I tried a search but did not find anything significant, so here goes. Why does a automobile manufacturer recommend a certain brand of oil? Marketing? Contractual? Maybe initital fill supplier in bulk?
Manufacturers Recommending Oil Brand-Why?
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$$$
I'm guessing the the oil company pays the car manufacturer to "recommend" that oil
JHZR2
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advertising by another name...
One word...
MARKETING
Period. No matter the brand or type of oil. Marketing which equals dollars for some one. Both the mfg of the vehicle AND oil company win.
Look at all the people who fall for it. Proves the power of recommending oil for cars.
Even for people who don't own even the BRAND of vehicle that the oils are recommending for.
Cracks me up to see how well it works.
MARKETING
Period. No matter the brand or type of oil. Marketing which equals dollars for some one. Both the mfg of the vehicle AND oil company win.
Look at all the people who fall for it. Proves the power of recommending oil for cars.
Even for people who don't own even the BRAND of vehicle that the oils are recommending for.
Cracks me up to see how well it works.
$$$$
For the reasons mentioned and it's simply a known quantity that of course works.
If I was a mfr I would do the same thing.
If I was a mfr I would do the same thing.
In the early 90s when Corvette changed body styles and they no longer had room for their oil cooler. Thet's when M1 developed the 4718 spec for Corvette to handle the higher heat without the cooler. Since then other oils have developed the same spec. Just one example of how oil producers work with car companies.
Motorcraft is another example of this. Ford specifically recommends this brand (obviously since their name is attached to it), as the "preferred" oil to be used for their cars. It's a semi-synthetic, and I've heard great reviews about it. You could use other oils that meet their spec, of course, but I have peace of mind knowing that I'm using an oil designed and tested by a specific manufacturer, especially at the price you can buy it for at Wal-Mart!
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they also recommend oils that will supposedly get the best fuel millage.(for governed reasons)
In addition; the factory may do thier engineering tests using a particular oil-so they know it works well.
They even recommend brands of gasoline - my '08 Taurus has a "Ford Recommends BP Gasoline" sticker on the fuel filler door...
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+1 to everyone who said money.
It's not like the engineers are sitting around saying, "you know, this car needs Castrol Syntec 5W40 to work correctly" Also, sometimes (often?) the factory fill is a completely different oil than the "recommended oil"
It's total marketing B.S. and sometimes what the manufacturer recommends is a poor choice relative to other brands/formulations. For example on the VW 2.o FSI, the data we have (which is limited) shows that syntec 5W40 (the oil it says to use on the oil filler cap) has some of the the highest shearing rates and worst iron levels of any of the oils.
I put ZERO weight in what the manufacturer recommends other than the recommended viscosity.
It's not like the engineers are sitting around saying, "you know, this car needs Castrol Syntec 5W40 to work correctly" Also, sometimes (often?) the factory fill is a completely different oil than the "recommended oil"
It's total marketing B.S. and sometimes what the manufacturer recommends is a poor choice relative to other brands/formulations. For example on the VW 2.o FSI, the data we have (which is limited) shows that syntec 5W40 (the oil it says to use on the oil filler cap) has some of the the highest shearing rates and worst iron levels of any of the oils.
I put ZERO weight in what the manufacturer recommends other than the recommended viscosity.
I posted the question as I was surprised to see in a Land Rover manual that they recommended Castrol GTX in 5w-30 grade. Nothing wrong with the oil, but not what I expected. A decently priced oil for an expensive vehicle? No synthetic, or semi-synthetic aka Motorcraft? Sounds good to me.
Originally Posted By: typ901
I posted the question as I was surprised to see in a Land Rover manual that they recommended Castrol GTX in 5w-30 grade. Nothing wrong with the oil, but not what I expected. A decently priced oil for an expensive vehicle? No synthetic, or semi-synthetic aka Motorcraft? Sounds good to me.
But what year is the LR??
I posted the question as I was surprised to see in a Land Rover manual that they recommended Castrol GTX in 5w-30 grade. Nothing wrong with the oil, but not what I expected. A decently priced oil for an expensive vehicle? No synthetic, or semi-synthetic aka Motorcraft? Sounds good to me.
But what year is the LR??
Originally Posted By: saaber1
+1 to everyone who said money.
It's not like the engineers are sitting around saying, "you know, this car needs Castrol Syntec 5W40 to work correctly" Also, sometimes (often?) the factory fill is a completely different oil than the "recommended oil"
It's total marketing B.S. and sometimes what the manufacturer recommends is a poor choice relative to other brands/formulations. For example on the VW 2.o FSI, the data we have (which is limited) shows that syntec 5W40 (the oil it says to use on the oil filler cap) has some of the the highest shearing rates and worst iron levels of any of the oils.
I put ZERO weight in what the manufacturer recommends other than the recommended viscosity.
Why do you you trust the manf to tell you the vis of oil to use? It's all CAFE and marketing.
+1 to everyone who said money.
It's not like the engineers are sitting around saying, "you know, this car needs Castrol Syntec 5W40 to work correctly" Also, sometimes (often?) the factory fill is a completely different oil than the "recommended oil"
It's total marketing B.S. and sometimes what the manufacturer recommends is a poor choice relative to other brands/formulations. For example on the VW 2.o FSI, the data we have (which is limited) shows that syntec 5W40 (the oil it says to use on the oil filler cap) has some of the the highest shearing rates and worst iron levels of any of the oils.
I put ZERO weight in what the manufacturer recommends other than the recommended viscosity.
Why do you you trust the manf to tell you the vis of oil to use? It's all CAFE and marketing.
Originally Posted By: lexus114
Originally Posted By: typ901
I posted the question as I was surprised to see in a Land Rover manual that they recommended Castrol GTX in 5w-30 grade. Nothing wrong with the oil, but not what I expected. A decently priced oil for an expensive vehicle? No synthetic, or semi-synthetic aka Motorcraft? Sounds good to me.
But what year is the LR??
2006 LR3 with v8
Originally Posted By: typ901
I posted the question as I was surprised to see in a Land Rover manual that they recommended Castrol GTX in 5w-30 grade. Nothing wrong with the oil, but not what I expected. A decently priced oil for an expensive vehicle? No synthetic, or semi-synthetic aka Motorcraft? Sounds good to me.
But what year is the LR??
2006 LR3 with v8
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