Thoughts on Supertech?

[serious II.5]

I just got back from Wally World and am just beginning to recover from the "Spandex Shock" which generally comes from that experience. Anyway, Supertech is at $1.16 per quart with Havoline at $1.88. I would never had even DREAMED of checking out Supertech but for the numerous mentions of the WalMart brand on this site. I noticed that it carries both the API "donut" and API "Starburst" and is SM/Group-4 rated.
Does anyone know what the deal is with the additive package? If I spike it with VSOT, would that alleviate any concerns regarding the additives? Is this as good of a deal as it appears or have I been blinded by the spandex?

 

[BigAl]

Supertech is perfectly good oil as long as you don't mess it up by putting in your own additives. Of course the same thing can be said for any SM rated oil.

Lots of posts here on Supertech. As far as I know, obody has ever really found anything bad about it.

 

[The Critic]

Carpy mentioned a while back that it was a Motiva GrpII+ basestock with a Lubrizol Additive pack. HondaMan is running it in his Mazda right now.

I don't see anything wrong with this oil, especially for the money. For example, Pennzoil 5w-20/5w30/10w-30 are all $10.77 per 5qt jug at the local Wallyworld, whereas, the Supertech 5w30/10w-30 are only $5.48 per 5qt jug. I certainly wouldn't pay double the amount of money for Pennzoil.

Mike

 

[Alan]

I belive the WPP 5W30 is the Motiva/Lubrizol stuff.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Who/what are Motiva & Lubrizol? Sounds like a couple of Euro artists or opera singers.

 

[Blue99]

Ahh, Motiva operates the 2nd largest Grp II/II+ base oil facility in the world. It is located at Port Arthur, Texas and owned by Shell(Pennzoil/QuakerState).

Lubrizol is a major additive company and designs/sells complete additive packages for engine oils.

Back on topic, here's a look at a recent UOA for Supertech 5w30 .

I'm assuming it is the WPP formulation, since that is generally is what we see in the midwest.

Good basic add pack with moly at 50 ppm, boron 70 ppm & calcium at 2200.

These additive levels would have been described as "premium" for a GF-3 motor oil. I'd certainly run it with confidence at 5K & less OCI's.

 

[Zaedock]

Attleboro, huh? How's the Emerald Square traffic lately?
I have been using SuperTech for a long time and have never had any problems with it. In Mass, you will most likely find the Exxon/Mobile supplied oil although the WPP jugs show up once in a while. You can find SuperTech MSDS on the Exxon web site. The synthetic blend and full (group III) Synthetic oils are supplied by WPP. Both versions are good.

I just received my Blackstone kit for a 5000K mile UOA on my Wife's Malibu Maxx LT running SuperTech 5W30 (the WPP version). I have a couple thousand miles to go, so stay tuned...

 

[racer12306]

supertech is decent stuff. my dad used it in his 02 acclaim from 60000 till he got rid of it at 185000 miles. car ran great and only used a half a qt of oil in 3000 using 5w30 supertech. he also used it in his 91 cummins 12v from 150000 (i think that was how many miles was on it when we got it) til he got rid of it at 210000 miles. didnt use much if any oil in 5000 miles. he was using it in his 05 cummins 600 24v but it is becoming hard to find in his area. he used delvac 1300 on the last change.

 

[BigAl]

Comparing brands of conventional motor oil is like comparing brands of milk, flour, or sugar. They are all basically commodities and, if they all meet the best specification, (GF-4, Grade-A, Etc.) they are all going to be pretty much the same, even the store brands.

There are only a handful of refineries and about four suppliers of additives for conventional motor oil. I'd bet there is more performance variation from batch to batch than brand to brand. The manufacturers try do distinguish themselves mostly through brand identity and packaging.

So which is the best cola, Coke, Pepsi, or RC?

 

[bruce381]

Big AL that is 200% the truth you nailed it ANY SL/SM oil will run fine.

Bruce

 

[racer12306]

many people get too caught up in brands of oil. when i worked at a jiffy lube it was funny to listen to what people had to say about oil brands. one of the lubes i worked at switched to exxon superflo. but they still offered pennzoil. some people would rather die than put exxon superflo in their engine. we also had a limited supply of castrol gtx and valvoline. some people would leave because we didnt have castrol or valvoline in stock at the time. we also offered M1, and some people thought M1 was the *** of synthetic oils, all other synthetic oils were far inferior.

 

[Mr Magoo]

But is GF4 SM Supertech better than GF3 SL rated Havoline / Pennzoil / GTX ???

