The Kia Stinger oil thread

[GTA Jay]

As an Italian, my go to is olive oil. Preferably extra virgin, and from the most southern parts of the boot like Sicily or Calabria.

 

[Snatchell]

I'll be changing the oil in my Stinger tomorrow if the weather cooperates. I bought 8 QTS of Valvoline Modern Engine and I'm pushing 6500 miles on my first oil change. Finding the oil is the hard part. I called Valvoline and asked whats up with the scarcity of Valvoline Modern Engine 5W-30. They claimed it was everywhere, but Walmart and most places are either out of it of don't carry it. Even Amazon doesn't sell it. Ugh! I bought my filter from Napa. Napa Gold.

 

[SilverNitr8]

I plan to use penzoil platinum full synthetic for mine.

 

[SteveCo]

There should be a 'do not care' option on the poll.

I buy whatever name brand full synthetic is available that meets the car manufacturer's oil requirements, and on sale for a good price. This time around looks like its going to be Mobil One ...

 

[StingEm]

2.0T - Oil information for the Stinger 2.0L T-GDI Theta-II engine

 

[Kazz]

Here's what Hyundai/Kia use: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KQEH9TK/

 

[lucif3r]

What are all the Canadian stinger owners using for oil?

 

[Snatchell]

Well I changed my oil yesterday - besides the two shrouds you need to remove - like about 8 to 10 - 10mm bolts and about 10 plastic clips and one peculiar 12mm plastic bolt - it was a piece of cake.
Getting it up on my ramps was a challenge - probably due to my driveways slight hump. 17mm drain bolt. The bolt is located right in the middle of the oil pan facing the rear of the car. It's vertical - not horizontal. There is another bolt close by that is likely part of the transmission/transfer case. Be Careful.
Some people complained that the oil stream was hitting a cross bar - on mine they must have modified the crossbar location because it was a good 8 inches away and oil didn't hit it. As for the filter, I had a perfect fit oil housing socket that was from my wife's Hyundai Santa Fe LWB V6. I used a Napa Gold filter Part # 100237. Main thing is don't over tighten the plastic housing. Once it stops threading in- that's it... stop. Mine took 7.3 quarts exactly. The dipstick reading was right on the money.

 

[SOCAL2.0]

How come Total is not on your list of choices?

 

[Zotto]

What are all the Canadian stinger owners using for oil?

Brand doesn't really matter - It just needs to meet the car spec - Key is to change it regularly.

I am using Total, changing every 5000 to 6000 km

 

[Snatchell]

GDI engines are very different from most engines. Do some research on valve deposits. Most synthetic oils aren’t designed to protect against valve deposits. Valvoline Modern Engine is the only one I’ve seen designed to protect against it. It’s your car, your choice. If you don’t mind performance degradation or an expensive valve cleaning then just keep using whatever synthetic. I have experienced it first hand in my Hyundai Sonata 2.0t. VME fixed the issue in about 1000 miles into the oil change.

 

[eflyguy]

.. and yet, the designers and testers of this engine managed overlooked this amazing product and simply recommend any oil that meets particular industry standards..

 

[SteveCo]

Valvoline Modern Engine is the only one I’ve seen designed to protect against it.

Valvoline is also the only brand I've seen who is marketing their oil using this as a selling point.

Is their 'breakthrough' in actual product engineering, or in marketing and advertising - does it actually do a better job preventing carbon accretion than other name brand synthetic (vs. conventional) oils? Their claim is 38% better protection against carbon build-up vs. 'industry standards' for 5W-30 oil.

 

[eflyguy]

WTF does "38% better" mean?

 

[SteveCo]

WTF does "38% better" mean?

A valid question, although 38 was a typo - they are claiming 30 percent, qualified with the fine print '*Based on average of industry standard piston and intake valve deposit test results of 5W-30 product.'

As for what comprises 'industry standard test results' and what exactly was tested under what conditions, that seems to be missing from their product literature.

I see nothing to dissuade me from the brand name full synthetic products I've been using. Those manufacturers have been supplying and reformulating their oils for optimal performance in GDI engines for many years now.

IMO it's marketing hype that Valvoline is using to push sales of a higher priced 'premium' product - remember when toothpaste was just toothpaste?

 

[Snatchell]

I've used only synthetic oils for about 30 years now. I have considered them all relatively the same and they are. They all provide excellent protection from wear. This issue with GDI and especially GDI Turbos is why I tried VME in my 2015 Sonata 2.0t. My sonata had about 30K miles on it and it started to get sluggish. I couldn't figure out what was happening. I tried VME when it first came out and after about 1000 miles - I noticed some improvement. The more I drove it - the better it got. It may have been a coincidence, but it sold me.

 

[Snatchell]

...and I don't know why Kia uses Total Quartz. I'm sure it's a fine synthetic. Actually, I don't know why Hyundai/Kia haven't addressed the GDI flaw and put jets behind the valves that clean them periodically.

BTW - It's pronounced Toe-Tal. My Kia shop manager told me that after one of their classes.

 

[lucif3r]

I think we can all agree, that synthetic is the only option. Ive only used synthetic in all my vehicles since I was like 22. Thats not the point here, I was more asking about what brand preference and why? Just out of curiosity.
Ive looked into the Valvoline Modern Engine but I cant find it anywhere locally

 

[TODDK]

I use Mobil 1 and Liqui Moly in the fleet here.

 

[SteveCo]

I think we can all agree, that synthetic is the only option.

Actually, no - synthetic is not a KIA requirement for this engine per the owner's manual oil guidelines, though that is my preference as well. The Total oil in the engine as shipped from the factory is not a full synthetic either (according to Kia Canada).