Motor oil and oil filter cost.
- Thread starter dwcars
- Start date
Everyone has their own preference.
I would rather do the cheapest Syn walmart sells at 5000 OCI than royal Purple at 10,000. Thats just me. Most here will tell me I am wasting my money. They will get real upset when I tell them I actually dump Mobil 1 Extended Performance at 5-6K from my truck. I would go just M1 but EP is only $1.50 more?
I would rather do the cheapest Syn walmart sells at 5000 OCI than royal Purple at 10,000. Thats just me. Most here will tell me I am wasting my money. They will get real upset when I tell them I actually dump Mobil 1 Extended Performance at 5-6K from my truck. I would go just M1 but EP is only $1.50 more?
AutoMechanic
Site Donor 2026
I would say I’m a stickler too. However I change my oil maximum of every 5,000 miles just because I am comfortable with that and it works well for me no matter oil or filter type or brand. And filter gets changed each time too. I will not run store brand or bulk oil in my vehicles and I rarely buy store brand filters it would have to be a Napa brand for me to buy store brand. I’m giving a MicroGard a shot on my old Camry only because it was cheaper than a Fram. There are some things on a car I won’t cheap out on and oil and filter is one of them. Castrol or Valvoline or occasionally Quaker State and a good filter and I’m ready. I think it’s good to be on top of maintenance. I always am. I know lots of people who forget though so it’s good you keep track of yours too.
Well the problem with this is, since you have no "control group" car, driven the same amount of time and miles with the cheapest conventional 5w30 oil and 50,000 filter changes (if at all), you just don't know if there would be an difference.
At this point (no offence) it's pretty much a believe system, fed by marketing.
I used to buy expensive motor oil and filters. But my focus has changed to saving money and focusing on value
since I have 4 vehicles to maintain.
I've found a very good combination of high quality at very cheap prices (see below).
$21.48: Walmart SuperTech High Mileage Full Synthetic 5w30 5 quart jug (Marketed as a 10,000 mile oil).
$ 3.50: Fram Extra Guard filter (95% efficiency > 20 microns).
Why pay more?
since I have 4 vehicles to maintain.
I've found a very good combination of high quality at very cheap prices (see below).
$21.48: Walmart SuperTech High Mileage Full Synthetic 5w30 5 quart jug (Marketed as a 10,000 mile oil).
$ 3.50: Fram Extra Guard filter (95% efficiency > 20 microns).
Why pay more?
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Paying more doesn’t necessarily translate to getting something better. It more than likely just makes you feel better, unless there is supporting data to back up the better claims. It is fine to just say it makes you feel better or that you like something. Just understand that claiming “cheap insurance” to justify the emotion decision doesn’t thereby make it logical.
I've never done an oil analysis in my life. they do em at my fleet job every oil change but dont do anything with the news, so I followed their lead and don't do anything about it except I don't spend the money on an oil analysis.
drive it until it fails... and it never will... seems to be the way it works out.
What oils do you consider to be "top tier?"
Approved & Licensed:
Mobil 1 (EP/ESP/M1FS)
Pennzoil Platinum / Pennzoil Ultra Platinum
Castrol EDGE Extended Performance
Boutique:
HPL
Amsoil
Red Line
Within the approved/licensed products, their long drain offerings are what I would consider top tier and some of the Euro chemistry. These are not the only brands as I just listed a few, but also specification based - C3 and other Euro specs.
Some of the Euro chemistries are expensive:
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I implemented a program at work years ago. We used the information extensively. There were a number of times we caught fuel dilution related to injector issues that potentially saved us many thousands of dollars. We had a very diverse fleet that was operated under severe conditions. It was easy to justify the minimal expense of an oil analysis. Our vehicles were crazy expensive even then and we had very few spares to put in service to cover a major breakdown.I've never done an oil analysis in my life. they do em at my fleet job every oil change but dont do anything with the news, so I followed their lead and don't do anything about it except I don't spend the money on an oil analysis.
drive it until it fails... and it never will... seems to be the way it works out.
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Oil analysis is good for big sump diesels, where you can spot a bad injector. Also an OC is 20+ qts. So the cost of the oil and filters is several hundred dollars. A $35 analysis is much cheaper than an OC.
I wish I had a dollar for every oil change I did when I was younger using 10w30 Quaker State oil and the cheap orange can Fram filter . None of my engines blew up or even burned oil . And I was kinda hard on them when I was a teenager .
How are you defining top tier oil? Looking at your list for approved and licensed, I would argue that Quaker State Ultimate Protection and Valvoline Extended Protection are just as top tier.
Yeah you could throw those into the mix as well. All the majors have a regular synthetic, an extended drain synthetic and European based synthetics.
I've come to realize that many people feel better about their vehicle when they spend more money on the oil , filters , etc. If it costs more then it has to be better , right ? And not just better , but A LOT better . I also realize that will never change . That's part of the reason this page exists .
With everything in life there are usually multiple choices to satisfy a need. Coffee, Pizza, Jeans, Jewellry, homes, vacations, etc.
Me, I wear Kirkland jeans and use Pennzoil Platinum synthetic in the cars I care for, the old Flex I maintain has now transitioned to the Super Tech but it's rusting and my concern is fading.
Me, I wear Kirkland jeans and use Pennzoil Platinum synthetic in the cars I care for, the old Flex I maintain has now transitioned to the Super Tech but it's rusting and my concern is fading.
Well, it's not a myth that oil quality does vary based on performance specifications, cost, and purpose. I certainly don't believe you need to use a top tier oil to get long engine life. It's a preference and peace of mind thing for many.
I understand that.. of course our vehicles were expensive too... a new one now borders on a million bucks..and we had 700+ but they didn't have many spares and needed to provide a service so they used em anyway, at a certain point I think they realized the cost of an engine wasn't much more than the cost of taking it out of service and trying to repair it.. you know what I mean? kinda one of those things such as the differential is noisy and has alot of play in it... and we have a towing contract that is $120 flat fee anywhere in our service area up to 14 miles...so is it more effective to drive it until the diff fails and gets towed back to the garage or take it out of service and repair it and give up those last miles? cost of the tow being minimal.
I remember when I realized what they were doing I thought it was wrong headed, but over time I realized driving it until it failed made sense.. that method may not work for everybody, but it does for alot of people..
Same.
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