Has anyone here mixed brands and grades of oil?

[fdcg27]

Who hasn't?
While I don't consider it to be best practice and I generally avoid mixing oils, I've done so from time to time just to use the inevitable odd quarts.
You can also use these orphan quarts in your OPEs, but you don't need very much oil for that.

 

[wemay]

Never mixed a different ratio than 4:1qt (80%/20%) and always within brand, although there are bitogers that are more adventuresome.

 

[Run]

I mixed both brands and grades before. Never had a problem. In old engines that would burn or leak oil those were always happy to be topped up.

 

[EuroGS]

Originally Posted By: ChevyBadger
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Originally Posted By: ChevyBadger
Why Merk? That takes it to the full line?


You have a 3800 in that don't you? On mine, 5 quarts brings it exactly to the full line.
Its a 3.4 v6, if I remember right the 3.8 also takes 4.5 qts. My wife had a Monte Carlo previously with the 3.8.


Yep. The book calls for I think all the 3.1/3.4/3.8's to get 4.5qts. I throw in 5 for good measure.

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: EuroGS
Originally Posted By: ChevyBadger
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Originally Posted By: ChevyBadger
Why Merk? That takes it to the full line?


You have a 3800 in that don't you? On mine, 5 quarts brings it exactly to the full line.
Its a 3.4 v6, if I remember right the 3.8 also takes 4.5 qts. My wife had a Monte Carlo previously with the 3.8.


Yep. The book calls for I think all the 3.1/3.4/3.8's to get 4.5qts. I throw in 5 for good measure.
That's what I do with my mom's Buick with the 3.4L

 

[dlundblad]

My moms Elantra was frankenbrew'd up until she traded it in. 10w30 conventional to 5w20 synthetic.

 

[53' Stude]

Well, I just put a blend of some PYB 5w30 & Rotella T5 10w30 in my 97' Bonneville after doing the LIM gaskets and hoses and water pump and thorough cooling flush

 

[Hessam]

I have been mixing RT6 with Rotella T in my LX450, just to use down some of my large stash of Rotella T. Engine seems to like it fine. The consensus opinion on this board is that it's completely unnecessary to mix oils, but most people here have done it to some extent for one reason or another. If you do mix oils though, try to stay within the same brand.

 

[53' Stude]

A friend of mine is contemplating mixing some old or 2011 era PU 5w20 with some Rotella T6 5w40 for a car he drives a lot, 50/50 city/highway driving style

 

[67lemans]

Sure, I've done it. I usually try to find brands that have similar ad packs or made by the same company. I recently put 4 qts of rotella 10w30 and 2 qts of pennzoil 40wt in my f150.
I seem to recall hearing that in order to be certified by the API, oils have to be able to be mixed together.

 

[EchoThat]

I don't see a problem with mixing brands now and then.

Just make sure that you change the filter with your oil change since you are making a petroleum cocktail. The different additives may not like each other, so filtering out the goop that might develop will be important.

From one brand to the next, they cannot be so incompatible that they would damage your engine if you mixed them.