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Motor Oil?

25K views 39 replies 17 participants last post by  lo bux racer 
#1 ·
Just wanting to know what everything thinks about different brands of motor oil. Some people swear by Pennzoil, others by Valveline, etc...What do yall use and why?

I just put pennzoil in mine today and some people say it causes sludge. I was also wondering what yall thought about that? Does any oil cause sludge and can you explain why?
 
#2 ·
You'd be way better off asking these questions at http://www.bobistheoilguy.com. Oil is almost like religion. Everyone has their beliefs. Few actually have any data to back up their claims.
 
#4 ·
In general, a lot of us on here use Royal Purple or Amsoil. Dont ask an Amsoil dealer what they think, because relating oil to a religion, they are the fanatical muslim terrorists of the group. Hell, they will even make up crap about other oil.. even citing bs on Amsoil's site at times. Great oil, the most over the top fanatical dealers I have ever met. I personally use RP in my cars.

But honestly, from my experience and seeing what my dad has seen at his shop for years and years and years, most decent oils (whether dino or synthetic) have proven just fine for very long engine lifes as long as the oil is changed like it should be, checked and kept full regularly and the rest of the car is maintained well.

I will say though, out of the potential (I say potential because it is hard to tell for sure sometimes due to the types of failures) oil issues I know of, more of them are from Penzoil (when talking about the major brands). But again, that is not solid data or proof.. just loose correlation.

I use synthetics, and by that I mean group IV or V, which out of the common brands I believe leaves it to RP and Amsoil these days. Even Mobile 1 (which is decent oil, but made of group III base stock) is only able to say they are full synth due to some very loose interpretations of the term.


Curious to see how G Oil turns out. I know that some race teams use it and that you can buy it in standard weights for street vehicles. Interested to see how it performs long term. They supposedly even have something you can mix it with when you dispose of it that effectively turns it into "soil" ... fully biodegradable. Interesting at least. Their race team just won the Long Beach Grand Prix this year too :p
 
#5 ·
QUOTE (WannaBeBoosted @ Apr 28 2010, 07:49 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=548317
QUOTE (lo bux racer @ Apr 28 2010, 06:42 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=548312
Few actually have any data to back up their claims.[/b]
Thats what I've found about most people on this subject...
[/b][/quote]

Here's what I know for sure about Mobil 1 in my IS-F:



Here's what I know for sure about Mobil 1 in my IS350:



I run Red Line in my Supra and have been using Red Line since 1990 in a number of vehicles. What engi says about Amsoil dealers is right on the money. It's good oil, but man, they're worse than Amway. They also sell on an MLM scheme.
 
#6 ·
ENEOS has gotten a lot of popularity in the past few years. I haven't really used it myself.. but something to look into on top of the other brands mentioned.

So far Mobil-1 and Redline are the ones I use.
and while we're on the discussion.. I use Toyota oil filters.
 
#8 ·
I just recently changed the oil in my car and used Castrol Syntec only because that is what has been ran in it since it was new, Mobil 1 filter. I have an 08 metallic silver with 47k miles on it. I was wondering if anybody on here as ran zMax through theirs yet. We use it in our street rods and muscle cars.(66 fastback 289, 34 Chevy 3 window coupe 350) it works great in those and was thinking about running it through my tC.
 
#11 ·
See what? That you wasted your money on another useless oil additive?

Sorry, but if there was anything to their story, all the major oil companies would be clamoring to include it in their oil. They're not. This should tell you a LOT about the value of it.

I wouldn't run it in my dog's lawnmower.
 
#12 ·
Well lets see claims to clean engine and better mileage. Before I added it I was getting between 27.5 and 28 mpg. I drive 70 miles a day mostly interstate. Ran two takes through it to get it ran through and got 31 mpg. Now this last tank included two races and the normal 70-75 mph all the way to Columbus. It may have been a waste of money but with gas prices the way they are I enjoy the 3 mpg gain.
 
#13 ·
Really, you ought to try Slick 50. It does the same thing. Then it eventually clogs the oil passages, the engine starves for oil and burns up. Enjoy your mileage boost - it won't last long.
 
