OIL - Why do you choose what you choose...

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Any name brand thats on deep discount. Or I've always had great luck with "house" brands i.e: NAPA, Advance Auto, SuperTech, etc...

I'll even run a good oil filter for two OCI's.
 
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Mine is for various reasons. I live in a rural locale and my nearest auto parts store is a one man operation that is affiliated with the Auto Value brand. This guy will go way out of his way to find obscure parts for my Citroens and my Lada and really knows his stuff. I figure that this kind of service demands some loyalty. He sells various kinds of oil but his volume seller is Wolf's Head. Between my vehicles I use the Super Duty 10w30, Extreme Duty 15w40, and Syn-Pack 5w30 Dexos. UOAs have confirmed that these oils are all doing their job and he gives me a fair price on these oils. Maybe it's a bit off the mainstream, but I don't think that I'm really that much behind those running PYB, QS, or the others.
 
I vacillate between M1 and PP (now PPP). They are both good oils and same price. I can't decide, really, so use them both in the various oil users in the driveway.
 
Originally Posted By: wemay
What is the single most important factor in your oil purchase decision?


The single most important factor is how I like the oil in the engine. Some oils (and grades) are smoother than others. Some are noisier than others. I have found the ones I like with trial and error.

I have moved both of my engines from 5W-20 to 5W-30. I am now looking at various 5W-30s to see which ones I like the best. Formula Shell (cheap from BJs...like $2/qt cheap) is great in our Acura. If I like it in our Honda, too, then that's what I'll stick with. It meets the single most important factor (I like it), and meets the second most important factor (low cost).
 
The colors on the jug match my running shoes. Not really, but...

Mostly availability. A certain large oil company is spotty with their oils and routinely hard to find. Another certain large oil company has tons of product in every store. So I've pretty much gone back to that oil that is readily available.
 
I have always been a Castrol fanboy. So, Yes i Currently use Edge.
Who knows....maybe in the future it will be another..
But ALWAYS a name brand company.
 
Pennzoil for the last 45 years
thumbsup2.gif
 
I'm astounded that so many people say "price" as a factor in choosing oil. I am a member of many different enthusiast forums, and this place takes the cake when it comes to people trying to use the cheapest stuff possible.

No one from a backpacking club will brag about using a $2.99 backpack on their latest camping trip.

No one from an automotive tire forum gets excited about using a $39 dollar tire from China.

No one from a camping forum is overjoyed with a flash light from the dollar store.

And yet these are all products that will work for a particular task. There are hundreds of other examples like this.




Sometimes I wonder if this is really an enthusiast forum.
 
Originally Posted By: CELICA_XX
I'm astounded that so many people say "price" as a factor in choosing oil. I am a member of many different enthusiast forums, and this place takes the cake when it comes to people trying to use the cheapest stuff possible.

No one from a backpacking club will brag about using a $2.99 backpack on their latest camping trip.

No one from an automotive tire forum gets excited about using a $39 dollar tire from China.

No one from a camping forum is overjoyed with a flash light from the dollar store.

And yet these are all products that will work for a particular task. There are hundreds of other examples like this.


Sometimes I wonder if this is really an enthusiast forum.


Guess it doesn't take much to astound you, huh?
smile.gif


Long ago I asked a friend of mine who was a mechanic and had tore down his share of engines, what was the best oil to use. His reply? Buy whatever is on sale.

I think his advice is even more true today. As long as one sticks to a name brand, you can't really buy a bad oil, especially if you change your oil every 5k or less. I'm more worried abut the oil filters I put on my car than the oil.

I generally buy whatever full syn oil that is on sale, run it for 5-6k and then get an OA. I've yet to find an oil that produced a poor result. Sure, some have a little more additive left and some hold their viscosity a bit better, but at the end of the day does it matter to the longevity of the engine? Of course not.

Judging from your post it appears that a person can't be an 'enthusiast' if he or she wants to save money. I'd say a true enthusiast is a person who wants to get the best bang for the buck.
 
Originally Posted By: CELICA_XX
I'm astounded that so many people say "price" as a factor in choosing oil. I am a member of many different enthusiast forums, and this place takes the cake when it comes to people trying to use the cheapest stuff possible.

Sometimes I wonder if this is really an enthusiast forum.


We interpret 'enthusiast' very differently, thats all.
 
Originally Posted By: CELICA_XX
I'm astounded that so many people say "price" as a factor in choosing oil. I am a member of many different enthusiast forums, and this place takes the cake when it comes to people trying to use the cheapest stuff possible.

No one from a backpacking club will brag about using a $2.99 backpack on their latest camping trip.

No one from an automotive tire forum gets excited about using a $39 dollar tire from China.

No one from a camping forum is overjoyed with a flash light from the dollar store.

And yet these are all products that will work for a particular task. There are hundreds of other examples like this.




Sometimes I wonder if this is really an enthusiast forum.


Well most have realized that oils that meet spec are generally the same.

However, there is the additional factor that there are always deals especially on full synthetic oils. So I have plenty of cheap oil but it's all full synthetic.

And when the price is similar, sure I will choose the product I like, like a semi enthusiast.

I tend to spend money based on the value I will get. So I spent quite a bit of money on professional grade brake fluid caps for the pressure bleeder. Did the same on the jack. These are items that will last a long time which I want to perform well. With some things, quality matters and is worth paying extra for.

For oil, the enthusiast knows that there are not big quality differences so you can focus on price.
 
Originally Posted By: CELICA_XX
I'm astounded that so many people say "price" as a factor in choosing oil. I am a member of many different enthusiast forums, and this place takes the cake when it comes to people trying to use the cheapest stuff possible.

No one from a backpacking club will brag about using a $2.99 backpack on their latest camping trip.

No one from an automotive tire forum gets excited about using a $39 dollar tire from China.

No one from a camping forum is overjoyed with a flash light from the dollar store.

And yet these are all products that will work for a particular task. There are hundreds of other examples like this.




Sometimes I wonder if this is really an enthusiast forum.


If you could buy a $2.99 backpack that performed as well as one that cost $129.99, wouldn't you?
If you could find a $39.00 tire that worked as well as a $139.00 Michelin, wouldn't you buy it?
On this site, we tend to talk more about performance for cheap than we brag about how much we paid for a name brand at regular price.
I have three cars on FAR oil at the moment, one on leftovers and a sixth, for which I didn't have room in my sig, on an API SL HM I got for less than $1.70/qt.
The one oil I paid real dollars for was the Idemitsu HGMO in the '12 Accord, but at average drain intervals of about 8K per the IOLM, the five dollars per quart cost is quite bearable.
Besides, I really wanted to use this oil in the Accord.
It isn't about how much we spend on oil, rather it's the premium oils we get cheaply.
I'd rather run FAR Ultra than $26.00/jug Ultra, just as I'd rather run FAR G-OIl and Defy rather than paying normal retail for either.
All solid oils bought at a deal.
The good or bad of this is that I have around three hundred quarts of these good oils cheap.
I've used twenty four quarts so far this year and will use another thirty one by the end of the year.
This will leave nearly 250 quarts in the stash.
Needless to say, I have a stopped buying anything not FAR.
 
Like others, I can't attribute my oil choices to just one deciding factor. I'm currently using QSGB for the first time and I love it because it's cheap (less than $14 a jug at Walmart), I trust it (I have faith in SOPUS to produce a quality product), and because my last three oils have now been VWB, PYB, and the QSGB and out of all of them Quaker State runs the quietest by a noticeable degree, especially compared to Valvoline. Some people may not care about that but I like it.
 
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