My Quest for Good Cheap Oil

Javed said:
But he has been consistently skeptical about long OCI's even if Amsoil etc.
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You keep disagreeing with me for some reason, and I don't know why. I'm not arguing with you. Yes, he has always said that. He re-iterated his position on that in this most recent video. He recommends 5000 mi or 6 month intervals. He also is mainly trying to convince your average American to get their oil changed with bulk oil at their local oil change place. He is talking to the lowest common denominator. Your average person who knows very little about car maintenance. He isn't making videos for BITOG members.
 
Javed said:
I have a quick question, please save the forum from yet another thread. Long OCI oils have extra dispersents, so they pick up stuff and some of that stuff may be too small for the filter and they will circulate throughout the engine. Isn't that bad? Wouldn't it be better to have short OCI cleaner oil instead?
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This isn't a quick question. Many, many threads and countless posts have been made here on OCIs. I'd recommend searching and reading. You seem to think there is an easy answer to this question, and there isn't. If there is still something you don't understand, I'd recommend making a new thread with your question so we can keep this one on topic.

O

Thread 'Is an extended interval oil better than a standard one if changing at short interval?'

For example, Castrol Edge and Castrol Edge EP. Let's say one is recommended for 5K while the other can go 10K.

If you change both at 5K, is the wear, breakdown, etc. the same? Or does the standard oil protect better than the extended version until that point?

Basically, is the performance of the oil the exact same except the extended one can be run longer?
F

Thread 'Drain intervals: Short or long?'

There is no question that recommended drain intervals are increasing for vehicles in general.
The main benefit for me is the convenience of not having to get under the car as often. Cost isn't really an issue since I can do a change using M1 AFE or EP 0W-20 and an Ultra or M1 filter for around fifteen clams by taking advantage of store deals and MIRs. Cost would be more of a factor if I were paying $80.00 a pop for a synthetic oil change.
What do you folks think are the pros and cons of longish drain intervals?
We have the shinning example of tig, who has done 10K drains using M1 for...
T

Thread 'Should you do a short oil change periodically?'

Like once every 50k do a short 1-2000 mile run to help clean things out?
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P

Thread 'Long--vs--short oci'

I come from the old school think that oci of 4,000 miles is cheap insurance. But now that I have found this site maybe I need to rethink my way of thinking. Can an oci of 10,000+ (with uoa) provide the same protection as and oci of 4,000? It just blows my mind to think that an oil with 10,000+ miles (or once a year) can PROTECT the SAME as fresh oil more often, but if it is a FACT then I should do it. Take it easy on me guys, I'm new to this stuff LOL. Thanks for time and input!!!!

Pee Wee
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Thread 'Extended Oil Change Interval shorter engine life'

according to this: http://www.zddplus.com/TechBrief15 - Extended Oil Change Intervals.pdf

see figure 1 from reference 9.

true or false?
C

Thread 'Short Trip Oil Question'

I recently retired and will soon be starting a part time job 3 days a week. The work site is roughly a 3 mile drive one way. My previous job had the added bonus of a take home car, so my personal vehicles did not rack up the miles.

I plan to use my 2011 Toyota Tundra (currently with 65,000 miles) and the 5.7L engine that is listed in my signature to travel back and forth. For the last 8 years the truck has seen mainly M1 EP 5w30 and an oil and filter change once a year.

With my new driving habits, I'm wondering if this would still be a solid practice or would it be better to run a...
M104

Thread 'Frequent oil changes cause more wear?!'

I was looking at a few BMW and Mercedes forums and some people say that short drain intervals will cause more wear because the antiwear additives need time to cling to the surfaces and are washed off with "too frequent" oil changes. I'm not advocating unnecessarily short OCIs but if there's proof that clean oil will cause more wear, i want to know about it, that is new to me. Would it be because different additives are temporarily working against each other if you switch brand/viscosity? I know a few people changing their oil every 5k km (3k miles) and and while i tell them to run it...
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C

Thread 'oil change according to mileage or time interval?'

used Pennzoil Full Synthetic on my last oil change. been exactly a year since last oil change, but only driven around 3000 miles.
should i change the oil now, or wait until i hit 6000 miles or more?
C

Thread 'Why short intervals for cleaning?'

Everybody says to run short intervals for cleaning purposes, but why? There's a set amount of additives in an oil and don't the dispersants work equally as well over the life of the oil? Isn't draining early only wasting the additives that haven't been used yet? Or does sludge presence overwhelm the add pack and deplete it that much faster?
Y

Thread 'Oil change time interval'

Hi BITOG folks! I have an old high mileage back up car - Mustang 4.6*V8 that I do not drive much these days. How long can I keep the synthetic oil inside the engine before changing it? I do not drive much, but when I do, its all long highway trips... What is the best place for a buck to get a UOA that includes TBN? Thanks!
G

Thread 'Case for the 3000 Mile Oil Change?'

