[DownInABunker]

Does it make a difference which motor oil to use? Is it worth the extra money to pay for the major brand oil, or is it OK to go with something generic (like a box of 12 quart bottles for $20 at SAMs)? My gut feeling is that I get what I pay for, but then again maybe not. Thanks for any input!

 

[Grinnan Barrett]

I work for a chemical company and in some cases you are right. with Sams you get whatever was the cheapest they can buy this week. If you are buying a synthetic you are safe with just about all the majors. Blends are okay too. the only thing you have to watch out for is some of the oils will create a sludge from parafin in the oil. I don't want to knock anyones oil. Our guys tend to use, Castrol, Valvoline, Mobil One and kendall. I have one engine in a 1972 Chevy that has over 500,000 miles. I have a 1990 Chevy truck with a 350 in inthat has over 550,000 miles.

the main thing you have to do with oil is change it and the filter each time. It really doesn't matter what type of oil you use if you change the oil and filter at least every 5,000 miles. I only go 3,500 miles but that is me. I drive hard and long distances in my work. Be sure to look at the weight of the oil when you buy it. the weight will be either a multi weight like a 5w30w or a straight 30w. look at the owners manual for the weight you should be using. In lawn mowers they call for a heavy duty 30weight.

Good luck. Hope I haven't been too much of a confuser. GB

 

[kingjames]

synthetic. Thats all I use. In school they taught us that its better ive prooved it for myself. I preffer it.

 

[DownInABunker]

Thank you for your replies.

The type of driving we do is mostly short-distance (10-12 miles) stop-and-go driving. Is there any specific brand that has been proven to perform better in these conditions?

 

[TENNGRIZZ]

I use aimsoil 5w-30 with aimsoil filters,so far works great 300,000 miles on my nissan truck.

 

[Ronnie]

the cheapest oil I use is Castrol GTX in my girls car. Mine all run on Mobil 1 except the race cars. They use either Redline or Royal Purple. Yes oil makes a difference these.

My friend was a die hard Halvoline fan. He wouldn't use anything else because thats what his dad used and it was the best. So about 58,000 on his car he bought new, a rod starts knocking, tore it down, guess what the engine is full of gunk. it was so full of gunk it blocked the oil passages and destroyed the block and head. He was forced to buy a new engine.
I recently tore down an engine in one of my cars to put forged rod and high compression pistons in. Mobile 1 was the only thing to ever touch the engine (bought it used from a friend) 114,000 miles later the engine was so clean on the inside it looked like a brand new engine and showed very little sign of wear.

As said before most brand name oils that are full synthetic or blend is good oil.

 

[Sprig]

Mobil 1 works!
Amsoil and other synthetics have been used by others I know and respect with good results also. I tend to use Mobil 1 just because it is easier to find.

 

[Henrygt]

I read about the results of an experiment that was conducted using conventional and synthetic oil. The conclusion they arrived at was that if you do normal day to day driving then conventional motor oil is fine as long as you change it every three thousand miles or the manufacturer recomended interval. However if you do towing, hauling, race, four wheel driving, or drive in extreme conditions such as desert or snow then it is best to use synthetic oil. If you do normal driving day to day and are using full synthetic you really don't need it unless the manufacturer recomends it most new Corvettes, BMW, and other high performance vehicles use synthetic. Always go with the manufactures recommendations you can check your owners manual or call the dealer because if you don't really need synthetic your just waisting money you could of used on preps!

 

[riverrat]

I use standard Valvoline in all my stuff. I am considering using synthetic in my mud truck because of the extreme conditions. On my daily driver, I change it every 2000 miles. on my other vehicles I change it once a year

 

[test]

Thank you for your replies.

The type of driving we do is mostly short-distance (10-12 miles) stop-and-go driving. Is there any specific brand that has been proven to perform better in these conditions?

Stop and go short distance driving is the hardest on a street driven vehicle that there is. Be religious on your oil changes and you should do fine, but if you want to go the extra step, use a synthetic such as amsoil or mobile1.

 

[test]

I read about the results of an experiment that was conducted using conventional and synthetic oil. The conclusion they arrived at was that if you do normal day to day driving then conventional motor oil is fine as long as you change it every three thousand miles or the manufacturer recomended interval. However if you do towing, hauling, race, four wheel driving, or drive in extreme conditions such as desert or snow then it is best to use synthetic oil. If you do normal driving day to day and are using full synthetic you really don't need it unless the manufacturer recomends it most new Corvettes, BMW, and other high performance vehicles use synthetic. Always go with the manufactures recommendations you can check your owners manual or call the dealer because if you don't really need synthetic your just waisting money you could of used on preps!

Using a full synthetic isn't the same as using conventional oils. The thing that the test (if it's the same one I read) neglected to point out is that the duration between oilchanges with a full synthetic can be much greater than with conventional oils, there is no sludge build up with synthetics and that the test can not predict the actual wear induced by age as well as miles, since the timeframe of the test did not take into consideration the longterm effects of engine heating and cooling versus simple high milage driving.

When full sythetics are changed at their recommend intervals the cost differences are negligible. When run beyond the recommendations, acids do not develop as rapidly nor at as high levels as do with conventional oils.

There is, however a noticable improvement in fuel consumption when using sythetics, averaging better than 1 mpg that was not even addressed in the study.
Over all is it worth the extra outlay per change? It may be cheaper per lifetime of the vehicle to go full synthetic when everything is added up, but when it comes down to it, the cash at hand when oil change time comes, is the real deciding factor.

 

[test]

Synthetic oil is used in jet engines, by the way.

 

[test]

Valvoline (all the way conventional or blends) the blend probably better for your situation
I have used it for years in everything

 

[Idaho]

I was lead to believe that all oil brands were the same so I switched from Castrol to the cheap SuperTech stuff from Walmart. A few months later, my Aspire started leaking oil from various parts on the engine. Maybe just a coincidenceI do know that I am switching back next oil change:thumb:

 

[sh4d0wm4573ri7]

I trust Valvoline - if it's good enough for Nascar it's damn sure good enough

 

[DownInABunker]

Too bad I already bought 10 quarts of Mobil 1 non-synthetic. Will have to use that first before switching.

 

[sassytexan74]

I had switched to Castrol Synthetic but I had to send my truck in to have the computer diagnostics run on it and they kindly topped off my oil with regular. So I had to do another oil change. It was at that point I decided the best option is to use the blend. That way if i ever need oil and only have One or the other - it's not detrimental to use which ever one . I also noticed my truck using more oil with the full synthetic.

 

[jfountain2]

I trust Valvoline - if it's good enough for Nascar it's damn sure good enough

Nascar drains, cleans and rebuilds engines between each race.

The oil they use only has to survive 500 miles, one race, how long does your oil have to survive?

 

[DrK]

I try to get Synthetic or Semi syn whenever it goes on sale.

 

[test]

Amsoil in newer engines that are broke in. IT can blow by the seals in older engines because it is a bit thinner and slippery. If the motor is a fairly fresh rebuild go for it. I runit in almost everything I own even my old Massey tractor.