" Most (not all) of the big brand names that you see on the shelf just buy the stuff from lubrizol and do a cake mix thing to blend up their product, the bulk of the actual science goes on at lubrizol. "


This may be true but the cake mix varies between oil blending companies just as no two people will make a cake exactly the same.

 

Sorry but I can't agree. If that were true you could get a VOA done on 5 or 6 randomly selected brands of 10w30 motor oil and you would get identical results from the analsys. But you won't, they all will be different, some significantly different.

I don't follow the reasoning behind this Lubrizol argument either. The quote posted states Lubrizol manufactures the bulk base chemicals used by "most" (not all) oil companies in the additive packages for engine oils. They are blended with base stocks from different refineries (the quote states "few" but no number of refineries is given).

This doesn't prove all engine oil is the same quality. This is just a claim that there are very few companies manufacturing the base chemicals. If Ford, Chevy and Dodge all buy bulk steel, aluminum and plastic from the same suppliers does that mean all trucks are the same except for the emblem on the grille? Nope.

 

I'm just glad to see that all that money oil companies spend on marketing is not going to waste.

OK. Just for the sake of argument, let's assume that there are demonstrable differences between oils, even brand name oils.

Which one do you pick? Some are more expensive then others (let's just stick with dino for now). Does that make them better?

Do you run a VOA? OK. That tells you something about chemistry, but it does not tell you anything about how one oil performs against another. One's got more ZDDP. Another has more moly. Some use a calcium buffer, some use borate.

The only way that you know for sure is to run a head to head comparison of the oils in identical engines under identical conditions. I am only aware of one such test, and nobody likes it (or wants to believe it).

So, there you go. You know the brand name oils are different. You know that at least one of them is "better" than the others. You know some are more expensive than the others. How do you choose?

Some buy by price. They want the "best" so they buy the more expensive oil out there. Others realize that a high price does not necessarily mean the best oil. But they believe that a low price means a cheap oil. So they go the middle of the road route. A very reasonable approach. Probably getting pretty good stuff, not paying too high a price.

I have taken the "low road" approach (backed by the API standards and by the study that no one likes) and decided that all oils perform essentially the same when changed per manufacturers' recommended intervals. So while $0.25/qt. is not too much to pay, I'm not getting anything for my money, so I won't pay it.

OK. You consider me foolish. My only answer is that I have been running "House Brand" oil in all of my cars (well over 50 at last count) for the last 30+ years, and I've never had any problems. Never had any OEM void my warranty. Never had a problem when returning my leased cars.

So, at this point, my (considerable) experience has been that the "cheap" oils do just fine.

 

Too bad Walmart doesn't make cheap generic trucks too. What would they call it? Wallybuilt, Wallyduty, or SuperWally W-200.

 

Actually, I run Tractor Supply oil in my PSD. It's cheaper that Wally oil, so I guess that makes it cheapo oil too.

Sears sold a car in the 50s. It was called the Allstate.

Probably Chinabuilt.

 

Ya'll let me down, I was waiting for someone to say Silverado, Ram or Titan

 

Guys, you need to drive your trucks ...go somewhere...You have to much time on your hands!
William

 

I think that's probably the most intelligent thing ever said on this forum!

 

I wouldn't just put any oil in my truck, but any major brand is acceptable to me.

My last case of oil came from Advance auto parts. They and others don't run their own refineries, they just have Shell, Texaco, or some other major producer put the store's label on the same shaped and colored bottle of oil they are selling under the famous brand name.

One reason it's likely to be the same stuff is that it costs real money to change over production at a chemical or refining plant. A major oil company isn't going to design an inferior formulation for a private label, and shut down production for a day to purge and refill the piping in a huge refining and bottling plant, bottle a few hundred thousand inferior quarts, then stop, clean everything out, and change back over to their regular formula after the production run. It would cost a lot more to change over than it does to just put the same quality stuff in the store brand bottles. So unless an oil company has enough store brand production to run a dedicated line for it, they are going to run their plant 24/7 producing exactly the same oil, and sell it wherever they can make a profit, including private store labeling.

A few years ago, the Honda Passport and Isuzu Rodeo were made on the same assembly line and were essentially the same vehicle. Same with the Toyota Corolla and Geo Prizm. This was well-known, but the Honda and the Toyota still sold for several thousand more than the same vehicles under the two less-prestigious brands. Go figure. Like others have said, the label has a lot of value for some consumers. Personally, I would rather get the store brand oil and spend the $5 savings on a Big Mac meal. But that's just me, crawling under the truck makes me hungry.

Also, just as an aside, high-octane gas isn't inherently better than regular. That's a myth the gasoline company ads sold our parents. As I understand it, higher octane just means lower volatility. When you buy "premium" gas you are paying extra for gas that is blended so it ignites less quickly. This offers value if you have a pre-ignition (knock) problem that is fixed by the higher octane stuff. Otherwise the premium gas doesn't do much for you except maybe gum up your catalytic converter prematurely. Years ago the premium stuff had cleaning additives that weren't in the regular gas, but I think the regular gas has everything you need these days.

 

If I do that, my oil will get dirty and I'll have to change it.

 

I would like to make a comment or two.I dont know if SuperTech is any better or any worse than the big name brands or auto manufacturer brands.I do know that just because an auto manufacturer puts their blessing on a product doesnt mean that it is the ''Best''.The factory Firestone tires that were on the Explorer were to Fords specs and they were very dangerous.The temp code on them was the minimum of 'C',the lowest grade.Just becuase it says Motorcraft or AC or Mopar or any other 'BIG' name on it doesnt mean it is the best.I am not knocking Motocraft oil but I have to agree with jschira to some extent.A big name doest always mean best.Look at FRAM oil filters,they use very cheap internals and charge a premium price.SuperTech oil filters have better internals and are a cheap price.Just something to thinks about.

 

For an oil to be API Certifed,that is to have the Starburst and or API Donut on them they have to pass testing and be liscensed by API.The API certification is volantary and can be expensive,especially to have a new formulation meet the standards set by API to get the certification.As Evan63 was saying,it is more than likely that many if not all of the 'Generic' oils are actually what many spend the premium price for.As of a few weeks ago and probably still is,Coastal Unilube,which is a huge company,is the maker of Advance Auto Parts house brand of motor oil.The house brand of Advnces oil filters are made by Arvin(Purolator).Does the 'BIG' name really mean what most thinks it does?

 

No you are in trouble.

 

William, you didn't actually read all of this crap did you?

Yea Rusty70f100, your stats show over 1,385 posts in just 14 months!

My final thoughts on oil...It's like beer, find one you like and stick with it.

 

First you wrote this:

Then your wrote this:

Hmmmmmmmmmmm.