"Lower tier " oils you have run...

[jimurphy]

Lowest tier oil I've used is probably supertech conventional, back when they still made such an oil.

I've also used Quaker State green bottle which at the time wasn't much more expensive and also occupied bottom shelf real estate.

Also used to use a bit of the Mobil Super 5000 product. Wish it was still available at local Walmart.

I used Mobil 5000 with a Motorcraft filter in my old 2000 Expedition with a 5.4 2 valve the whole time I had it. Got rid of it with 170k on the clock in 2010 after having exactly zero power train issues.
It met the standards of the time and I rarely went much over a 5k mile OCI because it spent a fair amount of time in city driving.

 

[Revving2Redline]

The synthetic sold as Orschelins House Brand in synthetic,Amalie, Harvest King Synthetic from Atwood's, Napa and Valvoline Synthetic.

To be fair,they were only used with less than 20 percent oil life just to get my through a couple of weeks when weather was awful and no filter was changed as I did the fill and spill through dipstick.
Actually a safe way to flush without flushing per se.

 

[super20dan]

supertec 10w30 in both tundra and highlander since new. highlander hit 220k recently. supertec synth that is and also in my silverado for the last 50k

 

[TiGeo]

Supertech

 

[Urshurak776]

I don't think I've ever run anything not a lower tier oil. Once, I was in Family dollar by my work. They had "American" brand oil (something like that) for $1 a quart. Had Warren Distribution on the back and the API label (SN.) So, same as Supertech, Kirkland, Amazon Basics, etc. They had 3 quarts of 5w-30 and 3 quarts of 10W-30 left. Paid my $6 and did the oil change on the old GMC pickup we had. In it went. About as low tier as it gets

 

[Urshurak776]

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.

Ironically, my wife and I were in Florida visiting her parents right when all the K-Marts were closing. Ran up there for something (curtain rod I think, I was helping fix stuff around house) and saw that. Called them while standing in store and asked if they needed an oil change. They were due, so I grabbed the last 5 quarts they had of the 5W-20 and grabbed a filter at autozone on way to the house. Their Camry didn't seem to have any issues with it.

 

[Urshurak776]

My takeaway from reading, here and elsewhere, is that any API or Dexos oil is fine if you change it regularly, but if you're going to stretch your interval, you'd want a more premium oil. Obviously there is not universal agreement on this point, but it seems like a reasonable conclusion.

Since I change at 3000, I buy Kirkland (Warren) and feel fine about it.

This right here.

 

[Passport1]

Used to use DA Speed Sport oil in my British sports cars way back in the '60s. Apparently that company is still in business and making boutique oil products. Too bad I don't still have an intrepid Lucas energized Jag/TR/MG/AH to dump some into.

 

[CrAlt]

My 2016 wrangler's pentastar has been happy with conventional formula shell 5w20. I got a deal on a bunch of cases a few years ago. I like the 1qrt bottles because the jeep takes 6qrts and most oils are sold in 5qrt jugs now.

 

[DirectRejection]

Interesting topic for sure. I have often asked myself about contrasting maintenance plans. Slightly thicker oil, much cheaper, off label, but still known to be of high quality. More frequent OCIs.

Vs extended OCIs with premium, expensive motor oils.

I am inclined to use very thin motor oil. As absolutely thin as possible, but surely as thick as necessary.

I have mostly used 0W16 lately (even thinner) everything from cheapo Citgo 0W16 to ultra premium High Performance Lubricants 0W16. My sensabilities take me to the expensive stuff. But what if ?
Supertech is a fine oil.

I can remember Kragen selling a generic, plain black and white label oil.10W30 Synthetic. $3/qt. And I can remember being an early user of Red Line. How about Exxon Superflo in the red bottle.

 

[slybunda]

eurocarparts triple qx brand oil = spun bearings. be warned.
same thing with mannol oil. it has no approvals just meets the requirements of stated on the box. you will throw a rod on that stuff.

 

[Hoster987]

eurocarparts triple qx brand oil = spun bearings. be warned.
same thing with mannol oil. it has no approvals just meets the requirements of stated on the box. you will throw a rod on that stuff.

Mannol, in certain countries, is considered as a "PREMIUM, European" brand , and not cheap.

