^ This
LSJR Boutique vs OTS shootout
- Thread starter rstsco
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Not sure I know to what you are referring.
Admittedly, I'm the newb in here, but I have learned a lot from all of you and these discussions. The takeaway for me in all of this is that some motor oils have some definite advantages over others, and in that sense they are "better". It could even be argued that some are "better" all the way around, or give better bang-for-the-buck. I fully believe that most people could run nothing but SuperTech/Kirkland synthetic, change it every 3-5k miles and use good filters, . . . . if their car failed before 250K miles, it won't be because they used the wrong oil. Me, I love the idea of only changing my oil once a year (when the weather is nice!), not to mention other potential advantages, so I'm giving AMSOIL Signature Series a go in our 2016 Outback which only has 60k on it. I'm using Valvoline Restore and Protect in my 2003 Camry and 2016 Forester for a potential clean-up (restore) as both have well over 100k miles. I'll continue to follow this forum along the way for any new ideas or input.
Bottom line, while I definitely think some oils are "better" than others and offer certain potential advantages, I consider this: The significance of those differences depends on the car, and what the owner demands and expects.
Bottom line, while I definitely think some oils are "better" than others and offer certain potential advantages, I consider this: The significance of those differences depends on the car, and what the owner demands and expects.
There is definitely a massive difference between entry level synthetics OTS (big gap here) and higher end OTS…then there’s a “depends” decent gap to the boutiques/custom blenders; based on how much one can benefit or simply values higher headroom even still over the top shelf OTS.
There isn’t a rule saying one or the other for everyone, as long as one gets a good understanding of what the oil is that’s being put into and what kind of service life it will see.
I, personally, know AMSOIL Signature Series at 5k miles would be way over what is “needed” for my vehicle. I’d still use it for 10k but prefer going yearly. If I stopped commuting as much, I’d re-sample once after a year if it changed to seldom driven and/or mostly short tripped. Being willing to adjust is important, but overpaying isn’t the worst. Fuel is much more expensive. That’s why I don’t get writing off slightly more expensive up front just because of sticker shock.
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I was wrong. I thought there was a graph from the video about break in. Any engine is broken in only once dyno or otherwise. My thoughts are irrelevant.
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I hear you, and while I would certainly say that the floor for oil quality has risen, I really don’t think our knowledge here has. Why? Because boutique oils existed 15 years ago, too. Amsoil, Torco, Redline, etc were all very much available all along. And while piston ring deposits are a bigger topic now, there were still engines prone to sludge and even deposit formation many years ago. Toyota 1ZZ is a prime example.
I don’t know that there’s more knowledge here so much as there’s just a shift in how we speculate. The vast majority of feedback and direction here is completely unscientific, even in 2025. And a lot of it, like holding Blackstone used oil analysis as gospel for absolute engine condition, is basically pseudoscience that actually misleads people much of the time.
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Im thrilled so many products are available for me to use.
Basic approvals didnt keep my J35 clean.
Boutique stuff does.
My Titan chews oil down like a puppy at the Sunday Times.
I can target this problem with specific oil now.
Basic approvals didnt keep my J35 clean.
Boutique stuff does.
My Titan chews oil down like a puppy at the Sunday Times.
I can target this problem with specific oil now.
Those are fair points. I just think it’s a little more nuanced than that; which is actually to your point. IMO, more info is available now than ever; and accuracy of said info is more important than ever. But if it’s just “my engine needs clean oil every couple of months” just because then what’s the point of BITOG? That may be entirely erroneous as well. And, to your point, we really out to not take generalities of oil quality x,y.z and imagine it doesn’t matter what vehicle it goes into. It all depends. Less advice and more knowledge re-finement plus fine tuning later is needed. I still say we have the potential to be more educated but yes we also tend to simplify for sake of casual commenting and people run with it.
