I just bought a 1998 Camaro v6 and I am thinking about switching it over to full synthetic motor oil and would like to know which full synthetic motor oil would be the best to put in it.

 

Amsoil if you don't mind paying shipping. Royal Purple, Mobil 1 and Pennzoil are all great choices as well. Remember, the filter is only as good as the oil. K & N or Bosch are the two top ones in my book.

 

I had thought about putting Amsoil or Pennzoil in it but I had heard that Red Line was very good too

 

My opinion on this is like MKCoconuts I really do not think it will matter which one you use because all you listed all are far better than the engineers had in mind when they designed the motor. Unless your adding a turbo all the above oils are overkill. The 3800 are pretty bullet proof motors and only fails for a handful of reasons and none of those reasons and oil related.

Reason of a 3800 failure:

Intake gasket failure

Water pump failure

Thermostat or fan failure

Connecting rod bolt stretching causing a spun bearing (inconsistent factory bolts combined with rapid deceleration, normally only higher miles)

Stretch timing chain ( a ton of miles plus rapid deceleration)

You are going to hear a lot of back and forth on which oil to use but all that is important is you use the same oil over and over (chemical detergent from one oil can react with detergents from another) and a good filter. I use Mobil 1 and Mobil 1 filter in a pinch I will use a royal purple filter.

But more important is what you check during the oil change. You need to use a good light and get eyes on the weep hole for the water pump and eyes in the corners of the intake and any sign of coolant leaking. The intake is VERY important if it has not been done, once it has been resealed it less likely to ever be an issue again.

 

I stay away from penzoil and fram filters. Best synthetic oil really depends on what you are looking for as far as cost and actual quality. Amsoil and Royal Purple are probably the two highest quality oils, but are more expensive than say Mobil 1. Im running Royal Purple now because my uncle gave me two free cases! But prior to that, I used Mobil 1, because 5 qts is only $25 at walmart! what a deal!

once you pick an oil brand, it is best to stick with it because each oil has a different additive package. So if you pick say mobil 1, keep using it. The oil will do its job better if you stick with it, opposed to changing the brand every oil change.