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In my younger days I was very particular about my engine oil and my choice was Castrol GTX. I never gave using generic oil a moment's thought. The other day I was at Auto zone and noticed that name brand 5-qt jugs are going for over$25, and that is for non-synthetic. Needless to say I grabbed the store brand. As much as people are picky about their engine oil, I have never seen a study that using Pennzoil prolonged engine life over other brands. BTW, I can get an oil and filter change for $19.99 all day long. The economics of DIY oil change has changed a lot.
As long as it meets API standards, there's little difference between brands.
I love oil threads on forums. So much incorrect info always comes out LOL
The oil change interval on one of my cars is 15k. I change it every 10k, and that is actually what the dealership recommends doing also. Eventually, the manufacturer put out a TSB revising the 15k to 10k.
So, what the manufacturer says isn't always the end all, be all for taking care of your engine either.
Here is a fact to consider. Reading the posts, it is clear that many people can use many different kinds of oil in many different kinds of car that have different types of engines. So far, many can claim the brand they use works and they attribute the lack of engine problems to those motor oils.
Therefore, it really doesn't matter what brand of oil you use, synthetic or conventional or blended because the only common denominator is regularly changing the oil. It follows then that according to what has been posted here:
The brand doesn't matter
Synthetic or conventional doesn't matter, Pennzoil is the same as Quaker is the same as store brand is the same as Castrol GTX and on and on.
Changing the oil regularly DOES MATTER.
So from this, buy whatever you like, it doesn't matter, just change the oil regularly.
This is the policy I have always used. Whether mileage or time between changes, regular schedule has been my practice. I used to change myself just like my dad and his dad. However, it makes more sense for me to go to my trusted mechanic who charges a fair price and gives AAA discount.
What about the cost of DIY vs. one done at a garage? Way back I always changed the oil myself but nowadays it actually costs more to do it myself or at best breaks even and then you are stuck with used oil.
It costs me about $31 to change the oil in my V6 Honda with Mobil1 and a Purolator PureOne filter. Every Walmart takes old oil for recycling. It is not difficult at all.
I can change the oil in 45 minutes or so. If I take my car to a garage from home, it takes more time total.
I use Wal Mart's store brand oil in all my 70s' cars and change every 7500 miles like they called for when new. No problems yet. Never have had a cam go flat, even after the zinc was greatly reduced. After several thousand miles the cam and lifters are pretty well mated. I also buy my oil filters at garage sales. Unused of course. So I can do a oil change for around $13.
When Walmart's oil changes were $18 I let them do it. But they finally wised up and now charge what other shops do, around $30. So I'm back to doing my own.
As for the oil I do find it interesting that there are so many conflicting opinions. I always believes that Walmart's house brand is the same base oil but did not have the same additives as the name brand so it was not as good. I have one older car that leaks so I keep this brand in the trunk. But for regular changes I use Quaker State. 15,000 miles? Not a chance.
Stories like this make me chuckle. Your single example doesn't prove a thing. If you had two Suzukis, one with your favorite oil, the other with a cheap oil, then you would have something a bit closer to a scientifically relevant report.
Walmart's Supertech full synthetic is well respected by the oil nerds at Bob is the Oil Guy. It is also about $20 for 5 quarts.
Do you think Amsoil and Royal Purple are worth their price since you get what you pay for?
Glad I could give ya a chuckle, we need more laughter in this crazy world
I'm sure the nerds at Bob is the Oil guy are the most reputable source for promoting Walmart oil.
I use Wal Mart's store brand oil in all my 70s' cars and change every 7500 miles like they called for when new. No problems yet. Never have had a cam go flat, even after the zinc was greatly reduced. After several thousand miles the cam and lifters are pretty well mated. I also buy my oil filters at garage sales. Unused of course. So I can do a oil change for around $13.
I agree. For the past 30 years, I have been driving cars that I bought with over 100K already on the odometer, with unknown prior servicing or maintenance. I drove them until I could no longer afford to keep them reliable or useful. Probably more than a dozen cars, and not a single engine failure in the lot -- every one of them, the engine was still good, the car's demise was due to failures unrelated to any internal engine damage or failure.
Based on my admittedly limited experience, it is not much of an exaggeration to say that an engine is highly likely to outlast the rest of a car as long as the dipstick comes up with something oily above the add mark. I would bet that at least 3/4 of the cars that go into crushers still have perfectly useful engines in them. But not one with power locks and windows still working.
Glad I could give ya a chuckle, we need more laughter in this crazy world
I'm sure the nerds at Bob is the Oil guy are the most reputable source for promoting Walmart oil.
BITOG people are oil fanatics (I am not one of them). They aren't champions of Walmart Supertech synthetic. They just happened to have used it and submitted it to oil analysis. Which you haven't done. You base your post on a single car.
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