How much is enough? What’s good enough?

Joined
Apr 14, 2022
Messages
114
So, I have been on this website for over a year now and I must say I have learned a ton and it has been a pleasure to learn from some of the oil greats on this forum. There are definitely people with vast amounts of knowledge and it is easy to spot them in various threads on here. I cringe at some of the comments I made when I first joined lol, but you live and learn and this is an awesome forum for doing so.

However, on to the actual point of this thread. I’m sure someone will come on here and bash me claiming I’m “starting another XYZ thread” but this question has been burning a lot in the back of my head for a few months now. We praise Euro oils for their high HTHS and approvals/specifications they carry, but are they necessary for 90% of us? My wife’s car is a Nissan Rogue, which I’d never think to run a Euro oil in. Me myself, I have a 2021 Mustang GT that I daily drive, but it sees no track time, only spirited street driving on occasion with 7k RPM shifts, hard downshifts, and some engine braking. Does this warrant the need for a Euro oil with a higher HTHS of >3.5? I know there are more to Euro oils stoutness other than HTHS such as deposit control, ability to stay in grade, oxidation resistance etc. The owners manual for my Mustang recommends 5W-30 which has an HTHS of around 2.9-3.2 in most API/ILSAC oils we have here in the states from what I’ve gathered here on this site and various PDS’s. But am I gaining anything using an xW-30/40 Euro oil over an API/ILSAC oil? API/ILSAC standards seemed to be talked down upon, which I know have began to lean towards fuel economy improvements which I could care less about. I didn’t buy a V8 mustang to save gas money. My OCI is every 3-5K religiously. Daily driven with 60/40 split highway to city driving.
 
You're describing the 'Eurooils' as superior, yes? They don't cost but a bit more so why fret it?
I know that's a smartie-pants answer but where you can compare oils on a ppm basis, you rarely tax your machine.
Noting wrong with keeping it clean. I liked having a bunch of cars to top up with my 'early drain' oil.

The SuperTech guys will be by. SuperTech might be enough.
 
If I owned the cars you have I would run these, M1 0w40, QSFS Euro 5w40 or PP Euro L 5w30. I run the QSFS Euro in my vehicles and have ran the PP Euro L in my son's Volvo C30 with good results. Not ran the M1 but it is highly regarded
 
5.0 in my family gets 7500 mile oil changes with any brand 10w30 syn oil.
Do you find the engine is staying quite clean? I find found that the Outback was getting some good varnish starting on 6k OCI's with dealer 0W20. The oil temp gauge in the car shows above 200F quite often as well. And its not the quietest engine so I run 0W30 or 5W30, usually the euro spec'd Pennzoil syn is the same price as their other syn, and often doesn't sell out as fast at my local stores, so I started running that. I don't see the varnish down the fill cap getting worse at least.
 
I cringe at some of the comments I made when I first joined lol, but you live and learn and this is an awesome forum for doing so.
Same. My old posts are cringy.

You really don't need to deviate much from what is called for in your manual. I'd just focus on using a top quality oil rather than get hung up on specific metrics like HT/HS etc. If you're keeping the cars as long as possible, then I would always suggest using a top quality oil. Oil is inexpensive and cheap insurance.
 
Why wouldn't you use a Euro spec oil ? They typically are longer drain oils so you can forget those short oci's that you're doing now, plus you'll get the higher HTHS that would help protect better. 7k rpm is not exactly peanuts. Win, win.
 
Way I see it... an A3/B4 is often the same price at walmart as the API SP jugs sitting right next to it. ~$5/qt when purchased in 5qt jugs. If the car is port injected and either works hard a lot or is turbocharged, an A3/B4 is a good choice according to BITOGers. With that said, not all bottles of A3/B4 are ALSO API SP, which your car does call out and possibly for good reason...

The '21 GT is a direct+port injected engine. It's also a huge engine pulling a tiny little coupe around. This means that under normal conditions, the engine is going to be operating at low RPM, where pre-ignition issues can be exacerbated by certain oil formulations, especially older formulations. I'm sure someone here can explain the exact causes but the point is that if you do want to use a "Euro" oil in your GT, you should find one that has been "tuned" for the concerns of modern direct injected high compression engines.

I believe the latest version of Mobile 1 0W-40 FS, Castrol Edge Euro 5W-40 A3/B4, and Quaker Full Synthetic Euro 5w-40, all exceeds the requirements of both API SP and the latest A3/B4. Since the manual does call out the option to use 5W-50 for track use that sort of tells us that there isn't a concern about using thicker oil in this car, I think any of these A3/B4+SP spec oils in various 40 weights would work fine. Just be cautious when picking up A3/B4's for this engine as many of them are NOT API SP...

--------------

All that to say... If I had a 21 GT I would probably use an API SP 5W-30 Dexos1 Gen3 "EP" Oil in it. Something like Castrol Edge Extended Protection, Quaker State Ultimate Protection, or Mobile 1 Extended Protection, and just change it when the oil life monitor trips, which would probably be around 7500 miles.
 
Last edited:
Mobil-1 EP and change every 4k..... especially if that Rogue has that hard working three cylinder engine.
My daughter has the 2022 Rogue. She gets the oil changed at the dealer every 5k and 5k, the oil I see on the dipstick tube looks nasty & worn out.

This is her 4th Nissan three year lease in a row. Never any trouble or breakdowns.
 
Back
Top