Anyone HAPPILY running "store brand" oils?

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I have a huge selection of O'Reilly full synthetic from the $17.99 5 qt / mobil1 filter sale.

I ran it for 10K in my Blazer and I had my dad run it in his 04 Impala 3800 for 9K.

Seems to hold up well and although very black at 10K I doubt there were any problems.

As soon as my syn collection is gone I'm going back to conventional oils (I have two cases of Citgo Supergard Syn-Blend that I picked up for $1.24 a quart and 4 cases of Resolute (Fleet Farm House Brand) oil that I picked up for $1.35 a quart.

I've also used supertech and many other house brands without any issue.
 
I've run Supertech full synthetic 5w30 in my mini van and Subaru. The Sub is actually running the Supertech right now for the 2nd time. I had purchased 3 of the 5 qt jugs last summer on sale. I run it 4000 miles which I know it could go further but the oil was inexpensive. I've got a stash of M1 0w30 to use up but after that I have no problem going back to the Supertech. The cars run well and don't use any oil on it. My friend always says pay a few more bucks and get the namebrand. I could but, I believe that if you change your oil often enough, it doesn't matter what you buy anyway. I like a good deal and the price on the ST was just right. I always browse the clearance area at my local Walmart and there is oil in there every now and then. I picked up 4 of the 5 qt jugs of M1 0w30 AFE for $15 apiece.
 
I used to be a religious user of Parts Master lubes. They are an Ashland product and from a lube standpoint, they seemed to do just fine. My recently totaled NEON ran from 61k to 186k on mostly P/M oil. The wife's Grand Am (3.1) ran from 91k to 230k on mostly P/M oil. It wasn't until I actually looked in the fill hole of the Grand AM and noticed a thin skim of black(ish) goo on everything. This makes me wonder if the add pack is a bit weak? The car is very well maintained with the LIM fixed some time ago.

So, from now on out, I'll stick to major name brands. This is not to say that they are poor quality, it's just that for a couple of beans more, I know I'll be getting a great, proven ad pack.
 
Originally Posted By: electrolover


but why buy house brand from oriellys (for example) when they are selling Mobil Super with a filter for 12 bucks?


I'm not going to buy Mobil Super just because it has the Mobil name to it. I still want to see UOA's and compare it. Heck, if SuperTech outperforms Mobil Super, I'm hording ST oil!

I am starting to wonder if I'm one of the few that will go "generic" when it outperforms big name companies... it would seem that people automatically assume "big name" companies are automatically better.
 
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Originally Posted By: kemo
Originally Posted By: electrolover


but why buy house brand from oriellys (for example) when they are selling Mobil Super with a filter for 12 bucks?


I'm not going to buy Mobil Super just because it has the Mobil name to it. I still want to see UOA's and compare it. Heck, if SuperTech outperforms Mobil Super, I'm hording ST oil!

I am starting to wonder if I'm one of the few that will go "generic" when it outperforms big name companies... it would seem that people automatically assume "big name" companies are automatically better.



i guess i kinda trust mobil better than warren because they have been making oil for over 100 years. they got have it figured out by now right. so yeah i guess i kinda assume a big name is a better oil. but the best part to me is getting a name brand oil cheaper than a house brand.

alot of people are happily running ST, and i have yet to see a bad uoa from supertech oil. but im not going to buy it because i have a case of qs that i bought for 1.99 and a case of formula shell that i got for 1.89. both high regarded SOPUS products! like i said if you look around you can get good deals cheaper than most house oils.
 
So, what does this tell ya about todays motor oils? It tells me that the oils today are pretty darn good!
If even the store brands have to meet a certain spec, and the big name oils have even more additives, what does this say?

To me, it says that the spec is tight, it's monitored by the API and that even lesser name oils are fine for everyday use in our vehicles. That the engines really don't know much difference between oils.

Not to say that if you have something special that a special oil shouldn't be used...By all means, use a special oil!

Using an oil that is designed for your need is what we should all be using. If you run you engine hard on the street or at the track, use an oil for that specific purpose. If you tow/haul/plow, use an oil for that purpose.

But, if you drive like me, which is what I'd call normal then, use the oil that the MFG calls for even if it's store brand oil such as AAP, ProLine, Spectrum, O'Reilly, Peak, NAPA. As long as it meet the engine MFG criteria for oil.

