What's the best oil?

[blazee]

After hearing that Mobil1, the oil that I've used for years, changed their formula and it's no longer a true synthetic (even though the price continues to rise) I'm thinking of looking around and might change brands.

So..... what's the best oil? Obviously that question entails so many variables that a perfect answer can't be expected. Different oils perform better for different people. I just want to here what you guys use. So, what's in your crankcase?

[Rick Norwood]

Originally Posted by blazee

After hearing that Mobil1, the oil that I've used for years, changed their formula and it's no longer a true synthetic (even though the price continues to rise) I'm thinking of looking around and might change brands.

So..... what's the best oil? Obviously that question entails so many variables that a perfect answer can't be expected. Different oils perform better for different people. I just want to here what you guys use. So, what's in your crankcase?

I tried a case of the Full Synthetic Castrol and it seemed to do o.k. In Phoenix, Sam's Club and Costco sell both Mobil1 and Castrol for approx. $25 for a 6 quart case. I usually went with the 5W30 Mobil1, because the advertised 15,000 miles, but I changed after every 5000 miles. I didn't know that Mobil changed their blend.

I like the King picture better.

[sickcallawayc12]

Originally Posted by Rick Norwood

I like the King picture better.

Still puts a grin on your face, though.

I use Valvoline. No reason why. It gets the job done.

[muzzy1maniac]

Usually castrol. It's readily available and a pretty good price.

I hear KY is a pretty good lube - do you think it'll hold up to a 4.3?

[BlazerBoyLT98]

Amsoil maybe? I am probably going to stick with Mobil1 for a few more oil changes and see what happens. It has gotten me to 155K+ miles so why change now?

[mike2004tct]

Uranus All Natural Oil.

Environementally Friendly.

No synthetic adders, ALL NATURAL, no By-Products wasted in Manufacturing.

By Uranus Corporation.
Taking Over The World.

[muzzy1maniac]

Originally Posted by mike2004tct

Uranus All Natural Oil.

Environementally Friendly.

No synthetic adders, ALL NATURAL, no By-Products wasted in Manufacturing.

By Uranus Corporation.
Taking Over The World.

*sings* You promised the moon but all I got was Uranus.......

[top666]

Did not know they had changed. I have been using Mobil 1 for years, if you get the perfect answer let me know.

[blazes9395]

This question can usually cause some colourful debates.

In my opinion, I think amsoil is one of the best out there currently. I currently am running Amsoil 10W30 in my truck. I use the group IV pao base synthetic oil that amsoil sells. Mobil1 use to be my only choice, but now that has changed. Not that the oil is bad, but the chemistry of the oil has apperently changed, and the price does not reflect that. Mobil1 use to be a group IV pao oil, but that has apperently now changed, like Castrol has done long ago. The only castrol I would use would be the 0W30 german oil, as that appernerently is still a group IV oil. Another oil I am considering using is the shell rotella 5W40 synthetic. Apperently that is another very good oil and has a lot of zinc in it, which I personally believe helps tremendously. I always use the GM EOS as they call it(Engine Oil Supplement) at least everyother oil change. Again, it has a good supply of additives, loads of zinc, which I think really helps the longetivity of the engine.

Either way my choice of oil right now is Amsoil, very good oil and your getting a real synthetic oil.

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by blazes9395

I always use the GM EOS as they call it(Engine Oil Supplement) at least everyother oil change. Again, it has a good supply of additives, loads of zinc, which I think really helps the longetivity of the engine.

Isn't that a bit of overkill on the EOS? If it was such a good product ,don't you think GM would require it's usage more? Don't get me wrong, I've used GM's EOS for over 20 years, but mainly as an assembly lube, or if I'm putting a vehicle in storage. I used to use it once a year during one of my oil changes, but after speaking with many GM technicians and master mechanics, did away with that practice. The oil you use should have the correct amount and type of additives your engine needs. Having to "supplement " it with another additive may mean you are not using the best oil for your engine. I used to use all sorts of additives years ago, oil, fuel, cooling, etc but have gotten away from that over the years. I've done research and found that most of it was unnecessary, and if you use quality oil, fuel, coolant, etc, there should be the proper amount of the appropriate protection packages in the what you use from day to day.I don't know, I just found that two and a half decades of experience guides me in my decision making and maybe we will all see what we are doing now may be different than what we do in the future.

