I'm trying to figure out what the best oil to use might be for myself. My dad is addicted to using Amsoil Series 3000 5w-30 oil. It's technically for Diesel engines, but is also "formulated for gasoline engines". It works just fine, but costs $12-$13/qt, and even with a dealer discount I don't think it can go below $9-$10/qt. I'm not really sure if this is worth it when Mobil 1 seems to be highly recommended and at Walmart it's only $5/qt. However I filled in the information below as recommended and have further comments on my habits below as well.
1. What kind of vehicle you have 2004 Hyundai Accent 1.6L, just under 100k miles
2. What your owner's manual says -- not just viscosity, but certifications (look for acronyms like API SM, ILSAC GF-4, etc.) and change intervals as well I recall it said 10W-40 Which sounds heavy, everything online recommends 5W-30
3. Where you live New Jersey
4. How you drive (easy? hard? fast? slow?) I tend to drive a bit fast, but I ease into it gently and slow down on inclines, usually keeping the engine in a 2-3k RPM range, I try to avoid it jumping to a higher RPM to maintain speed.
5. What your daily drive is like (short trips? long trips? city? highway?) I drive 17 miles each way to work 5 days a week, so 170 miles a week minimum, probably 200-300 miles total in a week, and the majority of it is highway in state highways or interstates.
6. Whether your car has any known problems It was my mother's car which she bought new. I don't know of any problems relating to oil overall. My dad said the oil pan is leaking, but he's replacing that before I buy it, I don't know of any oil burning or leaking issues aside from that. The exhaust did rust up a lot though and is also being replaced though, if that might be at all relevant.
Additionally I use Amsoil filters, and usually just replace the oil and filter once a year. The Amsoil filters claim to go to 15k miles, and should be good with the same oil too from what I understand. This is also what my mom's car has used for the first 100k miles of its life.
So basically what I guess I'm wondering is what is the cheapest while not risking undue wear and tear on the car,
1) Is the Amsoil filter worth it? Is there something better? I'm guessing I should ask in the oil filters section, but any advice is appreciated. Please keep in mind that I don't want to switch to 2x a year oil changes, and I also don't think there's anything cheap enough to be better to do 2x a year than the Amsoil once a year. However I'm open to any ideas
2) Is the Amsoil oil really the best? I'm sure it's good oil, but I have a very hard time believing it is in any way worth the extra over the competitors. Maybe it is worth it to use it just to keep any sort of warranty coverage for using the filter and oils from the same brand though? It's my understanding that Amsoil offer some sort of guarantee, though I don't know the details
3) Based on the 2 above questions, what does everyone recommend and why? If it's any help, I'm definitely a synthetic 100% of the way kind of person, and I plan to keep the car for 3-5 years.
Thanks for all of your help.
1. What kind of vehicle you have 2004 Hyundai Accent 1.6L, just under 100k miles
2. What your owner's manual says -- not just viscosity, but certifications (look for acronyms like API SM, ILSAC GF-4, etc.) and change intervals as well I recall it said 10W-40 Which sounds heavy, everything online recommends 5W-30
3. Where you live New Jersey
4. How you drive (easy? hard? fast? slow?) I tend to drive a bit fast, but I ease into it gently and slow down on inclines, usually keeping the engine in a 2-3k RPM range, I try to avoid it jumping to a higher RPM to maintain speed.
5. What your daily drive is like (short trips? long trips? city? highway?) I drive 17 miles each way to work 5 days a week, so 170 miles a week minimum, probably 200-300 miles total in a week, and the majority of it is highway in state highways or interstates.
6. Whether your car has any known problems It was my mother's car which she bought new. I don't know of any problems relating to oil overall. My dad said the oil pan is leaking, but he's replacing that before I buy it, I don't know of any oil burning or leaking issues aside from that. The exhaust did rust up a lot though and is also being replaced though, if that might be at all relevant.
Additionally I use Amsoil filters, and usually just replace the oil and filter once a year. The Amsoil filters claim to go to 15k miles, and should be good with the same oil too from what I understand. This is also what my mom's car has used for the first 100k miles of its life.
So basically what I guess I'm wondering is what is the cheapest while not risking undue wear and tear on the car,
1) Is the Amsoil filter worth it? Is there something better? I'm guessing I should ask in the oil filters section, but any advice is appreciated. Please keep in mind that I don't want to switch to 2x a year oil changes, and I also don't think there's anything cheap enough to be better to do 2x a year than the Amsoil once a year. However I'm open to any ideas
2) Is the Amsoil oil really the best? I'm sure it's good oil, but I have a very hard time believing it is in any way worth the extra over the competitors. Maybe it is worth it to use it just to keep any sort of warranty coverage for using the filter and oils from the same brand though? It's my understanding that Amsoil offer some sort of guarantee, though I don't know the details
3) Based on the 2 above questions, what does everyone recommend and why? If it's any help, I'm definitely a synthetic 100% of the way kind of person, and I plan to keep the car for 3-5 years.
Thanks for all of your help.
