.
If I was remaining with a 3,000 mile change interval, I wouldn't be considering synthetics. GM is now using an oil life monitor and is using the owners driving habits as a means of indicating when the next oil change is due. The light comes on when the oil life is "90% used up." My average change interval is 5500 miles on their system, and I'm looking at using something that is a little better quality as a means of some additional comfort with the extended intervals. I need to push 200K miles out of this vehicle if at all possible.

a friend of mine that owns a fleet of diesels runs it in the diesel truck engines, transmissions and rear axles says it's the best thing.

My diesels get a strict diet of Rotella oil. I used this and Delo in my trucks back in my driving days. I was impressed with the quality of Rotella. It stayed in the engine and got me usually .3 to .4 mpg better than the Delo oil. My truck tended to consume Delo oil at about twice the rate as Rotella. My Dodge truck to date does not use a measurable amount of oil between changes with 91K on the odometer.

switching to synthetics after the first oil change is fine. the rings will be seated after 6600miles. I use royal purple, I heard it is just as good as amsoil.

Steve

I went ahead and put in Mobil 1 yesterday. So far, the temp guage is reading a bit cooler. We'll see what it translates to in the long run. Thanx everybody.

Z800RTX - I dont agree with your opinion on this subject.

3 things that kill an engine are Friction, Corosion, and Heat.

Synthetics will reduce friction to almost zero (proven in a lab.) They have much better corosion resisting formulas, and they reduce heat to a point you can see the diffrence on your temp gauge.

On the race tracks a DINO oil will burn well a synthetic like amsoil will remain oil.

The facts on synthetic oils are out and available for all to see. If you want to save money buy using DINO oil go right ahead. But dont for one miniute think that your engine will not see a diffrence becasue it will.

Synthetics really do work and if you plan on keeping your car or truck for awhile it is a good idea to use them. Some older engines are not designed to run synthetics and for those its a good idea to keep running regular oil. But for the engines sold today you cant beat the benifits of a good synthetic.

I guess thats why one of our highway tractors went 1 450 000miles not
km before needing a bearing roll over.My 91 jimmy went 405 000km and
still running strong when i sold it.I'll admit synthetics are cleaner but as
far as i'm concerned they do not make anything last longer,proper maintenance makes things last longer.I know you'll disagree with me but
i've seen it firsthand with the countless number of engines i've had apart
over the years ;)

The engines your talking about are old school domestics that probably dont even need oil.

But on the new SOCH and DOHC engines with tighter clearences and lighter aluminum blocks and heads that are pumping out huge HP for there size synthetcis will go much further.

THis is not to say that they only help you on engines built like that. I agree with you on engines lasting really long on regular stuff. My buddies 85 dodge ram slant 6 has over 1million km on it and runs like new. And he does oil changes once every 25000. Oil is like sludge but it still runs.

How ever leave an oil change to 25000 in a chrysler 2.7 DOHC engine and get ready to be renting a car.

In the new GM engines like 5.3 and 6.0 that already have the piston slap problem and as far as I know has not been taken care of yet. I would only run synthetics.

Its proven that they reduce friction to almost zero.

That piston slap is an engineering fault.A good friend of mine is a senior tech at a gm dealership and he claims the slap is curible.They have updated piston/rod assb. that were assembled at the same plant,not the noisy ones
what from they understand are due to different manufac. for the pistons and rods so the tolerances are out.He has done several with success after.
As for the 2.7 grenading with lack of maintanance i will agree with you ;)

I'm looking at synthetics from this angle: I bought the VUE August 10th. Today, October 11th, I have 6,934 miles on the odometer as it sits in the parking garage here at work.

Once I get a few bills paid down, I'm going to be installing a hitch on the thing so that I can pull my sled trailer and whatever sled I end up buying in the near future. It has a 1500 pound towing capacity, enough towing capacity to pull my open trailer and one sled.

I'll be making payments on this thing for 6 years. It will be approaching 200K on the odometer when I pay it off.

The engine in this car (yes I call it a car), is a 2.2L DOHC four cylinder with a glorified snwomobile transmission to put the power to the AWD system.

GM no longer follows a specific oil change schedule. You literally let the vehicle tell you when it's time to change the oil. For me this is usually every 5500 miles.

I'll take all the help I can get to make this car go as far as I need it to. :D

For me it wasn't weather or not it was a good idea, just when was it a good time to make the switch.

I think if you left an oil change on a 2.7 till 5002km you would have a blown up engine.

But this is a prime example of an engine were synthetics would help you out.

Go with synthetic oil just for the convenience of not having to change oil every 3K miles as well as less engine wear. My BMW came with synth oil from day one - first oil change was at 14,000 miles. I was hesitant about this at first but the manufacturer is the one telling you to do it this way. The car monitors the way its driven so the oil changes are typically in the 12 to 15K range depending on how hard you hammer on it.

My VUE got the obligitory 1,000 mile oil change to insure that any metal bits left over from manufacture was out of it. What I took out the other day had 5,700 miles on it. When the stealer had it for warranty work, they disconnected the battery and reset the oil life monitor, so I just changed it out a few days after getting the car back home. The oil filter was plenty dirty. I like the cartridges. You only replace the acutal paper filter, and can get a full on view of the crud getting stopped by it. Makes it nice 'n easy to check for little metal signs of impending $$$ repairs.