Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
Originally Posted By: NHSilverado
Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
Shop oils, like GC are colourd to insure the owner recieves the genuine oil called for to maintin warranty service.
As for RP, is there a VOA on it? Isn't it just plain motor oil? I'd say it's no better or worse than $2 SM dino oil. Is there any serious oem style testing to back up claims that RP is a contender? When I buy GC or M1 0w-40, I have a buttload of factory approvals.
BMW
MB
Ford
GM (vette)
Audi/VW
Opel/Saab
ACEA
Porsche
et al
I hate to be a cliche', but "where's the beef"?
Well, RP oils for the most part are Group IV PAO based. UNless I have been lied to which I doubt. From what I have seen RP folks are honest to a fault. I guess a few weights/offerings( Racing? )have some Group V. It definitely is not plain motor oil which I assume you mean is conventional? It also is not Group III either if that was what you meant although as PP shows that isn't always a bad thing.
Not to start this up again but factory approval/certifications mean SQUAT other than the oil mfg paid to have their product tested. I wish people on this site would stop putting so much emphasis on, and giving so much credit to, those approved/certified lists. They mean nothing for people who know how to research oils.
What has that certification got to do with it really? The mfg can't refuse you warranty coverage because you used an oil that wasn't on their certified/approved list( for whatever standard you want to apply ). I would think most here would know about the Magnuson-Moss act and the rights they have under that law. No mfg can require/mandate you use an oil that is "certified" to meet their own standard/spec. Just that the oil you use at least meets it. There is a big difference.
As to the actual oil itself. If an oil meets or exceeds a certain standard it does so whether or not it is certified by the mfg to do so. The certification doesn't make it a better oil than one not certified. The test results do and I would think people at this place, of all places, would realize that. So Mobil 1 is on a few( actually most - they really go for it )mfg's certification lists. Does that mean it is better than Amsoil, RedLine, Royal Purple, Penzoil Platinum, Schaeffers, etc...? How does that certification make their oil better? All it means to me is they spent a BUTT LOAD of money to get their products certified( and to be the official oil of many mfg's )and the products would have still been as good if not certified.
As to RP and why they never get certified. What I have been told is they feel the cost for certification is too high. As I stated about the law, what really is the point anyway. The oil is still okay to use. I doubt you see RP ever get certified for any mfg's spec. Not because it couldn't per say but because of the cost involved.
Certification is nice because it saves you having to spend a couple minutes showing your oil meets or exceeds the spec but that really is all it does. Saves a little leg work for the customer. Other than that the certification/approval does nadda for the oil itself. Either it does what you need or it doesn't.
So, that's a no. It DOES NOT MEET the specs call for by these oems which account for a vast number of performance applications.
If it could pass, why not test for approval? Cost? Well, if they dont' have the resources to test their oil, that speaks to the resources they have to engineer their oil. Why should a customer settle for a half-assed product that costs...more? Good enough for Porsche, good enough for me. Royal Purple is good enough for??? Ricers and motor heads?
Well, I never said anything about whether or not it met any of those spec's or not. How you get me saying NO out of what I wrote is a puzzle to me?
FYI however. RP
"DOES" meet the Vette spec( GM4718M )and it says so on the bottle. RP is very popular with Vette owners that are required to use an oil that meets that standard. Mobil 1 is the most popular because their car came with it from GM and the oil fill cap says use M1 so somehow that makes it better.
I imagine it also meets or exceeds most any Ford spec too although possibly not a really new one. I seem to recall something about a special synthetic oil in the 5.4L newer hi-perf Stang's that was hard to find? Maybe it is more weight related than oil spec related though. Think it is a 5W-50 which would not be readily available from everyone. I do know RP is very popular in the Mustang, SC Harley Davidson F150, and F150 Lightning circles. These guys would not be running it if it was not up to spec.
Not sure on the foreign ones though. Have no interest in BMW's, Porsche's, etc... so I don't bother to research them.
You do realize how much it costs to become certified for one of these spec's/standards right? Thousands of dollars. With so many out there it can add up fast. Not submitting due to cost doesn't mean the company has limited resources or anything. Perhaps it simply means they feel the cost is not justified.
You are placing WAY too much emphasis on certification and approval. It means nothing. So by your logic an oil not on a certified/approved OE's standard list for a simple and easy to meet standard like GM6094M is still a poor oil or the company is broke. Crazy man.
You always should use an oil that meets/exceeds any standard or spec the car's mfg calls for. I am just saying it doesn't have to be OE certified or approved. If you can get the data and verify the oil you want to use meets/exceeds it you are fine. Mobil 1 is "certified" to GM4718M. Does that make it a better oil than RP and Amsoil which both makes products that meet/exceed that spec but did not pay GM to be certtified? No of course not. Many would argue both the RP and Amsoil offerings would be better than the Mobil 1 oil.
What matters is the standard's requirements and how the oil you want to use stacks up to it. NOT OE certification/approval. If you don't know the spec's then look for a certified oil certainly. That is just a tool for the consumer, a way for the mfg to make a lot of money, and has nothing to do with whether or not the oil is actually any good.
By all means feel free to use any oil that makes you happy. I will do the same and know I am safe warranty wise as long as it meets/exceeds the spec called for even if not OE certified/approved.
Some of you on here are a real laugh a minute riot.
Have a great day.