I don't stress about oil brand or grade

[ARCOgraphite]

My neighbor doesn't either.
He buys used BMWs and usually has four in his lane. He takes them to 400 to 500k miles. He repairs them himself and is a mid 50 year old Lockheed Martin engineer.

At a Christmas party I notice he had a bunch of Vanilla grade Mobil 1 on the shelves in a few weights.

I asked him what BMW spec oil he uses. He doesn't, basic M1 and he said he doesn't do the approval thing. Never did and who could argue as his whole family drives them and they all get the basic but in the correct weight...
He is now into the used Mercedes market....going Vanilla...

Makes some sense.

I sometimes say to myself - if it requires a very special oil - what is INCORRECT about the design or materials vs. most everything else?

'Mercun's ain't whipping their Fillys to 175 kph - no bundesautobahnsturmer here.

Except for that one crazy VW dude ...

 

[gfh77665]

How does the engine sound?

Zero difference. Its always been wisper quite. At a stop, its so quite the gages tell you the engine is running since you can hear it.

 

[gfh77665]

So the dealer was doing the 5w20 oil changes and now you're doing the Supertech 5w30 oil changes?
Same OEM filter?.... or different?

Fram TG off the shelf. I don't know what the dealer used before. It looks about the same.

 

[gfh77665]

How many miles are on your 2019 Ram? It sounds like you just got it. If so, good luck with it!

25,000 miles. I bought it new in 2019, the drive out price was just under $25K. We travel in it, it is not a daily work / commuter vehicle. It stays in the garage 6 days out of 7 and it stays very clean. We bought this truck because it had the best, most comfortable seats and ride on the planet.

 

[gfh77665]

Then why are you here.......

I enjoy lots of things I don't stress on. I enjoy automotive topics and all the other topics (investments, real estate, etc.) discussed here. Thats why I am here.

I have been clear I don't obsess over oil brands or viscosities or filter change intervals, etc. Reread my OP.

 

[BigCahuna]

2.4? how many miles? 1qt/750 is definitely excessive and 1qt/1500 still seems excessive

It turned 95k a week or so ago. We got a letter from GM to bring in in for a check out, they decided they were not going to do anything about it. We bought it off my sister, who bought it new from the same dealer we took it to. They did say it needed a rebuild. But they were not going to pay for it. I discovered heavier oil works fine for consumption. plus it's alot cheaper than a engine rebuild.,,,

 

[OilUzer]

A loaded truck would also appreciate 40 grade in the summer time.

My truck engine writes "Thank You!" to the ECU memory every time I use a 40 weight Euro in the summer time. You have to use a OBD-II scanner to read the engine communication and data. When I had the free dealer oil changes with the 20 grade, I would read "What the hell?"

 

[Plumb Bob]

I don’t either, now that Walmart sells M1 ESP for $28. I use it in everything as it is pretty much a universal oil.

ESP and HDEO (if needed) will cover about every ICE on the road these days.

 

[Nesterenko]

I don’t either, now that Walmart sells M1 ESP for $28. I use it in everything as it is pretty much a universal oil.

Unbeatable at that price! Almost too good to be true but alas...

 

[Averroes]

My neighbor doesn't either.
He buys used BMWs and usually has four in his lane. He takes them to 400 to 500k miles. He repairs them himself and is a mid 50 year old Lockheed Martin engineer.

At a Christmas party I notice he had a bunch of Vanilla grade Mobil 1 on the shelves in a few weights.

I asked him what BMW spec oil he uses. He doesn't, basic M1 and he said he doesn't do the approval thing. Never did and who could argue as his whole family drives them and they all get the basic but in the correct weight...
He is now into the used Mercedes market....going Vanilla...

They have some mad men there. Sheeeeerrrrrr madnesss!

 

[Snagglefoot]

When I switched mine to 5W30 - kept a close eye on oil pressure …
Same on the highway and still does stupid high stage oil pump engagement at a snails pace (until the engine is hot) …

That’s interesting. Maybe they are worried about adequate oiling at the rockers and cam. Reminds me of those old Esso adds showing cold oil finally reaching the rockers on an OHC engine.

