[kpointer25]

I have the 03 Malibu LS V6 3.1L and I am going to do my first oil change, including oil and filter, and I am also going to replace my air filter.

I want to get the best quality in all three areas but I so not know which brands to buy; which oil is best for my car, and which filters are the best to run with???? Any one have any ideas on what to buy and where I can buy it (no online products please, Id prefer to go into an autozone or checker).

Thanks so much everyone

 

[kpointer25]

Also, how many quarts of oil does the 03 Malibu LS take???

 

[Silver LTZ]

Do a synthetic, they all are good. Shell, Pennzoil and Castrol are the best ones you can grab. Mobil 1 and Royal Purple are proven to be overrated.

As for the filter, any one but Fram.

 

[kpointer25]

Okay thanks, would it be worth getting the $55 K&N air filter or should I get the $30 Spectre or the $10 STP???

For the oil I was told Mobil 1 5W30 is the best oil on the market, is this false??

And How many quarts does this engine hold???

 

[DrivenDaily]

I have the 03 Malibu LS V6 3.1L and I am going to do my first oil change, including oil and filter, and I am also going to replace my air filter.

I want to get the best quality in all three areas but I so not know which brands to buy; which oil is best for my car, and which filters are the best to run with???? Any one have any ideas on what to buy and where I can buy it (no online products please, Id prefer to go into an autozone or checker).

Thanks so much everyone

Do a synthetic, they all are good. Shell, Pennzoil and Castrol are the best ones you can grab. Mobil 1 and Royal Purple are proven to be overrated.

As for the filter, any one but Fram.

Okay thanks, would it be worth getting the $55 K&N air filter or should I get the $30 Spectre or the $10 STP???

For the oil I was told Mobil 1 5W30 is the best oil on the market, is this false??

And How many quarts does this engine hold???

I'm checking into this for my car as well. In our camera club we have an AMSoil distributor.

AMSoil Air Filters:
They have DRY air filters with nano technology that are better than K&N and do not use oil. I'm seriously considering taking out my K&N in favor of theirs. Still need to price and see about availability.

AMSoil Oil:
They have only synthetic oil, no dino in any of it. They now have oil rated for 10,000-mile changes as well as the original 25,000-mile oil. It's all in the additive package. The 10K has less and needs to be changed more often; the 25K has more. Regardless of oil used a good measure is to change it at least once a year, so the 10K oil will fit me just about perfectly and save me money over the 25K oil.

Other notes:
For the oil's rating, 5W30 or 0W30, check your owner's manual. The old standards of years ago, 10W30 and 10W40, changed to 5W and 0W to improve mileage. As an engine operates the crankshaft splashes through the oil in the pan. The thicker it is the more it acts to slow the crankshaft, so thinner oil allows more of the energy to go to the wheels.

Synthetic is much slipperier than dino so it reduces friction, which also reduces heat. It's also more stable in viscosity than dino so it's better cold or hot.

I need to change mine this weekend and it's going to be full syn. If I can reach the AMSoil guy I'll get his. If not I'm buying it off the shelf and will get a national brand after doing more research.

 

[chevyguy8893]

Mobil 1 is said to be the best (I think self proclaimed), but in any test it comes out fairly low in the ratings. Valvoline, Pennzoil, and Schaeffers (if it can be found) are all good, plus the ones Silver LTZ listed. Here is a site to look up capacities for oil and other fluids in your car if needed http://www.amsoil.com/mygarage/vehiclelookup.aspx

Purolator and wix filters are both good oil filters. As for air filters it depends on how long you are going to keep the car. Go with K&N if you plan to run it till it is dead since it will save money in the long run, just don't over oil the filter. Dryflow filters are a good alternative like DrivenDaily said, at least then there won't be oil to deal with.

 

[rf overlord]

Frankly, the obsession with having the "best" oil (or filters or what have you) is highly overrated. Find me a study where, under normal circumstances, an engine using a boutique synthetic oil and over-priced filter lasted significantly longer than the same one using ordinary oil and filters.

Please understand that I'm not saying all oil and filters are alike, only that your motor will last just as long using Pennzoil Yellow Bottle and an AC Delco filter as it will using AMSOIL and a K&N filter for triple the money. This, of course, assumes you are changing the oil at intervals appropriate for the use the vehicle gets. It also assumes that you don't have some unusual operating condition, like autocrossing the car in Death Valley in July, or using it to deliver sandwiches to the Ice Road Truckers in Yellowknife in January.

So here's my $0.02 to answer the OP's question:

Buy any of the "common" oil brands (Pennzoil, Valvoline, etc) with an AC Delco (original equipment GM) oil filter (all available at Wally World). Get an ordinary air filter (STP, FRAM, Purolator, etc). Change the oil & filter every 5,000 miles and the air filter every 30,000 and your car will last longer than you want to own it.

 

[DrivenDaily]

Frankly, the obsession with having the "best" oil (or filters or what have you) is highly overrated. Find me a study where, under normal circumstances, an engine using a boutique synthetic oil and over-priced filter lasted significantly longer than the same one using ordinary oil and filters.

Please understand that I'm not saying all oil and filters are alike, only that your motor will last just as long using Pennzoil Yellow Bottle and an AC Delco filter as it will using AMSOIL and a K&N filter for triple the money. This, of course, assumes you are changing the oil at intervals appropriate for the use the vehicle gets. It also assumes that you don't have some unusual operating condition, like autocrossing the car in Death Valley in July, or using it to deliver sandwiches to the Ice Road Truckers in Yellowknife in January.

