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Engine Oil Recommendations

50K views 112 replies 27 participants last post by  lephoenix 
#1 ·
***DISCLAIMER:***

The following information regarding engine oil recommendations was not created by me; it was created by a member named -X- over at the Veloster Turbo forums who has done a significant amount of research to find out what oil is best for our Gamma 1.6 turbo engines.

I asked for permission from him prior to posting this.

You can find his original thread which targets LSPI (low speed pre-ignition) prevention which affects all turbo GDI motors, not just ours. Feel free to do your research on the subject for the explanation as to why these oils are recommended.

LSPI Risk Minimization Tips and Research

The decision to use whichever oil in your own vehicle is entirely your choice


Owner's Manual Recommended Oil

Total Quartz 9000 5W30





Anti-LSPI Oil


Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 5W-30 *** Ultra Platinum, not just Platinum



PAO and Ester-based Oils

RedLine 5W-40 or 5W-30
Cerma 5W-40 or 5W-30
Cerma X 5W-40 or 5W-30
AMSOIL Signature 5W-30
Motul 8100 X-cess 5W-40 or 5W-30

Off-the-shelf A5/B5 Specification Oils

Castrol Edge SYNTEC 5W30 ***contains high amounts of magnesium which may cause excess wear on the turbo overtime***

NOT RECOMMENDED OIL

Mobil 1 Synthetic 5W30 ***there is proof on the VT forums that this oil can cause sludge in our motors... use at your own risk***

Forte Specific Information

The following section was created entirely by me, all photos were taken directly from the owner's manual.





***Please note for this section I only included the "Severe Usage Conditions" - I believe that we purchased a turbo car for a reason and spirited driving is inevitable. I recommend this schedule over the normal one but the choice is yours***
 
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#2 ·
@staak Thanks much for those who dont read or always understand whats in the manual.

Food for thought I work at a kia dealership and our A tec/ head mechanic told me to run mobile 1 in my forte5 with that being said i just wanted to express just because they are a certified dealer does not mean that are always (usually) right...

Thank you all for contributing to the forum!!
 
#4 ·
My dealer told me that they only use regular conventional oil.... On everything. If anything goes wrong, you get it looked after with warranty... I was like, no thanks, ill bring my own oil...

Any idea where to get ULTRA platinum in Canada? It seems to be rare up here..
 
#6 ·
I contacted Pennzoil about acquiring it locally and I asked why they don't have it in any brick and mortar stores... I'm in Ottawa... And basically got a generic reply saying that it wasn't in demand for the market blah blah blah.

They then gave me the number of a 3rd party distributor only 20 mins from me... I called and they wanted $60 something... Screw that.

I can get 12x 1L bottles of amsoil for $120... Which is what I'm doing.

Unfortunately not Caesar.
 
#5 ·
try Walmart
 
#7 ·
Sucks ! I got a personal dealer I get the 12 case for 96 or 98 dollars . Check the Amsoil sight for local salesmen
 
#8 ·
That's a good price for a case, I'm a dealer and pay $94 or roughly $7.85 a qt.
 
#9 ·
He was pretty cool . He said he gets comision or volume . So he sells to all the tuner guys at that price . I'm the only one that gets the a5/b5 stuff lol .
 
#10 ·
Hey guys, question.. What's your coolant temperature at?? 181* normally. Anyone see higher?


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#11 ·
210 -215° Highest . Told that's normal lol . Man we need an upgrade ! Mishimoto no love for the gamma motor
 
#14 ·
Ok good thanks guys, I took my rad cap off for 5 seconds yesterday.... I didn't need to do that. But then I was wondering if I have to burp the system or not..


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#16 ·
Ok good thanks guys, I took my rad cap off for 5 seconds yesterday.... I didn't need to do that. But then I was wondering if I have to burp the system or not..
Not from just removing the cap, even after removing the turbo and draining a gallon of the coolant it still didn't need to be burped or bled out.
 
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#15 ·
Mine is normally between 185°F and 195°F, highest to date has been 215° and that was after running a few back to back dyno pulls. Part of the reason for higher temps in newer cars is to improve efficiency. Since they are designed to run at a certain temperature range if you were to lower the temp by means of a t-stat you can actually cause premature wear of cylinders and pistons that are by design to be perfectly round at a certain temp range. Lowering temps even 10° would really have a minimal effect performance and in my opinion would only negatively affect fuel mileage.
 
#17 ·
I agree. If you have an A/T maybe think of a very small trans cooler or increase the total vol. of the engine oil capacity if you can. JMO.
 
