The Big Oil Brand Judgement!!

[shovelhd]

You need another choice - Whatever full synthetic that's on sale

We keep our vehicles a long time, well into the 100K's. For the first 75K or so, I'll use whatever full synthetic is on sale. So far, that's been Pennzoil Platinum. Mobil 1, and Castrol are good, too. After 75K miles, I'll switch to a high mileage full synthetic formula, whatever's cheapest. That's usually Wally World blue jug stuff.

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[Fitzmotor]

I've chimed in on this one before, at Honda Racing (now CRC) we tested most of the ones on that list and some that are not.

The best, longest lasting additive package was Mobil 1, but it was not the best power by any means, but the additives stayed alive long past the others, in fact it ended up being the winner.

The best power was Alisyn oil, (by a lot) a purebred race oil, but was hard on components, it would wear out anything that relies on splash, gear thrust washers for example.

The test was about both power and longevity, we changed the oil every 1000 miles and had it tested, some like Royal Purple were cut from the test after the first sample.
A really good one was Delo 400, we used it for break-in sometimes when we were having ring sealing problems, Shell Rotella was also good, both have a great additive package.

Most of the rest were about equal, JGR or Driven oil, by Joe Gibbs did a little better than the rest.

This was all 0-20 weight, on a 2.2 turbo V6.

I know we did not test Motorcraft, Amsoil, Motul, Liquid Moly or Warren.

In the end we gave up on the "most power" and went with the best protection which was Mobil 1, we ran it for years, but eventually we had Castrol make a custom blend "Supercar Oil" that stuff killed the DLC coating on the followers, but made better power than Mobil 1.

So for our engines, it's all good oil, (except maybe RP) but for me, it's Mobil 1, one of the more expensive longer lasting choices.

Just my .02 only worth a penny

Disclaimer: this was 6-8 years ago, oil formulas can change as technology advances.

 

[Chris M]

Nah, I don't want to blow the place up that much

Yes you do ?

 

[Amsoil guy]

If you truly want to know, just look at the price alone.

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Mind you that the Motul I have selected normally goes for $49.99 and is just over 5 quarts vs Amsoil being only 4 quarts. If you are wondering, many individuals seem to think it is ok to pay that much for oil that will supposedly last 40,000 miles from the so called black stone oil tests(or wherever they get the tests done) when the vehicle manufacturers don't call for more than 10,000 miles at best. Even my own vehicle recommends 5,000 miles.

Signature Series can be bought for cheaper. Typical retail stores with inflated prices. Signature Series is rated for 25,000 miles on non turbo vehicles.
Also don’t let the label on brands that say full synthetic fool you. The API only requires the minimum synthetic additives to the base oil to legally call it a “Full Synthetic”. A true full synthetic will have the base oil refined to as much as possible and recreate that molecule , then build off of that. That’s also where costs will be different between them. A true synthetic will not be the same cost as API minimum required additives oil.??

 

[lariat]

If you truly want to know, just look at the price alone.

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Mind you that the Motul I have selected normally goes for $49.99 and is just over 5 quarts vs Amsoil being only 4 quarts. If you are wondering, many individuals seem to think it is ok to pay that much for oil that will supposedly last 40,000 miles from the so called black stone oil tests(or wherever they get the tests done) when the vehicle manufacturers don't call for more than 10,000 miles at best. Even my own vehicle recommends 5,000 miles.

All synthetic oils are over-priced, no question, but I like to look at the data - like viscosity index for example. Amsoil, Castrol and Motul are all about the same on this index, so to your point, some get over-zealous about a particular brand because they've formed an opinion that's it's "just better" with no real data to back it up. I haven't looked at every brand, but for these 3 5W30's offer about the same level of protection with their viscosity index's in the 160-170 range (40c to 100c). All I care about is 100C (operating temp), stability at higher rpm's, foaming characteristics and few other metrics. In the end, all of these 5W30's end up being about 10-12 weight viscosity at 100c. VI isn't the only measure, but and easy one to look at if there's a big discrepency between cold and operating temp performance.

That said, to your point, it really doesn't make sense to over spend on a synthetic oil brand when they are all very closely matched in protection and performance. But we all know that logic isn't what drives consumers so go with any brand and you'll be fine! On a side note, I would never leave engine oil in, regardless of brand or claims, for 25K miles.

But here's a chart if you like to see the data for 5W30 oils.

 

[lariat]

Castrol Edge - $29 for 5 quarts, not bad at Home Depot!

 

[Frenchy]

All synthetic oils are over-priced, no question, but I like to look at the data - like viscosity index for example. Amsoil, Castrol and Motul are all about the same on this index, so to your point, some get over-zealous about a particular brand because they've formed an opinion that's it's "just better" with no real data to back it up. I haven't looked at every brand, but for these 3 5W30's offer about the same level of protection with their viscosity index's in the 160-170 range (40c to 100c). All I care about is 100C (operating temp), stability at higher rpm's, foaming characterists and few other metrics. In the end, all of these 5W30's end up being about 12 weight viscocity at 100c. VI isn't the only measure, but and easy one to look at if there's a big discrepency between cold and operating temp performance.

