A nicely done recipe chart of some popular 5w-30 motor oils. Check on how yours measures up, compared to other popular brands.
Petroleum Quality Intitute of America

 

There is a good discussion on this site over at BITOG.

 

Bump:

Chevron SN/GF-5 tested with a bunch of no name lubes, with maybe the exception of Arco, anyway the Chevron SN recipe looks pretty danged good!!!!
Petroleum Quality Intitute of America

 

Chevron Supreme is what I normally use to service my modern cars and trucks.

 

I have enjoyed and used CHEVRON Supreme motor oil, since Ronald Reagan was in his first term. I also feel their ATF is among the best as well, all I have used in my tranmissions since the 80s. With hot summers in the Sacramento (California) Valley, never a transmission problem using Chevron's ATF.

 

Yup, I'm using Chevrons ATF+4 recipe in the wifes 2000 Neon tranny, it's stopped the slight torque converter shudder in reverse, that it had developed with the Factory fluid in it with only 25-30K miles on that fluid.

Am running 5w30 Chevron Havoline SN recipe motor oil in all of the vehicles & all 4 are more quiet than they were on the SM recipe. The Neon was changed over to Havoline from Mobil Clean, or Clean 5000 bulk 5W30, that the Dealer had been using & it no longer has the start up rattle/knock it's always had. Also changed the Neon over to a larger FL-400S Motorcraft oil filter at the same time, so that may be a factor in helping cure the start up rattle too.

About time to flush the Ranger 5R55E tranny & it's likely to get the Chevron Mercon-V licensed Multi-Vehicle recipe fluid this time, as it too has developed an intermittent slight torque converter shudder on take off, with the new Motorcraft multi-vehicle Mercon-V recipe & it only had 20k on that fluid when the shudder began.

I've used Texaco's Havoline in 10W-30, or 5W-30 for more than 50 years, in a lot of different engines, with good results & always had clean top & bottom end engines, with bi-anual 3-5 K OCI's & filter changes.

Chevron products didn't make a showing in this area until the early 90's, but a good rep preceeded their arrival, too bad they decided to stop marketing their gasoline in this area of the country.

So my expierence has been that Texaco/Chevron had always maintained & put out a quality product at a reasonable price. Of course Texaco as a company is now history, but Chevron is still around, if you can find it in the stores!!!!

Too danged bad they've sort of evaporated away in this area!!!! Shell, EXXON, BP & Citgo have been putting the hurt on them for the past 10-15 years, so I guess they just couldn't stand the marketing competiton & folded!!!!

 

Good post Paw Paw. Here, CHEVRON is still a viable player, and their products are readily available. They even have a full synthetic oil, in a gold container at around $5.oo - $5.50 a quart. I may try some soon, as it has all the certification of Mobil 1, Valvoline, full synthetics, with a much cheaper price.
Meanwhile, I picked up a 2 cases and 7 quarts (all they had) of MOBIL Clean 7500 Semi-synthetic 5w30 at our local Dollar Tree. Discontinued now from Mobil, API Service SM - CF Energy Concerving for $.98 cents a quart. I would of bought more if they had it, will keep a look out at other locations around town.
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BUMP:

Well here comes MOM, guess PQIA with it's reports has finally blasted API off dead center to do something better about policing licensed product quality, from source to end user. At API, Motor Oil Really Matters

 

Now that more oil changes are performed at a service facility from bulk oil tanks than at home from bottles or jugs, this is very important. What is really in that bulk oil dispenser?

Another thread here was complaining that a Ford dealer did not use Motorcraft oil. I doubt if the franchise agreement requires that the service department use all Motorcrraft oils. You cant be sure what any place uses just because you see an oil company logo outside. Shell is going around and trying to enforce agreements that Pennzoil is in the tanks if Pennzoil is on the sign.

 

I see they even tested the brands that are somewhat local to my area, Wolf's Head and Warren. I never used either brand in anything other than the lawnmower or snowblower though. I never really saw or heard of tests on either before.

 

Here is a newly added PQIA search engine, for side by side comparisons of tested oils.
http://184.168.119.170/

Looks like there is now a noticeable difference between Chevron Supreme (SN) 5W-30 & Havoline (SM) 5w-30. I've seen recent VOA's of (SN) Havoline, that show it no longer has Moly in it's ad pack & it used to be loaded with moly, so wonder if they've replaced it with organics, that won't show on a VOA like the metalic ad pack ingredients do?????

 

Reading between the lines in this article about GP-3 base oils Noack value, in formulating finished lubes with various blend stocks from various producers & we find yet another reason to pay attention to the base oils our blenders are using to make our finished lubes & it's finished "Noack" value, as it along with additive package will play a large part in engine deposit loading/sludge/gum/varnish, over time.
ATIEL Eases Group III Interchange

 

http://pqiamerica.com/March2013PCMO/...sallfinal.html More to come, so they say & that sure will be interesting. The Pennzoil Ultra looks strong with a nice ad pack & has the lowest NOACK % evaporation of the bunch, impressive!!!!

 

Haven't looked at the site in the last 4-6 months. It seems they are really making it a mission to go after false/bad/mislabeled/misleading oils now. Pays to stay with a well known name brand if you don't know anything about oil and how to read labels.

 

Shell's new GTL plant in Qatar is producing Group III+ base oil for the Ultra line of motor oils. Shell claims that they are using it excessively and not selling on the open market. While Group III is not "real synthetic" by some folks definition, this is not made from distilled crude, but synthesized from natural gas. Waxes and base oils are a byproduct of diesel/jet production.

Looking down further on the website, the tests of ATF show a surprise player in the US market, the Russian oil company Lukoil. Reading the label, it looks like Getty sold its retail marketing division.