Wally-Mart TECH2000 Best 0w30?

Jim 5 · Sep 4, 2006

It's definitely not Esso. Esso bottles have 5 star symbols on the bottom. That's how you can tell president's choice oil is made by esso...just look at the bottom.

Most "motomaster" Canadian Tire oil is made/bottled by Shell. I'm going to check out the bottoms of those bottles. The bottle manufacturers mold their brand into the bottom. I'm interested to see if they look the same. I'm guessing either shell or petro can.

I suppose one of us could call wal-mart canada headquarters and see if they'll tell us who makes their synthetic oils.

You're right Ron about the "duron". I was a little lazy on the names. The duron is definitely the XD-3 style oil. The petro-canada 5w-30 and 10w-30 synthetics I looked at weren't durons.

One other clue, I believe the Tech 2000 synthetic bottles (maybe in the 5w-30 or 10w-30) listed a JASO spec in addition to the API certifications. I didn't see this on either the 5w-30 or 10w-30 petro can synthetics.

I don't think it was castrol based on Wal-mart's labelling scheme. It's possible Wal-mart's buying petro-canada mfg'd oil from shell. I think the shell bottles and the Tech 2000 bottles may be made by the same Mfg'r...I'll check it out when I get the chance.

55Test · Sep 4, 2006

Gas is 1.039/L here, cheapest it's been since early in the year.

Oh, and to keep this somewhat on topic, my dad used the Tech2000 synthetic 5w30 in a 98 Grand Cherokee he had one time.

Ron AKA · Sep 6, 2006

quote:

Originally posted by Jim 5:
One other clue, I believe the Tech 2000 synthetic bottles (maybe in the 5w-30 or 10w-30) listed a JASO spec in addition to the API certifications. I didn't see this on either the 5w-30 or 10w-30 petro can synthetics.

I don't think it was castrol based on Wal-mart's labelling scheme.

Yes I noticed the JASO note as well. I believe it says the oil meets the requirements of JASO valve train wear requirements. Not sure who else claims that?

Checked out the Castrol 0w30 today at PartSource and it says it is "Made in Germany", so Castrol does not make sense as the supplier either, as the TECH2000 claims Made in Canada.

Max_Wander · Sep 7, 2006

The Tech 2000 Synth. bottles are in the midst of a change. They now say VULSAY at the bottom. For the 4L jugs, it still says 'S/K XwX0' which indicates that its still bottled by Safety Kleen, the origin of the base/oil is still a mystery.

oilyriser · Sep 7, 2006

At one point the shelf tags said something like "Intl Syn Oil". I suspect the lowest bidder gets the contract, and a local bottler is used.

Ron AKA · Sep 16, 2006

A bit of an update thay may be of more interest to Canadians. I called a PetroCan bulk dealer the other day to get prices on cases of 0w30 and 5w30. Interestingly they were two different prices. I forget the exact numbers as I wrote them down at work. However, they were about $4.50/L for the 0w30, and $6.75/L for the 5w30.

Today I went out and bought a liter of the PetroCan 0w30 from a service station. It was about $6.50/L, and I noted that the 5w30 was $10.99 (ouch!). The purpose was to compare it in color to the TECH 2000 at Walmart which is about $5.75. See the photo below, and I could not tell any difference. Don't tell my wife about the crystal glasses.

So, we could debate for a long time whether or not the TECH 2000 at Walmart is really the PetroCan oil, but if your interest is in the 0w30 you can get it at a bulk dealer for less than the Walmart price on TECH 2000. And if you want the 5w30 or 10w30 and really don't like that TECH 2000 label, then go to a PetroCan dealer and get it for about $1 more. Still better prices compared to what you pay for PP, Syntec, and M1 at Walmart. I'm still totally convinced that TECH 2000 is PetroCan and it happens to be a good deal for the 5w30 and 10w30, but not the 0w30.

Patman · Sep 16, 2006

You should've taken a sip out of each glass to see if they tasted the same!!

Ron AKA · Sep 16, 2006

quote:

Originally posted by Patman:
You should've taken a sip out of each glass to see if they tasted the same!!

Well the PetroCan base oil is certified for pharmacy use, and it does look a bit like brandy, but no I was not tempted!

oilyriser · Sep 16, 2006

Thanks for the price check. I've been meaning to do that, but I still have 3 or 4 $12 cases of QS winter blend to go through for my winter oil.

When I first tried T2k0w30 a few years ago, it had a greyish cast. But that was an SL formula.

I need to start an oil change business so I can use up some of my QS winter blend, and get into the 0w30 again.

Papa Bear · Sep 16, 2006

A VOA on those two would be helpful.

P.B.

BlazerLT · Sep 16, 2006

What's with the rolling of the eyes?