But, if I can buy the BIG NAME BRAND OILS for the same or less money than the store brand oils, I'm jumping all over it especially on sale/rebate, closeout/discontinued. Then, I'm backin up the truck!
 
Currently running NAPA full syn picked up on the last sale NAPA ran. Both vehicles run very smooth. Before the NAPA syn, the Xterra ran on ST full syn and ran like a top. I'm a fanatic when it comes to regular OCI's. I'd run any sale priced syn/conventional, house brand or otherwise, with confidence given my maintenance fanaticism.
 
People do run store brand oils without issue.
The next change in the Impreza will be Meijer High Mileage 10W-30, which I bought for qt.
I don't generally use store brand oils, because name brands are usually cheaper after MIR, promotional pricing or on clearance.
 
i just added 4 qts Advanced Auto dino 5w-20 to my 2008 caliber and a Purolator classic L1222 oil filter and it purrrrrsss like a kitten. it's API certified and it's all that matters. got it for $1.80/qt last year
 
I pretty much always buy store brand food when I'm grocery shopping. So I figure, if store brand food is good enough for my body, store brand food is good enough for my cars. I've put a lot of miles on store brand oils (especially supertech) and never had an oil caused engine problem. I figure FDA is OK with store brand food = it's good. If API/ILSAC is OK with store brand oils = it's good. Anything else is probably just marketing.
 
Originally Posted By: daves87rs
Running Napa Syn in my Cobalt...no issues whatsoever. Really likes this stuff. Held up great over a rough winter too. Also ran it in my Cavalier as well....


A great oil when it is on sale.
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Originally Posted By: kemo
After seeing some stout UOA's and lots of praises towards supertech, I've been bitten by curiosity. There aren't a lot of UOA's posted here for store branded oils like Advance Auto Parts, Napa, O'Reilly Auto Parts, AutoZone and so on.

Is there anyone here happily using "store brand" oils? Anyone with UOA's?


At one time in my life there was a difference in oil brands, even consumer reports would test oil.
There no longer is, oil is a commodity and most additive packages are made from a handful of companies then distributed to the refineries.

Anyway, testing is far more advanced as anything is now, bottom line, if the oil meets the API on the bottle there is no saying that any of the oils you mentioned are in any way inferior to the big marketing and big profits companies like Mobil.

Its quite possible the no name brands maybe superior then a Mobile 1 and other more expensive oils. There is no way to know because the big oil companies do not provide you with any proof what so ever, people just feel good about buying it because of marketing and thats ok, nothing wrong with that decision either. Spending money on what we like is what makes us happy.

All the no name brands you mentioned are made by BIG industry known refiners one of which is Warren. All of the brands those companies produce always pass API testing just the same as the others.
It will bruise some egos in here I know, some will say this is more group 4 vs 3 vs 5 or whatever but it doesnt matter to me as long as I choose the API oil the engine maker designed the engine to run it will have a long life, most likely much longer then the vehicle itself.

I myself stopped using name brand a few years ago, doesnt matter to me, my most recent was a case of SAMs Club "Certified Brand" 5/30 oil, same API and cost was slightly less then $2 a quart. printed right on the back label it says "Warren Oil Company" ...
 
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Right now there is NAPA oil in both my vehicles. They both are running like they did with the last batch of oil in them The Versa had Cheveron supreme. The f150 had Motorcraft. I buy whatever is on sale or the cheaper ST. It just isn't a concern to me. I do buy my oil and filter at Walmart. Right now Walmart has Castrol Magnatec just pennies more than the ST oil. I bought a couple of jugs of the Castrol. One day I will go in and ST will be the best price. I will buy it and use it with confidence. Both my vehicles have had ST used in them in the past.
 
I have used Supertech and Auto Zone oil in the past and was happy.

I am happy with any oil I put in my vehicles, otherwise I would not put it in there.

If the time ever comes when sale/rebate/clearance oils run out, I would have no issue using the cheapest store brand oil out there.
For me, price takes precedence over brand.
I don't own any specialty vehicle, so any quality oil (ie no "no name" corner store oil and such) will work for me. The cheaper the better.
 
I have used Napa syn when it was on sale. I was happy with it. Now I can get Kendall GT-1 for 2.99 a quart without rebates coupons and etc everyday price. I don't even shop around.
 
I’ve got a bunch of Napa Conventional for $1 a quart. I run it in my Jeep, it’s Valvoline, regardless what all the nay-sayers on here say.
 
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