Is there an easy way to pick a good motor oil ?

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Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
I've always liked Castrol and Valvoline.


You are a man of good taste, class and distinction.
 
Originally Posted By: Benito
Originally Posted By: Valentine
I'll admit that I find it a bit intimidating that so many people here are so knowledgeable about motor oil.


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Ironically enough, most advice you've received is wrong because it is incomplete.

There is a difference between good motor oil and correct motor oil for the application. You can pick a good motor oil, but it can still be incorrect for your engine. The OP only asked about the "good" part.
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Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Benito
Originally Posted By: Valentine
I'll admit that I find it a bit intimidating that so many people here are so knowledgeable about motor oil.


crackmeup2.gif


Ironically enough, most advice you've received is wrong because it is incomplete.

There is a difference between good motor oil and correct motor oil for the application. You can pick a good motor oil, but it can still be incorrect for your engine. The OP only asked about the "good" part.
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I stand corrected.
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When his engine blows up and he comes back to ask why, we can tell him he asked the wrong question!
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Hey,thanks to everyone for their advice. Just to clarify, I wasn't trying to select an oil for a particular vehicle. I was wondering more about how you pick one oil over all the other choices which appear to be so similar. For example, my Wife's vehicle is a 2015 Hyundai Sonata. I believe the manual for that vehicle calls for a 5w-20 conventional oil but I'm currently running Mobil-1 0w-20 in it. I got a good deal on the Mobil-1 and that was the primary reason I chose that oil over the other brands which were available to me. That and that fact that Mobil-1 is so highly regarded here. I guess my real question is how does an average guy like me know that Mobil-1 is actually better than Supertech Synthetic or any of the other brands sitting on the same shelf? I know Royal Purple is a cool color but besides being more expensive, is it actually better than other brands? If so, what is it that makes it better? I've always been a "most bang for my buck" kind of guy. I Don't want to get too far from the original point of my post which was simply trying to determine what qualities to look for when selecting one oil over all of the choices which are available.

-Valentine
 
Originally Posted By: Valentine
I was wondering more about how you pick one oil over all the other choices which appear to be so similar.

In my case, I look for oils that meet the particular mfg spec that the owner's manual calls for. That's either BMW LL-01 or VW 502.00. That narrows it down quite a bit right there. Then I look which one of these also meets MB 229.5 spec as that is even more stringent than the other two. That leaves me with just a few options. At that point, it's down to price and availability.

Quote:
I guess my real question is how does an average guy like me know that Mobil-1 is actually better than Supertech Synthetic or any of the other brands sitting on the same shelf?

The truth is, he doesn't. And he doesn't have to know. As long as it's the correct oil for his application and meets the required approvals and is changed at the recommended interval, either oil will make his engine last longer than he cares to. The rest is just splitting hairs, and that is what we here on BITOG do day in, day out.

There is nothing wrong with SuperTech Synthetic, IMO.
 
This here is one of the best rationales of how to proceed when buying oil for a car. Read what meets the specifications of the manufactors and choose from there. The MB 229.5 is one of the hardest specs to meet.

I read the other day one person suggested that people could just fine dexos 1 approved oils which exceed API SN and ILSAC GF-5 standards. This is really not all too bad of advice in my opinion. If one wants a "higher" level approved oil for their car.

But for many people all they need is an API SN and ILSAC GF-5 approved oil. There is nothing wrong with just doing that too.
 
Originally Posted By: bbhero
This here is one of the best rationales of how to proceed when buying oil for a car. Read what meets the specifications of the manufactors and choose from there. The MB 229.5 is one of the hardest specs to meet.


That's good advice. My Honda manual states "use any brand of 5W-40 oil that meets the minimum specification XYZ"

Although I generally buy the cheapest of what any of the top brand names has to offer at that time.
 
Originally Posted By: Valentine
Without being a chemical engineer , That is . I'm much more of a lurker than a poster and I wouldn't be able to hold my own in a conversation with many of the members here. In fact, I'll admit that I find it a bit intimidating that so many people here are so knowledgeable about motor oil. So, I have to ask is there an easy way for an average person to determine whether or not a motor oil is any good? Do the additives which manufacturers use really make one oil sugnificantly better than another? Thanks!

