Supertech and other value point oils

[dnewton3]

I’m just telling you all, it was noticeable when I took the cap off and was pouring it. It smelled like a dirtier, less refined product. This was the Supertech Synthetic 0w20 marketed as 10k miles. I didn’t even know ST had an”advanced” 20k indicated synthetic. Oil might test out just fine, but I’m betting it would leave more deposits than a Mobil 1 or Valvoline Extended Protection. Any concrete tests to back that up? Nope. But next time you need an ultra cheap Dexos oil (in this case for a rental car) get you some ST regular synthetic and see if it doesn’t make you think its a lesser quality product.

You've been here more than a decade, and your takeaway after all that time is judging virgin oil on smell?



Look - it's time for some tough love ...

Lubricants have a job to do; that of reducing wear. This is achieved in many ways:
- reducing friction
- controlling contamination
- managing thermal loads
There are many, many industry tests to see how well a lube does these things. NONE of them involve a sniff test.

Further, the lube in question (any lube, for that matter) is just one consideration of several when it comes to controlling wear. These must also be considered:
- application (what equipment is it? engine? trans? gearbox? sliding door hinge?)
- specifics of the equipment as a known history (does the equipment have a known good or bad reputation well earned? Is is sensitive to anything?)
- environmental concerns (is it hot or cold where the equipment is operated, as a generality?)
- operational norms (short cycles? long cycles? intermittent cycles?)
- what is the OCI plan? (you can either underutilize or overuse a lube relative to its capabilities)


Simply put, don't judge a book by its smelly cover. For the unwashed masses, they follow the OE manuals and that will suffice well. But for the BITOG faithful, you ought to know better by now.

 

[circuitsmith]

When something smells bad most times sulfur is involved.
Matches, sulfuric acid, natural gas & propane odorants, skunk spray, digestive "toots".
Gear oils (older version of Valvoline MaxLife comes to mind) can smell terrible, due to abundant sulfur compounds.

So maybe SuperTech just contains more of a (beneficial) sulfur based additive than other brands.
So what!

 

[CheezWhiz]

Seriously? We're judging lubes on aroma now?
Show me a license, VOA or UOA that includes a sniff test and then I'll give a crap ...

i shot havoline up my nose once giving it a sniff.

 

[ATex7239]

I've seen quite a few posts talking about the unique smell of Valvoline Restore and Protect.

It kinda smells like caramel covered popcorn to me.

 

[Urshurak776]

I see it working like this analogy: Walmart sells Walmart brand Naproxen for $3/bottle. They also sell Alleve for $9/bottle. Both do the same thing, both are 'approved', both work fine.

Some people, me included, buy the Walmart brand. Other people will insist on nothing but the name brand.

If the oil meets the specifications advertised on the bottle what's the worry? I use Supertech, DG, Rural King, Traveller, etc unless I can get a sale or a deal on name brand oil.

In the back of my mind the 'extra $$ does buy you something' thought pops up but that does not stop me from buying the discount product if it works.

Funny you should say that. My Father-in-Law, before he passed, REFUSED to take generic aspirin, tylenol, etc. My mother in-law would buy a small bottle of the brand name, then kept refilling them with the generics! LOL

 

[OilStainedNapkin]

Changing oil on a rental is pure comedy imo. Not taking anything seriously from the OP

 

[Auto tech]

Changing oil on a rental is pure comedy imo. Not taking anything seriously from the OP

I'm not paying out of my pocket for maintenance on a corporation owned rental car.

 

[tired]

You've been here more than a decade, and your takeaway after all that time is judging virgin oil on smell?



Look - it's time for some tough love ...

Lubricants have a job to do; that of reducing wear. This is achieved in many ways:
- reducing friction
- controlling contamination
- managing thermal loads
There are many, many industry tests to see how well a lube does these things. NONE of them involve a sniff test.

Further, the lube in question (any lube, for that matter) is just one consideration of several when it comes to controlling wear. These must also be considered:
- application (what equipment is it? engine? trans? gearbox? sliding door hinge?)
- specifics of the equipment as a known history (does the equipment have a known good or bad reputation well earned? Is is sensitive to anything?)
- environmental concerns (is it hot or cold where the equipment is operated, as a generality?)
- operational norms (short cycles? long cycles? intermittent cycles?)
- what is the OCI plan? (you can either underutilize or overuse a lube relative to its capabilities)


Simply put, don't judge a book by its smelly cover. For the unwashed masses, they follow the OE manuals and that will suffice well. But for the BITOG faithful, you ought to know better by now.

Imagine the reverse scenario. He puts in an oil that smells awful, and later he has an issue with the oil. And he posts here and says, you know, when I filled up the engine, I noticed the oil smelled AWFUL, but I still used it. You would be dragging him for using something that appeared off. I think it's very reasonable to ask. Maybe Supertech is known for having a funny smell. If everyone said it usually smells like roses, then maybe he’d want to switch it out. Maybe someone returned used oil? Did you shut down discussions on German Castrol when people talked about it smelling like gummy bears?

 

[mikeduf]

Marvel Mystery Oil! Been using it for years off and on in my fuel system it smells wonderful. But aside from the smell it actually does a good job of cleaning

 

[Bill7]

Changing oil on a rental is pure comedy imo. Not taking anything seriously from the OP

Someone will eventually buy that rental car as a used vehicle. Rental car companies typically change the oil every 5,000 miles.
Personally I would only touch the oil if the rental car was low on oil (I would add oil) out of respect for the future owner of the rental car,
and alert the rental car company of the low oil situation.