 

[Triple_Se7en]

No Magoo!
Nothing WPP makes is superior to the name brands. I tried three different off & on OCIs with Super Tech synthetic & everytime I put it in, my idle would get rougher at around 1K.

I think all Super Tech oils will only be produced by WPP - if that hasn't started already. There was a portion of the country that Exxon produced it, but I thought I read somewhere that the contract with Exxon-Mobil was not renewed by Wal*Mart.

 

[bruce381]

"But is GF4 SM Supertech better than GF3 SL rated Havoline / Pennzoil / GTX ???"

Comparing legitimate oils of same base stock which now are most all GPII or better, YES a GF-4 will run longer and cleaner than ANY GF-3 oil. It is part of the progression of oil quality.

Don't think so look up the Engine qualifing test data for GF-3 vs GF-4.
Flame suit on so hit me.
bruce

 

[HondaMan]

I think any modern oil (DINO) when utilized within proper limits (3-5k OCI) will offer great results.
I am from old school and always feel that people seem to forget the obvious.

Its a machine!

**** yes it is gonna run better and last longer with fresh fluids.

Given the above, I do feel that some oils are better suited to one machine vs. another, which is really what things should be about IMHO and which is why this board is so cool.

 

[Mr Magoo]

"some people would rather die than put Exxon superflo in their engine"

Isn't Exxon Superflo identical to Mobil 5000 ??

Alot of UOA's confirm they are VERY similar. Kind of like the Havoline/Chevron.

 

[racer12306]

when i worked at jiffy lube it was before my bitog days but i still figured it was a halfway decent oil. but some people absolutly hated the stuff. let the ignorant people pay more.

 

[serious II.5]

Zaedock: I have found a foolproof method of dealing with mall traffic : I don't go anywhere near the mall. Problem solved - thanks for asking!

I still have about 1.5 cases of Havoline, but will start swithing over gradually to Supertech to see how it goes ( I might start by blending ST with Havoline 50/50) I will stick with Purolator PureOne Filters, though. I will only go so far to save a buck . . .

 

[BigOil]

While a private brand can be okay. I think many people prefer the "insurance" (labs, QC, testing, reputation) and motivations of a deep-pocketed major owner BP, Shell, Chevron, Conoco-Phillips, Total etc...NOT to cut-corners in their blending & formulating porcessess.

Additives are sooo cosly that a blender of medium size can add $1MM+ in profit by running at the "ragged lower edge" of the specs, and without ANY effective enforcemet in the market, YOU will *never* know that your oil was shortchanged in that batch just a "little", or it had a small "oops" in the mix that may or may not matter to your engine. UOAs can ensure it was not really bad oil after the fact...but you were shortchanged. Big public companies can never condone or systemically allow this kind of blending due thier assets and plantiff lawyers (regardless of brand value---brand is also huge consumer protection as oil is a small part of the company and Corporate NEVER wants the name sullied in ANY way & any ethics---some cultures do say "do the right thing" regardless of the evil perceptions media perpetuates for many).

That said SuperTech may be a fine company and oil. It is not a major brand, but an ILMA-type product (indepent lubrican manufacturers association). Not that if I had an older car I personally would not hesitate to use a non-major oil if it saved significant money...on a newer or valuable vehicle I would go for a branded oil, not necessarily the most expensive one though.

 

[peterr]

What BigOil says has a lot of merit.

I think that it is likely true that SuperTech and other house brand Dinos are comparable to name brands, but the insurance that a name brand MAY provide is the reputation.

Think about it. If you were ExxonMobil and you were supplying Walmart with oil branded as the Walmart House Brand Supertech in fulfillment of a contract that WM had negotiated purely on price, and you had a batch that you thought was a little dodgy would you label and ship it as Exxon Superflo or send it to Wally as Supertech. While this is a hypothetical, there is no denying that a major oil company's interest in protecting their reputation is a factor.

If you r average consumer was disappointed by SuperTech oil then maybe they stop shopping at WalMart. If they are disappointed in Exxon/Mobil branded oil then maybe they stop buying Exxon/Mobil gas. Where you you devote any substandard product if you were them?

Now, how much is that worth to you? Well my winter car is currently running on a mix of WallyWorld Tech2000 (the Canadian equivalent of SuperTech)and Castrol GTX because that is what was on sale respective weeks. My summer car (Porsche 944 Turbo) gets a 0w40 full syn regardless of cost.