Ranking the conventional oils

[kam327]

Originally Posted By: Jocephus
Originally Posted By: kam327
There isn't much, if any, good objective comparative testing out there. But this Amsoil funded study found Castrol GTX to be the best Dino tested. Good thing I've been using it for years. When my Explorer's engine was opened up at 53,000 miles it was very clean. I switched to MC Synth blend briefly but now I'm going back to Castrol GTX in synth blend form. It's cheaper an MC and I've had a good history with its Dino base.

http://www.goodoil4u.com/comparative_motor_oil_testing.html



just out of curiosity, why was your explorer's engine opened up at only 53k miles? (i.e. was it a repair, fault, curiosity, etc?)


Head gasket leak.

 

[blackhondaccord]

best are 1. castrol gtx
2. pennzoil yellow bottle
3. mobil super 1000
4. valvoline
5. quakerstate green bottle

 

[CarbonSteel]

Originally Posted By: blackman777
Originally Posted By: NorrisB
Pennzoil YB, Chevron Supreme, Havoline, Valvoline, GTX, Quaker State, Super 5000

I took time to look-up manufacturer approvals (almost none). I don't like any of these oils. They are the oil-equivalent of B grade movies (the bottom half of a double feature). I wouldn't run them longer than 3000 miles.

[censored]...there goes my 8200+ mile OCI with MS5K.

 

[Norm Olt]

Originally Posted By: blackman777
Originally Posted By: NorrisB
Pennzoil YB, Chevron Supreme, Havoline, Valvoline, GTX, Quaker State, Super 5000

I took time to look-up manufacturer approvals (almost none). I don't like any of these oils. They are the oil-equivalent of B grade movies (the bottom half of a double feature). I wouldn't run them longer than 3000 miles.


The Olog-hai speaks, again...

 

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: Mystic
I really do not think that there is that much difference in conventional motor oils that meet the requirements. But there are some motor oils (about 18 according to some sources) that meet higher requirements for Corvettes and some other vehicles. But the motor oils meeting the higher requirements are all synthetic motor oils as far as I know.

There was information a while back (in 2010) about all of this in a Consumers Union article.


I agree with this post. All of the majors make a high quality conventional oil and can be had relatively cheaply. I'd be surprised if there was much,if any difference in wear rates between pyb,gtx,vwb,mobil,peak,trop artic etc,if used in a vehicle that was driven normally.
Sure some oils perform better in certain applications due to their additive package however I firmly believe that a conventional will keep an engine alive just as long as a syn will when changed at a proper interval.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: NorrisB
7. Super 5000


I think they're all pretty fine oils and basically interchangeable. The only thing that's Tier 2 about Mobil's conventional line is that they obviously spend much more time and money marketing their synthetic products. Honestly, I don't think any of your Tier 2 grouped oils take a back seat to anyone in the appropriate applications.

Realistically, so much perception seems to be geographically based, as indicated in many posts in this thread and others. The Critic has mentioned how Castrol stuff is considered very high end in his region. In many states, it's considered very overpriced. Here, it's cheap and plentiful. Thanks to the distribution network, Chevron and Havoline products are rather difficult to get, but their "regular" prices aren't half bad. Mobil conventional suffers in retail distribution here. Shell products suffer in commercial distribution here, but are available at retail everywhere, including Esso stations.

Originally Posted By: blackman777
I took time to look-up manufacturer approvals (almost none). I don't like any of these oils.


And an oil meeting A3/B3 A3/B4 or any proprietary Audi/VW, Benz, or BMW spec is less than useless for my G under warranty. And with a 3750 mile OCI, a long drain specification is a waste. I don't dispute that there are some fine Euro speced oils, but it helps to match the oil to the application. As loose as the logic is in this thread, at least try to compare apples to apples.

After warranty, it's certainly less of an issue, but under warranty, there's nothing wrong with using the specified lube. GC in my G is just as "wrong" from a warranty standpoint as would PYB be in a new VW diesel.

If I were running GC in my G and the engine failed while under warranty, I'm sure Infiniti wouldn't give two hoots about A3/B3 or VW specifications. They'd ask where the SM/GF-4 or newer and the 5w-30 designations are on the bottle. If I went to BP to complain, they'd be asking why I didn't use 5w-30 GTX or Syntec.

 

[moto94536]

I still do 5k oci with mobil super 5000. If I go over 5,000, the engine have hard to breathing. Oil was super black after 5k .