My Quest for Good Cheap Oil

[Bill7]

I can see you really used a lot of deep reasoning when you decided on Supertech.

LOL. No, I'm just reading too many articles on the dollar stretcher website. It's addicting, and makes you want to save money on everything in your life.

 

[tired]

You have no evidence that Quaker State Euro is better quality than Supertech. In terms of cost, Walmart only offers the 5W-40 in my area, which doesn't meet the needs of many vehicles, so in the end, the cost is a fair bit more than Supertech, by the time you source it.

Fortunately we have rigorous specs so we have more objective measures to compare the quality of oils. Supertech appears to meet API SP and Dexos 1 gen 3. Quaker State Euro on the other hand:

Enough evidence for me.

 

[Jeep J]

API SG???

Wow.

This winter it started at - 15° C without problems. 20w60 can do that, wow! Even if it gets late to get to the engine, that engine can take that punishment

 

[Nessism1]

20 something years of data and thousands of posts later........


s'all good man

Someone up in the previous 5 pages posted the answer. Unless you find some oil made by Slippy Goo International - anything you can buy at the big box store, it's all good, man.

The real question imo is it worth it to spend an extra 8-12 bucks a year to use Supertech over Mobil 1 or Penz or Quaker State or Valvoline or yada yada yada.

Last time I looked, a 5qt of supertech was like 3-4 bucks cheaper than Mobil 1, and 2 bucks cheaper than Quaker State.

I have Quaker State Synthetic in my garage, as well as Kirkland (same as Supertech). The Kirkland is a recent purchase. I'm more than happy to spend more on M1, Quaker State, etc, synthetic, but until I can't find any evidence suggesting the Warren oils worse. Just opinions.

I'd love to learn more about Euro oil qualifications, showing they are more strenuous than API SP, but I've yet to see that. If anyone has info, please share. All I've seen up to this point, is opinion.

 

[tired]

This winter it started at - 15° C without problems. 20w60 can do that, wow! Even if it gets late to get to the engine, that engine can take that punishment

If he has the V6, I have that same engine. Maybe I should be the one preaching Supertech.

 

[Jeep J]

If he has the V6, I have that same engine. Maybe I should be the one preaching Supertech.

Yeah, V6, 3.4 I think.

 

[Nessism1]

Fortunately we have rigorous specs so we have more objective measures to compare the quality of oils. Supertech appears to meet API SP and Dexos 1 gen 3. Quaker State Euro on the other hand:

View attachment 292688

Enough evidence for me.

It costs money to test for different specs. Not all manufacturers want to invest the money. Particularly when it comes to Euro oils, because the number of BMW's, Mercedes, Porsche, and VW vehicles on the road doesn't make it worth the investment.

 

[tired]

It costs money to test for different specs. Not all manufacturers want to invest the money. Particularly when it comes to Euro oils, because the number of BMW's, Mercedes, Porsche, and VW vehicles on the road doesn't make it worth the investment.

Ah ok so you hypothesize that the kind souls at Warren formulate Supertech to be robust enough to pass the rigorous tests for Euro specs out of the kindness of their hearts then without seeking the approvals?

 

[Jeep J]

Hopefully when I visit my dad when things get better, I will take three cases of AMSOIL Signature Series 5w30 and nice oil and air filters for him. He won't have to worry for a few years. And some nice transmission and diff fluid too. I want to gift him an Eaton rear diff locker too but not sure if mechanics there can install that. Open diffs are not fun, he got stuck once.

 

[Nessism1]

Ah ok so you hypothesize that the kind souls at Warren formulate Supertech to be robust enough to pass the rigorous tests for Euro specs out of the kindness of their hearts then without seeking the approvals?

First off, where is the evidence showing the Euro tests are more "rigorous" than API SP? I know they are different, but are they actually stricter? Is there evidence showing that Euro specs protect an engine better than SP, ILSAC: GF-6A? Or are the test just different?