 

[pbm]

Someone will eventually buy that rental car as a used vehicle. Rental car companies typically change the oil every 5,000 miles.
Personally I would only touch the oil if the rental car was low on oil (I would add oil) out of respect for the future owner of the rental car,
and alert the rental car company of the low oil situation.

I agree....I'd never change the oil on a rented car but I would top it up if low for the reason you stated.

 

[factorytuned2012]

I regularly see on here that basically it seems that brand doesn’t matter as long as an oil meets specs. I’m sure to a certain extent this is true, however, the extra $$ does buy you something. Bought Supertech 0w20 synthetic (10k mile low-rent variety) to do an oil change on a rental vehicle I am using for the next week. Im going to tell you, that stuff is more acrid smelling than any Valvoline Extended Protection or Mobil 1 I use on my own vehicles. It smells noticeably less refined. If anyone doesn’t believe me check it out for yourself.

What is this?

 

[Rust_Belt_Pete]

I run cheap supertech in the summer. Over winter/cold wet months I put in expensive boutique oils so I dont have to climb under the car when its wet and miserable.

 

[Bkdc]

Base oils are base oils. Then only four companies in the world provide additive packages for your oil to meet the specs.
SuperTech and Costco stuff is perfectly adequate for regular driving.

LOL. I just changed the oil on a rental car. I noticed it had hit 6300 miles since the last change on a Dodge Durango. Sucked out 5.2 gallons through the dipstick tube and added about 5.9 gallons of good stuff (Castrol Edge Extended Performance). No filter change. I had the car for about 2 weeks as my regular car is in the body shop after someone rear ended me. I felt guilty that I was contributing to a tiny reduction in longevity even though it’s the rental company’s responsibility. They will probably change the oil very soon and the service tech will wonder why the drained oil looks brand new.

With budget oils, you’re saving 8 bucks per 5 quart jug on average. In the big scheme of car ownership costs, it’s not much but saving 30 bucks a year is still 30 bucks a year. Depends on what you think. Castrol Edge EP is 26 bucks/5 quarts at Walmart right now, and the possible placebo effect of knowing that there’s some added protection at extreme temperatures/pressures makes he feel a little warmer and fuzzier when my foot is stuck on the pedal as I pass slow cars up the mountain pass.

 

[factorytuned2012]

Sucked out 5.2 gallons through the dipstick tube and added about 5.9 gallons of good stuff (Castrol Edge Extended Performance).

QTs?

 

[Bkdc]

QTs?

Whoops. Quarts.

 

[tired]

Someone will eventually buy that rental car as a used vehicle. Rental car companies typically change the oil every 5,000 miles.
Personally I would only touch the oil if the rental car was low on oil (I would add oil) out of respect for the future owner of the rental car,
and alert the rental car company of the low oil situation.

We have some really stand up folks around here! I have a friend who bought a used rental car. Like you said, someone else will be buying that car in the future.

 

[tired]

Base oils are base oils. Then only four companies in the world provide additive packages for your oil to meet the specs.
SuperTech and Costco stuff is perfectly adequate for regular driving.

LOL. I just changed the oil on a rental car. I noticed it had hit 6300 miles since the last change on a Dodge Durango. Sucked out 5.2 gallons through the dipstick tube and added about 5.9 gallons of good stuff (Castrol Edge Extended Performance). No filter change. I had the car for about 2 weeks as my regular car is in the body shop after someone rear ended me. I felt guilty that I was contributing to a tiny reduction in longevity even though it’s the rental company’s responsibility. They will probably change the oil very soon and the service tech will wonder why the drained oil looks brand new.

With budget oils, you’re saving 8 bucks per 5 quart jug on average. In the big scheme of car ownership costs, it’s not much but saving 30 bucks a year is still 30 bucks a year. Depends on what you think. Castrol Edge EP is 26 bucks/5 quarts at Walmart right now, and the possible placebo effect of knowing that there’s some added protection at extreme temperatures/pressures makes he feel a little warmer and fuzzier when my foot is stuck on the pedal as I pass slow cars up the mountain pass.

I hear that a lot, but it's not hard to find people who develop severe oil burning with low OCIs and high quality oils. Here's a list.

I'm still not sure what the answer is, but I don't think you can make a blanket statement like that. Even on BITOG favorite, M1 EP, some people end up burning oil.

 

[Bkdc]

I hear that a lot, but it's not hard to find people who develop severe oil burning with low OCIs and high quality oils. Here's a list.

I'm still not sure what the answer is, but I don't think you can make a blanket statement like that. Even on BITOG favorite, M1 EP, some people end up burning oil.

I think this is a valid concern.
My current regimen is Castrol Edge EP changed every 4K to 5K miles which I think has the best high temperature protection among all EP oils. Valvoline Restore and Protect every fourth change.

On my Mercedes, it’s a quart of HPL Engine Cleaner every fourth oil change. But my Mercedes has never burned oil.

 

[tired]

I think this is a valid concern.
My current regimen is Castrol Edge EP changed every 4K to 5K miles which I think has the best high temperature protection among all EP oils. Valvoline Restore and Protect every fourth change.

On my Mercedes, it’s a quart of HPL Engine Cleaner every fourth oil change. But my Mercedes has never burned oil.

Yeah I definitely don't think I have the answer yet. Going to decide after I get everything cleaned up with VRP for 4 changes. I think I will then do another change with HPL EC 30 and see what I get out of the filters. I think AMSOIL SS or HPL PCMO is probably the way to go honestly.