[blazes9395]

I am not telling what people to use, or not use. I am merely telling others what I use/do. I know this is a debated topic all the time. I use EOS because I find the boost in zinc content in my oil has helped both my past and present vehicles run better, by reducing engine wear. Heavy duty motor oils, diesel engine oils have much more zinc content as it protects and reduces wear in the engine. Automobile engine oils don't have as much zinc becasue zinc has been found to harm catalytic convertors. In all my experience, with many vehicles, and many, many of thousands of miles, I have never lost a convetor due to any contamination of oils etc. If anything, as a result of tighter clearences in my engine as milage accumilates, I have probably polluted less as I don't have to ever add any oil between oil changes, and I run longer oil change intervals too as I am more confident that the oil will last.

I was told long time ago, by an fellow tech (I would quailfy him as a master mechanic in my opinion, 35+ years experience at the time) that if you ever want to know what kind of oil is really good out there, ask a fleet manager what they use, e.g. taxi company, etc.

['97ventureowner]

First off, I want to set the record straight by saying I understand that you were merely stating what you use in your vehicles and not telling others what to use.I was just questioning additive usage in general hoping to get the word out to other members who may read these posts thinking that additives are the "cure all" to their problems when in many cases it is not. I used to use additives all the time thinking I was doing my engines good, when in actuality it was either doing very little or nothing at all. When I first started in the Automotive Industry, I worked in some auto parts stores and parts departments. Too many times I saw people buying different additives for different problems with their cars that something else could solve their problem, such as a tuneup, fluid change, or filter change among others. There are "additives" on the market that are little more than snake oil and do very little in the way to help "cure" any issue. It's a means for some corporations to make money on unsuspecting car owners. If people just took care of their vehicles better and did the maintenance at the required times, the need for "additives" would be significantly reduced. I have even gone out on a limb before by saying that if more people started with synthetic oil for their vehicles, we could use less oil overall because of the extended change intervals, and there would be less oil to dispose of or recycle, or handle by other means. I was hoping by my post to let people know that additives aren't the solution all the time to the problem. I see a lot of posts on this site asking about additives when there might be a better alternative fix to the issue.
I know this thread has gone a little off topic , but maybe we can get it back to the question at hand.

Originally Posted by blazes9395

I was told long time ago, by an fellow tech (I would quailfy him as a master mechanic in my opinion, 35+ years experience at the time) that if you ever want to know what kind of oil is really good out there, ask a fleet manager what they use, e.g. taxi company, etc.

That's a good comment, but I wish it were true in my area. There are some fleet managers who really don't care about the oil they use in their fleets, and buy it by price and availability. There was one company I remember about 10 years ago where the fleet manager was like that. He oversaw about 12 to 15 delivery vehicles, and was "cheap". He would call around to get the lowest price possible , no matter what the viscosity was. One time they used 10W30, the next time it might be 5W30, and he even tried re-refined oil.

[mike2004tct]

Originally Posted by blazes9395

I was told long time ago, by an fellow tech (I would quailfy him as a master mechanic in my opinion, 35+ years experience at the time) that if you ever want to know what kind of oil is really good out there, ask a fleet manager what they use, e.g. taxi company, etc.

I worked for the City Transportation Co. (bus Company).

They used Bulk Delivery 30 weight oil in the diesel buses. Purchased it 2000 gallons at a time.

[BlazerBoyLT98]

I was thinking of filling my crank case with engine restore and lucas oil and just to see what happens! Kidding

[blazee]

lol @ Uranus.


Thanks for the input guys. I've been looking around bitog, too. Looks like M1 is still a good oil. I've heard that they recently came out with a high mileage oil that is stacked with a strong additive package, so I'll probably give that a shot, I just don't like the idea of knowing that they have increased their profits, at a cost to the quality of the product that they sell to their customers. I also think it's pretty damn hypocritical considering that they were outraged that other companies were doing the same thing.



BTW just for the record, blazes9395 is a respected member of this forum and has shown countless times that he has advanced knowledge of all things automotive, including engine lubricants. He is completely capable of deciding how much and what kinds of additives are safe to use.