Agree with exchange. But by the time one does that, and the gas it took to get it there (one’s time and travel cost money), the supposed bargain they supposedly got has evaporated. Repeat that a few times, along with always wondering if some other quality issue exists, and all of a sudden those more expensive, custom oils that many people initially balk at suddenly become a value proposition.
There’s an incalculable value of knowing the product is correct and the same from batch to batch, and is made with materials superior to what’s found on a WM shelf. Add in the fact that two of these higher-quality oil manufacturers are board sponsors, and that a majority of the threads started in the oil sections are “what’s the best oil for…?”, you’d think we’d see more threads teaching people how to safely stretch OCIs based on data, and not their emotions.
Because most of the data on the site shows very few engines and use profiles are truly at the limits of ALL available oils; it’s that shelf oils that are at their limits of what can be done for $5/quart, not what can be done period. And that’s a big difference.