My Quest for Good Cheap Oil

[Carlostrece]

Ya don’t say. No oil will forever stop external leaks FYI.

But some oils leak less.

 

[53' Stude]

I

But some oils leak less.

nsee. I’d stick with Maxlife blend then.

 

[tired]

Costs?

If you run a Toyota and want to use 5w30, Toyota Genuine Motor Oil purchased online from local Toyota dealer for in store pickup is ~$24 for a 6 quart case (Southeast usa region). And you can stock up on it for less than $20/case during a 25% off sale which this dealer group region runs multiple times per year. So a little over $3 per quart. I don't think I've found a consistently better deal / bang for buck.

That's conventional oil. If you want to run that, I guess that is up to you. But I am going for an apples to apples comparison.

 

[Carlostrece]

I would venture a guess that a large majority on here already have a membership

I don't. There nearest Costco is a 1 hour drive away. Walmart (10 blocks away) is my Costco. I think there's fewer Costco in small towns and more Walmarts.

 

[trd1zz]

That's conventional oil. If you want to run that, I guess that is up to you. But I am going for an apples to apples comparison.

I run it with zero hesitation in both of my Toyota motors that are ~20 years old. Both have seen various conventional's throughout their entire service life. No issues.

 

[tired]

I run it with zero hesitation in both of my Toyota motors that are ~20 years old. Both have seen various conventional's throughout their entire service life. No issues.

If you haven't had issues, I can see why you're still running it. Personally I'm convinced of the benefits of synthetic oil. In my experience, you don't have a problem...until you do. Then you can't go back in time and run something else. My PO ran conventional for >200k miles, so I'm dealing with a ton of varnish cleanup.

 

[trd1zz]

If you haven't had issues, I can see why you're still running it. Personally I'm convinced of the benefits of synthetic oil. In my experience, you don't have a problem...until you do. Then you can't go back in time and run something else. My PO ran conventional for >200k miles, so I'm dealing with a ton of varnish cleanup.

I'm convinced as well, particularly with VRP. I'll eventually try it out. I had the valve cover off my 1ZZ last year - didn't see anything at all concerning, so at least the top end is clean.

What oil change interval did the PO of your vehicle run?

Over a 10-20+ year period, and who knows how many owners, being consistent with changing oil every 6 months or every 5k miles (whichever comes first) can be a challenge.

 

[tired]

I'm convinced as well, particularly with VRP. I'll eventually try it out. I had the valve cover off my 1ZZ last year - didn't see anything at all concerning, so at least the top end is clean.

What oil change interval did the PO of your vehicle run?

Over a 10-20+ year period, and who knows how many owners, being consistent with changing oil every 6 months or every 5k miles (whichever comes first) can be a challenge.

Unfortunately my PO didn't give me any records. The engine is varnished as I can see through the fill hole. I will know more whenever my valve cover gasket leak gets bad enough that I have to replace that. I'll get some good pics. I want to do a few rounds of VRP first though so I can see what it looks like after some cleanup.

I called the quick lube place that he used (from the sticker on the windshield), and they were kind enough to let me know he'd done annual oil changes with dino as far back as they could see. It's only averaged 10k a year over its life, but I don't really know how those were distributed other than a single data point from a recall done 8 years ago. Since then it was averaged 4k a year. Other than that, I don't have much to go on. Not a ton in Carfax.

 

[nealberke]

Years ago I was on a quest for the best oil I could get. That led to a lot of wasted money.

In recent years I'm on a quest for good cheap oil. From among low cost options, which are good performers, low cost, and easily locally available from Walmart, NAPA, or Oreilly because those are the oil sellers near my home.

Here's my finalists. Please tell me which you think is better and why (for 3 high mileage vehicles that don't leak oil, though one does burn oil).

NAPA High Mileage Full Syn
Quaker State High Mileage Full Syn

NAPA Full Syn
Quaker State Ultimate Protection Full Syn

I'm also open to other good oils suggestions if they're low cost at Walmart, NAPA, or Oreilly.

I'd go with NAPA. It's made by Valvolene but there's discussion here that it's likely not the same as branded Valvolene. Either way it's quailty, less money than name brands and I like NAPA.
I ran a lot of Chevron Supreme in my Volvos in the 1980's, 1990's and early 2000's and would do it again. I stuck with 5000 OCI's and was fine. In the 80's I could get "Lee 2-Stage oil filters" from U-Save Auto Parts.
I'd use Conoco-Phillips (Phillips 66, Motorcraft, Honda, Kendall). If you run 2 cycle engines, check out their 2 cycle oils word is they are very good.
Not a fan of WalMart but there are a lot of Supertech (Highline/Warren Performance Packaging) fans here. Costco is also Warren. Maybe Advance Auto Parts as well.
FVP / Factory Motor Parts is made by Calumet. Calumet is a contract refiner / blender for Castrol/BP. Calumet also makes Tru Fuel for 2 and 4 cycle engines and a bunch of specialty lubes and products.

 

[Carlostrece]

I'd go with NAPA. It's made by Valvolene but there's discussion here that it's likely not the same as branded Valvolene.

After looking at specs, I think NAPA Full Synthetic is Valvoline Extreme Protection Full Synthetic in a NAPA bottle.

Either way it's quailty, less money than name brands and I like NAPA.

It's the same price as Valvoline EP FS at Walmart. Same oil too, IMO.

I ran a lot of Chevron Supreme in my Volvos in the 1980's, 1990's and early 2000's and would do it again.

I used to use Chevron Supreme. My Jeep & Buick used/lost more oil with it than with other brands. I'm not a Chevron oil fan.

I'd use Conoco-Phillips (Phillips 66, Motorcraft, Honda, Kendall).

I agree all those are good, especially Ken Doll oil.

Not a fan of WalMart but there are a lot of Supertech (Highline/Warren Performance Packaging) fans here. Costco is also Warren. Maybe Advance Auto Parts as well.

Warren is OK, IMO.

 

[rondhol]

Any oil that meet the spec, fully synthetic group III or PAO cocktail is always Ok. No need to pay extra for something we only speculate.

For me, Cheapest oil that meet the spec Dexos1gen3, DexosD, or API SP every 5-10k miles is better than paying 3x more expensive oil and do 10-20k miles.

More importantly, what works for us, keep it that way. Used Oil analysis won't be able to get the sample of the crude and gunk on the piston rings. That deposit keeps piling in unless we really use oil that can deal with soot and gunk like Valvoline RP or ACEA grade oil.

To prevent stuck piston rings, 5k OCI is the best prevention.