DIY Synthetic Blend

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Just for kicks, I was trying to come up with a low cost synthetic blend. MC 5w20's price can't be beat, but what if you wanted something with a viscosity around 14 cSt?

I was thinking maybe a gallon of Delvac 1300 and a quart of M1 10w30.

All comments welcomed, even Jelly's.
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[ July 25, 2004, 10:40 PM: Message edited by: 427Z06 ]
 
A 14 cSt viscosity is a 40 weight oil, so I'd look at:

2 qts - M1 15W-50 (To achieve the higher viscosity)
3 qts - Chevron 5W-30 (Low price)
 
While it can be fun to "experiment," and while mixing grades of the same oil line shouldn't hurt anything (e.g. M1 only, not M1 and Delvac or Delvac and Drive Clean), I don't think most of us can improve on the blender's art when it comes to mixing oils of various chemical makeup. If you trust the chemists at most oil companies to do a good job, then it is going to be hard to beat their experience and in-house testing capability when trying to come up with your own concoction. I wouldn't do it.
 
Mobil says mixing grades of M1 is ok. Adds look similar across the line, maybe it's ok then.
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I speculated before that most 30 weight oils are blended thin because you are *supposed* to thicken them up as desired. I, however, do not like to mix at all. I want the best performance out of my oil and don't think mixing is the way to get it. For guys that say it's ok, how about 1 quart of each genere of oil together in a "blend"? Say, 1 DCO, 1 QS 4X4, 1 HDEO, 1 GC, 1 RL, 1 GTX Hi-Mi and 1 umm...5w-20.
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I've been using 5 quarts of Chevron 10w40 and 1 quart of Havoline synthetic 10w30 in my Cherokee. I don't plan on doing any UOA, but after 3500 miles, it still looks pretty good...
 
quote:

Originally posted by pscholte:
While it can be fun to "experiment," and while mixing grades of the same oil line shouldn't hurt anything (e.g. M1 only, not M1 and Delvac or Delvac and Drive Clean), I don't think most of us can improve on the blender's art when it comes to mixing oils of various chemical makeup. If you trust the chemists at most oil companies to do a good job, then it is going to be hard to beat their experience and in-house testing capability when trying to come up with your own concoction. I wouldn't do it.

pscholte, you have other strenghts besides your excellent humor...who would'of known?
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quote:

Originally posted by mikemc:
It's not a do-it-yourself blend, but how about Shell Rotella synthetic 5w40 for $12.84/gal at walmart?

Too easy...I want it under $10/5qts and kick *** .
 
quote:

Originally posted by pscholte:
... If you trust the chemists at most oil companies to do a good job, then it is going to be hard to beat their experience and in-house testing capability when trying to come up with your own concoction. I wouldn't do it.

Excellent point. While I doubt one could actually come up with an engine damaging blend, there is a good chance that they will spend time and money to make the oil perform worse than intended. Still, we can't help ourselves, and I likely will do some mixing in spite of common sense. Once had Durablend, Maxlife, Citgo Superguard, Royal Purple, and Rislone in my wife's Aerostar all at the same time. More or less getting rid of leftover oil and stuff, but.... well who knows, it's still running pretty good, but on straight Maxlife now.
 
I've often made my own semi-synthetic blends and have never had an oil related problem. The reason
I do it is usually to get rid of oil that I accumulated on sale(as well as to have a better than regular dino oil). Since I rarely exceed 4k/4month OCI I'm not looking for extended OCI from the blend. I do have some rules for my homemade blends. 1) I never mix more than 2 different brands. I feel mixing more than 2 brands would make additive-clash more likely. 2) I usually (but not always) mix dino and synthetic of the same brand ie: Syntec with GTX. Happy mixing.
 
Chevron Delo 400 as the base. Add M1 as required to achieve viscosity and price goal.
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Get some Havoline at the Dollar Store and add a half quart or so of Redline. I got some Citgo Superguard for 50 cents each at Dollar General ans was going to mix in 1 Redline, but now instead, the Citgo will go to the Auto Rx treatments I started.
 
I trust that the chemists at the oil companies do their best to blend a high-quality oil. That being said, I also trust the manufacturer to "dumb down" the product based upon cost and marketing decisions. Ideally, tribologists would rule, but they don't.

So I find the idea of mixing interesting, if one is cautious about it. Perhaps one of us will stumble upon a magic brew? In any case, it's fun to do some "bench blending":

- GC + GTX HM
- Pennzoil LL (old school)+ Pennzoil 5w-20
- MC 15w-40 + MC 5w-20
- Supertech dino + Supertech syn

shield your eyes:
- Formula Shell + Redline
- Supertech dino + M1
- Chevron Supreme + Torco SR-1

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MR
 
My favorite:

Amsoil and Pennzoil

Besides the fact that they are rumored to hate each other since the days when (and before) Pennzoil sued AmZoil and the outcome being AmSoil...(all about the Z)...I think the new Pennz bases and the strong add packs are a good match for the stout base PAO's used by Amsoil, plus the dollar savings is a bonus.

Amsoil 15W-30 and Pennzoil LL (with moly) seems to be a winner. (50/50)

I would LOVE to see an Amsoil 0W-30 and Pennzoil 5W-20 (also 50%/50%...)
 
Pablo, not trying to hijack the thread. I know the question was 14cst, but what do you think about PZ 10W-30 with 20% ATM 10W-30??

I think your mix exceeds his price target.

Don't know about the PZ LL formula change.
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I picked Delo partly because of it's high flashpoint.
 
quote:

Originally posted by edvanp:
"Chevron Delo 400 as the base. Add M1 as required to achieve viscosity and price goal. "

Running this in my car right now. Added 1 quart of M1 SS 5w30 to 4 quarts of 15w40 Delo 400. Car has been running great this summer (3.8L SuperC V-6). Will run Rot-T Syn 5w40-4 quarts w/ 1 quart of M1 0w40 for the Winter. For the price, tough to beat IMO.


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Why? Do you race and beat on it? Would not 10-30 work as well??
 
Haley, no excessive beating on this car, it has over 100k miles on it and I'd like it to last another 4 years, but like most on here, my home brews are made from oil I purchased on sale and next up is the Rot-T syn. I need to add a quart to fill it, and I thought the 0w40 m1 SS looked good and that combo should allow me to run an extended drain interval. I'll run the Delo 400 again without hesitation, especially if I get it on sale. I guess it depends on what I have on the shelf (my son's winter beater gets the SynPower free oil)
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quote:

Originally posted by edvanp:
"Chevron Delo 400 as the base. Add M1 as required to achieve viscosity and price goal. "

Running this in my car right now. Added 1 quart of M1 SS 5w30 to 4 quarts of 15w40 Delo 400. Car has been running great this summer (3.8L SuperC V-6). Will run Rot-T Syn 5w40-4 quarts w/ 1 quart of M1 0w40 for the Winter. For the price, tough to beat IMO.


I imagine if Chevron Delo 400 15w40 and M1 SS 5w30 work well, Delvac 1300 and the M1 SS 10w30 should work at least as well.
 
The Delo has a little bit better flash point and cold cranking #'s, too...

That is why I picked it for a gasser blend. TBN ain't going to be so relevant.

I thought it might be a bit better for blending a gasser app.
 
quote:

- GC + GTX HM
- Pennzoil LL (old school)+ Pennzoil 5w-20
- MC 15w-40 + MC 5w-20
- Supertech dino + Supertech syn

shield your eyes:
- Formula Shell + Redline
- Supertech dino + M1
- Chevron Supreme + Torco SR-1

Why not just pick names out of a hat?
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One from column A, one from coloumn B..etc..???
 
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