Texas Refinery Corp oil - back and forth emails

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After seeing an outstanding UOA for Texas Refinery Corp (TRC) oil I became interested in it. Their website is certainly not flashy but does contain a lot of information. Information not contained on TRC’s website was NOACK% and HS/TS numbers so I dropped them an email and got the following response promptly:

Thank you for your email regarding Texas Refinery’s engine oils. Not knowing how you know of Texas Refinery, I’d like to give you the information you requested, as well as some additional information regarding our oils.

Noack on the 5/20 is 12, and Noack on the 5W/30 is 11.5.
HT/HS on the 5/20 is 3.4 and HT/HS on the 5/30 is 3.5.

Texas Refinery filters our oils down to 10 microns before filling into a new drum. We pay the freight to destination on any orders above $350. Also, we offer to customers purchasing our oil an oil analysis program at no charge. WearCheck USA is the laboratory that tests used oil for our customers and provides indepth analysis for them. The oil analysis kit and the oil analysis are both provided at no charge to customers purchasing our oil.

I’d welcome the chance to visit with you more. If I can help, please don’t hesitate to let me know.


Once I received this response I asked the following:

You noted, “Texas Refinery filters our oils down to 10 microns before filling into a new drum.” Is PRO-SPEC re-refined oil?

The response from TRC was as follows:

By no means is Pro-Spec a re-refined oil . . . sorry for the misunderstanding. Once the oil is manufactured, we run the oil through a 10 micron filtration process to ensure the best product for our customers.
Take care,


Then I asked the following:

Although I do not know this for a fact but I suspect TRC focuses on the lubrication needs of manufacturing equipment, over the road truckers, and the agricultural industry which would include gas powered pickups used on farms and ranches. I suspect that TRC does not focus too much on the typical city vehicles. Maybe I am wrong and correct me if I am. Available today are many GP II, GP III, GP IV, & GP V oils meeting or exceeded SM GL-4 requirements. Many are GM4178 and Honda HTO-06 certified as well and I did not see those specs listed on your website. Do you know if Pro-Spec meets or exceeds the GM4178 and Honda HTO-06 specs?

Does Pro-Spec contain any PAOs or POAs in the additive package?

OK, I have to ask - if there was a display of Mobil1 5W30, Pennzoil Ultra 5w30, Amsoil 5W30, Redline 5W30, and TRC 5W30 and taking cost out of the equation, why would I select the TRC?

To sum up my questions:

1. Is Pro-Spec GM4178 and Honda HTO-06 certified
2. Does Pro-Spec contain PAOs or POAs?
3. Why would I pick Pro-Spec over the other oils noted above.

TRC’s response is below:

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. Preparing for a seminar and leaving town in the morning for New Hampshire. While TRC does service the needs of heavy equipment operators, truckers and manufacturing, we also have many municipalities across the US who purchase our products and our oil. Here locally, for example, the City of Saginaw has been purchasing our 5W/20 engine oil since 2006 and our 5W/30 since 2003.

I’m assuming you are asking about GM 4718, as I’m not aware of GM 4178. I understand this is a spec for high performance engines such as Corvette. I’ll need to check on this, and I’ll be glad to do so if you feel this type of spec is important to your fleet.

Texas Refinery’s Pro-Spec does not contain PAO’s. It is formulated with GP III base stocks.

Answering your question to choosing our product vs. the others listed could be a lengthy answer, so I apologize in advance. When reviewing product data sheets (when they could be found) on several of the other products, I find some information missing. For example, they say blended with synthetic base stocks, but are they referring to GP II, III or IV??? As you probably know, GP II can be advertised as a synthetic now.

One major factor that differentiates TRC from other companies is the amount of additive chemistry we incorporate into our products. With only four major additive suppliers for the lubricants engine oil industry, every company has the opportunity to purchase a particular additive package that has received the SM/GF-4 approval. The difference is… does that company incorporate just enough additive to meet specs, or invest more in their formulation and offer additional chemistry to customers.

On the product data sheets I was able to find, no other company you asked about had additive chemistry listed on their specifications. On TRC’s product data sheet, we show calcium, zinc, and nitrogen and phosphorous levels. We show our additive chemistry, but most other companies do not. We formulate to offer higher levels of detergents, dispersants, etc.

With our CI-4Plus engine oil for diesel, we have a 15 Total Base Number while most in the industry have around a 12 TBN . . . again, an example of how we build more chemistry into our product.

I’d be more than happy to discuss this further with you for it is difficult to cover everything in an email. Give me a call when you can.


TRC appears to be very open and happy to answer questions. This oil may be one of the most robust oils out there and based on TBN it certainly is good for extended use. For me I am looking for an oil that will hold up in a GM 3.6L DI.
 
I'm really impressed by that communication!!!!!!

Wow you just don't see people in business tday taking the time to interact with consumers like that these days.

If I were you I would take the time to write his boss and compliment the contact person.
 
Not sure how big of a company TRC is but I suspect it is not all that large. Anyway, it is a female who has responded to my emails and she is a VP.
 
A female who knows about oil; ask her out.

Think of the conversations you could have on your first date....
 
Last edited:
Back to topic guys (although you are probably correct)... need opinions on the oil.
 
If TRC 5W20 is available over the counter at my local auto parts stores I would buy it over others, because of the HTHS of 3.4 and great communication to customer(s).
 
Was the ladies initials P.C.? If so, she is a very nice and knowledgeable person.

TRC is a very well established old line oil company located in Ft. Worth, TX. They make some excellent engine oils, gear oils, hydraulic oils, and some of the best grease in the business. They are not flashy. By that I mean they do not spend a ton on advertising and they do not have fancy packaging for their products. I have experimented in the past with their Pro Spec II 5W-20 and it is a very robust oil.

They do not operate out of fancy buildings as the location they are in now on Main Street is the same location they have operated out of since the 40's.

Very nice folks.
 
Saginaw?? thats 40 mins from me where are they located?, they offer CI still good.

how much is this lube?
 
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
If TRC 5W20 is available over the counter at my local auto parts stores I would buy it over others, because of the HTHS of 3.4 and great communication to customer(s).



I noticed that as well.
That's the highest HTHS vis of any claimed 20wt that I'm aware of and it's only a GP III.
Quite frankly I think it's typo.
 
What do they charge for a drum of this stuff?
Sounds pretty good, and I could go through a drum in about three years.
Would probably pass myself, since I enjoy buying the closeouts and MIRs that make up my stash, and with a drum of oil, I could hardly justify adding anything to the stash.
OTOH, I could see buying this stuff for the garage at work.
 
Yes, the initials of the lady are P.C. and indeed very nice.

HT/HS of 3.4 in TRC's 5W20 oil is not a mistake. That is, I believe, equal to Redline's 5W20.

I do not have pricing at this time.
 
Here is what the 5W-20 cost.

The 5W-20 in Gallon cases is $109.00 per case of 4-1 gallon. The quart cases have 24 quarts and the price is $163.92.
 
Originally Posted By: lonestar
Yes, the initials of the lady are P.C. and indeed very nice.

HT/HS of 3.4 in TRC's 5W20 oil is not a mistake. That is, I believe, equal to Redline's 5W20.

I do not have pricing at this time.


Actually, it's a bit higher than RL which is 3.3 cP.
I didn't see what they claim the 100C vis to be but if the HTHS vis is even remotely close to being right this oil is really a 30wt.
I found it interesting that the 5W-30 HTHS vis is only 0.1 cP higher at 3.5 cP.
 
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