Is there a bad engine oil brand or selection? Synthetic or conventional?

[Mtnbiker]

I’ve searched on here to see if somebody’s already posted a question like this, maybe I’m not wording it just right.
I seriously wonder if it’s even possible to buy a horrible or bad engine oil today?
Do you know of any if so, what brand and model/selection name etc.
Conventional?
Synthetic?
I figure as long as you’re not using this semi new water stuff in your engine or totally wrong viscosity and you change it every 5000 miles or so.
Depending on what kind of driving your an environment is, am I wrong to think any oil is good these days? It is more about the viscosity?
Although I guess there may be an exception for direct injection engines since some Engine Oils may cause faster carbon buildup.

 

[kschachn]

The best oil. Tens of threads on this and many with the exact spin you’re adding (including a side of thick-vs-thin).

There is also an article on the site.

Looking back at your previous posts I’m surprised you don’t already have an answer to this.

 

[PontiacHO]

https://pqia.org/advisoriesconsumer-alerts-and-dont-buys/

Good place to start.

 

[Tempest1]

Lucas had some horrendously bad Noack numbers several years ago.

 

[dnewton3]

I’ve searched on here to see if somebody’s already posted a question like this, maybe I’m not wording it just right.

You're hitting on the same topic(s) which have been bantered here for decades. No; your search was not effective.

I seriously wonder if it’s even possible to buy a horrible or bad engine oil today? Do you know of any if so, what brand and model/selection name etc.

Sure - get one that is at a discount dollar store which has no API cert. The PQIA website has some examples which fail the applicable tests.

I figure as long as you’re not using this semi new water stuff in your engine or totally wrong viscosity and you change it every 5000 miles or so.

Well - you're well on the way down the road of mythology and rhetoric. Just how is "semi-water" defined anyway?

Depending on what kind of driving your an environment is, am I wrong to think any oil is good these days? It is more about the viscosity?
Although I guess there may be an exception for direct injection engines since some Engine Oils may cause faster carbon buildup.

... there's several levels of quality and acceptable. Some oils are good, some are better. Some suck.
There is so much to consider that you can't just throw a blanket statement over this and think you've covered all the topics.



You've been here for over 5 years, and you've not figured this out yet???


.

 

[Nessism1]

If the oil in question has appropriate approvals for your vehicle, it's good to use. Where people around here get into a debate is in terms of exceeding specs.

 

[Mtnbiker]

https://pqia.org/advisoriesconsumer-alerts-and-dont-buys/

Good place to start.

WOW! I had no idea there were so many crappy oils.
Although I admit, I’ve never heard of most of those names or brands.
I guess to be more correct, any somewhat well known/big brand engine oil is probably great as long as you change it often enough and use a within realm viscosity.

 

[facility1]

Just stay with a name brand (preferably synthetic) with appropriate approvals, like SQ,SP GF-7 ,GF-6 and you will be fine

 

[DCDG]

I’ve searched on here to see if somebody’s already posted a question like this, maybe I’m not wording it just right.
I seriously wonder if it’s even possible to buy a horrible or bad engine oil today?
Do you know of any if so, what brand and model/selection name etc.
Conventional?
Synthetic?
I figure as long as you’re not using this semi new water stuff in your engine or totally wrong viscosity and you change it every 5000 miles or so.
Depending on what kind of driving your an environment is, am I wrong to think any oil is good these days? It is more about the viscosity?
Although I guess there may be an exception for direct injection engines since some Engine Oils may cause faster carbon buildup.

As long as there is a cert there is no bad oil.

 

[McRightclick]

I've seen some mysterious no-name non-API oils at gas stations that I sure wouldn't touch haha

 

[Japanese]

I’ve searched on here to see if somebody’s already posted a question like this, maybe I’m not wording it just right.
I seriously wonder if it’s even possible to buy a horrible or bad engine oil today?
Do you know of any if so, what brand and model/selection name etc.
Conventional?
Synthetic?

Asking what oil is bad means you have to had tried most oils at least once and even if any is worse than the other you wouldn't know.
It's not as easy as tasing a bad wine or beer and then never get it again.

A lot of people think the oil they drive with is the best. But experience show otherwise, except a few boutique oils.

 

[f355spider]

WOW! I had no idea there were so many crappy oils.
Although I admit, I’ve never heard of most of those names or brands.
I guess to be more correct, any somewhat well known/big brand engine oil is probably great as long as you change it often enough and use a within realm viscosity.

These are found at places like Dollar General or some mini mart. Obviously not a place to be buying your motor oil.

 

[f355spider]

As long as there is a cert there is no bad oil. View attachment 342244View attachment 342245View attachment 342246

Not always the case: These appear to have the certification but do not actually meet the standards.
https://pqia.org/sgt-p-motor-oil-sae-5w-20/
https://pqia.org/sgt-p-motor-oil-sae-5w-30/

Also, if you drill down in the full list, there are manufacturers that are falsely claiming API starbursts and licensing when they are not. That could cause new car warranty issues if you use such oils and had engine damage:
https://pqia.org/passenger-car-motor-oil/

 

[ripcord]

If you buy your oil at an auto parts store or someplace like Walmart, you won't get a "bad" oil.

 

[DCDG]

Not always the case: These appear to have the certification but do not actually meet the standards.
https://pqia.org/sgt-p-motor-oil-sae-5w-20/
https://pqia.org/sgt-p-motor-oil-sae-5w-30/

Also, if you drill down in the full list, there are manufacturers that are falsely claiming API starbursts and licensing when they are not. That could cause new car warranty issues if you use such oils and had engine damage:
https://pqia.org/passenger-car-motor-oil/

Well now I would steer clear of any oil company that looks like a microbrewery. So yeah you got me there. Sgt peppers lonely hearts club band had some good music just stay with your reputable brands Pennzoil, Castrol, Valvoline, Mobil or House brand from brick and mortar like O’Reilly, Super tech NAPA and so on.

 

[tolian21]

In some parts of the world, counterfeit motor oil is a big issue.

 

[ltslimjim]

Define bad anyway. There can be oil that meets basic standards and isn’t as good for a specific engine or use case as other oils. Even “good” oil has a definition. Good enough? Good as in optimal? Vehicle makes it to 200k, 500k, a million miles? How many of those miles are a function of oil choice? Etc etc There are so many ways to slice this topic. Depends on your goals and what function is attempting to be defined.