Which type of engine oil is best?

[oldtamiyaphile]

I think that's only possible with the more relaxed tolerances of old engines.

[user removed]

SAE does destructive testing meaning they put the oil in a standard "test" engine and run that engine until it disintegrates. How long that takes determines the grade given to the oil.

The grades and testing have become more and more stringent over the last 60 years.

I used to do the 3 in 10 changes until I retired from working on cars.

On the Sentra.

I use Mobil 1 advanced for high mileage engines, instead of following any specific change interval, I change it when it gets half a quart low, which seems to be working out to around 6-7500 miles based on current observations.

On my bikes.

They are all air cooled, I use Castrol synthetic. 2 quarts does the GZ250 and the 65 Honda 50. I have not had the GS500E on the road for over a year and the last change on that I used dino oil for the 1200 miles I rode that bike.

Synthetic is not better as far as efficiency, but in my opinion is better for longer change intervals in cars. I do run the Sentra through two changes on the same filter, which is supposed to be good for 15k miles anyway.

On air cooled bikes, synthetic gives you a better margin since they operate at higher temperatures that liquid cooled engines. I don't stretch out change intervals on bikes beyond manufacturers recommendations but do go two changes on filters, if equipped.

For $50 (always on sale) I get 10 quarts for the Sentra, which does 3 changes. I think the extra life filter is about 8 bucks, so that works out to $4 for the filter and $16.66 for the oil per change on the Sentra ($20.66 total).

reagrds
mech

[Fat Charlie]

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

It took 40 miles for the engine to lock up.

On ancient tech oil

On the residue that was left

Originally Posted by oldtamiyaphile

I think that's only possible with the more relaxed tolerances of old engines.

Back in the Cash for Clunkers days we had to drain the oil, pour in some soduim silicate and let it run until it didn't. A Ford van won the rodeo at our store.

[user removed]

Originally Posted by Fat Charlie

Back in the Cash for Clunkers days we had to drain the oil, pour in some soduim silicate and let it run until it didn't. A Ford van won the rodeo at our store.

Ah, cash for clunkers, another "pay people to make bad choices" politicians dream for a better society .

regards
mech

[Fat Charlie]

It was highly amusing- a bit of bad public policy that benefited me a bit.

I also offered my boss the $4500 that Washington was offering for the old guzzlers- for his 03 Z06. He said no.

[darcane]

Originally Posted by SilverCrown9701

I've been using Castrol GTX 5w-30 pretty much the entire span of ownership.

I have been curious about Mobil-1 oil...especially a specific type titled "Advanced Fuel Economy".


Has anyone tried this and seen results? Is this a good line of engine oil? What type and/or brands do you recommend and why?


Thanks!

Happy Hypermiling!

Buy any oil that has an API SJ, SL, SM, or SN rating (look for the "donut" on the back of the package), really any should be fine. Conventional oil if you want 3000 mile OCI (Oil Change intervals), full synthetic for 5000-8000 mile OCIs.

I typically use Walmart SuperTech full synthetic and ~6000 mile OCIs. But, if I can find a cheaper full synthetic, I'll use that instead. Never had any oil related problems.

[user removed]

Originally Posted by Fat Charlie

It was highly amusing- a bit of bad public policy that benefited me a bit.

I also offered my boss the $4500 that Washington was offering for the old guzzlers- for his 03 Z06. He said no.

Did he keep the Z06 or scrap it?

regards
mech

[Fat Charlie]

Sold it for 17 or 18, put that down on a new toy.

[ME_Andy]

I was just reading this guy's oil blog. It's pretty interesting. He ranks AMSOIL SS 0w30 at #12, Mobil1 5W30 at #10. This is all based on film strength. 5W30 AC Delco is way down at #90 (this is the free stuff that GM puts in my Cruze). I will be upgrading to Mobil1 5W-30 for my next oil change, and now we know why so many manufacturers recommend and test most heavily with Mobil1.

https://540ratblog.wordpress.com/201...-test-ranking/

It was interesting to see some conventional oils place so highly. The other oil that I was considering, Castrol Magnatec, didn't do so hot (#100). Granted, this test doesn't really capture its claim to fame, but I still probably won't use it. Royal Purple generally did poorly.

[ME_Andy]

Originally Posted by Fat Charlie

Back in the Cash for Clunkers days we had to drain the oil, pour in some soduim silicate and let it run until it didn't. A Ford van won the rodeo at our store.

I'm curious: does winning mean it lasted the longest? That probably means it had the most torque, I guess.

I'm here on Friday night reading this 5W30 comparison... because that's what engineers do on Friday nights, I guess. Who knows if the AMSOIL testing is even legit? It sounds reasonable but there's obviously a little slant towards AMSOIL in the verbage. At least they publish something.
https://www.amsoil.com/lit/g3115.pdf

Pennzoil Ultra did well on every test, and "Blue Angel" recommends it highly (he stops by ecomodder every once in awhile). It's a couple bucks more per jug, though.

Not that I care too much. Just bought some Castrol Edge full synthetic because it was convenient. $25 for 5 quarts, and I'm sure it will be fine.

I have seen a UOA from a guy who ran his turbocharged Cruze for 15k miles on AMSOIL. It was just barely still good. I would definitely never push it to 25k like they recommend.

Anyway, I am excited to get my hands dirty on a Cruze oil change soon. Hopefully that plus warm weather can bring my average mpg back up. It has been dropping with traffic and Uber.