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I don’t disagree with you there. I think you’re right that for many use cases and members here, “what’s the point of BITOG”. Sometimes there are many threads active at once that are basically pointless. There are so many people here seeking information that have non-severe usage in low-stress engines where simply grabbing a jug of vanilla Mobil 1 or Castrol Edge from Walmart every oil change is totally good and they don’t need to think twice about it, but they’ll still be asking about HPL, or Euro oils, or whatever. The nature of this forum leads to a lot of overthinking.
There’s a lot of truth here. The thing people ought to be careful about is reading comments like these; that are generally true for those it actually applies to, and understanding how much their vehicle and usage type would in fact make oil choice that much more important or not.
^That’s pretty much the crux here; unless you’re just an oil enthusiast and like buying a brand because of XYZ. Many here are.
It’s not about being right or justifying choices to others, but at the same time if we go with cheapest (unless we can’t afford financially; which we must acknowledge is a reality for a lot of people) then it’s possible if I don’t put enough thought into this, could it leave my vehicle open for issues down the road? Maybe, maybe not.
The inverse of spending a little more on subjectivity “better” oil; on the other hand, has what downsides to vehicle ownership and longevity? You aren’t going to have issues buying top shelf or boutique just because it’s chosen over entry level OTS synthetic.
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Besides the point, but of course they know the oils. A Mercedes I had had a Mobil 1 sticker under the hood, put there from the factory. Surely they know about the other oil specs/certs out there? So why not put a simple 2 column table - oil/certification/standard and supported extension interval?
But agreed, the manufacturer is not doing that, (which was the whole point all along...) The vehicle manufacturer does not support extending their specified oil change interval if you use an oil of better quality and/or an oil meeting stricter standards. It's just a fact. Go read your owners manual (seriously, go read it).
Sometimes a picture (with words) is worth more than 1000 words. From Toyota. (Surely jumping from conventional to synthetic can be thought of as switching to a "better" oil?) Or another question asked here, worded slightly differently.
PDSC results for some popular oils. These are all from Lake vids.
HPL No Vll 5W-30 117 min
AMSOIL Signature Series 5w30 88 min
Mobil 1 Full Synthetic 0W-40 80 min
Mobil 1 Truck and SUV 5W-20 75 min
Mobil 1 Truck and SUV 5W-30 69 min
Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 5W-30 68 min
Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5W-20 60 min
HPL No Vll 5W-30 117 min
AMSOIL Signature Series 5w30 88 min
Mobil 1 Full Synthetic 0W-40 80 min
Mobil 1 Truck and SUV 5W-20 75 min
Mobil 1 Truck and SUV 5W-30 69 min
Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 5W-30 68 min
Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5W-20 60 min
I really wish we could see ESP here. Thanks for compiling this list.
I do have the old ESP X3 0W-40 that’s no longer made(I believe). Appears to be geared towards a racing oil.
Costco doesn't offer affiliate links or referral credits. Nor does it incentivize becoming your own dealer. Nor is there a "discounted" price for non-members. They just won't sell to you (besides alcohol and the food court).
The affiliate/referral model is what people take issue with on AMSOil. More like an MLM scheme than some like to admit. Nothing to do with the quality of the products they offer, of course.
Very interesting! According to this, I may be less inclined to use the ESP line if going past 10k; depending obviously, *IF* the ESP line reflects this sort of balance in formulation goals/price point still today.
I agree. Appears more performance oriented. Probably 10k max. The ESP 5W-30 has the BMW Longlife and a different formula as we know.
Yes it is worth 1,000 words….
Some critical thinking goes a long ways.
Blindly trusting the OEM’s words is asinine.
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This is insane. Shame on Toyota!
If what you are advocating for here is changing fluids earlier than a manufacturer’s interval, isn’t that the opposite of extending a maintenance item well beyond the manufacturer’s interval?
The former is "over maintaining" (for lack of a better term) according to a maintenance schedule, while the latter is disregarding and/or neglecting the maintenance schedule.
By all means, change your fluids earlier and more often than the manufacturer recommends. Do it as often as you want. That’s between you and your wallet.
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