"Lower tier " oils you have run...

[SR5]

Back in the 80s when I drove a VW Bug that I started with a screwdriver I used any store brand oil and changed it every 1-2k.

But was it a good name brand screwdriver like Snap-on, or a cheap generic screwdriver from a bargain bin ?

 

[allepunta]

Motul definitely ain't low tier.

not from the marketing perspective....

 

[cwilliamsws6]

When my local KMart closed I bought out their remaining stock of Super S Multi-Flo 5w20 and ran it in the CR-V it worked just fine.

 

[wemay]

Lately, i've used FRAM more than any of the others...along with the FRAM filter deal.

 

[Ignatius]

Lately, i've used FRAM more than any of the others...along with the FRAM filter deal.

That is not a bad deal at all. Based on what I have seen from VOA data here and from PQIA, Fram brand oil is nothing special but it's also not terrible, average run of the mill lube.

 

[UncleDave]

NAPA - Valvoline

 

[Silver]

Pennzoil Platinum

 

[ArcherDriver]

But was it a good name brand screwdriver like Snap-on, or a cheap generic screwdriver from a bargain bin ?

You didn't need a good screwdriver. Any piece of insulated metal to jump the two posts on the starter would take care of it.

 

[Johnmpb]

When my local KMart closed I bought out their remaining stock of Super S Multi-Flo 5w20 and ran it in the CR-V it worked just fine.

Didn’t your crv have issues a while back and went into limp mode and you had to do an early oil change which seemed to fix it? Any idea what caused it?

 

[wemay]

That is not a bad deal at all. Based on what I have seen from VOA data here and from PQIA, Fram brand oil is nothing special but it's also not terrible, average run of the mill lube.

Agreed on all counts

 

[kneesahn]

Supertech and Napa occasionally, trop Arctic back in the early 2000’s

 

[WobblyElvis]

I pretty well always use "low tier" oil. Canadian tire or Walmart house brand. Haven't worn out an engine in 40 years or more. Glad I didn't pay top dollar, saved a lot of money.

 

[WeyounDS9]

Now that I think about it.
I love supporting underdogs. Maybe I should start to buy more of the "off brands" just for the fun of it.

 

[bbhero]

This ^^^ AZ STP which at the time was Amalie - my Dad’s old brand …
Still use some STP air & oil filters now and then …

You know the STP aka Amalie full synthetic oils is a very good oil. Nothing wrong with that deal there.

Their API SP and Dexos approved oils are quite good. Any oil carrying those are actually way better than oil from just 15 years ago.

 

[javacontour]

Lower tier oils meaning Super S, Amalie, Cam2, Warren Oil, Warren Distribution and or others. These oils can also be store branded like say Providence oil from RK, or say Federated Auto parts oils from WD.

I have run 30 different oils in my car these past 10 years.

Pennzoil Ultra aka the original one and Castrol gold bottle too. I ran those be two almost exclusively for the first 2 years I had my car.

I like Chevron/Havoline and Valvoline and Castrol and Quaker State too. Run all of those in my car has well.

Been running Cam2 in my car for the past 2 years or so. Their full synthetic Dexos approved oil has 25-40 percent group IV in it. Not too shabby really. Their motor oils have been tested by PQIA a fair amount over time and they have always passed those tests well. It runs very well in my car that has 360k plus miles on it.

I'm just curious how many others on here have done the same in the past 4-5 years.

I've been running the Providence oil from RK in both my Mazda3 and my RAV4. If not that, the Wal*Mart SuperTech. I think I ran some Pennzoil and Idemitsu in them some years back when I got a good price on it from Wal*Mart dot COM or Amazon.

Today, I figure if the oil has a valid Dexos Gen2 license, it's good enough for the 7500-10k mile OCIs I run.

The RAV4 is at 106k miles and the Mazda3 is creeping up on 148k

I don't think I've purchased a name brand oil since 2018, IIRC

 

[4WD]

You know the STP aka Amalie full synthetic oils is a very good oil. Nothing wrong with that deal there.

Their API SP and Dexos approved oils are quite good. Any oil carrying those are actually way better than oil from just 15 years ago.

Sure - “middle tier” might be more like it …

 

[dlundblad]

I’m running “country tuff” 10w30 conventional from orscheln farms in my truck. I think it was around $1.60 a quart before Uncle Joe.

This or their Conco Phillips Shield ($2-2.50 a quart) I have found to be the best deal around on oil.

 

[Renzo]

not from the marketing perspective....

I have great luck with it on my BMW, get excellent oil analysis results. Far better than the Fuchs and Rotella which burned like a 20 weight. Whatever works for everyone is different!

As far as cheapo oils, WalMart is great but the recent bump in price was significant. On older cars you can pretty much throw in whatever you can find, newer turbo/gdi, not so much.

 

[53' Stude]

Used some True Value 5w30 few years back when there was rebate on it with no issues

 

[SteveG4]

Kirkland 5W-30. Good add pack and it's a FS. It's ran great in all Alaska temps.

Glad I stocked up... there's NO Kirkland oil at either Costco in Anchorage, or likely all of Alaska as of late. None...

They replaced it with overpriced Mobil-1. Few must be touching Mobil-1 in Costco, cause the cubes for each flavor/viscosity are not drawn upon when I visit each or every other Saturday, to include once weekly after work.