Does it really matter what oil you use

[ZiTS]

Seems like there are three types of people who come to this website:

1) Total motor oil newbies who come here looking for good information - sorta making this site an encyclopedia of sorts.
2) Those who enjoy vehicle maintenance and don't mind changing their own oil. Total lube-heads.
3) Those who want to go with extended OCI's because they aren't crazy about crawling underneath the car.

Sure, these are very basic stereo-types, and some may disagree, saying that there are other reasons. Overall though, it seems to be the trend I've noticed.

With that said, I fall into category #2. Not only do I not mind changing oil, I thoroughly enjoy it. I dispose of my used oil at recycling centers. I use synthetic, and I won't ever go past 4k mile OCI's. Am I wasting my time? No. Am I wasting money? Maybe, maybe not. Am I harming the environment? Not as I see it. Am I supporting terrorism? Whatever...

My Point? Everyone needs to do what is best for them and their vehicles. If you keep up with maintenance and pick a motor oil suitable for your application, I honestly don't think you can pick a bad motor oil anymore (as long as it's from a major manufacturer). I am very tempted to use solely Valvoline All Climate with Fram oil filters on my new Focus just to prove a point (even if it's only to myself). Probably would get along just fine as long as regular oil/filter changes were done. So, my answer to the original question "Does it really matter what oil you use?" is "Nope, not at all."

[ December 14, 2003, 08:28 PM: Message edited by: ZiTS ]

 

[Cutehumor]

I agree with previous posts. there are so many things about oil to think about. there are various viewpoints on oil.

1) there are some who change oil at 2k intervals because they can't stand the oil turning darker
2) one guy changes every month because he likes to keep the oil "clean"
3)there are some who push oil change intervals to greater than 10k miles with no filter change.
4) some look at oil from a financial standpoint. cost of syn and UOA's

so it's about comfort and do what you feel comfortable with

 

[geeeman]

Pondering this question, I have come up with the following conclusion...

Yes...and No! Absolutely!...Probably not...Maybe?

My thoughts...

If it gets REAL cold, maybe a synthetic is a better choice...

If you HATE! changing your oil (or paying somebody to do it) maybe synthetic is a better choice...

If you really, honestly think you will keep your car FOREVER! (which is a really long time!!!) maybe synthetic is a better choice...!

For average, everyday use in those disposable appliances we call cars, synthetic oils are expensive overkill. If you're gonna throw your money away, at least consider a good charity...!

 

[geeeman]

TSoA...

Man, I sure hope you didn't jinx your "womans"
car. 'Cause when major components start to go, they're all gonna go at the SAME TIME!!!

The service guy will say something like this...

we're going to have to replace the tranny, the alternator and the starter. The fuel pump is soundin' bad and your injectors are leaking. By the way those CV joints are noisy, and the boots are leaking too. Tires are worn out, brakes need work. The estimate works out to about, ummm, ahhh, $15 000. But the shocks look good...

 

[geeeman]

Quaker State says...

quote:

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We are so sure Quaker State® motor oils will protect your engine, we offer a 10-year/250,000 mile limited warranty, even if you change your own oil.

---

Can't argue with that...!

Anybody tried to make a claim ...???

 

[Spector]

Having posted yesterday on this thread about my 92 Camry with 160,000 miles (Amsoil 7500 OCI since day new) and other components going before the engine, well, last night it died (well stalled to the point of having to push it to a service station) for the first time since new. Me thinks the days are getting numbered. All OEM for the most part but a few seals seeping, rear valve cover gasket seeping, it could literally consume $1,000-$4,000 of repairs if all went at once.

Would I use Amsoil again, probably even though I do like getting dirty under the car but quite honestly, I don't have a true rational for doing so nor for doing UOA as I agee with Bretfraz, they are pretty useless for 99% of the drivers and even if a bad report (other then glycol, etc) there is so little that can be done about it. Ignorance is bliss and in the whole scheme of life this (oil issues) is not important. Being a fanatic about oilis a hobby and perhaps we need to look at it as such.

 

[Dr. T]

Andrew, the average U.S. car says to do OCI's of 7.5k mi. for normal driving or 3k for severe conditions. Severe includes things that we all do...stop-and-go city, frequent cold starting etc....

In N.A. we use 5-30 and 10-30. I highly doubt these can go 15k km and not be smoking by 100k. What grades of dino does the average Auzzie use to go 15k km intervals?

 

[geeeman]

crashz...

quote:

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I want it to stay dependable at least for the next ten years...

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Define dependable...???

