Worst oil you've ever used?

[cwilliamsws6]

What's the worst oil you guys have seen for sale or used?

In my case I'd have to say "Q" motor oil "5•30" weight for like $2/quart at my local corner store.

Back before I was part of this forum and knew any better when I first got my previous car I did my first oil change with 5 quarts of "Q 5•30" because it was so cheap

In my defense at the time it seemed like decent oil and my car didn't have any issues running it...lol

 

[tyman]

So, you have 3 questions going between the title and the body of the thread. Are we answering all 3 or just particular ones?

 

[JohnnyG]

I'd have to say the re-refined stuff that used to be sold in the glass funnel top bottles at the local Mobil station. No label, just oil, not even a grade marking.
It was good enough for our families' '58 chevy bel air wagon!

 

[JohnnyG]

So, you have 3 questions going between the title and the body of the thread. Are we answering all 3 or just particular ones?

Feel free to answer all three.

 

[atikovi]

In my case I'd have to say "Q" motor oil "5•30" weight for like $2/quart at my local corner store.

First off, what is a "bad" motor oil? And I never heard of Q motor oil, maybe Q8?, but as long as it meets current specs like SN, or it meets the specs of your car, why is it bad?

 

[FordMan59]

I don't remember what the brand was but I think I also added a quart of re-refined oil to one of my oil burners years ago because it was the cheapest thing available and I knew it wasn't going to stay in long anyway. Before I quit driving that car I was adding oil to it that I drained out of my better cars at 3K mile intervals.

 

[ron17571]

Castrol GTX, I used this in my Honda 650 nighthawk and within one trip my engine started making bad noises. when I drained it the oil came out like water. I put in Valvoline and thankfully the engine sounded kind of ok. I traded my bike in soon after this.

 

[tyman]

Feel free to answer all three.

worst i've ever used was Mobil 1...not because it's bad but because I've used other better oils since then.

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

Rotella T6. It's what was in the sump of my Subaru when it spun a rod bearing so it gets the blame.

 

[WylieCoyote]

Valvoline full syn motorcycle oil. It absolutely ruined shift quality on my Ninja 650. You had to stomp on it to downshift, and upshifting left the top of my foot sore. Rode it to and from work for 2 days, and dumped that stuff out. Rotella T6 returned it to normal.

 

[PaxilPlease]

Rotella T6. It's what was in the sump of my Subaru when it spun a rod bearing so it gets the blame.

Hmmm... That's rational. LOL

 

[kschachn]

Hmmm... That's rational. LOL

Well it's as informed as any of the other non-technical reasons in this reverse "what's the best oil?" thread.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Castrol GTX, I used this in my Honda 650 nighthawk and within one trip my engine started making bad noises. when I drained it the oil came out like water. I put in Valvoline and thankfully the engine sounded kind of ok. I traded my bike in soon after this.

Yeah...you're not the first I have heard say that. I think Castrol doesn't like shared-sump motorcycles.

No ill effects, but I had Kendall 10W-40 sheared down to about 10W-25 in
Won't say it was BAD, but conventional 20W-50 didn't work well in my high-revving, hard-working, very-hot-running (275+ degree oil) Sportster. It was burning oil, quite noticeably. Switched to SYN3, no oil use.

 

[Merek]

Valvoline full syn motorcycle oil. It absolutely ruined shift quality on my Ninja 650. You had to stomp on it to downshift, and upshifting left the top of my foot sore. Rode it to and from work for 2 days, and dumped that stuff out. Rotella T6 returned it to normal.

That stuff works great in mine, I have a '13 Ninja 650 and it shifts like butter, way better than the Castrol Actevo blend that I had been using. I've probably put at least 1k miles since I've went to this.

 

[Shel_B]

I'd have to say the re-refined stuff that used to be sold in the glass funnel top bottles at the local Mobil station. No label, just oil, not even a grade marking.
It was good enough for our families' '58 chevy bel air wagon!

Yes, I remember that stuff. Used some in 1963. Needed a cheap quart for my 1953 Pontiac while on the NJ Turnpike. 25-cents, if memory serves me.

 

[mark pruett]

Worst I've used? I have no idea whatsoever. How would I know? The few I've done UOAs on have performed just fine, and I haven't seen any acute engine problems or dramatic changes in economy or noise with any of them.

For sale? Probably the various flavors of non-detergent "motor oil" sold at dollar stores and convenience stores. Not the non-detergent motor oil sold by say... Supertech, Lubriplate or some other reputable manufacturer and sold for some specific uses (compressors?), but the junk sold for end-of-life beaters that belch clouds of smoke, and that isn't even SA rated. It's just bright stock in an oil bottle.

 

[Brian123]

Arco Graphite

 

[tnt_motorsports]

Can't say I have ever used "bad oil" I was a Valvoline guy in my younger years (Mark martin fan), then switched to Castrol, then Mobil 1 and now a significant amount of Super Tech.

As a teenager I worked at a gas station that we kept all the used bottles of oil sold to customer's. We flipped them up and drained them into a gallon jug. This oil was then put in a used 1 quart container and given away to customers that needed oil but couldn't afford it. I guess this was my first experience with "frankenbrew"

Just my $0.02

 

[cb_13]

Dollar General branded oil. SA rated, with a note not to be used in engines built after a certain year(1950 maybe?). Cusps to them for properly labeling the oil. It went into the oil bath air cleaner on my 600 Ford tractor.

 

[4WD]

Castrol Magnatec oxidized into a coal black corn dog on the dipstick with only 3k in a Pentastar …
5W20 that turned extremely viscous …