Feedback Needed on Choosing an Engine Oil

Check the link that I posted in my previous post on this thread.

 

I have always used Quaker state synthetic blend. Love it never had a problem. Had a truck with 200000 miles on it that ran like new and I ran it hard.

 

awesome. Thanks!

 

Hi John,

Thanks for the insight. This is the kind of feedback I was hoping for. Can you explain what is meant by the "SN" vs "SM" rating?

 

Mobil Oil has yet to explain why Mobil 1 gets high iron content reading when an oil analysis is done.

High iron is a sign of wear someplace in an engine. I've been told by racer types that Mobil 1 is tough on crank shaft bearings but have nothing to prove it.

 

I'm tellin ya...Rotella-t in the blue bottle. Do some research on it...and don't come back and say it is a diesel oil and you can't use it.

 

I hope I'm not beating a dead horse here, but how do you guys feel about M1 extended performance for 15k OCIs? I mean, I see a lot of talk about M1 synthetic, but that isn't the same as their extended performance oil. Has anyone run that oil with 15k mile oil changes without any problems? I just bought my truck used with 41k miles on it, and I'll have a change coming up around 45k miles, so I'm trying to figure out if I'm going to go with the Mobile drive clean 5000 oil every 5k miles or the extended performance every 15k miles. Also, what kind of intervals are you guys running with a full synthetic oil (mobil, pennzoil, etc...)

Thanks!

 

Pennzoil ultra has been out for around 3 years, and I drive pretty close to a thousand miles a week.

 

I wouldn't drive anything for over 10K planned OCI without doing UOA's for safety. It might be safe to do 15K, but that's my limit for now.

Penn Ultra is marketed as a 'cleansing' oil in the US, but in Europe, Shell Helix Ultra (the same oil) is sold as extended drain. Also, VOA's disclosed on BITOG support using it extended drain with TBN headroom greater than M1 EP and Amsoil's extended drain offering.

I believe they market it this way because they know they'll meet resistance from consumers uncomfortable with the idea of extended drain intervals.

 

That's the point, Penn Ultra is formulated to do so. It's just marketed differently.

Extended Performance is a relatively new thing for marketing oil, but not a new concept at all. People have been doing it for a long time... that was one purpose behind BITOG's creation: a group of like-minded enthusiasts sharing oil analysis information to identify those oils most suitable for extended drain application.

Even M1 and Amsoil 'standard' oils are suitable for extended drain, compared to historical drain intervals. People have done it safely, with UOA's to back them up, for a decade at least. They just don't market it that way.

Lastly: I don't put much if any credence in the any oil company's warranties. First: (outside of certain trouble-prone engines like VW/Audi 1.8t's) oil related failures are extremely rare now- a- days even if you abuse conventional motor oils. Second, if you DO have a true oil-related failure there SHOULD have been plenty of notice IF you had been doing proper maintenance (checking oil levels) and that will give them a big safety net to exit liability. I've always felt there's very little chance you could convince the oil company their product was at fault and it will take a long time to do it.

 

I run Mobil1 5w10. Bought the truck in 09 with 40,000 miles and currently getting ready to turn 123,000 miles. Never had an issue and change it every 5k miles.

 

^^^SYNTHETIC sorry

 

Why not? Does it have high levels of ZDDP? If it does: good for engine wear but bad for catalytic converter.