That said, to your point, it really doesn't make sense to over spend on a sythenthic oil brand when tney are all very closely matched in protection and performance. But we all know that logic isn't what drives consumers so go with any brand and you'll be fine!

But here's a chart if you like to see the data for 5W30 oils.

Not going to lie, you made it much easier for me on this. I will certainly agree that many are very close and there are going to be many individuals trying to say that X brand is better that the rest for any said reason they want to come up with. A great example was years ago with my older brother saying that Mobil1 is horrible and I should be using Amsoil instead. I simply asked him "if it's that bad, how come many known vehicle manufacturers recommend it for their vehicles?". It shut him up quickly on that.

Now I will also add that some of the reasons I do like Motul are as follows: #1 the Technical Support Team there is very knowledgeable and has no problem explaining why they may recommend a certain oil that they have over another product offered from them. #2 besides any oil that has an API rating of SP(the newest rating I believe) they do offer some different oils with older specifications as far back as SL and some with way more ZDDP for the more classic vehicles. #3 being a Nissan guy myself, Nissan actually uses and recommends Motul on their Motorsports Division aka NISMO. There are other vehicle manufacturers including Ford(I the the European side at least) that use it as well.

Keep in mind those are simply reasons I like them. Not the reason that they are the best.

 

[lariat]

Signature Series can be bought for cheaper. Typical retail stores with inflated prices. Signature Series is rated for 25,000 miles on non turbo vehicles.
Also don’t let the label on brands that say full synthetic fool you. The API only requires the minimum synthetic additives to the base oil to legally call it a “Full Synthetic”. A true full synthetic will have the base oil refined to as much as possible and recreate that molecule , then build off of that. That’s also where costs will be different between them. A true synthetic will not be the same cost as API minimum required additives oil.??

 

[lariat]

I've chimed in on this one before, at Honda Racing (now CRC) we tested most of the ones on that list and some that are not.

The best, longest lasting additive package was Mobil 1, but it was not the best power by any means, but the additives stayed alive long past the others, in fact it ended up being the winner.

The best power was Alisyn oil, (by a lot) a purebred race oil, but was hard on components, it would wear out anything that relies on splash, gear thrust washers for example.

The test was about both power and longevity, we changed the oil every 1000 miles and had it tested, some like Royal Purple were cut from the test after the first sample.
A really good one was Delo 400, we used it for break-in sometimes when we were having ring sealing problems, Shell Rotella was also good, both have a great additive package.

Most of the rest were about equal, JGR or Driven oil, by Joe Gibbs did a little better than the rest.

This was all 0-20 weight, on a 2.2 turbo V6.

I know we did not test Motorcraft, Amsoil, Motul, Liquid Moly or Warren.

In the end we gave up on the "most power" and went with the best protection which was Mobil 1, we ran it for years, but eventually we had Castrol make a custom blend "Supercar Oil" that stuff killed the DLC coating on the followers, but made better power than Mobil 1.

So for our engines, it's all good oil, (except maybe RP) but for me, it's Mobil 1, one of the more expensive longer lasting choices.

Just my .02 only worth a penny

Disclaimer: this was 6-8 years ago, oil formulas can change as technology advances.

 

[lariat]

And here's the data for OE Ford 5w30 synthetic blend. You'll see, it's comparable with all the other full synthetic blends.

 

[Frenchy]

You'd better do more window shopping. Not to mention the Signature is only needed by about 2% of the population. Their regular drain interval oil is $29 a gallon.

Regular drain interval?! Are you talking about the Time & Mileage interval the Vehicle Manufacturer recommends which overrides any Oil Manufacturer that claims they can go longer? I don't care what the Oil States as the oil companies will agree that you should always follow the Factory Recommended Interval

 

[Frenchy]

And here's the data for OE Ford 5w30 synthetic blend. You'll see, it's comparable with all the other full synthetic blends.

Even I won't argue that the Ford Motocraft is good stuff for Ford vehicles. Part of why I made it the first available choice in the poll

 

[lariat]

Regular drain interval?! Are you talking about the Time & Mileage interval the Vehicle Manufacturer recommends which overrides any Oil Manufacturer that claims they can go longer? I don't care what the Oil States as the oil companies will agree that you should always follow the Factory Recommended Interval

I'd argue that most never push their engines enough to warrant most oil changes. Unless you rev your engine, drive at higher speeds or offroad, and push your turbo-charger, I bet most oil change durations could be doubled for 80% of the population that aren't lead-footed on the accelerator.

 

[shovelhd]

Castrol Edge - $29 for 5 quarts, not bad at Home Depot!

If you live next to a Home Depot, that's great. $24.72 at Walmart.

 

[Frenchy]

I'd argue that most never push their engines enough to warrant most oil changes. Unless you rev your engine, drive at higher speeds or offroad, and push your turbo-charger, I bet most oil change durations could be doubled for 80% of the population that aren't lead-footed on the accelerator.

As much as one would like to think that, I have seen it where individuals push the engine oil change interval farther than what the manufacturer recommends(whether that be 5,000 miles or 10,000 miles recommended) and engines getting trashed when it reaches above 50,000 miles. Part of why I will inform anyone else to simply follow the vehicle manufacturers recommend interval.

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