Is Chevron Supreme the same as Texaco Havoline?

[ZiTS]

Topic pretty much says it all. The reason I ask is because the Wal-Mart stores in my area don't seem to carry the Chevron Supreme 5w-30 weight, and no other stores around here even carry Chevron Supreme. I was able to once find just enough 5w-30 to do one oil change, but the bottles were completely dust-covered. The only weight Wally's carries on a regular basis is the 10w-30 and 10w-40. So, if the Texaco Havoline is the exact same motor oil, it is readily available everywhere around here, and my dilemma is solved.

ZiTS

 

[Sin City]

The only difference is that the Havoline has a very small amount of magnesium added as a detergent that the Chevron Supreme does not have. The tech data for the two oils is nearly identical. The only difference is that the Havoline has a TBN that is .2 higher from the small additional amount of magnesium.

[ November 23, 2003, 03:36 AM: Message edited by: Sin City ]

 

[ZiTS]

So wouldn't that mean that the Havoline is an overall better oil? Everybody always talks about the Chevron Supreme, but with the Texaco Havoline being more readily available in addition to the added magnesium, it seems like that would be the one to go with.

 

[Sin City]

Yes I agree that the Havoline is the better oil but in the real world a TBN that is higher by .2 will have very little additional benefit. Chevron/Texaco just updated their product data sheets for Chevron Supreme. The technical data looked about the same as before (I just gave it a quick glance). I would post a link but the URL is way too long!

[ November 23, 2003, 03:44 AM: Message edited by: Sin City ]

 

[ZiTS]

Ok, thanks SinCity. I wonder why, then, more people don't talk about/use the Havoline, since it seems to be everywhere. Is it simply because Chevron Supreme is harder to find that it has that "mysterious allure" to it?

 

[Ray H]

Since ALL the other parameters in the product data sheets for Chevron Supreme and ChevronTexaco Havoline are identical except for that miniscule 0.2 difference across the board for TBN, I'm entertaining the notion that the assays were from different production runs (or -gasp-, a typo!). It strikes me as odd that ChevronTexaco would intentionally market their flagship line of motor oils with inferior specifications to the johnny-come-lately brand. As far as I'm concerned, if you're interested in a ChevronTexaxo motor oil for your car, buy either Chevron Supreme or Havoline on the basis of price point or locale availability. Just make certain that the the back of the Havoline bottles say "ChevronTexaco" and not "Equilon".

[ November 23, 2003, 03:48 PM: Message edited by: Ray H ]

 

[widman]

The Chevron product is the ISOSYN base stock. I'm under the impresion that the Havoline is not.

 

[wtd]

My local Walmart and auto parts stores did not carry the Chevron Supreme. I found a local oil jobber in the yellow pages and bought a case from them.

I could have used the Havoline, which is readily available everywhere, but I wanted to try the Chevron since it seemed to get the most press here and all of the UOA's have been excellent.

Wayne

 

[mehere]

Costco in the southwest sells 5W-30/ 10W-30 / 10W-40 weights all year long here in the southwest -- it is 11.99 per /case -- I bought a case today -- up .30 cents a case from a few weeks ago. They do a good volume and you can be assured it is genuine and relatively fresh. Also sell DELO by the case if you have a diesel.

 

[Patman]

Up here in our Walmarts we can't get Chevron, but some of them sell Havoline, so it's the only choice we've got. It doesn't get much shelf space though, Pennzoil easily has the most shelf space of all the oils at Walmarts here.

 

[FordSVTGuy]

I have found myself in the same situation. Like Chevron Supreme, but I cannot find a steady source of it so I went with Havoline.

Someone made the remark that Chevron would not allow the Texaco Havoline product to be "superior" to their Supreme brand. I think that ChevronTexaco designed them both with similar plans in mind. Start with excellent group II base stocks, put in a quality additive package and there you have it... two quality motor oils that I would have no problem using in my cars. I read somewhere that the Havoline brand is there biggest seller because of the large area that the product has always been marketed in. There was a reason that Chevron wanted to buy Texaco...

Another quick point. At my local Walmart, the Havoline is $1.17 vs. the (limited stock) Chevron Supreme at $1.08. Both are a great deal when compared to the Pennzoils, Castrols, and Valvolines, all priced $.50 higher...

 

[bretfraz]

Chev Supreme may be hard to find in Ohio (I'm guessing you live in the southern part of the state?) but it's readily available in Georgia, among other parts of the country.

Plus I can buy Chev Supreme at Costco by the case for well under $1/qt.

So I don't think the concept of exclusivity has anything to do with people's opinions of it. It seems to be a darned good oil for a darned low price and that's what many folks are looking for.

 

[JohnnyO]

quote:

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Originally posted by FordSVTGuy:
At my local Walmart, the Havoline is $1.17 vs. the (limited stock) Chevron Supreme at $1.08.

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Same here. They only had two slots for Chevron, one for 10w-30 (empty) and one for 10w-40 and not much of that one either.