Motor Oil

[SARGE]

Seems we know about everyone's beard and how tall we are. I'd like some opinions from graybeards on choice of oil. I've always used Valvoline in all vehicles. On the diesel bucket truck I noticed when we used a regular 15w-40 brand it would drink the stuff. When I switched to Rotella 15w-40 (made for diesels) the consumption was nada. No one can cite the reason. On regular brands (Valvoline, Pennzoil, etc) some folks say it all comes out of the same barrel; they just stick their brand on it.

Opinions, and what do you prefer?

[Christoph]

Nothing special - $15.95 standard oil inlcuding change and filter at Grease Monkey or Goodyear. As I am not driving high performance vehicles or do 'racing' with my car standard will do it!

Christoph

[HAL9000]

I used to use the house brand oil when getting oil changed until I bought my first new car. When I took it on a vacation and put 2000Km on it in 4 days of mostly highway driving, it used just over 1 litre of oil. I switched to Quaker State and the next trip, it didn't use anything. It's also a bit higher in the detergents used in it which really became noticable when I bought a 1988 Mustang with 113,000Km on it. The oil was pretty black, but over the course of a few changes, it was cleaner each time when it came due for the next change. At 247,000Km (before it was totalled), you could pull the dipstick before the oil change and it was so clear, you had to move it around in the light to see it. When I had my beater wagon, I think I put about 200,000Km on it, but I abused the heck out of that car. I change the oil maybe three times and added it when it needed it, but it was always Quaker State. I sold it off and it's still going around. I saw the guy a while ago and it rolled over 400,000Km. I'm noticing this in my Sunfire that I bought used last October. When it's time for a change, the oil is at the point where it's starting to get hard to see on the dipstick instead of being clearly visible because of the dirt. It costs me an additional $5 on the oil change, but I think it's worth it.

[Kubie]

Sarge,
Over the years, I too had used different oils. The problem with a diesel motor oil in a gas powered vehicle, is that the additives are different. Each type of engine produces different contaminates and the additives take care of it.
There are a few oil refiners out there that do make oil of different brands, however, the formula is supplied by the brand name seller.
An example would be New Holland 15-40 diesel motor oil. New Holland supplied the formula, Pennzoil mixes it up for them.
Carl

BTW, I use Castrol 10-30 in my pick-up and car.

[Redo40]

I too use Castrol 10w30 in everything but my wifes car. She uses Pennzoil 10w30.

[juppy]

I use Pennzoil 10W40 in my '85 Mustang but that's just mainly because that was the brand that was in the car when we bought it. Didn't want to change because I've always been told changing oil brands will sometimes make a car START using oil if it didn't already; don't know how much truth there is in this. The rest of my family uses Mystic; I think its something like JT8....not sure. I figure if I do ever change it will be to Mobil 1 or maybe Quaker State.

[GerBa]

I began using Quaker State in my cars some years ago, don't change it as often as I should but they are still going. Guess I'll keep using it though I have wondered about those oils claimed to be for high milage cars. Might give one of them a try.

[PardeGT]

I use Havoline DuraBlend in my truck and my fiancee's car - and of course Fram filters. . .

[lil Jimmie]

For my pick-up I use Quaker State 10-30w Synthetic motor oil changed every 3K and for the wife’s car I use Car Quest 10-30w which is produced by Valvoline. For racing application I use Pennzoil High Performance 50w. At the shop where I work we use the Car Quest brand and for our customers that have high performance engines we use Mobil One Synthetic. Fram Filters are installed on all the above.

[glc]

I used to use and sell Amsoil synthetic - but now in my beater I just use whatever the quick oil change joint puts in - 5w30 or 10w30 whatever - Pennzoil, Citgo, I'm not fussy. If I have to add between changes I buy the same stuff they used, I still don't like mixing brands in the same crankcase load. If I had a new car, I would definitely use Amsoil or some other quality synthetic.

[doctorgonzo]

I usually use Penzoil or Valvoline (courtesty of Valvoline Instant Oil Change). My old Corolla with 248,000 miles on it didn't burn oil, and I took it to the Valvoline place where they stuck in 5W-30. Same with my wife's Nissan. Now, however, our new VW seems to be a bit pickier about oil weight; 10W-30 did not cut it about 65º. Since your average oil change shop doesn't put anything other than 5W-30 or 10W-30, I change the oil myself.