-Valentine


What kind of vehicle are you going to use it in?
 
Originally Posted By: Valentine
Hey,thanks to everyone for their advice. Just to clarify, I wasn't trying to select an oil for a particular vehicle. I was wondering more about how you pick one oil over all the other choices which appear to be so similar. For example, my Wife's vehicle is a 2015 Hyundai Sonata. I believe the manual for that vehicle calls for a 5w-20 conventional oil but I'm currently running Mobil-1 0w-20 in it. I got a good deal on the Mobil-1 and that was the primary reason I chose that oil over the other brands which were available to me. That and that fact that Mobil-1 is so highly regarded here. I guess my real question is how does an average guy like me know that Mobil-1 is actually better than Supertech Synthetic or any of the other brands sitting on the same shelf? I know Royal Purple is a cool color but besides being more expensive, is it actually better than other brands? If so, what is it that makes it better? I've always been a "most bang for my buck" kind of guy. I Don't want to get too far from the original point of my post which was simply trying to determine what qualities to look for when selecting one oil over all of the choices which are available.

-Valentine


Well, when you get down to it, any oil that matches what your car's maker recommends/requires is probably fine.
But, here's a summary of my oil selection process for your amusement.
When I started changing my own oil, I wanted to use synthetic 5W30 as Subaru recommends to avoid any warranty complications. Mobil 1 is the synthetic that you always hear about, so I bought some of that on Amazon...only to find out that it is cheaper at WalMart for me. Anyway, I noticed other oils like Royal Purple, Texas Tea, and Redline on Amazon and got interested in them.
Started poking around online and found that some people felt the specialty oils were "better" because they are made from superior synthetic stocks than M1, which was alleged to be derived from chemically modified crude (which I think is largely true). I found some evidence that Royal Purple used "better" (group IV) base oil, so I bought some of that at WalMart at about $10 more than M1 for my next change.
Then, I saw some crude cold pour tests on YouTube that made RP look really bad at low temps. I ski and often park my car outside overnight in very cold conditions for winter weekends, so this freaked me out. Then, I found this website...
http://www.pqiamerica.com/March2013PCMO/Marchsyntheticsallfinal.html
I studied up on what the various test results meant and decided Quaker State Ultimate Durability looked really good, and it is cheaper than M1 at WM. This site also verified that the RP cold viscosity was higher than most of its competitors. I was able to return the RP and bought some QSUD, which I used for my next change.
Then, I started seeing discussions online about Direct Injection Turbo (DIT) engines like I have and problems with knock-like events. Found this paper which investigated a possible link between these events and calcium in motor oil...
http://papers.sae.org/2014-32-0092/
QSUD had significantly more calcium in its formula than M1 according to the PQIA, so I have switched back to M1 for now. Castrol Edge had even lower calcium than M1, but its cold viscosity was about the same as the RP that scared me a few months before. It is worth noting that both of the Pennzoil products in the PQIA chart have been reformulated since 2013, I believe they have test results for the newer products if your search around on that rather Byzantine website (which I still use a lot).

You know what, though?
I'm sure any of these oils would be fine for me. I just have fun trying to pick the "best" oil. There are some 5W30 M1 diesel oils that are interesting to me now, but they are hard to find and it is also hard to find information about them. It is interesting to me that a lot of turbo Subaru drivers (WRXs in particular) use 5W40 diesel oils in their cars, but they are not an option for me until I'm out of warranty.
 
Last edited:
Op

What matters is certifications. So does the oil carry the manufacturers certification.
I read where a Porsche engineer was being asked about which oil is best in their engines.
I'm paraphrasing but it went something like this:
Porsche believes that all the oils that carry the Porsche certification is equal to any other certified product. Equal.

