my dad, cheap skate that he is, has taken a fancy to advances featured dino oil. before i dump the stuff in his car, i would like to know whos makes it for them at present. their filters also. is it the same as that super tech stuff? any links would be helpful as well. thanx

 

The el'cheapo oil at Advance Auto is made by Havoline, says so right on the bottle in little bitty print. I don't know about their filters though. I'd stay with Motorcraft on that.

 

Oils have gone through DRASTIC improvement in recent years. As long as the oil is the correct weight and has an S-J or so classification, it will serve you well.

Good luck,
Doc

 

Agreed. Even cheap stuff in 2005 is waaaay better than the best stuff available in 1995.

 

Advance's house brand Oil; says Compare to Havoline in small print with an asterisk. On back of bottle it says at *-Not manufactured or distributed by Chevron, the registered owner of the trademark, Havoline. So who makes it is still unknown. Murray's Auto Parts has oil for $0.88/quart and it definitely says manufactured by CITGO.

 

Here is a link to the API site. You need to click on the second one from the top to view who the license holder is "Brand Names belonging to engine oil Licensees". Might want to make this a favorite on your list as it is not necessarily available to the general public. Might also want to check out the license holder for Tech 2000, Mobil One, Pepboys Proline, and some of the others. This is a list of the license holder for a specific product and sometimes it is location specific so expect to see multi-hits for the same product like Rotella, Havoline, etc.
http://eolcs.api.org/

Might also want to view the rest of the site while you have access. Folks on modem, the above second link is around a 2 minute download but worth the wait if you have the interest.

 

I looked at a bottle this past week just to make sure it was made by Havoline, but it says it is not specificaly. I was incorrect, my bad.

 

Judging by the symbol on the bottle of the container I think it is packaged at least by Coastal Oil. It Has the small c inside the large C on the bottom of the ones I have looked at. Much like Wal Mart's oil has the WPP on the bottom of the packaging which stands for Warren Packaging.

 

Yes the reference to Havoline is misleading and maybe intentional. Coastal was the name I was trying to remember; the older bottles (6 months ago) use to say that if I remember right, but I could have this crossed up with AZ

 

I have been using Advances Dino oil in my 02 Ford and 00 Chevy since new with ZERO problems. Before that I ran my Pontiac with it to 189,000 miles before selling it. Still ran great. Before that, my old 85 Blazer ran with it for many k miles and my Dad, how owned it first changed the oil at the "quickie" places every 5k or so. I sold it at 239,000 miles 4 years ago. I saw it last week parked at Blockbuster - I wonder how many miles it has on it now?

It is good oil IMHO.

 

It's made by Coastal/Warren Unilube.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 31, 2003

Contact: Steve Benjamin, Program Manager
NCDA&CS Motor Fuel Inspection
(919) 733-3246


Standards Division orders recall of motor oil purchased at AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts Stores
RALEIGH - The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services issued a stop sale order on Coastal 5W30 and Advance Auto 5W30 engine oils, sold at AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts stores statewide, after the motor oils did not pass the Society of Automotive Engineers specification for cold cranking. The cold cranking test, performed at the Standards Division Motor Fuels Laboratory, is an indication of how well oil lubricates an engine during cold starts.

Both brands of oil are manufactured by Coastal Unilube of West Memphis, Ark. AutoZone stores carry the Coastal Unilube 5W30 brand and Advance Auto Parts stores carry the Advance Auto 5W30 product.

http://www.ncagr.com/paffairs/release/2003/12-03oilrecall.htm

NOTE:
DUNN, NC — Warren Oil, which makes and markets lubricants, bought West Memphis, Ark.-based competitor Coastal Unilube for $34 million from Houston-based natural-gas supplier El Paso. Coastal had 2003 revenue of about $215 million, which will boost Warren’s sales to more than $300 million. Warren CEO Irvin Warren says Coastal’s 199 employees will be added to Warren’s 205.