What brand of oil do you use?

[lil_dq]

I thought about having mine analized but my motor runs fine so I ok with not knowing.

 

[sicktight722]

Walmart brand, or what ever is on sale. To me it doesn't make much of a difference. Maybe if I had a new car or something like that I would get the top of the line stuff, but for now its walmart brand.

 

[flareside_thunder]

Valvoline VR1 20/50

 

[polarbear]

Motorcraft 5-30 synthetic blend on all the Fords, with only motorcraft filters. We go about 5,000 miles between changes. Nick has it done when he remembers, or I pull the stick and mention there's barely any oil showing on it.

 

[Raptor22]

Castrol GTX 10w30

My dad puts that in his 04 Jeep since thats what the manual calls for. Castrol GTX 20W50 in everything else.

 

[CaFordDude]

Brings up a question though...I remember my granfather (who was a Ford Master mechanic) telling me all the time that the 3000 mile mark was a marketing thing to keep business coming in. He said the guys at his shop and dealership would laugh at the folks that needed routine 3k changes. He said he'd never think twice about letting oils last until 10-12k or a year...

Try having a motor blow at 33000 miles and trying to get it covered under warranty. See if the 3-5000k mark is still laughable.

There is no doubt in my mind the oil CAN go longer but how many oil changes can you do for the cost of a $3000 engine?

 

[CaFordDude]

It's the additives that count. I think we can all agree that using the "bare minimum" is obviously not as good as using a highly refined, developed, and chemically improved oil, right?

I'm gonna argue this point Chris. Standards are developed for a reason. Call it minimum (yes I know I used that word) if you want but it is what is REQUIRED for a particular application.

Unless I can get a chemical engineer (or someone othewise in the know) on here to tell me that Castrol's additive is better then Valvolines I ain't gonna buy it as being anything more then a marketing ploy. I'm not saying the additives don't work but I want some hard evidence to say one oil's additives are better then the other.

Obviously I'm talking about comparing dino to dino and synthetic to synthetic

 

[Raptor22]

Here are these benchmarks, they are pretty interesting: http://www.smartsynthetics.com/articles/api_comparative_motor_oil_testing.htm

Castrol GTX did really good on the high temperature test but crappy on the oxidization one, synthetic did seem to help though.

 

[Blue Goose]

It's the additives that count. I think we can all agree that using the "bare minimum" is obviously not as good as using a highly refined, developed, and chemically improved oil, right?

Won't that depend on what kinda fan you have???????????? HAHAHAHAHAHA, just playin. But yes, I agree.

Amsoil anybody???

 

[91xltlariat]

valvoline dura-blend 10w40

 

[Skandocious]

Nice link Conner-- thought it was made by amsoil people so I question it's results a bit...

Aaron, read this article. I know it's kind of a long read, but I think it might change your point of view about "all oils being created equal."

http://www.boss302.com/oil.htm

 

[tomtoc]

Castrol GTX 10w30

what he said

Geezus...how do you guys afford that stuff...I can't even afford to THINK about going RP for even an oil change, much less the whole truck.

Re: Royal Purple....I do it in everything BUT the engine, just b/c of price. I feel good spending a little extra money for something i'll likely never touch again (axles, t-case, etc)

 

[Raptor22]

what he said

Re: Royal Purple....I do it in everything BUT the engine, just b/c of price. I feel good spending a little extra money for something i'll likely never touch again (axles, t-case, etc)

Mine had hone marks in the cylinder walls (mostly in the middle of the stroke, but was faint to the top and bottom, both sides) at 140,000 miles. Castrol GTX is good oil.

 

[CaFordDude]

Here are these benchmarks, they are pretty interesting: http://www.smartsynthetics.com/articles/api_comparative_motor_oil_testing.htm

Castrol GTX did really good on the high temperature test but crappy on the oxidization one, synthetic did seem to help though.

Sorry Conner, I ain't buying that study. It is a giant Amsoil advertisement and appears WAY to bias for me.

 

[LEB Ben]

Try having a motor blow at 33000 miles and trying to get it covered under warranty. See if the 3-5000k mark is still laughable.

There is no doubt in my mind the oil CAN go longer but how many oil changes can you do for the cost of a $3000 engine?

I guess I really just don't buy into the whole 'good oil' thing. Just my opinion. That doesn't mean I don't believe engine life can/could be prolonged though. My dad is terrible at maintaining vehicles. He buys whatever oil is cheapest and probably only changes once a year (usually 15k) if the vehicle is lucky. And that maintenance schedule lasted the the 460 in Thunder about 220k (the last 30-40k were on my watch)...mom's Dodge 360 has lasted 193k, and his 4.9 in the caddy has lasted 218k. Do I think a better maintenance schedule coulda prolonged the 460's life...sure do. Do I think there could be even longer life in the other 2, sure do. But the way I see it, those mileage numbers are pretty comparable to folks who are maintenance Nazis. Now I don't think his maintenance schedule was a good/proper way to do things. But it's my personal opinion that the figures and marketing aren't all they're cracked up to be.

Re: Royal Purple....I do it in everything BUT the engine, just b/c of price. I feel good spending a little extra money for something i'll likely never touch again (axles, t-case, etc)

I guess you can't put a price on peace of mind

 

[CaFordDude]

Ben I'm not arguing against you. I believe that oil can and will go longer in a vehicle BUT having just been through what I just went through with my engine...On a vehicle STILL under warranty, it will be the recommended schedule for me

 

[CaFordDude]

Blackstone Laboratories, a well known respected independent tester of oils has this to say.

LINK:
Managers and analysts at Blackstone Laboratories often do presentations regarding the fascinating world of oil analysis. Regardless of the immediate topic, the most common question we hear is, "What type of oil should I use in my car?"