Like most everyone else on this site, we all know that oils are good well beyond 3000 miles. But let me make this point and tell me where I'm miskaken. In engine wear tests (as read in How to choose a motor oil for your car and truck)most wear is caused by particles at sizes of 10-15 microns and below. Many oil filters are not good and capturing particles in the very small range. (We are assuming most people are not using a bypass oil filter) So if many filters are not capturing particles extremely small in sizes that are causing most of the wear, then the only way to get rid of these is...
R

Thread 'Tiny metal particles suspended in oil?'

Can you see tiny metal particles suspended in your oil? Two days ago I changed the oil in my Toyota Pickup (199,000 miles). I don't drive it much anymore, but I like to change the oil every 12 months. In that time I only drove it 1600 miles. When I looked at the oil under bright light, I could see tiny metal particles suspended in the oil. I always thought the filter would have trapped any particles that were big enough to see. Keep in mind these particles were very small and someone who needed reading glasses probably would probably not have been able to see them. It made me a bit...
Nuclear_42

Thread 'Skipping oil filter change'

So I’m considering changing my engine oil filter every other oil change and like some input. So my 2021 Subaru Outback 2.5 NA averages roughly 6k miles a year. So it gets an oil change every 6 months/ 3k miles. Currently running Amsoil OE 0W20 and Amsoil EA15K13 filter. I don’t mind spending $10 every oil change for a filter so cost isn’t an issue. However I feel like I’m tossing a good filter out too early. No I’m not going run a cheaper filter. I’m sticking with the amsoil filter.
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Give those all a read and see if your question is answered.
 
tired said:
You keep disagreeing with me for some reason, and I don't know why. I'm not arguing with you. Yes, he has always said that. He re-iterated his position on that in this most recent video. He recommends 5000 mi or 6 month intervals. He also is mainly trying to convince your average American to get their oil changed with bulk oil at their local oil change place. He is talking to the lowest common denominator. Your average person who knows very little about car maintenance. He isn't making videos for BITOG members.
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I am not disagreeing. My first comment was to support your comment that I also gave a like. I don't know what is going on in your mind. My second comment was about saving one's time and energy spent on UOA and just doing a safe OCI and I spent so much on UOA's and VOA's and they didn't help much, all oils look very similar on UOA. Again, supporting and agreeing with your comment.
 
Carlostrece said:
Years ago I was on a quest for the best oil I could get. That led to a lot of wasted money.

In recent years I'm on a quest for good cheap oil. From among low cost options, which are good performers, low cost, and easily locally available from Walmart, NAPA, or Oreilly because those are the oil sellers near my home.

Here's my finalists. Please tell me which you think is better and why (for 3 high mileage vehicles that don't leak oil, though one does burn oil).

NAPA High Mileage Full Syn
Quaker State High Mileage Full Syn

NAPA Full Syn
Quaker State Ultimate Protection Full Syn

I'm also open to other good oils suggestions if they're low cost at Walmart, NAPA, or Oreilly.
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I've been on the same quest after wasting so much money over the years on expensive oil and filters at 4,000 mile oil change intervals.
I don't even own those cars anymore. What a fool I was.

Now I just use Super Tech HMFS 5W-30 and Super Tech oil filters (DIY oil change using ramps). No reason to spend more for no benefit.
 
Bill7 said:
I've been on the same quest after wasting so much money years ago on expensive oil and filters.
I don't even own those cars anymore. What a fool I was.

Now I just use Super Tech HMFS 5W-30 and Super Tech oil filters. No reason to spend more for no benefit.
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That works until it doesn't.

I think it is very engine- and conditions-dependent. It's difficult to make a blanket statement that works for everyone.

If you've got a known fuel dilutor, an engine hard on oil (Subaru comes to mind), or use it consistently in severe conditions then it's probably worth it to spend the money on a more expensive oil. If you have an engine easy on oil and drive it on the highway with cruise control 99% of the time, then you can probably get by with Supertech. The guy who put 1 million miles on two different Tundras did it with 0W-20 bulk oil. But you can't recommend that to everyone. If you are driving a late model Subaru, you're going to burn oil, for example.

Supertech isn't that much cheaper than Quaker State Euro, for example. The difference in quality is worth it to many. But you are free to choose.
 
Bill7 said:
I've been on the same quest after wasting so much money years ago on expensive oil and filters.
I don't even own those cars anymore. What a fool I was.

Now I just use Super Tech HMFS 5W-30 and Super Tech oil filters. No reason to spend more for no benefit.
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A friend's Jeep went 410K using Supertech oil, oil and air filters. Not any Supetech premium stuff either. Just the cheapest versions of Supertech products.

See this post about a wear test video of 4 oils that includes Supertech.

Post in thread 'My Quest for Good Cheap Oil' https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/my-quest-for-good-cheap-oil.398231/post-7320580
 
Carlostrece said:
A friend's Jeep went 410K using Supertech oil, oil and air filters. Not any Supetech premium stuff either. Just the cheapest versions of Supertech products.

See this post about a wear test video of 4 oils that includes Supertech.