#14 ·
+1 for redline oil as well. Everyone has their beliefs but we are definitely happy with Redline in our cars and motorcycles.

Since somebody mentioned oil additives, we personally wouldn't run any of those either. There is ONE product however that actually surprised us. BG44k, give that a look.
 
#19 ·
Bg44k is a fuel system cleaner, and as far as many are concerned is the only one worth anything. It is also what a lot of dealers and shops use. Its spendy and you have to find a shop that sells it from bg's site, but it works and works well. Other offthe shelf fuel system cleaners are junk with maybe an exception for seafoam for removing heavy carbon buildup.

I know shops that will not honor their engine and tranny build warranties if you put additives in the lubricants, including lucas products. Put oil in your oil, put fuel in your fuel other than bg44k every 50k or so. Leave the rest of that crap on the shelf.
 
#20 ·
I'm just curious as to what Engine oil you use? I was going to use Mobil 1..then found out Royal Purple was better.. I was going to use that, but then i came across these two videos.
YouTube - ‪Top Speed Tests Royal Purple vs. Motul 8100‬‏
YouTube - ‪Mobil 1 vs. Motul 300V '95 Camaro LT1‬‏

probably gonna use motul....
You need to ask yourself a hard question - WHY does this oil show more power on an intertial dyno. Odds are really good it's just a little bit lighter than the other oil because lighter oils make more power. However, lighter oils do not protect as well.

If you're a NASCAR team, you don't really care as long as the engine lasts the prescribed period. If you OWN your car and want to drive it for a long period of time without faults or failures, you'd be very wise to do a used oil analysis and determine if the oil is indeed protecting the engine AS WELL AS making good power. I suspect you'll see higher wear rates with MOTUL, and this will show up in the iron content of your used oil. Yes, more power, but no free lunch.

The other thing to consider - it's Sunday evening and you check your oil. It's low enough to need a quart, but you're 1000 miles from home where your can of MOTUL is. What do you do? If you're running Mobil 1 or Royal Purple, you go to Wal-Mart and get some oil. If you're running MOTUL, you're going to be mixing it with something else to get you home.

I run Red Line in my Supra and have run Red Line for a very long time. I was 1800 miles from home and needed to add a quart. I ended up pouring in a quart of Mobil 1 because adding something to get the oil level on the stick was more important than brand (and Mobil confirmed there would not be compatibility problems with Red Line).

It would be really nice if it were as simple as "which one makes the most power" and if you are a racing team with a budget for rebuilding engines, this probably is one of the important criteria. If you're not, you need to consider the long term effects based on how long you intend to keep the car.
 
#23 ·
I see myself using Mobil 1 or Royal Purple in the future. These guys really know their ishh:D
 
#24 ·
I just changed my oil today. This is the second time, 5,000 miles after I changed it and put in Royal Purple.
Going based on how the oil looked, I could of gone quite a bit further than the 5,000 miles that I did.
I might spend a couple dollars more per oil change than something else, but it makes me feel like I'm doing something special, and that's enough for me.

I'll probably look into sending some from my next oil change, to get analyzed, but it looked about as clean as I've ever seen oil come out of something.
 
#25 ·
Good to hear paul. I am planning to go royal.purple on my next oil change.
What filter did u use?
 
#27 ·
yeah. let us know how the filter worked. i am currently running some rare earth magnets strapped on my filter. im going to crack it open after i am done and see if it gathers any metallic particles.
 
#31 ·
So my buddy been using 10w30 on his 2007 tC Full Synthetic, and he said that he notice the engine runs smoother then before! he say he was recommended by a track person. would 10w30 put alot of tress in our engine movements? and shorten the engine life? it's a big jump from 5w20 to 10w30, if it was 5w30 I would give it a try. what you guys think?

I've been runing Mobile 1 Full Synt with OEM Filter. and to compare to my other 4 hondas using regular oil. my tC oil came out super dark at 3.5k compare to a honda with reg oil going at 4-5k, and I notice tC engine bay are super hot, unable to touch the CAI Pipe, like honda got much cooler engine bay... this is the two part I hates about scion!!!
 
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