The "cheapest" I have ever used was Rotella when PepBoys had that $60 or so rebate (per 2 jugs) which resulted in basically "free" oil
Otherwise, Kirkland, SuperTech when these rebates are not available. However, for some reason, our Subaru Outback burns Kirkland and M1 more than other brands.

After years of lurking, researching, reviewing data, sending samples to Blackstone, discussing oils with a tranny fluid R&D engineer friend etc...I came around in full circles, "ignore brands, get the right spec and change often / per manual"

 

[MuzzleFlash40]

Used to use Murray's (taken over by O'Reilly's) store brand oil for years. Seemed to work fine. No idea who made it, and never even thought about it at the time. Anyone here know?

Reading through this old thread and ran across this. Lol

I worked at Murray’s in high school over 20 years ago and got to tag along to do some product training. It was made by ConocoPhillips (atleast starting in 2001). I only remember that because they gave out a bunch of t-shirts and hats. The big shots said it was pretty much the same as their Super76 oil at the time.

I miss that auto parts chain, none of these around today hold a candle.

 

[Patman]

I ran Royal Purple for a couple of intervals about 20 years ago I only did it because one of their representatives saw my posts on here where I complained that RP always thins out of grade in the UOAs so he offered to send me a free case of 5w30 so that I could test it out. That was a mistake on his part because when I ran it in my 2000 Civic that I had at the time it did end up thinning out quite badly!

 

[SR5]

Also I have recently purchased some Gulf Western oil, a lesser known brand. They had some API SP and ILSAC GF-6A rated, 10W30 semi-synthetic on sale at $10 for a 5L jug.

That's a smoking hot price at $2 a litre, and the new SP oils are a good step forward over the older SN oils. You have the natural advantages of 10W30 such as its low Noack volatility and its shear stability, coupled with the new tests added to SP & GF-6A, like timing chain wear protection and LSPI protection. I'll run it 6,000 miles / 10,000 km without concern.

Good to see this thread being bumped.

Update on my previous post. I did run the Gulf Western 10W30 API SP semi-synthetic in my old GM Holden/Opel Astra 1.8L, it went fine. It was its last oil change before I traded it in for a newer, by almost 10 years, but still second hand, GM Holden Cruze 1.8L.

That price of $10 (AUD) for a 5L jug, translates into $6.65 (USD) for 4.4 quarts. But it's unlikely that I could still get it at that price. It was an old sale price, now lost to history. Luckily I stocked up and still have a few more jugs.

 

[MuzzleFlash40]

About 10 years ago I posted some UOA’s from the Cam2 syn blend the dealership used and they came out fantastic. Since then I’ve ran HarvestKing/Providence, Supertech & STP. As far as “lower tier” goes.

I’m pretty fond of the AutoZone oil deals with their XL oil filters. Especially when adding a cabin air filter to it.

 

[Bailes1992]

eurocarparts triple qx brand oil = spun bearings. be warned.
same thing with mannol oil. it has no approvals just meets the requirements of stated on the box. you will throw a rod on that stuff.

I've never heard such utter tripe.

TripleQX is used by garages up and down the country.

Mannol does carry OE approvals.

 

[GMFan]

I used to run lots of Mobil Clean 5000, Castrol GTX, Supertech, Valvoline All Climate, Formula Shell, Kendall, Havoline, and Wolfs Head back in the early/mid 2000s. Those were the days when Trop Artic and PYB were the BITOG favorites.

 

[BLND1]

I ran Supertech synthetic and Havoline Pro-DS in my Mustang the last few tortured years of ownership before I sold it.

I’ve run Havoline Pro-DS in my Tacoma a fair amount as well. $26 for 6 quarts is a steal.

I wouldn’t even call it “low tier” but it’s certainly cheaper than my usual Mobil 1. Definitely cheaper than the boutique brands.

 

[MattLawz]

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 run STP, MAG1, Havoline, and Federated for 60% of the oil changes at my shop. It works fine with no complaints and does the job for the price. I can usually get those oils for under $4.50 a quart. Occasionally I will use Castrol Edge, Pennzoil Ultra Platinum, or Amsoil depending on if it's my vehicle, or if the customer wants to take better care of theirs and doesn't mind the price gap. NAPA oil is also often a steal and is made by Valvoline if you want peace of mind.