Store brand vs premium

[Camprunner]

I was thinking about lower cost store brand synthetic oil like WM ST, Car Quest, etc. and I was wondering if they can compar in cleaning ability to name brand synthetics like M1, PP, VSP etc? Let's say they all meet the same specification would that include the oils cleaning abality? What are we loosing performance wise from low cost synthetics compared to the majors?

 

[skyactiv]

It's harder to say at the moment since Dexos 1 Gen 2 oils have rewritten things.

 

[dnewton3]

Losing? Nothing in particular. Cleaning agents will come in two forms: 1) elemental additives 2) chemical compounds The former is very prevalent; typically you'll see Ca and/or Mg in VOAs. There are some house brands that are every bit as strong as name brands in this regard. Some even more so. The later cannot be discerned by UOAs; esters are just one example. And since brand name companies hold their formulations secret (other than vague marketing claims), there's no way to know for sure how to compare/contrast the choices. My point is that some of the cleaning capability is seen in VOAs, some is not. House brands get slammed often out of ignorance of what they offer. For example, I recently looked over some VOAs from the PQIA site, and noted that W/M ST dino oil has MORE calcium than many other dino brand names, by several hundred ppm.

 

[Snagglefoot]

An often posted topic. The nice thing about store brands today is many have the full API designations such as SN and even the Dexos designations on some. Hard to argue it’s qualty if it’s Dexos approved. I better climb into my flame suite now. SF

 

[fisher83]

If they meet the same specs they should all be pretty comparable. My only qualm with store brand oils is that they are often so close in price to the known name brand oils. At my local Wal-Mart there is only about a $2 price difference between a 5 quart jug of Super Tech Full Synthetic va Magnatec or QSUD.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

Originally Posted By: fisher83

If they meet the same specs they should all be pretty comparable. My only qualm with store brand oils is that they are often so close in price to the known name brand oils. At my local Wal-Mart there is only about a $2 price difference between a 5 quart jug of Super Tech Full Synthetic va Magnatec or QSUD.

My local WM Super Tech and Magnatec currently forty something cents since the Magnatec is on Rollback.

 

[Jimzz]

Usually the difference is in the additive package. Store brands the oil is fine but the additive package is weaker. But as said the newer Dexos rating might change that. And most don't run their oil long enough to see the difference. Heck many can run conventional oil just fine.

 

[javacontour]

The term synthetic is largely meaningless, so start from that perspective.

 

[CarbonSteel]

I have pondered in the past about this very topic and more often than not, I can find "branded" oils at the same price or cheaper than the store brands (particularly with rebates and the like) so I have remained with a major brand. Now, do I think that store brands which meet API specification are lesser quality or we are somehow missing out? Nope, not in the slightest. Walmart Supertech is typically made by Warren or Citgo (in my area) and both of those companies make very good oil. From a slightly different angle, I use Supertech DEF in my PowerStroke versus Blue DEF (Peak), Valvoline Premium Blue DEF, Shell Rotella DEF, or Motorcraft DEF. Do I think that SuperTech is of lesser quality? No, it is API certified and that is all that Ford states is needed to meet the warranty requirements. Why spend more if you do not have to?

 

[mrsilv04]

The Citgo sourced Harvest King synthetic is already showing up on the shelf with the Dexos1 Gen2 labeling. Considering that it is $2 a quart, everyday, in the 5 quart jug ($9.99)... it being Gen 2 is all that I need to know. Good enough for me. Actually... it is 12% off right now. Make that $1.76 a quart.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Just got back from my latest Walmart illicit photo session. They have this “Tune It” brand oil up here in Western Canada. It says “Powered by Super Tech”. No idea why they don’t simply call it Super Tech. Anyway, it’s 5-30 synthetic with the SN and GF5 rating. Ridiculously priced at the regular price of $46, just $2 less than the ridiculous price of $48 for the regular name brand synthetics. The only good price was for Valvoline Synpower priced at $26.88. Also the Valvoline Max Life is getting stocked.