Vilan · Sep 16, 2006

Why is the 5W30 so much more expensive than 0W30? Usually it's the other way around. Did you mix them up?

They do look similar, but there's an awful lot more to oil than color. You may well be right that they're the same, but I'll bet I can find quite a few other oils that look identical.

goodvibes · Sep 16, 2006

The one on the right is darker. Could be batch difference or a different oil. Sure wouldn't convince me of anything especially when it may just be a commonly used dye.

Ron AKA · Sep 16, 2006

quote:

Originally posted by goodvibes:
The one on the right is darker. Could be batch difference or a different oil. Sure wouldn't convince me of anything especially when it may just be a commonly used dye.

Agree in the photo the one on the right does look slightly darker. However I found that is highly dependent on the light and they took turns looking slightly different. I should have taken more time to get the light right and it would have been better to look through a fixed depth. No test tubes at home!

This test would never prove they are the same oil, all it could do is prove they are different, as some oils are very different in color. So, as I see it, they were not proved to be different oils, so they could be the same. Means no more than that.

Ron AKA · Sep 16, 2006

quote:

Originally posted by Vilan:
Why is the 5W30 so much more expensive than 0W30? Usually it's the other way around. Did you mix them up?

No chance of that. I originally intended to buy a liter of the 5w30 at a gas station and compare it to the TECH 2000 similar grade. When I saw the $10.99 price tag on the 5w30 at the gas station, my interest suddently dropped, until I saw the white Arctic 0w30 bottle for nearly half the price. Sure glad I went to the gas station first and Walmart second! Also this jives with the prices I got from the bulk dealer last week. In bulk about $4.50 for the 0w30 Arctic, and $6.75 for the 5&10w30.

BlazerLT · Sep 17, 2006

Basing an oil manufacturer based off of color is not going to work.

If we opened up 100 containers, I bet you almost 1/4 of them would look exactly the same.

Patman · Sep 17, 2006

quote:

Originally posted by BlazerLT:
Basing an oil manufacturer based off of color is not going to work.

If we opened up 100 containers, I bet you almost 1/4 of them would look exactly the same.

I agree. I also think that if you opened up a bunch of bottle of the exact same brand and viscosity of oil, you'd find the color would also vary. I know I've seen labels which mention that the color of the oil could vary from one bottle to the next.

oilyriser · Sep 17, 2006

What was the size of a case of the 0w30?

bob_ninja · Sep 17, 2006

Ron,
I appreciate the effort. Still even at $4.50 why not add few cents for a full PAO Esso XD3 0W30 ($5.00)?

You have PC 0W30 priced as low a $4.50 and up to $6.50 from the station. Then why would the same exact oil be priced much lower (around $2-$3/L) retail under a "perceived" low quality brand???? Assuming everything you said is correct, I cannot see any business sense in it. What does Petro Canada accomplish by selling their high quality product at much lower price to Walmart (and don't say volume)???? Come to think of it, they would have to be loosing a lot of money on it IF it is a high quality GrpIII, no?

Max_Wander · Sep 18, 2006

quote:

Originally posted by Ron AKA:
A bit of an update thay may be of more interest to Canadians. I called a PetroCan bulk dealer the other day to get prices on cases of 0w30 and 5w30. Interestingly they were two different prices. I forget the exact numbers as I wrote them down at work. However, they were about $4.50/L for the 0w30, and $6.75/L for the 5w30.

Today I went out and bought a liter of the PetroCan 0w30 from a service station. It was about $6.50/L, and I noted that the 5w30 was $10.99 (ouch!). The purpose was to compare it in color to the TECH 2000 at Walmart which is about $5.75. See the photo below, and I could not tell any difference. Don't tell my wife about the crystal glasses.

So, we could debate for a long time whether or not the TECH 2000 at Walmart is really the PetroCan oil, but if your interest is in the 0w30 you can get it at a bulk dealer for less than the Walmart price on TECH 2000. And if you want the 5w30 or 10w30 and really don't like that TECH 2000 label, then go to a PetroCan dealer and get it for about $1 more. Still better prices compared to what you pay for PP, Syntec, and M1 at Walmart. I'm still totally convinced that TECH 2000 is PetroCan and it happens to be a good deal for the 5w30 and 10w30, but not the 0w30.

ah Ron, I noticed you picked up the SM 0w-30, I;ve got a litre of that, and 6L of the previous SL flavour. The SL is the super-dark oil I've inquired about. It's REALLY dark...and it smells like sulphur-free wax. With a bit of WD40.. (so I've been told

) The ow-30 SL is a completely different animal than the SM 0w-30 without a doubt. Most likely supplier or formulation has completely changed between the two.

Wally-Mart TECH2000 Best 0w30?

Similar threads