Another oil quality question.

[DaveinSoCal]

I've read a lot on this great site but am still confused about oils.
I went to Kragan's yesterday to look at the dino oils and found Shell, Chevron and Exxon (I think it was Exxon) retailing at $1,89/qt. Valvoline, Pennzoil and Castrol GTX at$2.79/qt. Is there really any differences between them? Kragen currently has both Chevron and Formula shell on sale at 49 cents/qt. with mail-in rebate and Pep Boys has Exxon Superflow at 79 cents with the rebate which make those oils very attractive but I'm still not sure about their quality compared to the more expensive oils.
My cars are: '94 Saturn 1.9 w/155,000 miles, '98 Dodge Dakota 2.5 (4 cyl)w/98,000 miles and a Ford Contour 2.0 w/100,000 miles. I live/drive in Southern Calif. and I have to admit that I don't do my OCI's as often as I should. Would appreciate any advice/help you can give me.

 

[Vilan]

If your vehicles are just used for general driving around, no racing or towing, then you can use absolutely any of those oils. Your engines won't know the difference. If I were you, I would buy 49 cent Chevron and be happy. Some people here would consider moving to the west coast just to get such cheap oil.

Don't let the price fool you, Chevron is good oil.

How long do you drag out your OCIs? If you're going 4000-5000 miles between changes, I wouldn't worry too much, but if it's more than that, you might consider using a synthetic since they generally last longer. You can search the forums to see people's opinions on "how long is too long".

 

[surfstar]

Chevron for $.49/qt is the best deal going (unless you find some for free-check out the Maxlife rebate) and stop by Pep Boys for some coupon/rebate Purolator Premium Plus filters for less than a $1 after rebate and do OCIs of 5k miles and you'll be set.

 

[Winston]

Do some research in the forums. That Chevron is great oil for a great price. Perfect for a 5K OCI. When your friends laugh at you for buying a "cheap" oil, just smile smugly because BITOG told you otherwise.

What do you mean by saying you don't do your OCI's as often as you should? You are now in the land of anal oil change people. If you don't change your oil regularly you should not be allowed to own a car.

 

[DaveinSoCal]

Oops, I forgot to ask if it's ok to mix brands. Also, the factory suggests 5/30 & 10/30 in these cars, but since they all have 98k to 155k miles on them is it advisable to use something like 10/40 in all of them. I grew up being told to use a thicker oil as the motor got older but don't know if that's true with modern oils. Last question; Formula Shell is SM while Chevron is SL, does that mean that the Shell is maybe a little better, or am I just being unecessarily picky? Thanks again for your answers.

 

[bighead]

If you go to PB for some of those filters, go ahead and pick up some of the Exxon oil while you're there. It's a good oil too and for .79/quart it's even better.

Mixing brands wont kill anything, but, some advise against it. Oh, and the thicker oil for older engines is just one of those myths that gets passed down from generation to generation. Stick with what it's spec'd for. However, sometimes if it's burning oil, a thicker oil *might* help with the consumption, but otherwise it's not necessary.

 

[bender]

We are indeed lucky here where we regulalry get the Kragen 0.49/qt. deals. I have 5 cases now in my stash of Chevron and Formula Shell that I got for .49 plus 15 bottles of Max Life for free. I don't need any more oil but I can't help but keep taking advantage of these deals for fear that they will someday end. It goes in both vehicles, a 96 Trooper and 98 Saturn SL2.

 

[surfstar]

SM/SL = all good.

I prefer 10w30 in California b/c it should shear less than a 5w30, and have *slightly* better specs besides very cold flow (and it never gets cold enough here).

Stick to 5/10w30 unless your cars leak or burn oil, then I would suggest ARX instead of thicker oil.

I have 192k miles on my Mazda, 10w30 the whole time, burns/leaks not at all between 5k OCIs.

 

[Winston]

The only reason to go thicker with an older engine is if you have low oil pressure or you want to try and reduce oil consumption. I have a vehicle with 163000 miles. I just put 5W20 in it and have plenty of oil pressure, even at hot idle. So, don't go thicker unless you want to try to reduce consumption.

 

[Buford T. Justice]

The price per mile using a good oil is MUCH LESS than the price per mile of gasoline currently so just buy whatever oil you like. You might actually consider Valvoline Max Life since your cars have miles on them.