Flip side to all this is there are probably a lot of poorer-quality oils, especially in warm countries, out there. In warmer countries there is most likely a lot of cheap group-1 blended 10W-40, 15W-40, 20W-50, and straight-grade oils on the market that may or may not have any approvals.
Oils in other countries.
- Thread starter 53' Stude
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In Europe, do they have "american" spec oils on the shelf at walmart? If so, is it a premium product?
If you mean ILSAC, the answer is no, but we dove have Dexos oils and such.
You can get European oils through online dealers. You can also get 100% mass market synthetics here in the states that have the Group IV/V and a smaller amount of carrier oil for additives. I have bought different German oils that say right on the label, 100% synthetic, this isn't to be confused with the Full Synthetic claims of most non-German oils unless you don't differentiate between the group lll's and lV/V's. I used to be hung up on this but have become more educated due to this board. I do like healthy doses of PAO's and esters but not the price tag for having no group lll's.
I bet they all have the same amount of chemicals. If not then you’re being ripped off.
I can say about South East Asia/Philippines where I came from. Yeah 0w20 or 0w16 is mostly unheard of obviously. 5w30 5w40 10w30 10w40 15w40 20w50 are the common grades usually. DIY oil change is not that popular because of the hassle of oil disposal, (yeah we I know the importance disposing used oil properly). Another reason is most gasoline station has oil change bay that you can just pull in and ask for an oil change. You can talk to the the mechanics while they are doing your oil change and you can even walk under your car while it's up on the lifter. So you can see that they are doing it right. Most common oil brands are
Shell Helix, Caltex (Chevron), Petron. Mobil1, Valvoline, Castrol, Idemitsu, Zic. OEM oils like Toyota, Honda are mostly made by one supplier which is Caltex(Chevron). Motul and Amsoil have presence and are popular with the enthusiasts crowd. I bet even the cheapest oils here are not poor quality because Philippines especially the Metro Manila area has one of the most demanding driving conditions in the world and when you go to the auto shops most of their work are suspension related or emissions related. (engine throwing codes or carb engines that out of tune). You can see one or two engines that needs to be rebuilt but not because of oil related failure but mostly neglected engine or the most common, failed cooling system due to age or lack of cooling system service that led to overheating.
Ofcourse, in the EU at least that is not the case but in Asia, Africa, South America, that is the case.
I can still get Group 1 15W40 HDEOs and 20W50s here in Spain, the good old API CI-4 stuff with plenty of Zddp hehe
Here in Spain too until about 2 or 3 years ago you would have struggled to find 0W20 anywhere, i would confidently say 5w30 and 10w40 are still the top sellers.
Australia has a few locals which are all pretty interesting.
Penrite, Nulon, Gulf Western are the big ones (although Nulon is now owned by Fuchs).
Valvoline, Castrol, Fuchs and others do some or a lot of their blending in Australia.
I tend to use what’s available and good value at the time of purchase, so long as it has the spec I’m after. For example, I’ve just gone through 20L of MANNOL 5W-30 OP C3 because I paid $165 for 20L delivered which is really good value for the quality of the product. But often I’ll use Gulf Western, Nulon, Castrol, Valvoline, Shell. Really whatever is on sale that meets the spec.
Penrite, Nulon, Gulf Western are the big ones (although Nulon is now owned by Fuchs).
Valvoline, Castrol, Fuchs and others do some or a lot of their blending in Australia.
I tend to use what’s available and good value at the time of purchase, so long as it has the spec I’m after. For example, I’ve just gone through 20L of MANNOL 5W-30 OP C3 because I paid $165 for 20L delivered which is really good value for the quality of the product. But often I’ll use Gulf Western, Nulon, Castrol, Valvoline, Shell. Really whatever is on sale that meets the spec.
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