hyperv6; your right on with "Why in the heck are you doing using this? a quart of some champion protectant/treatment that got because it was cheap/being "
With the state of oil technology today you need nothing added to your oil

 

the condition of the oil was the same -bad- , BEFORE i put the additive. so you are saying that they can make good oil , but they cannot make good additives ? that is what makes no common sence. champion has been around since before i was born- i don't know how long but at least 45 years. and maybe it is good stuff , since it is so dirty , that is what some are saying that , if it is dirty , it is doing its job. i guess no one on here has ever built an engine and used stp oil treatment for assembly lube. what was stated about an oil additive clogging up a sensor - that is out also- my hhr is not burning oil , so any additive will never get to any sensor. the only sensor i know of in the oil system is the pressure sending unit.and yes i know of many vehicles that have been damaged by bearing failure and have owned at least two of them myself , and i did not put any additives in them-just oil. gm is not in the business to sell vehicles that last longer than the warrantee some don't even make it half that far. they are in business to sell , sell , sell. it also seems that they don't even know how to do that -begging for our tax $ to bail them out. ford is not begging. i'd rather change the oil 300 times than to rebuild once. thanks to all that have made comments. the world would be so boring if everyone had the same opinion.

 

Dump what you like in but todays oil has all you need and nothing more is required. Oil in the past was not all it could be and aditives in some cases were a good thing. Today they are a waste of money.

As for sensors. You have to remember some of your oil does get burned in the cylinder even in small amounts that go un notices. No engine has a perfect seal.

It takes very little of the wrong thing to damage a converter or O2 sensor. Even using the wrong RTV gasket sealer on a oil pan or valve cover gasket can mess them up an O2 sensor. Note they make RTV just for new computer controled cars.

Anybody can get a Car GM or what ever to high mileage with just simple normal car maitance. Today few people take care of their cars as they should. I have once changed oil for the first time in a Toyota pick up once at 70,000 for a guy. I am sad to say he was not the only one I had who teated his vehicle this way. He said he bought it for economy and that is what he was doing.

GM and any other car company does not have to make their cars fail after warranty to sell them. People do it themselves as it is. Also people most times want the newest car with the latest toys. That is why they redesign them and restyle them every couple years. Fail cars after warranty are not what they set out to do.

There are more GM cars out their than you think with over 500,000 miles. It is not as rare as some what you to believe.

If putting some on sale stuff in your car make you feel better then do it But any trained mechanic will tell you don't need it if you use proper oil give your car proper care.

Get the oil tested if your that worried about it.

 

i really do apreciate all your input , as well as all others. like i said , i wasn't tryin to make a big debate. i would just like to see my oil look a little better , and also post results here so that someone else can benifit from the pros and cons from whatever the outcome. i may also be exagerating the condition of my oil. i do not mean to. i'm just kinda anal about my hhr. it makes more sence to me to upgrade my oil filter , by adding an extra remote one , than it does to put all the other mods that people do just for looks , or for performance. people do lots of things to their vehicles that do nothing but decrease the value. i have no use for a $2000 stereo that can be heard 2 blocks away or a $1000 exhaust system , or 4 dvd players going wide open down the hwy with no one watching them. if that is what someone wants thats cool with me , just not cool for me as far as what i want. i just want some cleaner oil.

 

I understand where your coming from and don't mean to mash your toes on this.

I work in the performance after market and I see it day in and day out the money people waste on things that are doing them no good.

There are so many things on the market that are rip offs some even sold where I work. I try to stop people from spending hard earned money on something that just is not what it seems to be.

For years I have warned people on Slick 50, Splitfire plugs and the Tornado. There are a lot more things too. They may do no harm but they really do not give you the gains they claim.

Adding a second filter in no way will hurt you but unless your doing towing or some extreem driving it will not give you any gains of wear protection, It is kind of like wearing two pairs of gloves.

Just please if you have to add anything to youir engine for additives please know a lot about it and use a lot of caution. Many things that may have helped in the past can do a lot of damage today and even void warranties. Todays cars are very computer controled and are sensitive to some of the by product some additives.

I just hate to see someone with the good intentions to help the engine end up poisoning it.

I sorry if I came accross harsh but I only mean to help.

 

Thank you for bringing some sanity to the table.

Furthermore, diluting oil with kerosene or other aggressive solvents is a really, really bad idea. It only takes a split second to scuff a bearing, lifter, or other vital moving part.

Odor and color of oil tells you nothing. A UOA tells you a lot, if you're that type of person.

If you really want to flush out a motor, put in some of whatever's on sale with a cheap filter, and drain it out after a short time. Then put in some quality synthetic and call it a day.

 

I may disagree with this highlighted area. As I understand it, the oil filter apparatus in the HHR, does more than contain the filtering element. Adding a secondary filter COULD alter the necessary oil pressure., which controls several other functions within the electronics.

As another member suggested here, maybe just changing the filters every 1000-3000 miles, would be a better option.

 

For anyone interested in what benefits come with using synthetic oil, I submit the following pictures.

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I took these pictures after I dropped the pan on my Jeep Cherokee to change the pan gasket and rear seal at 140k miles. This engine has been using Mobil 1 10W30 along with Purolator Pure One filters since 35k miles. Prior it was using Castrol GTX 10w30/ Purolator Pure One since new.
The pictures were after the oil was drained and the pan dropped. Nothing was cleaned or wiped out at this time.
Notice the oil pump screen.
This maintenance was performed only because I had lowered the front axle to change out the snubbers, and figured while I had the space to work I would change the gasket.

Mobil 1 oil has been in my '08 2LT since the first oil change. @24k miles at present.

 

1650+ miles every week is not extreme? or severe duty?

 

Miles themselves are not considered server duty.

High temps, very dirty conditions like off road, desert, farm and dirt roads, Long idling with high temps, towing, Racing, many high RPM conditions, ETC.

Anything that is in a dirty enviroment or sees high oil temps. With a synthetic oil even the high temps are less a problem since it does not break down as easy. Now with dirt it does not matter. High dirt conditions need to be watched.

Miles if just normal driving conditions is not going to hurt a thing. If they are highway miles they are even better and easier on an engine. Highway miles will do nothing but extend your oil life.