[morriswindgate]

For diesels, Rotella has always been the standard to use. For gasoline engines it really doesn't matter as long as it is a quality detergent oil that meets the current auto engineering standards and changing it according to the driving conditions. Remember "Rough Service" is spending most of your time driving inside of a city. Also changing oil at 7000 to 8000 miles is, still in my mind at least twice as long as it should be. The detergent package by that time is pretty much used up.

[LWHiway]

Down south oilburning engines are used for mosquito abatement. Not really.

For the Dodge diesel I use Rotella. Consumption is way down, due to the specific additives I'm sure. 280k plus miles and still the belts squeal when I turn off the ignition. Used this oil from day one at first oil change.

For the mowers on the farm, lawn, I use synthetic. I noticed back in the 70's when using a particularly older mower, it was smoking a lot. It was 20+ yrs old then. I was using synthetic in my Harley and dumped some in the mower. After topping off the oil a few times, the blow by all but stopped. No noticable smoke in the exhaust. Of course a valve seat knurl and valve change stopped it completely. Started using it in all of them and have had good/great success.

Synthetics are more expensive, but I think they do just fine.

[meemooer]

ok being a future auto mechanic, and an assistant one now, i think i should say something.
There are several oil companies that distibute oil to other companies for bottleing. i forget what the company name is but Valvaline uses them and they are the best. Just look at the back of any oil container and it'll say Pennsylviana Crude oil or pacific something oil i think, well the "bad" one is actually not entirely good on your engine, i learned that in auto class at school, so next time you buy oil, pick up the bottle and check what company their using and , i will post the good company after work today at 5, but just check and see who makes your fav. oil, cause it may not be as good as you think.

[Blakhart]

If one changes it often say 2k or so, about anything save for pennzoil will do. Synthetic rules all however. Smokey said so and I believe him.
Pennzoil is not fit to be used to oil a gravel road.

[lil Jimmie]

For years I’ve been using Pennzoil in the race engines I’ve built and haven't had one grenade yet.

[Charger]

I try to put Valvoline or QS 10/40 in my bucket whenever possible.

[HAL9000]

OK, here's a question for you guys and I'll give my personal experience on it. What grade of oil do you prefer to run. I was always taught to run the thinnest oil that you can get away with. It seemed to me that if I had an engine that started to use a bit of oil, going to a thicker oil only seemed to accelerate the wear process and I would have to step to the next thicker oil to slow down the consumption again. Since then, I have run nothing but 5w30 whether it be -35'C or +35'C and seem to get much better wear on my engines. I tried 0w30 once in the winter, but when temps were around 0'c, the engine just seemed to noisy to be healthy. My old Mustang had 247,000Km on it without a leak and without using any oil between changes. I find the thicker oils seem to dirty faster as well.

Your thoughts?

[morriswindgate]

Heavier oils take longer to get to all the parts once the engine is started, meaning more wear time before the oil flows are up to required levels. Also heavier oils are more prone to oil whip around bearings and moving parts and also increase the hydraulic pressure on the parts.
The lightest reccommended oil for your climate and driving conditions will give the best service and engine wear.

[doctorgonzo]

Like I said, in the past I always used 5W-30 and had no problems. However, when I first got my VW it had 10W-30 in it, and when the temperature went above 60ºF the oil pressure at idle would drop to less than 0.5 bar at operating temperature. After putting in 20W-50 the pressure stays up and the oil light does not come on. Some engines seem to be pickier than others. Following the manual is probably your safest bet.

[lil Jimmie]

Run the lowest weight oil that your climate and driving conditions require. With the heavy oils used in race engines and high performance engines we install a pre-lubber that holds 2qts of oil and is forced into the engines oiling system prior to starting.

[dan3223]

I use Halvoline Synthetic 5W30 in my car and truck. It's full-synthetic, but it's about $3 per quart compared to $4.30 for Mobil 1 synthetic. Too bad they don't sell Amsol synthetic around here since I've heard nothing but good things about it. Has anyone mentioned filters? Lately I've been using the PureOne double-guard, or whatever it's called... it's blue in color.