 

[Jeep J]

Or maybe I should take a lot of Valvoline Restore and Protect with me for him. I will have 40 kg of weight limit on the plane, so I can take a lot with me

 

[Jeep J]

How much does the rear differential of the third gen 4Runner weigh? Maybe I should have the locker put in and then ship the whole differential with me
Not a good idea, just googled Dana 44 weight and it is 260 lbs

 

[Bill7]

I have Quaker State Synthetic in my garage, as well as Kirkland (same as Supertech). The Kirkland is a recent purchase. I'm more than happy to spend more on M1, QS, etc, synthetic, but until I can't find any evidence suggesting the Warren oils worse. Just opinions.

I'd love to learn more about Euro oil qualifications, showing they are more strenuous than API SP, but I've yet to see that. If anyone has info, please share. All I've seen up to this point, is opinion.

I prefer the lowest cost option whenever I buy anything. All that money saved over the next decade will add up.

 

[GW.]

These house brand blenders buy pre-approved additive and base oil packages. There’s no cost for them to create and test creative blends. It’s bare bones and I highly doubt they pass more stringent approvals.

 

[Jeep J]

These house brand blenders buy pre-approved additive and base oil packages. There’s no cost for them to create and test creative blends. It’s bare bones and I highly doubt they pass more stringent approvals.

I searched on YouTube that are all oils equal. It turns out they are not. It's like getting all the ingredients and trying to make a cake, you cannot beat experience. You will make a horrible cake. I think we should trust Exxonmobil, Shell and Castrol for their cakes

 

[tired]

First off, where is the evidence showing the Euro tests are more "rigorous" than API SP? I know they are different, but are they actually stricter? Is there evidence showing that Euro specs protect an engine better than SP, ILSAC: GF-6A? Or are the test just different?

I'm sure if you poke around enough here and there, you will be able to find answers to those questions.

 

[GW.]

I searched on YouTube that are all oils equal. It turns out they are not. It's like getting all the ingredients and trying to make a cake, you cannot beat experience. You will make a horrible cake. I think we should trust Exxonmobil, Shell and Castrol for their cakes

True. In fact even within the Mobil 1 lineup you will find differences between oils with the same approvals. For example, Mobil 1 Truck and SUV is extremely shear resistant. Mobil 1 Extended Performance isn’t as shear resistant but is better for extended drains.

 

[Jeep J]

I bought a cheap pump from Harbor Freight to take a sample from my engine, and I ended up with 150 PPM of Silicon in my used oil analysis. I went cheap and I did not buy one from Blackstone or Oil Analyzer and that's what happened

 

[Bill7]

I searched on YouTube that are all oils equal. It turns out they are not. It's like getting all the ingredients and trying to make a cake, you cannot beat experience. You will make a horrible cake. I think we should trust Exxonmobil, Shell and Castrol for their cakes

I spent a great deal of time in the BITOG UOA section, comparing wear levels of different brands and normalizing by miles driven in each sample. The end result is that all brands are within the statistical margin of error of the UOA tests.

As long as the oil meets a specification such as Dexos 1 Gen 3 for example, which sets stricter limits on sludge and varnish deposits than API SP, any other differences between brands are not statistically meaningful.

I prefer to do oil analysis the same way new medical treatments are evaluated and tested. Hunches and speculation are prohibited from medical testing. Only scientific evidence that a treatment works is allowed. We should apply the same standards to motor oil.

Assumptions like brand x is better than brand y, because brand x costs more than brand y is faulty reasoning.
Imagine if that faulty reasoning were applied to testing the effectiveness of different medicines.

 

[Jeep J]

True. In fact even with in the Mobil 1 lineup you will find differences between oils with the same approvals. For example, Mobil 1 Truck and SUV is extremely shear resistant. Mobil 1 Extended Performance isn’t as shear resistant but is better for extended drains.

Yeah, so true. Those two oils have identical approvals yet they are different. So what's the guarantee that Super Tech that has identical approvals is any good. That 400k Jeep on Super Tech says a lot about that Jeep, not Super Tech.