Because we're an independent laboratory, we don't recommend any specific oil brands. We always recommend using an oil grade recommended for your engine by the manufacturer and a brand that fits your budget.

You can go into any mass retailer (Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Meijer, etc.) that sells engine oil and buy a 10W/30 (or any other preferred grade) that will perform well in your engine. One of the best-kept secrets of the oil industry is that these store brands are actually the same, quality oils that are produced by the major oil companies. The only difference between these products and the major company brands is the name on the container and about 50¢ a quart.

But wait! We do actually have a preference when it comes to buying oils for our personal use engines. That preference however, has little to do with brand names.

We analyze oils from our personal use engines (right down to our lawn mowers) religiously. We tend to choose oils that do not contain additives such as sodium and copper. The copper additive masks brass or bronze wear from the engine. Sodium additives can mask anti-freeze contamination.

There are many types of after-market additives you can buy. Some contain unusual compounds that can make it difficult for our analysts who are trying to determine if your engine has a mechanical problem. One additive we know of contains a lead compound. But lead is a metal common to bearing inserts. If you're using an additive with lead in it, it is difficult to tell whether the high lead is from your additive or a problem with the bearings.

Another type of additive we often run across contains silicone (which is read as silicon by our spectrometer). Silicon is often found in the oil when a fault exists at air filtration. If we do not know there is an additive in use, it can be difficult to diagnose true problems that may be producing high silicon.

If you are interested in having your engine oil analyzed by a quality lab, you will receive a better analysis if you avoid oils and after-market additives that use elements we need to see clearly to do a thorough analysis. If you feel you truly want to use an after-market additive, please let us know about it on the information slip provided with the sample.

 

[Skandocious]

To be honest Aaron-- I'd think you, of all people, would place more importance on the differences in oil qualities... Your engine failed for oil-related reasons right? And you had been taking it to quick-lube shops to change the oil... My bet is that they were not using an decent oil in your engine, and being that it's a newer and more finicky/particular engine, it failed because it didn't receive the proper lubrication it needed.

Of course this is speculation-- but being in your shoes, and having gone through what you just went through, I'd rather be safe than sorry and just buy the good stuff. If all these big oil companies selling "superior" products were really just slapping the same products into fancier bottles, SOMEONE would have figured it out by now and they'd be outta business. There IS reasoning behind their bigger price tags, whether you agree with it or not.

 

[Skandocious]

Blackstone Laboratories, a well known respected independent tester of oils has this to say.

LINK:
Managers and analysts at Blackstone Laboratories often do presentations regarding the fascinating world of oil analysis. Regardless of the immediate topic, the most common question we hear is, "What type of oil should I use in my car?"

Because we're an independent laboratory, we don't recommend any specific oil brands. We always recommend using an oil grade recommended for your engine by the manufacturer and a brand that fits your budget.

You can go into any mass retailer (Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Meijer, etc.) that sells engine oil and buy a 10W/30 (or any other preferred grade) that will perform well in your engine. One of the best-kept secrets of the oil industry is that these store brands are actually the same, quality oils that are produced by the major oil companies. The only difference between these products and the major company brands is the name on the container and about 50¢ a quart.

But wait! We do actually have a preference when it comes to buying oils for our personal use engines. That preference however, has little to do with brand names.

We analyze oils from our personal use engines (right down to our lawn mowers) religiously. We tend to choose oils that do not contain additives such as sodium and copper. The copper additive masks brass or bronze wear from the engine. Sodium additives can mask anti-freeze contamination.

There are many types of after-market additives you can buy. Some contain unusual compounds that can make it difficult for our analysts who are trying to determine if your engine has a mechanical problem. One additive we know of contains a lead compound. But lead is a metal common to bearing inserts. If you're using an additive with lead in it, it is difficult to tell whether the high lead is from your additive or a problem with the bearings.

Another type of additive we often run across contains silicone (which is read as silicon by our spectrometer). Silicon is often found in the oil when a fault exists at air filtration. If we do not know there is an additive in use, it can be difficult to diagnose true problems that may be producing high silicon.

If you are interested in having your engine oil analyzed by a quality lab, you will receive a better analysis if you avoid oils and after-market additives that use elements we need to see clearly to do a thorough analysis. If you feel you truly want to use an after-market additive, please let us know about it on the information slip provided with the sample.

Good post. But they never make the claim that all oils are created equal. They only claimed that store-brand oils can actually be of the same quality of the higher-grade (ie, higher-priced) oils. Which in my experience is true. If you read the Boss 302 article I posted earlier, he touts WalMarts SuperTech oil as being a very good oil.

The oil that Wal-Mart sells under their house name (Super-Tech) is very good quality oil. In many tests done over the last year or so, the 'Super-Tech' oil was superior to many name-brand oils.

 

[LEB Ben]

Ben I'm not arguing against you. I believe that oil can and will go longer in a vehicle BUT having just been through what I just went through with my engine...On a vehicle STILL under warranty, it will be the recommended schedule for me

I definitely understand the need to do it on a warrantied vehicle for ease of processing and whatnot. Beyond that, if you go over the recommended change intervals in something that's 10-15 yo or older...the only person you have to answer to is yourself. But you have to admit, what happened to you isn't necessarily common place. And with the folks even in this thread, that use the cheapest stuff available, or are on a poor interval schedule...I wouldn't doubt they'd have comparable engine life as the ones who change oil at 3k like clock work with high dollar stuff. Like you previously said, every oil has to meet some sorta minimum requirements. So now it's a question of will a rebuild be necessary at 220k or at 250k...you get what I'm saying? You're just prolonging the inevitable...and for me, those 30k miles can be had in a year.