Decided Against a UOA

M

Mr_Luke

Joined
Aug 16, 2019
Messages
1,245
I did an OCI last week with more ST FS 0w20 but this time with a Fram PH4967 filter.
ST FS and Fram PH filters seem like a good combination for my car.
I was going to send in a sample for a UOA but changed my mind.
I seem to have a healthy car here.
I can always do a UOA later but for now this car seems to be in perfect running condition.
It just seemed like kind of a waste of money for a UOA at this time.
The older I get, the more of a penny pincher I'm getting to be.
 
It just worries me with it being in my engine. I’m not saying it will do anything though I have suspected it in the past. It’s just for stuff like oil and filters it has to be name brand for me.
 
3C5174D2-7EA1-42EF-9A84-09823042A4FF.jpeg
 
I had a friend that worked at a oil bottling plant here In Florence Ky that said they bottled a bunch of the big brands, penzoil,Quaker state, castrol, I can’t remember all of them but it seemed like pretty much everything including oils like super tec and the no name gas station generic bottles he said all of the bottles from every brand were filled with the same oil from the same vat. This was a factory called camco. This was 15 years ago though too. I’m not certain on which all name brands they bottled but it seems like penzoil and Quaker state at the very least were the same stuff as your average generic stuff.
 
I'm with you. Used to do them occasionally just to see what is going on on other vehicles, now I just don't care.

Seen enough from other vehicles to be comfortable with 15K OCI for my driving style; probably could go 20K.

We have pretty good evidence that the 1.5 is free from any terminal catastrophic defects.

I came to learn at BITOG years and years ago. I still find it a valuable resource but there are a lot of oil myths that get echoed quite often.

A friend of mine was told to stay away from "corner garage oil" like Citgo; funny thing is it was SN rated, which was the current spec at the time.
 
I asked the tech at an oil analysis test place his opinion on using non name brand oils such as ST and he said he himself uses Kirkland oil which is another non name brand of oil. If non name brand oils are good enough for the techs at _______ ______, they should be good enough for me.

I'll probably just run ST FS with Fram and keep doing 6 month OCIs as I have been for many years.
The ST oil I drained out last week had a whole 1,565 miles on it and was in my engine almost 5 months, and it looked in good condition to probably run it for 12 months if I had wanted to. The car will be fine. I'm here at BITOG and changing my oil & filter regularly, which is all that matters.
Oil is oil if it has the right viscosity and specs as in SP.
ST + Fram will work well in my application. The engine purrs like a kitten with this oil / filter combination and I trust my intuition.
I've seen youtube videos of people using ST and they aren't idiots.
I run ST just to prove to myself that name brand oils aren't necessary to maintain a car engine.
Once I saw past the hype I went out and bought some ST oil.
Actually I think those ST oil filters are also another good filter and would work well with ST FS oil.
Or I could spend $1 more for a Fram PH4967 and get a silicone ADBV.
 
Last edited:
simple_gifts said:
Used to do them occasionally just to see what is going on on other vehicles, now I just don't care.
Click to expand...
I don't blame you. The UOA labs like to give you the impression that if you don't do a UOA ASAP, that your car engine has a high chance of falling apart, like this afternoon or something. I have faith in my oil and filter choice and thank you BITOG for guiding me to this decision.

I guess the question is, how much was I willing to pay to see on paper that ST + Fram PH filters are serving my engine well?
WIth the $40 I saved I can change my oil about 3 times.
 
Last edited:
R1jake said:
I had a friend that worked at a oil bottling plant here In Florence Ky that said they bottled a bunch of the big brands, penzoil,Quaker state, castrol, I can’t remember all of them but it seemed like pretty much everything including oils like super tec and the no name gas station generic bottles he said all of the bottles from every brand were filled with the same oil from the same vat. This was a factory called camco. This was 15 years ago though too. I’m not certain on which all name brands they bottled but it seems like penzoil and Quaker state at the very least were the same stuff as your average generic stuff.
Click to expand...

Well I decided to stay away from oils that were associated with the Pritzger group that acquired Warren. No joke, I am legitimately concerned that their product quality will be going downhill and I might only buy items I find produced in 2020 or earlier.

National Brands – Highline Warren | Automotive Distribution | Manufacturing

highlinewarren.com highlinewarren.com
 
Mr_Luke said:
The UOA labs like to give you the impression that if you don't do a UOA ASAP, that your car engine has a high chance of falling apart
Click to expand...
What labs say that ? I've never seen that. There are people here who think they are mandatory though. Or people who cut oil filters apart after they've used them in their engines... Imagine the heartache and stress if they find a faulty filter. :rolleyes:
 
R1jake said:
I had a friend that worked at a oil bottling plant here In Florence Ky that said they bottled a bunch of the big brands, penzoil,Quaker state, castrol, I can’t remember all of them but it seemed like pretty much everything including oils like super tec and the no name gas station generic bottles he said all of the bottles from every brand were filled with the same oil from the same vat.
Click to expand...
That blender can no doubt bottle different brands but across various brands like you mention, I'd be hesitant to believe it's all from the "same vat" unless they blend a 2nd oil formulation, bottle it, blend a 3rd and bottle it, and so on. Do you end up with some "mix" ? Sure but who cares... It's no different than what gets mixed in your engine if you switch.

Now when it comes to "gas station" or store brands, yeah, those are typically the same as each other.
 
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