What's the best brand of 5w-30 dino oil?

[old mechanic]

I can't say that I agree with doing an oil change every 1 - 1.5 years...

Why would anyone change oil that still tests out good with "new oil"?
Taking out good and clean oil and replacing it with "new" good and clean oil does not make any sense to me.
This change every so often is a bunch of bull. Change when you need to. If it looks clean then its probably still good.
I have over 200,000 miles on my old Buick and Ford truck and I have always used the cheapest oil from Waly world or whoever is the cheapest at 7500 miles and the motors are still running great.

 

[Rhett]

Rhett, you're saying you let your oil sit for weeks at a time, (longer than the 3 motnhs suggested) but still well under the mileage suggestion and the oil is still good?

No, I usually drive my truck, it usually doesn't sit for as long as yours. First I did 3000 mile oil changes. Oil analysis showed the oil had plenty of additives left in it. So then I went to 4000 miles, still good. Then to 5000 miles, still good. Blackstone Labs recommended I try a 7500 mile oil change interval. That's what I'm sending to them now. We'll just have to see what they say this time..

 

[Rhett]

Still what does it cost for you to get it tested at the both places.. tests and shipping i am curious that is all..

Don't recall. Go to blackstone labs site or Oil Analyzers site, I'm sure they have all of that.

 

[nascar_intimid]

Why would anyone change oil that still tests out good with "new oil"?
Taking out good and clean oil and replacing it with "new" good and clean oil does not make any sense to me.
This change every so often is a bunch of bull. Change when you need to. If it looks clean then its probably still good.
I have over 200,000 miles on my old Buick and Ford truck and I have always used the cheapest oil from Waly world or whoever is the cheapest at 7500 miles and the motors are still running great.

here...here (ditto)

 

[85Dave]

Can anyone tell me who make the Motocraft Oil ?

Conoco. They also make oil for Kendall, Phillips 66 TropArtic, and Union 76. The 5w20 and 5w30 oils are semi-synthetic, i.e. the base oil is Group III. The 10w30 will be semi-synthetic later this spring. These oils are one of the best bangs for the buck.

 

[briwayjones]

Even if the filter is not going to be changed for 6,000 miles?

Running full synthetic you can go up to 25,000m between oil changes. But you need to have it tested to determine if you can go that long. And you need to run a high quality filter like K&N, Amsoil, Mobil 1. And you change those out halfway through the oil run. If you use a regular filter you shouldn't go any longer than what you would using dino oil.

 

[Jag]

IMHO, Valvoline.

 

[GJarrett]

I can't say that I agree with doing an oil change every 1 - 1.5 years...

We went through this discussion years ago. See what we learned back then.


http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11225

 

[Eneurb]

It's just a personal opinion. I still don't agree with going that long, and can't justify going that long to save a couple bucks. We are all entitled to our opinions.

 

[davidmmm69]

It's just a personal opinion. I still don't agree with going that long, and can't justify going that long to save a couple bucks. We are all entitled to our opinions.

believe me I am right there with you..
I personally would rather spend the $12 to $15 dollars for oil change every couple of months than spending money and sending samples of engine oil to Gill Grissom for him to test it...
I agree with you also that it is just all opinions...
had a few really nasty emails sent to me because of my opinion..
Geesh you know, Just another schmuck trying to keep my explorers running in tip top shape..

thanks everone.

 

[GJarrett]

I never sent any nasty emails and don't know of others that may have; if so, that's on their conscience and totally unjustified.

Both of you have just stated that you have your opinions.... others of us have lab-tested proof. We'll live by ours that were proven via conclusive testing, and you are free to spend needless dollars to keep yours in tiptop shape according to your opinion. Mine is also in tiptop shape; the only difference is that I change my oil one-third of the time that you do, recycle three times less oil into the ecosystem, get better gas mileage while I am using it, and spend a heckuva lot less money in the meantime, all to lubricate my engine better than you do to yours - all of which I know to be true, tested by hard lab analysis and not internet opinion.