So here's my $0.02 to answer the OP's question:

Buy any of the "common" oil brands (Pennzoil, Valvoline, etc) with an AC Delco (original equipment GM) oil filter (all available at Wally World). Get an ordinary air filter (STP, FRAM, Purolator, etc). Change the oil & filter every 5,000 miles and the air filter every 30,000 and your car will last longer than you want to own it.

I think that's a well-rounded opinion and suggestion, and it's well worded.

I've never used synthetic but it's ordered and in the hands of UPS as I write this. My whole reason for getting it is to have the engine wear less and hopefully get better mileage. I'll still change it at least once a year or more 'cuz I drive only 10K miles a year. If I discover that it doesn't return as much value as the added cost is worth, I'll go back to "regular" oil.

And if I find a synthetic on sale around the next oil change I just might do it that way, too.

 

[rf overlord]

DrivenDaily, thanks for the kind words. I've done a lot of research on oil and filtration.

I just want to be clear: I have nothing against using synthetic oil...I use it myself. It's just that many people seem to believe they're "doing my car a favour" and changing it at 3,000 miles, when in reality all that does is fill the wallets of the oil companies.

The primary benefits to using synthetic are as follows:

1) Resists oxidation. You can run much higher oil temps...this is why synthetic is required for the newer Corvettes, for instance; Chevrolet decided not to install an oil cooler and the oil gets VERY hot, so they specified synthetic only. It is also a benefit for anyone with a turbocharged engine, like the VW 1.8T for example, which is very hard on oil.

2) Flows better at very low temps. This is a benefit for anyone driving a car in sub-freezing climates.

3) Better additive package. This, along with the other 2 benefits, allows for extended oil change intervals, assuming the engine is in good mechanical condition.

So the bottom line is that if you don't need any of the benefits above, then synthetic oil is not really going to buy you anything, although there is certainly no harm it using it anyway.

 

[RickSteen]

@kpointer25: got run an old 2.8 V6 for more than 200K miles with castrol gtx 5w30. My point is, until you have a modified engine or high performance engine or something like that, just use ordinary oil, not scrap but "good one" and do it at 3000 miles or 3 month. You will save your money and your engine will give you the satisfaction you need FRAM oil and air filter will do a good job.

 

[Hellgate]

I just wait for the coupon for the $29.95 oil change and tire rotation from the dealer, then I go in. But only if the DIC (I just love that term GM) is at 5% or less. I'm averaging about 8,100 miles between oil changes. I figure why spend any more money on it when I'd rather spend my time and money on other things.

 

[rf overlord]

But only if the DIC (I just love that term GM) is at 5% or less. I'm averaging about 8,100 miles between oil changes.

Good on ya'.

The GM OLM (Oil Life Monitor) is one of the most accurate of any brand and I would trust it without hesitation. Today's oils are so far superior to those of 15 years ago, and today's engines run so much cleaner, that 3,000-mile oil changes are a complete waste of money and our precious crude. Given a motor in sound mechanical condition, and barring some unusual operating environment, 5,000 miles is a no-brainer on all but the crappiest of oil.

 

[DrivenDaily]

I just changed mine at 53xx miles from the factory fill. OLM was on 0% for about 100 miles. Used AMSoil 5W30 OEF full synthetic and a Wix filter. Can't tell any real difference but I know that full syn is better overall than dino.

When I had my '09 the OLM barely got into the 60% range by 3000-3500 miles when I was changing my oil. (I had a contract I bought with the car...) I've heard from this forum that GM changed the calculation after '09. That one would suggest a change between 7500-10,000 miles, but now it ends up at 0% by about 5000 miles.

I expect to change mine about once a year since all I drive is around 10K miles annually. Might end up doing it at 10 months, but the OLM will certainly be reset once before it gets changed again!

 

[rf overlord]

That one would suggest a change between 7500-10,000 miles, but now it ends up at 0% by about 5000 miles.

If you do a lot of short trips, especially in cold weather, that may in fact be correct for your conditions.

The OLM is a sophisticated algorithm that takes into account many factors, including (but not limited to) ambient temperature, number of cold starts, idling time, soak time, coolant temp...and so on. It applies these factors in real time, so that as your driving conditions change, the slope of the decline from 100% to 0% changes. Also, the OLM algorithm is not the same for every engine; some engines, particularly the newest DI (Direct Injection) versions, are harder on oil (in the case of the DI due to fuel dilution) and may show a quicker decline in the OLM than another engine even under the same operating conditions.

 

[Euthymia]

After researching, I went with full synthetic (O'Reilly's store brand, which is said to be very similar to Valvoline) oil and a Purolator PureOne.

I agree with those that say just about any 5W-30 and filter will be fine as long as you change them at appropriate intervals, but it's your first car, isn't it? It's fun to figure out the best stuff for your application and run it.

Must say that the fit and finish on that Purolator oil filter made it worthwhile. It has a special textured surface for good grip, and the quality of the thing was visible. So it makes me happy to handle the thing while I'm installing it. Makes it less of a chore. And I like the look and smell of the full synthetic oil.

If they make my 12-year-old family sedan run longer or better, fine. If not, they're not gonna make it run worse.

I went with the Amsoil EA air filter mostly for reasons of economy (it's reusable). If it lets my engine drink a little more air, that's fine, too.