#18 ·
I'm thinking of buying one. I just wanted to make sure the system was likely ok after removing the cap for a few seconds. Not my area of expertise.


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#21 ·
Meh, who knows what's in there from the factory? I work at a dealership and everything gets semi synthetic valvoline in 520 or 530. The most important part is to ALWAYS RUN A OEM FILTER. I cannot stress that enough. We get 'em in all the time "oil light flickering... bla bla" Oh your aftermarket oil filter walter martinez or whoever put on is the size of a red bull can. Oh, and it's leaking, and so is your drain plug. USE AN OEM FILTER, CHANGE DRAIN PLUG GASKET AT EVERY OIL CHANGE. I worked in aftermarket shops for almost 20 years spinning on whatever filter they had in stock. That was fine 15 years ago. With the new CVVT and OCV setups, it is VERY important that you run a stock filter to maintain proper oil flow through the engine. OEM KIA / Hyundai filters are different internally, they flow more oil, this is a FACT.

Run an OEM filter and the proper weight oil (written right there on the cap), and you can give it to your grand kids. I have only been a KIA tech for 2 years; however, I have never seen a catastrophic engine failure that could not be traced to lack of maintenance, a faulty aftermarket part (oil change related), or just plain stupid.
 
#22 ·
Remy, Is the OEM filter that much superior to a Mobil1 filter? I realize that the OEM filter is made by Mann-Hummel to KIA specifications, but aren't aftermarket filters built to those same specifications? Since the Gamma motor needs 3K oil changes, the OEM filter's price is right, but I have a hard time believing that the higher end aftermarket filters don't filter better.
 
#23 ·
The main reason to use factory is because kia/hyundai put out a bulletin about using their filters only because of the valving in it and some aftermarket filters will cause dry starts or the valve fails and damages the motor from starving it of oil. Also some dealers are super picky and if you don't use the OEM one they will void warranty. I buy from the dealer so I have a record. I make a copy of it and put the miles and date on them so they can't say anything. I do that along with a print out of when I buy my oil from amazon.
 
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#27 ·
How come Pennzoil Platinum Ultra is Anti-LSPI?
 
#28 ·
Basically composed of what helps mitigate the chance of an LSPI event occuring:

-Low amounts of calcium and zinc
-High NOACK volatility
-Decently high flashpoint for a Group 3 (although derived from natural gas) oil

Supposedly it was designed to be anti-LSPI and should meet the GL-6 standards (which are supposed to introduce a list of oils best for GDI applications) whenever said standards are released.

You can find some more info and come to some conclusions I'm missing by referring to that link I posted in the beginning of the thread. Lots of good stuff there too.
 
#46 · (Edited)
Is there any proof behind this? Just look over on one of the Subaru forums and people literally worship this stuff over there.... MANY use it all year long..autocross/drag race....and this is the first time I've heard someone mention that it foams up. Honestly I'd call a little BS on that since its originally formulated for diesels and most see harder use that any vehicles.

I've been using it in my legacy for about 5k mi and have no complaints so far. Question though...why the jump to 5w40 on these cars? Anyone worried about warranty issues if it's taken in and they do an oil test? I'm going to start changing my own oil on this thing now...which is why I ask. Also rotella t6has higher zinc levels I believe which is great for turbos..but not for cats. Anyone worried about cat failure. My legacy is catless so I have no worries there. I will have no problems running T6 if others are liking it as well since I will have 2 vehicles running it.
 
#30 ·
I run Amsoil . I get a good 5k out of it . I like the idea of pup but I would probably change that out at every 3k . After having the motor apart it's sick how new the parts look . Pup is derived from natural gas so it's good stuff . I've seen some use the rotella , mostly in Optimas . Not a fan using it in this motor because it's a little 1.6 that pushes a shit load of power . So heat is a key factor . I get Amsoil pretty cheap and I only need 4.5 quarts . So it's like 36$ a change . I think the pup runs 22$ on sale 28$ normally . I stick to factory filters just because at this time it's too soon to see what works best . But a lot have had success with K&N filters .
 
#31 ·
Trying. Out some new stuff is 5w40 Mobil 1 formula m is use by Mercedes Benz. And according to the new dealer I'm going to is what the recommend. For the turbo cars they told me the oil is good till about 7000 miles but told me also to keep changing the oil at 2500 to 3000 miles do to the oem filter . they told me not to exceed 3250 miles on the oem filter...been running this oil for two month and it feels like the first day
 
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