So for what it's worth if a conventional meets a specific cert then if using a synthetic you have the option of extending the oem interval.
If the cert is specific and can only be met using a syn,like the Porsche a-40 spec then one must run the oem prescribed interval unless uoa data confirms extended intervals are possible.
 
Originally Posted By: SR5
Buy a brand name oil, and choose the manufacturer specification you want.

This Lubrizol comparison tool helps.
https://www.lubrizol.com/apps/relperftool/pc.html

I think the very best oils meet MB 229.5,
after that I like ACEA A3/B4 or A5/B5 for fuel economy or Dexos-1,
after that SN.

For example my car requires the European standard A3/B3, but I often buy A4/B4 because it's a little better, just as easy to find and doesn't cost much more.

It depends on where you live too. In Australia and Europe it's easy to find ACEA oils, but I hear it's more difficult and expensive in North America. I think the Dexos standard looks like a good oil, hard to find here, but it should be easy as pie to find there. You don't need to drive a GM car to run Dexos oil.


I had never looked closely at that Lubrizol oil chart before. While it cleared up some misconceptions I had, it also raised more questions. I expected the A3/B3 and A3/B4 specs to be much tighter than the A1/B1. It wasn't. Not really all that much difference. The A3/B3 spec is actually tighter than the A3/B4 on 2 of the measures.

I expected the Porsche A40 and MB 229.5 specs to be quite tight. They really weren't. In fact the A3/B3 spec is a lot tighter than those 2. The MB 229.5 and Porsche A40 aren't even up to the A1/B1 spec. Didn't expect to find that. Other manufacturer specs are similarly rather wide. The Dexos 1 is a bit sloppy vs. the A1/B1 on soot thickening and oxidative thickening. Some manufacturers leave out specs. Porsche a40 doesn't even include soot thickening while VW ignores oxidative thickening. The MB 229.3 spec is tighter than the 229.5....strange. Renault appears to have the tightest overall specs of all these manufacturers. I was surprised overall.

There are a lot of trade-offs. It's not like just one EU performance manufacturer spec is a killer. But, the Ford M2C913-A (appears to be a 1998 oil spec equivalent to A1/B1) is VERY low on everything. Looks like a dream come true. It's far lower on soot, oxidation, sludge and wear specs than even the A3/B3. It doesn't make sense, especially for a 1998 formulation. Why aren't we using that oil today? At first I was impressed that the 0w-40 synthetic oils meet the Euro performance mfg specs...and less impressed now that I saw what those specs really are. I sort of expected clear cut lines between the oils and their specs. The waters look muddy to me.

Now the question is does all that really mean anything? For an oil that meets multiple mfg specs + an ACEA, do you overlap them all and assume your oil has the protection of the tighter overlapping region?
 
Originally Posted By: Benito
Originally Posted By: Valentine
I'll admit that I find it a bit intimidating that so many people here are so knowledgeable about motor oil.


crackmeup2.gif


Ironically enough, most advice you've received is wrong because it is incomplete.

Only a couple of people have said the following which is all you need to know:

- Consult your owners manual for the official manufacturer specifications
- Buy something that officially meets the manufacturer's specification
- To be sure that the oil that claims to meet the manufacturer's specification actually does meet it, then buy from the major brands: Mobil, Pennzoil, Quaker State, Valvoline, Motorcraft, Chevron, Havoline, Kendall, Castrol, Shell, even SuperTech


A lot of good advice. But this post is all you need to know, except for one thing. And this is an important one.

If you decide to go with Royal Purple, and decide that it's the best motor oil around, don't come back here and tell everyone about it. Not unless you are ready for a 12 page debate and ridicule. I'm just saying...
 
Originally Posted By: 69GTX
....This Lubrizol comparison tool helps.
https://www.lubrizol.com/apps/relperftool/pc.html....


OK. It just occurred to me I might be using that Lubrizol chart backwards. Is a "10" rating the most wear or the least wear? I assumed that less of all those harmful effects was the best (ie 0). The "better" A3/B3 spec is inside the chart of the A1/B1. I assumed that was better...so a lower number was better. Right or wrong?
 
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