A mint condition engine surrounded by 10 year old components does not make for a "dependable" vehicle. Ask me how I know...

 

[Robbie Alexander]

quote:

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Originally posted by Spector:
------ Will the engine make 200,000 sure, will the rest of it along with my patience?????? Engine was on Amsoil entire life.

So, a dino at 3000 miles OCI would probably accomplish the same results.

---

You have probably 40-90K before major JACK starts to go visit your CAR
The thing to do is to TRY to time these things and replace or flush those things when they are still GOOD.
Just like OIL, you want to change it WHEN it is STILL good not when it's almost dead...

 

[Robbie Alexander]

quote:

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Originally posted by bretfraz:
-*-*-*
I would not look for a pattern in UOA's. It's pointless. -*-*

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What? No way. The numbers can tell you a lot... but most of us here are not experienced in the field to give a break-down.
There are ratios and such that can PINPOINT exactly what is working harder etc...

The whole point of OCI's is TRENDS !

Just like the TREND of playing LOTTO is that in the end MOST people LOSE! The other trend in Lotto is Both myself and my wife picked the numbers about 12-13 times total, one time it was for the 25Million and I was too tired and didn't want to let her out at dark to get the numbers... no one won, and she had the numbers as they drew them a couple hours on the T.V. ,man I still say the TREND for us to lose is better, in specific to now, since we probably have already picked all the numbers humanly possible it just doesn't matter if we never played, the TREND is agains us...

 

[crashz]

I see it like this: We all have some type of hobbies and interests. I love cars and trucks. I love oil. So it doenst surprise me that other people love to maintain their vehicles too.

But regarding the disposability of vehicles, not everyone is willing to get rid of their car at the drop of a hat. I will literally keep my truck until there is nothing but an unrecognizable pile of rust. I want it to stay dependable at least for the next ten years so that I can focus my money on a mortage. Even considering that I could afford a car payment and mortage, I don't want to finance my life away. By that time I'll have other expenses to consider.

 

[hmeyer]

When I bought my new Ford truck and looked under the hood and it said 5w20, it scared the bejeesus out of me. So I found this site and started reading about 5w20 and now feel better about it. But now, I've become obsessed with this stuff and just know that if I ever go over the OCI limit something terrible will happen.

Then, I think back to my old '90 Mercury Topaz that went 276,000 miles and still going strong when I traded it. It was treated very bad, I'm sure averaging over 10,000 miles between changes on Valvoline 10w30. Sometimes much more. I really didn't even keep track. That was back in my "oil? who cares?" days.

I wonder if it will really make any difference if I change the oil regularly or not? I guess I'll never know since I have now contracted this oil obsession disorder.

 

[TC]

This thread prompts me to pose a question I've always wanted to ask. Here and elsewhere, comments of "Don't use a cheap oil" are common. What exactly is "cheap" oil? Chevron is only about $1.20 at WalMart, possibly their least expensive name brand. Does this make it "cheap" or otherwise "deficient?"

I've always used the "cheapest" name brand, current-grade (SL, etc.) oil I can find for both my street and track cars. Right now, this might equate to a Shell, Havoline, or Citgo for <69 cents after rebates. Using this Cheap Bast*ard philosophy for 20 years, I've never had any oil-related problems or even a hint of sludge in engines for about a dozen cars, including three German machines. So I'm still clueless....is the SL-rated Citgo I got for 36 cents after promotions "cheap" and going to ruin my engine? I should run out and grab some $6 Amsoil before it's too late!

 

[Robbie Alexander]

quote:

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Originally posted by Spector:
Having posted yesterday on this thread about my 92 Camry with 160,000 miles (Amsoil 7500 OCI since day new) and other components going before the engine, well, last night it died -*-*-*

---

Well, could it be something simple?

I am about to buy a Honda Civic 1989 this weekend if it looks okay, unless some body has a better deal... IT has 140,000+ miles

 

[Grossomotto]

quote:

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is the SL-rated Citgo I got for 36 cents after promotions "cheap" and going to ruin my engine? I should run out and grab some $6 Amsoil before it's too late!

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I think you know the answer. It's not going to ruin your engine. OCI is much more important than the oil you use. Even the cheapest oils will take 3000 miles. Tear down an engine at 100K and you'll see little difference in dino at 3K OCI and synthetic at 3K OCI. IMHO, synthetics are really for extended drain, performance, and all the oil fanatics!

And more oil for thought: For the money, you can change your engine oil with $1/QT Dino oil at least four times than if you use $4/QT Mobil 1 SS.