Post in thread 'My Quest for Good Cheap Oil' https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/my-quest-for-good-cheap-oil.398231/post-7320580
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But which Jeep? The 4.0L? That would have done it on peanut oil. The 3.8 was also pretty robust. The 3.6 is problematic.
 
Carlostrece said:
A friend's Jeep went 410K using Supertech oil, oil and air filters. Not any Supetech premium stuff either. Just the cheapest versions of Supertech products.

See this post about a wear test video of 4 oils that includes Supertech.

Post in thread 'My Quest for Good Cheap Oil' https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/my-quest-for-good-cheap-oil.398231/post-7320580
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Super Tech might even be better than the name brands.

My thinking is:

Name brand big companies are under pressure from shareholders to cut costs, increase profits, which leads them to cheapening their products. That's why you see First Brands/Fram cheapening their oil filters. The same could be happening with big oil companies.

Warren distribution on the other hand has a growing following with Walmart, Costco, Amazon Basics customers.
Warren has a $0 marketing budget which allows them to lower the price of the oil.
It's very unlikely they would cheapen the oil and risk losing a contract from Walmart.
 
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tired said:
think it is very engine- and conditions-dependent. It's difficult to make a blanket statement that works for everyone.
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I respect your opinion.

For what it's worth, my three 2006-2007 Honda Odyssey EX-L's all have the J35 engine with their 1st generation VCM enabled.
Some SME mechanics on BITOG called this engine the hardest on the oil of any engine they've ever worked on. The engine temps on the cylinder heads reach extremely high temps and cook the oil due to the first generation variable cylinder management and a poorly designed PCV.

I've been using Super Tech HMFS 5W-30 at 5,000 mile / 6 month (whichever comes first) OCI in these engines for 3+ years.
No issues to report.

I wouldn't hesitate to use Super Tech even in a Ford F150 with an Eco-boost engine with it's high temp twin turbo and very long timing chains which need constant lubrication.
 
In my case PUP and Mopar filter cost $35 if I downgrade from HPL and Red Line. If I go super tech oil and filter, that would probably be $25. $10 will not make me rich. In 6 months people spend more money on car wash than they spend on oil
 
Bill7 said:
I've been using Super Tech HMFS 5W-30 at 5,000 mile / 6 month (whichever comes first) OCI in these engines for 3+ years.
No issues to report.
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Yeah it's not a problem until it is! Fouled oil control rings take time to show up. I respect your opinion as well, and I'm not trying to convince you to change. You've been here a while and read a lot and seen a lot of reports. I have come to a different conclusion based on the information available to me from reading reports here.
 
Glenda W. said:
Exactly. It’s a testament to the engine not the oil. I’ve personally run 4.0’s and Buick 3800’s over 300k on conventional Chevron Supreme back in the day.
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Chevron is a good oil or good enough. Yes the J4L & B3800 are great, but I think the oil has to be reasonably good (highly adequate) to go 300-400K miles even in those engines.

That said, I stopped using Chevron oil when I discovered that Shell is (IMO) better. Likewise I switched from Chevron gas to Shell gas for same reason.
 
Javed said:
In my case PUP and Mopar filter cost $35 if I downgrade from HPL and Red Line. If I go super tech oil and filter, that would probably be $25. $10 will not make me rich. In 6 months people spend more money on car wash than they spend on oil
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Exactly this. You get a lot more with a small increase in spending.
 
Carlostrece said:
Did you watch Lakespeed's video that I posted? He said the NAPA Full Syn has more of a superior type of moly in it that explains the lower wear in his UOAs tests. However, you might have also made a valid point about suspension of particles. I don't know.

I'm not a chemist nor professional oil expert. So I'm not qualified to doubt Lakespeed. I'm also not qualified to doubt you.

One of my great uncles was a certified gas and diesel mechanic, and a welder. He worked for big oil companies in AK and mechanic shops in OR. He was also the foreman in charge of diesel mechanics, maintenance crews and fleets. He always used NAPA oil and filter in his gas pickup truck. I think he knew what he was doing.

So I think NAPA oil is at least good enough. I think it's plausible that it may be better than good enough and actually quite good. I know NAPA Gold filters are top notch.
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I used to buy NAPA full synthetic back when it would go on sale 18.99 for 5 Qt jugs. It’s excellent oil and as mentioned formulated by valvoline. I’d buy 5 to 6 jugs at a time. I still do buy it but I think the days of 18.99 or long gone. Used it in my Nissans Toyotas scion with the Mazda engine dad’s Kia vehicles. No complaints here.
 
Javed said:
In my case PUP and Mopar filter cost $35 if I downgrade from HPL and Red Line. If I go super tech oil and filter, that would probably be $25. $10 will not make me rich. In 6 months people spend more money on car wash than they spend on oil
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Super Tech HMFS 5W-30 is $18.64 for a 5 quart jug + 3.84 for the Super Tech oil filter = $22.48 + tax.
DIY oil change using ramps means $0 in labor. Regarding car washes, I just use the hose LOL and my well water is free.
 
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