I don't for a minute think that Wal-Mart's dino is as good as the typical synthetic. However, I do think it's as good as many brand oils. I use a 10W30, but unfortunately there's no VOA on that particular oil. It does seem to compare very well with Valvoline, however. I'm sure none of the base stocks are as good as Royal Purple, but most of the additive numbers don't look to be that far off. Maybe the additive quality isn't as good, but I thought a handful of companies controlled all additive production.
You could argue that Wal-Mart's fast to change oils from one production facility to another, but the same might hold true for brand names as well. Blackstone's web site states that there are no great differences in name and private brand oils and they must have seen a lot of samples.
Wal-Mart 5W30
ppm
copper 0
iron 0
chromium 0
lead 0
sodium 0
boron 0
Aluminum 1
Molybendum 55
Phospherous 1122
Zinc 1090
Magnesium 4
Calcium 1934
Viscosity cst 10.50
sae/iso 30w
Valvoline 5w30
Aluminum 1
Chromium 0
Iron 1
Copper 0
Lead 0
Tin 0
Moly 0
Nickel 0
Manganese 0
Silver 0
Titanium 0
Potasium 2
Boron 1
Silicon 3
Sodium 1
Calcium 2249
Magnesium 5
Phosphorous 791
Zinc 952
Barium 0
Vis @ 100 C (converted) 10.5 cSt
Flashpoint 430
FTBN 8.3
(remember - new method)
Royal Purple 5W30
Copper 0
Iron 0
Chromium 0
Lead 0
Aluminum 1
Silicon 2
Tin 0
Moly 112
Sodium 0
Magnesium 11
Zinc 867
Potassium 0
Phosphorus 786
Calcium 1670
TBN 8
Viscosity 11.4
[ August 10, 2003, 03:41 PM: Message edited by: csandste ]