Why do you frequently change brands of oil?

[Carburetor1]

I've used Valvoline, Castrol Magnatec Gdi, Royal Purple and Pennzoil Platinum...all synthetic oils. all perform just fine

 

[Malo83]

I try and stick with one brand of oil, but when the Bitog resident experts expose the oil has been tweaked and the tweaking has a negative impact I make the change. PU SM to SN comes to mind. They tweaked, and imo and the opinion of others they lowered the quality, as a result XOM got my business back.

Resident experts.

 

[ARB1977]

Because I can never decide. Currently on the Amsoil fix.

 

[Gene K]

Resident experts.

I'm going to try to endeavor to give each side a fair hearing in the future. The truth is that in many cases they each have good points.

Example:
Valvoline Conventional 10W-30 at 3,000 mi oci. Car has 600,000 mi.
Mobil 1 Synthetic 5W-20 at 10,000 mi oci. Car has 600,000 mi.
I would say the goal was met either way.

 

[Bighorn2500]

Pricing- Sales and/or coupled with rebates changes my brand selection.

 

[DaveSwan]

I was reading another thread earlier, and the OP noted that for the past five oil changes, a different oil was used for each change. OTOH, I've been using pretty much the same brand of oil for years. I started out with Red Line in 1984 and used it with excellent results in my two Mazdas until 1991 when I purchased a new Ranger. I met an engineer from an oil company and he suggested I try M1, and through a couple-three vehicles since then, that's what I've used.

Please understand that I'm not being judgemental, just curious. What motivates you to keep changing brands of oil for the same car over time?

I've used Motorcraft for over a million miles with never a problem. Why switch?

 

[ARCOgraphite]

I find a brand where the engine runs good - meaning smooth , powerful with good fuel economy - and then the blender reformulates it.
Magnatec SS was great there came the just ho- hum reformulated Magnatec FS. It was ho-hum. Then I tried Valvoline Advanced - that was eye opening stupendous in the old Rogue 2.5. Now that has changed.
In the meantime my Ford 2.0 D.I engine got bad fuel at Irving in Hampstead, and it's been running poorly since last Fall. I don't think oil will fix that. The last, OCI I went to WM to get some Valvoline extended performance and it was all gone, So I got some Castrol Edge - (an oil that I had hated in past use in a 2.3L Suzuki Aerio SX stick) Put it in and I hated it again - but since the engine is still limping, and diluting, I will leave it in to 50%MM or 6 months .IN the meantime I used Gumout Regain pea. NO change. I Had some lucas injector lube laying around bought on clearance for use as top oil in ODPE; engine Ran MUCH worse. Tired care and feeding but the engine killers came out of the darkness and bit me again. I give up.
Until next time. - Ken

 

[Gene K]

I've used Motorcraft for over a million miles with never a problem. Why switch?

It was very popular before they pushed up the wholesale on 5 qt containers. I think that lost them a lot if customers at the retail level.

 

[Gene K]

I find a brand where the engine runs good - meaning smooth , powerful with good fuel economy - and then the blender reformulates it.
Magnatec SS was great there came the just ho- hum reformulated Magnatec FS. It was ho-hum. Then I tried Valvoline Advanced - that was eye opening stupendous in the old Rogue 2.5. Now that has changed.
In the meantime my Ford 2.0 D.I engine got bad fuel at Irving in Hampstead, and it's been running poorly since last Fall. I don't think oil will fix that. The last, OCI I went to WM to get some Valvoline extended performance and it was all gone, So I got some Castrol Edge - (an oil that I had hated in past use in a 2.3L Suzuki Aerio SX stick) Put it in and I hated it again - but since the engine is still limping, and diluting, I will leave it in to 50%MM or 6 months .IN the meantime I used Gumout Regain pea. NO change. I Had some lucas injector lube laying around bought on clearance for use as top oil in ODPE; engine Ran MUCH worse. Tired care and feeding but the engine killers came out of the darkness and bit me again. I give up.
Until next time. - Ken

It's expensive and not particularly intended for that use but I've noticed Yamaha Ring Free Plus at the 2 oz per gallon shock treat rate really cleans up the injectors in an DI Outboard. You need to change the oil afterward though as that's an extremely strong treat for a product that's normally run at 1 oz per 10 gal. I can't say if it's bad for the cats.

 

[stormgol]

always buy the same stuff when there is rebates at canadian tire. either mobil 1 or pennzoil.

 

[wpod]

M&M’s… which color do you like?

The article I read, as well as the Youtube video told me Blue tastes the best.

 

[Kira]

This thread drips with practicality; quality oils at sale prices whenever possible.
However, brand loyalty does give many something to stand for...and we all know how important that is.

 

[pbm]

I don’t. I’ve used Valvoline for decades.

The current Valvoline oils are excellent IMO and I've recently purchased their EP oil because I believe it's an excellent deal at current Amazon and WM prices. Having said that...I remember when I first joined BITOG Valvoline was considered an inferior oil by many on here. It was thought to have a weak additive package etc....Despite that...many used Valvoline with stellar results.

 

[RazorsEdge]

Things change and so do the vehicle's that we own. That being said, right now we are using Schaeffer's and Torco oil. In the future, I will be trying HPL.

 

[airman]

i buy whatever's on sale.

 

[Gene K]

The current Valvoline oils are excellent IMO and I've recently purchased their EP oil because I believe it's an excellent deal at current Amazon and WM prices. Having said that...I remember when I first joined BITOG Valvoline was considered an inferior oil by many on here. It was thought to have a weak additive package etc....Despite that...many used Valvoline with stellar results.

I thought it a superior 3,000 - 5,000 mi oil for most vehicles. I thought other companies built conventional oils capable of longer drain intervals. Then they went to sodium based add packs that I didn't much care for. All things change however and I like much of their current line.

 

[3rdDeclension]

I purchase and use what ever is on sale and meets my vehicles' specs.

 

[radiometer]

Back in the past I was loyal to Pennzoil. When I learned that it's formulated the thinnest it can be and meet the grade specified I decided to make a change. I see that there are several posters on this forum that I learn from. After seeing what they had to say I decided to change to Mobil 1 ESP 5W-30 because it has the specifications I want. I will now be loyal with this until it no longer remains what I'm looking for.

 

[svtrit]

I’ve generally been a Valvoline guy, and default to Valvoline. However, I helped start a company a few years back and managed our truck fleet. We had trucks all over the US with various levels of maintenance.

Other than 2 trucks that never had an oil change in the 30k miles before we fired the drivers did I see any oil related issues.

My well maintained truck ran just as good, and got as many miles as the salesman abused trucks that got the nearest quick lube changes when the light came on.

I was extremely impressed with how well the engine in my Beetle held up after my daughter ran it out of oil after puncturing the oil pan. Castrol Magnatec 0w-40. After I patched the oil pan, I ran lightly used 15w-40 out of an early change from my Jeep until I could rebuild it. That was Delo oil and the Jeep currently has Maxlife 10w-40 I got on sale.

Oil is oil is oil…..but I still default to Valvoline out of habit.

 

[SteveG4]

Q: Why do you frequently change brands of oil?
A: Ask my wife. She knows and can ANSWER that!