"Certified" motor oil from Sam's Club

Status
Not open for further replies.
I called shell today and they said of course they have no information on this product. I tried to call again and they told me that it is made by them, but it only meets GF-4 and SM. What??? Okay, that was a vague answer. They also told me that Pennzoil exceeds GF4 and SM standards. So what does this mean, they almost implied that it isn't a quality oil and that one would be better off buying PYB. My question is why not stand by your product even if it is private label, they wouldn't even give me a suggested OCI.
 
I think anyone who cares about oil performance should just go with QSGB, PYB, or MC5K as a minimum. While any SM meets the SM test standards and gets the job done, and is good for people who don't care and get their oil changed at quick lubes, with QSGB and MC5K going for $10-11 for 5 qts, what do you really save with the bulk quality oil?
 
Originally Posted By: mechanicx
I think anyone who cares about oil performance should just go with QSGB, PYB, or MC5K as a minimum. While any SM meets the SM test standards and gets the job done, and is good for people who don't care and get their oil changed at quick lubes, with QSGB and MC5K going for $10-11 for 5 qts, what do you really save with the bulk quality oil?
+1 Lot's of good name brand 5k OCI dinos for $10-12.50 a 5qt. jug at Wally. Why worry about an unknown?
21.gif
 
OCI should come from your vehicle owners manual, really an oil manufacture has little business recommending an OCI as they did not design the engine, however I think the engine manufacture also relies on the oil manufacture oil specifications when setting a baseline for OCI, still it's the manufacture of the engine that know the design parameters of the engine.

If the oil meets the specs for your engine in the owners manual, anymore more might be better, however you may also be wasting money purchasing the "meets OR exceeds"
 
I agree. I just think that the price of name brand oil is as cheap or cheap as off-brand bulk oil if you know where to look. So even if I'm not getting better with a name brand, why not get the oil that was "good" enough to be major branded if the price is so close? I personally think everyone should follow the engine manufacturer's maximum OCI even after the warranty no matter the oil, or at least keep it to a reasonable level of 12-15K/1 year to play it safe.
 
Agree mechanicx, and I'm the same way. To me a no name brand oil has to prove something to be a bargain especially when the price is really close (~$5 is nothing on a oil change) I will always choose the name brand also. Some things do go against the grain though, take super tech oil from walmart for instance, these oils have been used, tested and come to be trusted by many here myself included, however while doing so the bargain has also went away as the cost has went up I guess so many people now know, and trust the oil.

As of right now oils to me that are the best bang for the buck ever day prices are Mobil 1 oils (laugh i know) Mobil 1 synthetic is now cheaper than many of the other synthetics !! And the Drive Clean 5000 is always priced low. MotorCraft semi-synthetic 5w-20 at walmart is a outstanding buy, I wonder sometimes why I chase oil sales etc when the oil is always there at such a great price !!
 
Yeah except when you stumble across the oil rebates. When you can get $10-$15 off of ~$20 5/qt jug of Q-synthetic or PP it's hard not to get in on that deal lol. But yeah between the regular oil prices at Walmart and the oil/filterspecials at the parts stores on the major brands, I don't see much value in the off brands and bulk oils.
 
Quote:
OCI should come from your vehicle owners manual
Obviously one should follow their OM for max OCI. But as an example, many vehicles now have 7500-10k OCI if done in a reasonable period (1 year). I'm not comfortable with dino much beyond 5k/6m OCI with any dino. I do feel comfortable that the name brand dino's (mentioned) can do the 5k/6m under predominantly non severe conditions with no worries. Not worth it to me to save some on an unknown dino in bulk. But, that's just me.
 
I used to buy the 12 pack from Sam's club while it was still around. It was Esso Extra oil in red bottles. I used it only once, but it was 2+ oil changes for my Saturn at the time. It was fine oil, no complaints. Would use again.

I also still have some of my Formula Shell left over from a 12 pack from Costco :D
 
Hey Guys.

I was cruising SAM's last night and they have 5w20, 5w30, and 10w30 all for $20 a case. Appeared to have a full pallet of each.

Last posts on this and in the other threads appear to be a bit old. Any new updates on this oil? I pulled a bottle and it's pretty dull and not many markings. Looked at the recent msds and it's from an oil company in Tampa, FL. I am sure that is just the distributor.

Appreciate anything you guys can share.
 
Bump of old thread again....

I was in Sam's yesterday and the 5W-30 Certified brand oil is now SN certified (no pun intended.). There was a guy with a flat cart loading up. He was a mechanic from a local shop. I guess if you go get an oil change there, you're getting certified brand oil.
 
Originally Posted By: nepadriver
Some older threads indicate PQIA confirmed it met standards and its most likely SOPUS private label.



It's old, but here's the VOA on it: http://www.pqiamerica.com/November 2011 samples/Certified.htm

Aside from the additives, I doubt it's base oil is of the same quality as QS or PYB. I'm not saying that it's base oil would be bad, but I would assume SOPUS would put the more expensive/higher quality base oils in the products where they'll get a better return on it.
 
Originally Posted By: sicko
Originally Posted By: nepadriver
Some older threads indicate PQIA confirmed it met standards and its most likely SOPUS private label.



It's old, but here's the VOA on it: http://www.pqiamerica.com/November 2011 samples/Certified.htm

Aside from the additives, I doubt it's base oil is of the same quality as QS or PYB. I'm not saying that it's base oil would be bad, but I would assume SOPUS would put the more expensive/higher quality base oils in the products where they'll get a better return on it.


The VOA is outdated. Check on the API registry and Certified Oil is now blended by Warren like Supertech. I would not worry about using it in either my truck or my wife's Focus.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top