Originally Posted By: PandaBear
Originally Posted By: bloc0102
Problem is that it has Shell's tracer in it, so they'd be on the hook for any engine damage that could result from using say a 5W20 instead of a 5W30...
A UOA can easily prove that it is not your exact formula. I'd more worry about people putting fake engine oil in a Shell barrel / drum and sell it as the real deal.
I'm assuming their additives and base oils are the same between a 5W30 and 5W20, some can only be told apart by the 100 degree viscosity, even an FTIR can't tell them apart.
So, one could say they put a 5W30 in and it sheared down into a 20 grade, causing engine damage. It'd be hard to prove for both sides, but I wouldn't want to be Shell having all of this off-spec product with my tracer in it...