[lil Jimmie]

Stock applications I use Fram air, oil and fuel filters.
High Preformance applications I use K&N air filters and Fram High Performance oil and fuel filters.

[juppy]

Originally posted by Blakhart If one changes it often say 2k or so, about anything save for pennzoil will do. Synthetic rules all however. Smokey said so and I believe him. Pennzoil is not fit to be used to oil a gravel road.

Sorry Blakhart, but I gotta disagree with you on that last statement. We got my '85 Mustang in '87 and it had about 27,000 miles on it. They told us it was using Pennzoil 10W40 so that's what we kept it on. It now has 147,000 miles on it and I've had no problems from it yet *knocks on wood*. We change it every 2000 to 3000 miles though so maybe that helps. I can't really complain about the quality of Pennzoil though.

[alan]

For filters I use K&N. Since it is a reusable filter I don't have to buy new ones all the time. I'm sure my Quik Oil Change place hates me for that since they cannot sell me an overprices cheapass filter.

As for oils, I go Mobil 1 Synthetic for my Jeep and Capri. Don't know if it really makes any noticeable difference in millage or performance although the infomercials give you all kinds of charts and graphs saying they do.

Has anyone used that Tornado Air Flow device in their car? Does it improve mileage and hp as they claim?

[morriswindgate]

Haven't used the Tornado, but I have, installed on my truck, a PowerAid Spacers and a Gibson Cat-Back Exhaust. Made a big differance from stock.

http://www.airaid.com/p2.shtml

[kbert777]

Just would like to clear up a few things:

First my background: ASE certified Master Mechanic, European Masters Degree in Automotive Electronics and about 20 years experience as a Automotive, Diesel and Aircraft mechanic.
Not doing this anymore, more money in developing e-learning courses for engineers.

No, not all oils are the same! You can clearly identify the base oils.
In Fleet and Aircraft maintenance it is very common to send oil samples to the lab for engine diagnostics. The lab is used never got the viscosity or manufacturer wrong.

Is there a correct oil for all climates and situations? No!
For example regular Quakerstate has a high level of Paraffin in the base, will sure kill any engine in high temperature climates by
clogging oil passages in lifters or cam oilers with huge amounts of sludge.

What's best to use? Simple and easy! Important thing is to change the oil regulary, every 3000 miles or 3 month what ever comes first. ( Just an easy rule of thumb)
Stay with the same oil brand and type. You can adjust the viscosity up and down according to manufactures specifications.

Use a quality filter! General rule of thumb: If it's orange it's junk!
Fram filters don't do much, there is actually nothing in them that could filter oil! As an aircraft mechanic I got used to cut used filters open, take my word for it!
Jiffy Lube and Q-Lube use a Fram Filter, just painted to their colors.
If you pay $15 for an oil change you get what you pay for. But don't get me wrong, any oil change is better then no oil change!

I used to race Dragsters and we used to buy WIX filters, paint them orange and put stickers on them to get contingency money. Nobody would use an original Fram.

Synthetic Oils are definetly worth their money if you still follow your oil change schedule. But for use in your grocery getter they are definetley overkill. My Nissan Pathfinder has 200k miles on Castrol GTX with no residue, sludge or any oil related problems.

To clarify the question about Diesel Oils like Rotella and Delo,
you have to keep in mind that the combustion pressure and temperatures inside a Diesel engine are higher then in a gas engine. These oils are formulated for specific applications and can not be replaced with generic replacements, even if the API codes indicate otherwise.

Hope this clears up some questions and problems,

Klaus

[SARGE]

Howdy kbert777 and welcome to PCMech. In your opinion, which is the better oil and filter for everyday cars, based on your experience? We got experts around these parts in almost everything so welcome aboard.
BTW, my '70 VW bug has always used 40w Valvoline, considering it lives in Texas.

[Kubie]

kbert777,
You put my mind at ease. I use WIX filters only and change the oil and filter every 3000 miles give or take a hundred.
And I second Sarge's Welcome to PC Mechanic.
Carl

[HAL9000]

kbert777, I'm intrigued by your comments. One, I run Purolator oil filters (It's what the lube place I go to uses) and I have always run Quaker State without any issues, but then again, change my oil faithfully every 5000Km (3000 miles).