oil types

[EdP]

Project Farm did a somewhat formal analysis on all the brands of synthetic oil. Amsoil won and Pensoil got second. Penzoil is usually much cheaper than Amsoil. I personally use Amsoil Signature in my 15 Genesis V8. The manual states for the 15 that Quakers State is the recommended oil. The link to the analysis:

Interesting to see some of the differences in the packages. Leaves me with some questions. Is added wear additives better than more detergents? Short trip versus long trip versus cold climate versus warm climate. Should that be a factor in deciding what is best for me?

I'd guess that any synthetic would give adequate protection though.

 

[Kraig Wilkinson]

In the day my friend's shop had analysis done out of town - can't remember by whom. Typical oil analysis. Today I use Blackstone. They do full analysis of particulate matter as well as oil properties.

Attached is one I did with my Expedition at 15,000 miles. Note all oil properties still in spec at 15K miles. The filter had not been changed either.

Good deal. I think I am going to use them guys. Thanks for the good info! Inmanlanier

 

[jshen]

That's good oil, and it meets the ACEA A5 spec.

Pennzol Ultra Platinum is the only oil I have found with ACEA 5..actually on the container. Walmart advertises Castrol 3-30 EDGE Extended Performance...but when order arrived...It was labeled ACEA A1/B1....I don't know if it was intentional misinformation but I sure let them know about it. I still don't know what brand to use...Local dealer pissed as I did not buy from him..

 

[inmanlanier]

I'd guess that any synthetic would give adequate protection though.

YUP - they all far exceed what 99.9% of the drivers will put their car through.

 

[Vaidhy]

Let me start by saying I have not done any independent testing or research and nor do I track my car. So you can decide if you want to continue reading or not. I have been reading a lot about engine oils and BITOG is a very good source. There are also multiple threads here discussing oils and this is what I have gathered by going thru those articles.

1. Royal Purple or any race oriented oil is great to use but you likely won't see the difference over a good synthetic oil if you are only driving on public roads. So if you have the money to pay a premium and need the peace of mind of getting the best possible oil, go for it. I haven't seen people noticing adverse effects like squeals made by race oriented brake pads so at best you get some non-noticeable benefits and at worst its going to perform like a normal full synthetic.

2. Most name brand conventional oils have improved so much that the difference between them and full synthetic variants has reduced from say 20 years ago and there are synthetic blends now if you don't want to pay a premium for full synthetic. However, I have been using High Mileage Full Synthetic from Mobil-1 with good results and planning to switch to Pennzoil Full Synthetic only because my car just hit 90k miles and its a decade old. I like to get the added protection of full synthetic oils.

3. Quaker State and Pennzoil are owned by Royal Dutch Shell so as long as the specs mentioned on the can and weights are the same, it does not matter which one you get.

4. The cheapest way to get good full synthetic oil is use the yearly rebates put out by manufacturers and buy oil from Walmart. I don't change my own oil but my mechanic charges $20 for oil change and I get oil for about $22-$25 with a $10-$12 rebate so I usually get a full synthetic oil change for under $35.

5. Follow the oil change interval mentioned in the manual based on your driving conditions. I drive less than 5 miles one way in most of my commute so even though I sometimes buy 15k mile rated oils, I change them once every 6 months or 5000 miles - not because the oil would degrade but it would still get dirty. Now I don't have any experimental proof to back that up, I do it because I can afford $70 oil change a year and it gives me peace of mind.

 

[G-139773]

I find it rather amusing that on day one when I picked up my car I noticed that there was a Genesis prefers Quaker State sticker in my engine bay. I didn't pay much attention to it at the time but when I started looking for oils from Quaker State that match the standards absolutely NONE of Quaker States oil held that ACEA A5/B6!!!! So what do you do? I will probably stick with the Quaker State extended mileage 5w 30 good for 20000 miles. This is the oil that Walmart her claims to have the ACEA A5/B5. One caveat here as a lawyer even though an old one I will be contacting Genesis Monday morning and have a definitive answer from them and I suspect in writing as to this issue. If anyone wants it oh, I will post it here.

 

[inmanlanier]

Many people confuse colored oil with 'dirty'. Alternatively stated, dirt particles small enough do no harm whatsoever. Oil color is not a measure of oil condition, but like many things with oil (including the 1950s steadfast belief you have to change every 3000 miles), there is not necessarily a basis for concern. Yes, the longer you drive on oil (like my 15K oil), the more discolored it gets. This is not necessarily a problem.

The filter is designed to filter out the particulate matter that is of size to be of concern. Particulate matter smaller than the filter element will still be suspended in the oil and this is not an issue. It will discolor the oil. When my bud had done the research and showed me how filters other than the size of a quarter are not even coming close to being at capacity at 15K miles, I was convinced.

It's hard to break the paradigms we grow up with. Being an engineer, science and data drive most of my important decisions. The most important thing is that you're happy with what you do for whatever reason. With oils today, there is never going to be an issue - they will work better than the vast majority will ever challenge them. There is, however, one exception...

I retired from the Nuclear Power industry. By the time I retired the research institute we all payed into and used for good reason had concluded that 30% of our maintenance needs were, in fact, maintenance induced. In other words, when things were worked on, the maintenance techs caused issues 30% of the time that needed rework. As a case in point, I inherited a car my parents had religiously changed the oil in. One day my wife called me to come get her - the oil plug fell out. As it turned out, the Firestone place my folks went to had stripped it beyond repair and used one of those crappy over sized plugs that ... well... failed and fell out. Firestone never told my folks. Ultimately this cost me a short block. So keep in mind the more often you pay someone to do that which you might not really yet need done - the higher the chance you'll see a maintenance induced failure.

 

[Vaidhy]

It's hard to break the paradigms we grow up with. Being an engineer, science and data drive most of my important decisions. The most important thing is that you're happy with what you do for whatever reason. With oils today, there is never going to be an issue - they will work better than the vast majority will ever challenge them.

Yep, being a researcher I too strive to rely on multiple studies and research data to guide my choices when I cannot or have not tested something myself.

So keep in mind the more often you pay someone to do that which you might not really yet need done - the higher the chance you'll see a maintenance induced failure.

Completely agree! Any time we try to maintain something we also introduce chances for things to get broken. <Insert old adage of if not broken, don't fix> As I mentioned, I settled on this arbitrary twice a year oil-change based on affordability and as a balance of risk, benefit and peace of mind.

 

[jshen]

After doing a little research- it seems the Euro spec ACEA A5/B5 were changed pretty recently and none of the Castrol holds that rating. Pennsoil Ultra Platinum and Mobil One were the only two I've found. Walmart charged about $24 for the Pennsoil and $38 for the Mobil One.

 

[TinsleyC]

Pennzoil Platinum along with Ultra Platinum, also meets ACEA A5 - and may save a few bucks.

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