Eneos and Idemitsu Synthetic Oils

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The Critic

The Critic

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I recently obtained access to a wholesale auto parts distributor who offers Eneos and Idemitsu oils at competitive prices. They offer Eneos Synthetic 5w-30 and 0w-20 in the 6 gal wine boxes and Idemitsu Synthetic 0w-20 in the 55 gal drums.

Pricing for Eneos is a hair higher than Mobil 1 EP from Walmart, while pricing for Idemitsu Synthetic is about the same price as Pennzoil conventional from Walmart. I currently buy a significant quantity of oil from WM, and changing to these two brands from this supplier will be beneficial to me from a convenience, waste quantity and supplier relationship standpoint.

I mostly service late model Honda, Toyota and Nissan vehicles. I noticed that Idemitsu 0w-20 does carry the latest gen-2 Dexos certification but I did not see any OEM certifications for the Eneos line. My main concern is that most of the upcoming Honda vehicles are turbo and I'm guessing that HTO-06 will come back into play at some point.

What do you guys think about switching to Eneos and/or Idemitsu over Mobil 1/Mobil 1 EP? Any feedback is appreciated.

Thanks.
 
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If you're changing oil for other people's cars, you absolutely need to adhere to ONLY oils that meet the spec for each car. For Honda, Toyota, and Nissan vehicles, if thats all you service, you're mostly OK though, since they typically only need SN oils in the specified grades.

So it depends on your business model regarding how good of an oil you want to put in other people's cars, and also how much each customer cares what kind of oil you put in when they might not know any better.

For example, I noticed Mobil1 doesn't bother with Chrysler specs, but does have Ford, GM, and HTO-06 specs.
By comparison, Pennzoil Plat carries Chrysler, Ford, GM, and even Honda-Acura HTO-06, covering more makes of cars in 5w-30. Therefore, Pennzoil Plat covers just about every American or Japanese brand cars, so I only have to stock that oil (in each weight) to cover most cars.
Of course if a German car rolls in, now you have to stock Euro-spec (VW 505, A40, LL-01, 229.5) oil like Pennzoil 5w-40.

Main idea is to stock the fewest kinds of oils, each of which is qualified for the most makes of cars.
 
Specifically in your case, I'd skip the Eneos. Stay with Mobil1 that has HTO-06. Again, its other people's cars, so you must stick with proper specs.
Do get the Idemitsu 0w20 if you truly mostly service Japanese makes. Idemitsu isn't versatile spec-wise enough for other makes like Pennzoil or Havoline is, but if you don't see many American cars, then Idemitsu is a bargain here.

All good oils mentioned. Specs are the thing.
 
Originally Posted By: oil_film_movies
If you're changing oil for other people's cars, you absolutely need to adhere to ONLY oils that meet the spec for each car.


lmao i'm sure 5 minute oil does that
 
Originally Posted By: KingCake
Originally Posted By: oil_film_movies
If you're changing oil for other people's cars, you absolutely need to adhere to ONLY oils that meet the spec for each car.


lmao i'm sure 5 minute oil does that


Yep. Good comment.

That is why I prefer to all my services and oil changes myself.
 
Originally Posted By: KingCake
lmao i'm sure 5 minute oil does that

Maybe true, but not applicable to The_Critic's original issue.
He doesn't seem like the kind of oil changer who just hands out conventional 5w30 to every car that enters his bay, like has been said about some "Local Lube Shops" out there.
 
To clarify, over 90% of the vehicles I service only require an API SN oil of the specified grade.

So having an oil that carries OEM approvals for other vehicles is not critical, but as we know, can sometimes be indicative of favorable characteristics (I.e. Lower volatility for Dexos1 oils).

I am simply not familiar with the Eneos and Idemitsu brands and am curious how they compare to Mobil 1 and Mobil 1 EP.
 
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Originally Posted By: The Critic
To clarify, over 90% of the vehicles I service only require an API SN oil of the specified grade.


Do you offer conventional oil then? If the customers don't demand a full-syn, then any cheapest bulk oil meets SN. Are you high-end only?
Like you said though, HTO-06 may be important for future Honda 5w30 applications, so Mobil1 is the choice, not Eneos.
Most shops go for the lowest cost oil to meet a spec, which is conventional SN 90% in your case.
Then it gets into stuff like do you offer High Mileage oils for cars over 75,000 miles. Can be complicated.
 
We highly recommend synthetic for all applications - and almost all of our customers agree to it. I used to keep some Chevron or Mobil Clean 5w-30 around for the few customers who did not want synthetic, but we have since switched to ACDelco Synthetic Blend (not the Dexos version) because of the new supplier.

Cars currently receive either Mobil 1 5w-30 or Mobil 1 EP 0w-20 depending on the specified grade. Occasionally we will see a vehicle that calls for 5w-20 and it will receive Mobil 1 EP in that grade.
 
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I know Idemitsu makes good oil. They are factory fill for Mazda and I believe Honda. They are also one of the biggest names in Japan. I am not sure about Eneos, but at that price, I would give it a try with a UOA/VOA to check and see. If you don't want to give it a try I would love to!
 
Originally Posted By: The Critic
Looks pretty typical for a 0w-20. The volatility does seem a bit high though.

That's not the dexos1 Idemitsu, as it fails NOACK <= 13%. That pdf file must be for a strictly SN GF5 version.
 
Originally Posted By: oil_film_movies
Originally Posted By: The Critic
Looks pretty typical for a 0w-20. The volatility does seem a bit high though.

That's not the dexos1 Idemitsu, as it fails NOACK div>


You're right- that also looks like it's for the Korean market. I can't seem to find the pds for the US version.
 
You are within spitting distance of some of the biggest refineries on the West Coast. Have you called SOPUS (Martinez) to see what their local distributor can do for you? I'll bet they can beat the local parts chain by a considerable margin ...
 
Originally Posted By: The Critic
What do you guys think about switching to Eneos and/or Idemitsu over Mobil 1/Mobil 1 EP? Any feedback is appreciated.

One would think that those would be very suitable for most Japanese applications (not sure about the Honda turbo spec's currency, or what we'll see in the future). These two companies are, after all, very big in Japan, as it were.

Now, if you wanted to pick a 5w-30, for example, that had the biggest scattergun effect when it comes to hitting specifications, it would be pretty hard to beat Pennzoil Platinum, which has A5/B5, dexos1, the Honda spec, and so forth. From a functional standpoint, the differences between Eneos, Idemitsu, M1, PP, Castrol Edge, and SynPower are pretty much zero.
 
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