Oil is Oil

[twX]

The differences between oils usually only really matter for certain engines, or in extreme usage scenarios. For most engines, most of the time, any oil meeting an appropriate spec will perform about as well as another.

Some scenarios where the type of oil starts to matter more:
- Long OCIs
- Extreme short-tripping
- Extreme high or low oil temperatures
- Long periods of WOT, high rpm, and high piston temperatures
- Engines prone to oil foaming
- Engines with valvetrains that are sensitive to anti-wear additives
- Engines with a known history of LSPI-related failures

The hard part is in identifying which oils perform better, especially if they meet the same certifications.

 

[kschachn]

The differences between oils usually only really matter for certain engines, or in extreme usage scenarios. For most engines, most of the time, any oil meeting an appropriate spec will perform about as well as another.

Some scenarios where the type of oil starts to matter more:
- Long OCIs
- Extreme short-tripping
- Extreme high or low oil temperatures
- Long periods of WOT, high rpm, and high piston temperatures
- Engines prone to oil foaming
- Engines with valvetrains that are sensitive to anti-wear additives
- Engines with a known history of LSPI-related failures

The hard part is in identifying which oils perform better, especially if they meet the same certifications.

But the OP is asserting that "oil is oil", not just within the same license, approval or specification.

I wonder how Toyota felt about that for my 1MZ-FE engine?

 

[edyvw]

In other words you can't answer the question.

I had a student who asked me to explain to her why NATO was formed as if she was in kindergarten.
Your question reminds me of that.

 

[RDY4WAR]

In other words you can't answer the question.

I was being metaphorically facetious as the question has been answered many times over throughout the history of this forum. I truthfully thought it was a joke or troll post. Between UOAs, engine teardowns, bore scope images, and even dyno results, there's enough information to answer your question ad nauseum. If you haven't seen the answer to your question at this point, it's because you don't want to see the answer to your question. I'm at my daughter's speech therapy currently, but I'll do the searching for you when I get the chance. Then again, it would probably fall on deaf ears as it has for 20 years.

 

[kschachn]

This is turning into a good old-fashioned Friday trolling question.

At this rate who needs Joe?

 

[vpr5703]

This is turning into a good old-fashioned Friday trolling question.

At this rate who needs Joe?

4 creams 2 sugar, please. Def could use a cup of joe.

 

[ATex7239]

 

[Kira]

^^D implies A, C + D aren't mutually exclusive.
I looked up "autoschediastic" and realized, once again, the limitations of the four word definitions given in online dictionaries.
"Something improvised or extemporized"

 

[walterjay]

Wow!! I thought my oil was oil.

 

[ATex7239]

^^D implies A, C + D aren't mutually exclusive.
I looked up "autoschediastic" and realized, once again, the limitations of the four word definitions given in online dictionaries.
"Something improvised or extemporized"

That is the point. Any answer could be true or untrue based on the situation.

 

[Mewbs]

"Can anyone here definitively state that one oil underperforms and one outperforms. "
With this basic criteria, the answer is yes. yet water has lubricating properties, but it is not oil.

Oh I know where you going with this, git me some of that Glide.

Can anyone here definitively state that one oil underperforms and one outperforms. Ater 23 years of reading BITOG I have yet to answer this question..

From what I read here for the past few months since being a member, choices in raw materials matter in the performance of a finished oil product. But if we're talking about whats on the shelf of a typical retail store yeah, its petty much oil is oil as long it meets the spec.

 

[DirectRejection]

Greta says "How dare you !!"

 

[4WD]

View attachment 212500

Just passed over some Euro on clearance - not sure if I should use 5W40 in anything …

 

[BHopkins]

As your filthy expensive consultant says, "That depends..."

Yup. I can see how the question can be raised.

There are a LOT of BITOG folk here that subscribe to 3,000 - 5,000 mile oil changes, or even less, and then brag about using Amsoil or HPL or other top performing motor oils, for their car that gets driven <10,000 miles/year. And there are also a lot of folk here on BITOG that use Super Tech or Kirkland or other store brands, and share with us about having 250,000+ miles on their engines.

So yea, it depends. Considering these conditions, I can understand why someone would suggest that oil is oil.

 

[dumkid]

The reason I say oil is oil is because if you don't drive hard and change it regularly anything on the Walmart oil shelves will work, unless it's that 0w0 stuff.

You could probably use peanut oil and do like 100 mile oci and not have severe engine damage if you only did it once.

 

[edyvw]

Just passed over some Euro on clearance - not sure if I should use 5W40 in anything …

Oil is oil, get Sunflower cooking one.

 

[wemay]

"Every day daily drivers" aren't what they used to be. Now a days you get GDI, Turbos, Stop Start, small displacement in S/CUVs etc. These technologies are demanding on oil. Buy a good quality motor oil and sleep well.

 

[OVERKILL]

In other words you can't answer the question.

There are myriad tests that clearly do in fact answer the question. An oil with 13% Noack that passes the API approvals is not the same as one with 8% Noack that passes LL-01/A40/229.5/502 00...etc for an example.

 

[ProbeGT]

Can anyone here definitively state that one oil underperforms and one outperforms. Ater 23 years of reading BITOG I have yet to answer this question..

Yes. Just like "car is car" but clearly some cars outperform others.

In programming terms, all instances of "Oil" belong to the same class, however, they have different properties.

class Oil {
  constructor(baseoil, additives) {
    this.baseoil = baseoil;
    this.additives = additives;
  }
}

 

[buster]

There is a lot of gray area with this subject. While I have my opinions on what is best, I couldn't really answer the question with 100% certainty due to a lack of data. You'd have to have access to all the engine sequence test data which no one has including other oil blenders. Would have to be a SWRI or company with enough money to run all these tests.