This may sound smug, but I only buy Mobil 1 SS because I can now afford it! In my poor college student days, I never had a car!

 

[Terry]

Good question and valid.

Unless you employ oil analysis to confirm your specific application or teardown periodically you'll never know for sure regardless of oil brand or formulation used.

I started doing oil analysis because the aircraft engines and gearboxes we tested needed to work during flight and be changed BEFORE failure.

I continued oil analysis in automotive race engines and OTR trucks to gain an edge in performance and save trucking companies
thousands of $$ a year in maintenance and fuel costs.

I continue to use oil analysis to inspect the engine and confirm the oil without the time and money of a teardown. Very FEW professionals in the automotive industry are capable of interpreting basic spectrographic oil analysis without confirming the data either by teardown or very expensive additional advanced oil analysis techniques.

So it depends on the customers needs, lab quality/cost benefit, interpretation accuracy.

The $35 deal we offer will tell you more than most labs alone and you will get the time spent with YOU via email to adjust the lube to the engine and make things work in ways you did not dream of. You also get the benefit of years of interpretive knowledge that oil or engine makers will not or can not share.

If a person chooses to change their oil every 3000 miles and ignore the use of other technology then they are hiding possible issues that can be catastrophic, inefficient, and needlessly change motor oils that inevitably end up in the ground water.

Yes, some engines run well using low cost lubes and some need a higher end formulation, the only way to know for sure is get it tested and interpreted by a professional.

Or you can sit back change the oil every 3000 miles blindly, but you wouldn't be here if that was your demographic !

Terry

 

[2003TRD]

True, so what company are u with Terry? I dont have any samples to send off now (just put fresh amsoil in both vehicles and mobil MXT in my sportbike) but I will keep you in mind when I do an analysis in the near future, more for fun with the cars, but the motorcycle because I beat the **** out of it and syn free up a couple more HP. I hope I didnt do any damage to the bike this summer I ran it in high temperatures, the bike (a CBR 954) runs hot anyway, and I redlined it quite often for about 3200 miles on my mobil syn motorcycle (think it was MXT)

Have you, or anyone, had experience with Mobil MXT OCI on sportbikes? Does this oil usually hold up to the abuse for 3K miles? or is there a better motorcycle oil?

Thanks
Howard

 

[Spector]

quote:

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Originally posted by Robbie Alexander:

quote:

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Originally posted by Spector:
Having posted yesterday on this thread about my 92 Camry with 160,000 miles (Amsoil 7500 OCI since day new) and other components going before the engine, well, last night it died -*-*-*

---

Well, could it be something simple?

I am about to buy a Honda Civic 1989 this weekend if it looks okay, unless some body has a better deal... IT has 140,000+ miles

---

It was simple. The air intake boot (rubber intake hose from the air cleaner to the throttle body) had cracked wide open at the seam underneath. That plus a cleaning of the throttle body has it running fine again and no more sticky gas pedal either. Of course, what's in store for tomorrow????? This nickel was almost $200 but less then a new car or payments

 

[Terry]

Howard, my own company. The one that helped Bob develop the oil analysis side of this site.


I do independent testing for ANYONE who'll ante up !

goto www.bobistheoilguy.com/terry.html

I prefer Redline oils in the motorcycle apps especially if you run the poo out of it.

Amsoil,Schaeffers blends,Royal Purple, all do well in bikes, the oil listed above shows average in analysis overall.

 

[Drew99GT]

quote:

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Originally posted by Spector:

quote:

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Originally posted by Robbie Alexander:

quote:

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Originally posted by Spector:
Having posted yesterday on this thread about my 92 Camry with 160,000 miles (Amsoil 7500 OCI since day new) and other components going before the engine, well, last night it died -*-*-*

---

Well, could it be something simple?

I am about to buy a Honda Civic 1989 this weekend if it looks okay, unless some body has a better deal... IT has 140,000+ miles

---

It was simple. The air intake boot (rubber intake hose from the air cleaner to the throttle body) had cracked wide open at the seam underneath. That plus a cleaning of the throttle body has it running fine again and no more sticky gas pedal either. Of course, what's in store for tomorrow????? This nickel was almost $200 but less then a new car or payments

---

Was the leak past the airflow meter or something? An engine with only a map sensor won't die like that. Makes me think back to some schmucks on a Grand Am GT forum I posted on a lot. They thought it would be brilliant to add a K&N breather filter to the oil fill cap. The motor was sucking in lots of air through the oil fill breather, through the crankcase and into the intake manifold, all past the MAF sensor, and they could not figure out why the engine would only run when floored