Oil Brand Survey
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Pennzoil 10-30
I have used it for as long as I can remember with good results.
I have used it for as long as I can remember with good results.
If you are using Pennzoil Platinum then you are using one of the best motor oils available today.
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523 Posts
Hey Zonestar as far as your reports go can you tell us what they say are the best oils? Worst? How is the dealer oil?
Since you ask.
Todays SM motor oils do a very good no matter what brand you buy. If someone was dead set on doing 3000 mile oil changes they could use Wal-Marts house brand and it would be fine. Speaking of Wal-Mart's brand, their oil filters are better constructed then the orange Fram oil filters. There is really no bad SM motor oil now a days. Most dealers buy motor oil in bulk so its no telling what they are putting in your engine. But as long as it is an API SM oil it will do its job. The add pack that is blended with the base motor oil is what makes the oil different now a days.
Mobil 1 seems to be one of the favorites due to its reputation. Mobil 1 was reformulated sometime between 2005 & 2006 and the new formula is a blend of Group III and IV oil bases instead of the more expensive Group IV only. The only oil that is mostly Group IV is the 0W40 viscosity and it is good. The other viscosities have shown higher metal wear in engines when compare to the other Group III synthetics. The public thinks because Mobil 1 is the factory fill in so many vehicles it must be the next best thing to white bread. Any manufacture will use a motor oil is given to them free. This was a great idea from the marketing department of Exxon/Mobil.
Royal Purple is another motor oil that is a favorite and it is Group IV. The only negative thing I do not like about RP is it does not meet the new API guidelines of SM oils; its rated as SL. Have you read the back of the oil container? It states to be use in 2004 and older vehicles.
Amsoil one of the better motor oils available to public. I would try it if I could find at a retail location. Have to buy through mail order and I like to check date codes on the motor oil I buy.
Castrol motor oils constantly turns out good oil analysis reports when used in the proper application.
Pennzoil motor oils no mater if you use the regular (yellow bottle) or Platinum (silver bottle) turns in some of the best oil analysis reports on all engines it seems. Engine configuration does not seem to make any difference, good for all four, six, and eight cylinder engines. Pennzoil Platinum is what I use. One of the best add packs in the oil industrial, good price and I can buy everywhere.
Explaination of Oil BaseStocks
Lubricant base stocks are categorized into five groups by the API.
Group I base stocks are composed of fractionally distilled petroleum which is further refined with solvent extraction processes to improve certain properties such as oxidation resistance and to remove wax.
Group II base stocks are composed of fractionally distilled petroleum that has been hydrocracked to further refine and purify it.
Group III base stocks have similar characteristics to Group II base stocks, except that Group III base stocks have higher viscosity indexes. Group III base stocks are produced by further hydrocracking of Group II base stocks, or of hydroisomerized slack wax, (a byproduct of the dewaxing process).
Group IV base stock are polyalphaolefins (PAOs). A synthetic.
Group V is a catch all group for any other synthetic and mineral base stocks. Examples of group V base stocks include polyol esters, polyalkylene glycols (PAG oils), and perfluoropolyalkylethers (PFPAEs).
Groups I, II, and III are sometimes referred to as mineral oils and groups IV and V as synthetic oils. However, most manufacturers have labeled their group III based oils as synthetic in the US for reasons of economy and marketing.
Lubricant base stocks are categorized into five groups by the API.
Group I base stocks are composed of fractionally distilled petroleum which is further refined with solvent extraction processes to improve certain properties such as oxidation resistance and to remove wax.
Group II base stocks are composed of fractionally distilled petroleum that has been hydrocracked to further refine and purify it.
Group III base stocks have similar characteristics to Group II base stocks, except that Group III base stocks have higher viscosity indexes. Group III base stocks are produced by further hydrocracking of Group II base stocks, or of hydroisomerized slack wax, (a byproduct of the dewaxing process).
Group IV base stock are polyalphaolefins (PAOs). A synthetic.
Group V is a catch all group for any other synthetic and mineral base stocks. Examples of group V base stocks include polyol esters, polyalkylene glycols (PAG oils), and perfluoropolyalkylethers (PFPAEs).
Groups I, II, and III are sometimes referred to as mineral oils and groups IV and V as synthetic oils. However, most manufacturers have labeled their group III based oils as synthetic in the US for reasons of economy and marketing.
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86 Posts
Where does Valvoline synthetic fall in the mix?
Valvoline full synthetic is a Group III synthetic like the majority of synthetic motor oils today. It tends to shear a little more then some of the other Group IIIs from the oil analysis reports I have read. Valvoline is a good motor oil but there are others brands that do a better job.
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1,157 Posts
Good stuff! I used to work for Imperial Oil's R&D department and was up on this stuff, but that was quite a few years ago now. I absolutely agree with you that any oil at all is fine if you are changing every 3000 miles, I would even go so far as say 6000 miles, probably more. I hate that the car manufacturers specify 3000 mile oil changes to maintain your warranty. It's such a waste of oil; if they would extend that to 10,000 miles and specify a specific oil and filter, it would be an incredible difference.
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9,544 Posts
My wife has an '08 Honda Civic and it tells you when to change the oil. So far it's at 7500 km (4700 miles) and still at 40% usage. You should get the oil changed when it hits 10% so I'm expecting that to be around 11250 km (7000 miles). They also offer 5 oil changes for a $100 so at that price it's on less job for me to do....
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523 Posts
We change ours every 3000 miles from our service department. My wife handles it. She knows his name but I ain't got a clue. As long as she doesn't come home covered in oil I'm fine! :chuckle: In my truck it has the oil life monitoring system and it lasted me 5000 miles last time and that is what I go buy and that is what GM went by to maintain the warranty when I had one.