I started by my 6.0 Burb at -10 F in Calgary last weekend. The LS engine’s oil pressure transducer is at the top of the block. It took 10 seconds for the oil pressure to register. Normally 3 seconds at 60 F. That is with 0w40 with 5,000 miles on it. And yes, the O ring on the pickup tube has been changed.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

I don't stress on oil. Any name brand with a current API or Dexos or Ilsac certification is fine with me. I don't stress on viscosity, although I am well aware CAFE is the tail that wags the dog. I believe one viscosity grade up or down is almost neglible. Won't cause any harm.

Curiosity led me to make an informal observation with my 2019 RAM Classic with the 3.6L Pentastar V6, when I changed the fill from the 5w-20 dealership oil to 5w-30 SuperTech full Syn. After about 380 miles (just one tank) I observed the following from the trucks display:

5w-20 Coolant temp = 201 5w-30 Coolant temp = 197
5w-20 Trans temp = 183 5w-30 Trans temp = 181
5w-20 oil temp = 194 5w-30 oil temp = 194
5w-20 oil pressure = 41 5w-30 oil pressure = 44
5w-20 observed MPG = 21.4 5w-30 observed MPG = 21.2

My conclusion is the truck never noticed bumping up from 5w-20 to 5w-30. I seriously doubt I "lost" 0.2 mpg either, since this is reflective of just one tank (~380 miles) that had less highway crusing than I normally do. FWIW.

I seriously doubt you lost .01 MPG

 

[Kennedy01]

My neighbor doesn't either.
He buys used BMWs and usuall

My neighbor doesn't either.
He buys used BMWs and usually has four in his lane. He takes them to 400 to 500k miles. He repairs them himself and is a mid 50 year old Lockheed Martin engineer.

At a Christmas party I notice he had a bunch of Vanilla grade Mobil 1 on the shelves in a few weights.

I asked him what BMW spec oil he uses. He doesn't, basic M1 and he said he doesn't do the approval thing. Never did and who could argue as his whole family drives them and they all get the basic but in the correct weight...
He is now into the used Mercedes market....going Vanilla...

If he isn't using the approved oil it's not the correct weight....the hths of the euro spec Mobil 1 oils are much higher than the standard ilsac Mobil 1 oils. For instance, ESP 0w30 is at least a 3.5 hths with a kv @100C of 12, which is practically a 40 weight. That's much thicker than any of the other 30 weights they offer. Perhaps technically it's a 30, but it isn't the 30 specified.

 

[John105]

Can't explain for sure why, but on my 2007 BMW I've always used any oil that says BMW LL-01. Ironic 01 means 2001. Last time was Valvoline, before that I had multiple M1's still LL-01 (heard they may have got it back).

But over the years I do feel I care less and less. Example? I stopped buying oil. I may only have 3-4 jugs left which shocked even me. I only use about 2 jugs per year, why keep buying 6-8 with rebate?

So the proof in the pudding is I have 2 Costco 5W30's on deck. I likely would never have used "Costco" oil 10 years ago.

 

[John105]

I seriously doubt you lost .01 MPG

A lot of folks are really serious and sensitive these days. One of my teammates was joking that some change another teammate made, now costs 0.03 sec per mouse click, and the other coworker flipped out....we don't typically describe actions in cs so he should have known it was a joke. Gotta be really careful these days

 

[Zee09]

@Kennedy01
The way you did the post I couldn't reply. He's going by listed weight not specs... his words not mine.

 

[Kennedy01]

@Kennedy01
The way you did the post I couldn't reply. He's going by listed weight not specs... his words not mine.

Yeah I noticed I got the reply thing messed up, sorry about that. My point was part of the specifications is the HTHS for the given viscosity oil required. The euro oils are supposed to have a minimum HTHS of 3.5 on 30 weight.

 

[Zee09]

Yeah I noticed I got the reply thing messed up, sorry about that. My point was part of the specifications is the HTHS for the given viscosity oil required. The euro oils are supposed to have a minimum HTHS of 3.5 on 30 weight.

I was going to argue the point but in the end he has had success and that speaks volumes, so I kept walking...

 

[Kennedy01]

I was going to argue the point but in the end he has had success and that speaks volumes, so I kept walking...

They are his cars so ....

 

[Spring Break '92]

I don’t either, now that Walmart sells M1 ESP for $28. I use it in everything as it is pretty much a universal oil.

What vehicles would you not use ESP in, for those considering switching to ESP?