I am new to BITOG. This is my first post. I have often wondered which oil was best for my vehicles. In the past I relied on the recommendations of a friend But as time has gone on I have attempted to educate myself on what all of these products are really about. And so my journey in oil analysis has begun. But after researching oil products on manufacturers sites, reading specs and descriptions, reading independent reports, reading posts on BITOG and discussing oil with parts store employees, friends and mechanics I am at a point of Paralysis By Analysis. I find myself just as confused now as when I started. At this point I am getting answers like "at the end of the day you can't go wrong either way..." or "It's really up to you..."
I own two vehicles. A 2004 Honda Accord EX 4cyl with 125K miles and a 1994 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon V8 with 85K miles. I have been using Mobil 1 synthetic, 5w20 for the Honda and 5w30 for the Buick, for a few years now. In a recent conversation with my mechanic he recommended that I stick with the synthetic but said that I should be using a High Mileage oil. So I looked at the other oils that Mobil offered. When comparing features and specs of M1 High Mileage versus M1 EP and M1 synthetic I didn't feel like it was necessarily the best oil for what I read was important. The VI was a bit lower then the other oils I was reading about and it didn't seem that it was the best oil for cold starts. As I continued to research I came across an independent report posted on the AMSOil website that tested 7 oils in several different ways. And while, as I suspected, AMSoil was top rated in almost every category I noticed that Valvoline SynPower also out performed M1 EP in almost every category. As AMSOil is well out of my price range I started looking at Valvoline and trying to take my mechanics recommendations, I focused on Max Life. But unfortunately there isnt a 5w20 MaxLife and so I can't use it in my Honda. All the VIs and specs of these oils seemed to be very close. My understanding is that the additive packages are what differentiates these products and while I often hear people say they like one additive package over another, I don't understand how to evaluate them. I apologize if this is too long and confusing but I will sum up and get to my question.
How do I pick the highest quality oil that has the right additive package for my needs? I felt like MaxLife may be the better choice, but it isn't made for my Honda. SynPower isn't really considered a high mileage oil but I read that it performed better then M1 EP. My mechanic recommended M1 HM. And now to add to my confusion, I started reading about 0w20 and 0w30 oils, which seem from the specs I have read, to be very high quality oils.
Again, sorry if this is too long or confusing but I am kind of stuck. Any advice would be appreciated.
I own two vehicles. A 2004 Honda Accord EX 4cyl with 125K miles and a 1994 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon V8 with 85K miles. I have been using Mobil 1 synthetic, 5w20 for the Honda and 5w30 for the Buick, for a few years now. In a recent conversation with my mechanic he recommended that I stick with the synthetic but said that I should be using a High Mileage oil. So I looked at the other oils that Mobil offered. When comparing features and specs of M1 High Mileage versus M1 EP and M1 synthetic I didn't feel like it was necessarily the best oil for what I read was important. The VI was a bit lower then the other oils I was reading about and it didn't seem that it was the best oil for cold starts. As I continued to research I came across an independent report posted on the AMSOil website that tested 7 oils in several different ways. And while, as I suspected, AMSoil was top rated in almost every category I noticed that Valvoline SynPower also out performed M1 EP in almost every category. As AMSOil is well out of my price range I started looking at Valvoline and trying to take my mechanics recommendations, I focused on Max Life. But unfortunately there isnt a 5w20 MaxLife and so I can't use it in my Honda. All the VIs and specs of these oils seemed to be very close. My understanding is that the additive packages are what differentiates these products and while I often hear people say they like one additive package over another, I don't understand how to evaluate them. I apologize if this is too long and confusing but I will sum up and get to my question.
How do I pick the highest quality oil that has the right additive package for my needs? I felt like MaxLife may be the better choice, but it isn't made for my Honda. SynPower isn't really considered a high mileage oil but I read that it performed better then M1 EP. My mechanic recommended M1 HM. And now to add to my confusion, I started reading about 0w20 and 0w30 oils, which seem from the specs I have read, to be very high quality oils.
Again, sorry if this is too long or confusing but I am kind of stuck. Any advice would be appreciated.