I have been wanting to try Royal Purple after they showed it in an episode of "Trucks" on Spike where switching out all the fluids they could to Royal Purple netted something like 10 HP to the rear wheels just because of better lubrication. They tested two new oils one being Royal Purple on the dyno. I think they even flushed all the systems so there wasn't any cross contamination. I forget the details. I'm an easy sale. :shakehead:
Zonestar change your name to OIL GOD!
I have been wanting to try Royal Purple after they showed it in an episode of "Trucks" on Spike where switching out all the fluids they could to Royal Purple netted something like 10 HP to the rear wheels just because of better lubrication. They tested two new oils one being Royal Purple on the dyno. I think they even flushed all the systems so there wasn't any cross contamination. I forget the details. I'm an easy sale. :shakehead:
Zonestar change your name to OIL GOD!
I notice one thing missing in these posts, Havoline.
My dad is a retired chemist. Years ago he worked for Aerojet, one of his tasks was to analyze oil for use in jet engines. It is because of his testing of each oil and the outcome of his analysis, that he and I use Havoline in all our rigs.
The basic SM oils all come from the same stuff, (I do not know all the technical verbiage), the amount they are refined is basically the same. The primary difference is what is added to the oil by each manufacturer. Some Mfg's add a cleanser to prevent build up (Sludge) but this also reduces the lubrication, a lot add Paraffin wax or similar, to increase lubrication (causes build up Sludge). There are benefits to both the above additives, short term. One of his tasks was to determine what gave the best LONG term results.
Now I am not going to slam any oil brand, as I know folks out there are very sensitive about brand loyalty and their opinions. That is why I won't post what was the worst in his testing.
The outcome of his testing was that Havoline gave the best lubrication with the least build up over the long term.
We both have been using it ever since. Now I'm not going to say that they haven't changed their blend since his testing, because I'm sure they have. But the truth is in the pudding as they say. The only vehicle I have had issues with was a 69 bug. I had a leak and ran the engine dry.:i_rolleyes:
My dad is a retired chemist. Years ago he worked for Aerojet, one of his tasks was to analyze oil for use in jet engines. It is because of his testing of each oil and the outcome of his analysis, that he and I use Havoline in all our rigs.
The basic SM oils all come from the same stuff, (I do not know all the technical verbiage), the amount they are refined is basically the same. The primary difference is what is added to the oil by each manufacturer. Some Mfg's add a cleanser to prevent build up (Sludge) but this also reduces the lubrication, a lot add Paraffin wax or similar, to increase lubrication (causes build up Sludge). There are benefits to both the above additives, short term. One of his tasks was to determine what gave the best LONG term results.
Now I am not going to slam any oil brand, as I know folks out there are very sensitive about brand loyalty and their opinions. That is why I won't post what was the worst in his testing.
The outcome of his testing was that Havoline gave the best lubrication with the least build up over the long term.
We both have been using it ever since. Now I'm not going to say that they haven't changed their blend since his testing, because I'm sure they have. But the truth is in the pudding as they say. The only vehicle I have had issues with was a 69 bug. I had a leak and ran the engine dry.:i_rolleyes:
Scar0 you are right about Havoline motor oil, it was a real sleeper. Before Havoline reformulated it in the latter part of 2006 one could find Havoline motor oil a selling for less then the other leading brands and it did a better job. New formula and new price resulted in very few submitting for oil analysis so I do not know how this motor oil is performing no more.
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1,157 Posts
Zonestar, back when I was working with Imperial Oil, it was the US Army that pretty much dictated the parameters that new oils had to be formulated to. We were formulating new oils, but they had to meet their criteria and they had to be compatible with other manufaturers' products too, that was why we had to know their formulations as best as we could determine.
If we could improve on the characteristics (the goal of IO), that was great, but the first criteria was for the US Army.
Do you know if this is still the case?
If we could improve on the characteristics (the goal of IO), that was great, but the first criteria was for the US Army.
Do you know if this is still the case?
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190 Posts
oil you mean you have to change it...................... lol j/k
I use quaker state full synthetic. It never has done me wrong in all the cars I have owned so no reason to doubt it. I recently switched to mobil 1 oil because I can not find quaker state 5w-20 full around here in florida. I always use FRAM oil filters. I tryed a mobil 1 filter once and when I tryed to put it on it wouldn't fit so I sayed I would never buy it again.
I keep a little note book in my glove box and keep all service records to the nitro. everytime I change the oil and when I changed the wipers and mileage of each LONG trip.
I use to take my cars to the quicky lube places but they seem to think it's ok to switch between synthetic brand and conventional oil. It's also cheaper to do it myself.
I figure I can buy 5qts of 5w-20 full synthetic for around $19 oil filter about $5. So out the door price of $25 and I know it's done right.
I use quaker state full synthetic. It never has done me wrong in all the cars I have owned so no reason to doubt it. I recently switched to mobil 1 oil because I can not find quaker state 5w-20 full around here in florida. I always use FRAM oil filters. I tryed a mobil 1 filter once and when I tryed to put it on it wouldn't fit so I sayed I would never buy it again.
I keep a little note book in my glove box and keep all service records to the nitro. everytime I change the oil and when I changed the wipers and mileage of each LONG trip.
I use to take my cars to the quicky lube places but they seem to think it's ok to switch between synthetic brand and conventional oil. It's also cheaper to do it myself.
I figure I can buy 5qts of 5w-20 full synthetic for around $19 oil filter about $5. So out the door price of $25 and I know it's done right.
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