Not sticking with one oil

[OriginHacker21]

What do you guys think of using a different brand of oil every oil change? Are there any negative, positive, or nothingwrongwiththis effects? I know relatives who are mechanics that say to stick with one brand of oil and your engine will "adapt" to it. They say switching oil brands causes your rings to "unseat" which results in oil usage. In my case - I have Amsoil, Mobil 1, and GC in stock. Interested in buying several other brands to test them out with a 6-10k OCI & UOA. Will brand changing have a negative impact on my car? Thoughts/comments/information welcome! -Paul

 

[Al]

I used to think it might be important bc of seal longlivity. I no longer believe that but I must admit I don't really know. In my 01 Sentra I have used at least 6 brands of oil in 70K miles with no issues. My guess is that there are no problems. And maybe changing oils a lot eliminates one oil which may be harder on seals for whatever reason.

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

I like Al's thinking. Howver, extending OCIs requires trending, can you get that and still change oils?

 

[Bill in Utah]

I've run many oils in my past and current car/trucks with no problems. As long as it's good oil, no problems IMO. I do agree if your trying to do UOAs for extended OCIs, you'll need to stay with the same oil and hope they don't change the mix in their oils (like one oil company has done lately). Take care, Bill

 

[ikeepmychevytoo]

How do we know if we are getting the same oil... Take Castrol SLX, which has its sixth bottle-graphic, second color and second formulation in about three years. I've changed oil three times during the period.

 

[blupupher]

I have only used the same oil once in my car. So far: Factory fill, SJ Pennzoil Dino, Mobil Drive Clean, GC, Royal Purple, Mobil 1, Havoline Syn, and currently back on Mobil 1 for this and 1 more change. Then 3 of GC, 2 of PP then probably the rest of its life on Mobil 1 EP (15k interval, and I have 8 changes worth). And this is just what I have on hand, not counting all my Valvoline oil (about 50 qts) for the wife and sister's cars.

 

[Pablo]

The seal and oil brand has been postulated before. Almost makes sense. Change away, won't hurt a thing! (but agree with Bill on the OCI evaluation thang)

 

[GoldenRod]

Sigmund Freud says that guys who sew their wild oats by using different brands of oil, are less likely to be unfaithfull to their wives.

 

[alreadygone]

One thing I'm really curious about,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Why? If a problem ever did come up how would you ever decide what might be the cause? Which oil sould you blame a bad bearing etc on? If it's to save money, just buy the cheapest every time. Really like to hear reasoning behind this action. Bob

 

[labman]

Good point already. I have bought nothing but Pennzoil dino since about 1990 when I found sludge after a few years of QS. I did switch from 10W-30 to 5W-30. Of course, now SM in place of the SL. I trust a new Pennzoil to be compatible with the old Pennzoil it replaces. Another advantage is that I can remember what is in there, and if I unexpectedly need to add oil, I will have no problem laying ahold of a quart of Pennzoil.

 

[OriginHacker21]

Well, I have a small GC stash. I also am building up an Amsoil stash. Planning to go to Amsoil after GC and wondering if that is going to hurt car. Will probably stick with Amsoil after GC... Just wondering if I could sneak some Shaeffer's, Royal Purple oil changes in there just to see the UOA after a OCI of maybe 6k at most... But it looks like staying with one oil wouldn't be a bad thing. Still, even if I changed my oil every 6k I'd be changing it every two months at least. Thanks for the info. I guess causing rings to unseat is a thing of the past when using differnet oils?

 

[m2200b]

Building up stashs of oil you haven't tried? You can get AMSOIL pretty easily. I don't see anyway to try several more oils than the three you have with only one car and get any meaningful determinations on those three other than maybe mpg. I like to run a case with UOA before I fill the garage or try another. Try looking at the for sale thread for guys buying up oil and then changing oil or their car is totalled. As far as I can tell you've got 3 years oil already but want to try somethething else. Oil is a slippery slope for some.

 

[OriginHacker21]

Yes, unfortuantely, I have enough GC for 80,000 miles @ 10k intervals. I have 2 changes of Amsoil. I really like Amsoil & their friendly customer support - they know a lot and don't sound bothered when answering questions. GC is a great oil - Getting great UOAs - I am going to see if I can't get +10k OCI as I drive a lot. (Changed my oil last week and already have 1,800 miles on it today). Just - I'd feel better doing that with Amsoil (reason why to switch over) because of their warranty. It would probably be a big waste of money to buy some Shaeffers or other great stuff oil. You guys know how addicting this stuff can be!!!!

 

[Korean_redneck]

I've bought so many kinds of oil, its not even funny.. My car is doing fine. still smooth.

 

[Ray H]

If most automakers and the API can even remotely be trusted, <i>any</i> brand rated the same under the current API and ILSAC ratings system can be substituted or even mixed without incurring damage. (European automakers excepted 'cause they're weird...)

 

[Blue_Goose]

Jeeez I hope it isn't an issue...I don't think I've had back to back same brands yet...factory fill M1,Pennz Plat, M1,GC,Chevron,Pennz Plat, back to Chevron....next couple of OIC's will be with a stash of Havoline SL.....now let me ask this on top of diff brands....how about going from synth to dino and vice versa? As you can see that has been sort of a pattern for me... Goose

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

"Sigmund Freud says that guys who sew their wild oats by using different brands of oil, are less likely to be unfaithfull to their wives" ---------------------------------------------------------- I've emailed this to my wife.

 

[Turk]

I think it would be a good thing to change brands - it gives the engine a variety of additive packages whereas with one oil, it may not get as much cleansing as the defficient brand... (?)

 

[kc8adu]

i bet there is no such thing as the same oil. mfr's change base oil and additive packages to meet new specs or because they got a deal on components. over here nearly 400k of whats on sale with no internal engine problems.anymore that means walmart supertech oil,atf,filters.

 

[Titan]

Bob (above) said that if you have a problem, what oil do you blame it on if you've used many brands? My bet is that you won't have an oil problem if you are using modern oils and following your owner's manual for your application. Sure, you can have mechanical failures of oiled parts, but, for reasons other than insufficient lubrication. Modern oils aren't like the parts of a vehicle...which are subject to a wide variety of imperfections, any of which might lead to a failure. Modern oils are too good to CAUSE a failure.