To each his own.

At any rate this went way off the subject. Dino oils don't last this long. I did use Castrol GTX in an air-cooled Kawasaki KZ1000 for over 80,000 miles back in the late '70s and early '80s with absolutely no wear showing on engine teardown, with 4,000 mile oil changes. I would think that irregardless of any objective lab testing, one would think that running a 30 yr newer formula of synthetic oil through a watercooled engine might surely yield better results than the fire of burning old dino oil 30 yrs ago through an aircooled engine. The question of the thread however was pertaining to dino oils. I've run dino oils through two bigbore aircooled Kawasakis back in the late 70s and early 80s - I also put tens of thousands of miles on a Kawasaki 1100 - always adhering to 4,000 mile oil changes that sometimes got stretched to 6,000 miles. Never a problem.

If you want to only put dino oil in your vehicle and insist on changing it every 3 or 4 thousand miles, you will have fabulous results with just about any decent brand you want to use.

 

[aldive]

I agree with you also that it is just all opinions....

Scientific UOA are not anyone's opinion; they are FACT.

 

[85Dave]

Just to stir the pot some more, take a look at this link from Police Fleet Manager.
http://www.pfmmag.com/summer03/summer03oilchangeintervals.htm

Here are a few quotes:

" From the mid to late-1990s, the Illinois State Police (ISP) used synthetic engine oil with the oil changed at 15,000-mile intervals. This program worked well during the first couple of years when the ISP was using the 5.7L Chevrolet Caprice. In fact, the department saved tens of thousands of dollars with this program. The old-tech OHV engine had relatively few problems using synthetic oil.
The closer tolerances of the 4.6L Crown Victoria engine proved to be a totally different situation when placed on the diet of synthetic oil with an extended oil drain cycle. The ISP ended up losing over 120 engines with the synthetic oil, extended change interval program."

"Currently the ISP uses petroleum oil on a conventional change schedule.

"The CHP (California Highway Patrol) has done a considerable amount of research and development to determine the most cost-effective maintenance schedule and vehicle life cycle to keep its fleet of approximately 3,500 vehicles on the road in an efficient manner."

"Currently, the CHP runs Unocal 10W-30 re-refined oil in its cruisers, which is changed at 5000 mile intervals. The CHP has had good service utilizing re-refined oil and the oil drain schedule was determined by chemical analysis of used oil under the CHP’s worst-possible operating conditions. Its research showed that a 4000-mile oil drain was too early and 6000-miles was too long of an interval. The CHP has a fleet maintenance tracking computer system that can access the service records of any vehicle that is in-service."

"The LAPD currently uses 15W-40 weight re-refined oil with good results. Formerly it changed oil at 3,000-miles; currently LAPD feels that 4,000-mile intervals between changes are satisfactory. "

"Chicago Police Department follows Ford’s recommendation of changing oil at 3,000-mile intervals and utilizes 5W-20 oil. The CPD used to use re-refined oil in the past; they currently use virgin oil."

" The New York City Police Department prefers to do a preventative maintenance every 3000–4000-miles, however, getting the vehicle in for service in a timely manner is a problem, and commanders, under prodding from NYC Fleet Services, sometimes must order an officer to bring the vehicle in for service. NYPD currently follows the factory’s oil viscosity recommendation of 5W-20 weight oil."

" The Royal Canadian Mounted Police recommends 10W-30 oil with a shift to 5W-30 oil during wintertime. As the RCMP covers a vast territory, this is an example where central servicing facilities are non-existent, except in the larger cities. There is no oil brand specification, as long as it is a CSA approved brand of oil. The Mounties are supposed to follow 3000-mile change intervals."

 

[aldive]

Interesting read, thanks for posting.

I recently came across the following information about police use of synthetic/extended OCI:

Duluth, MN, Police Department Demonstration; 4 Police squad cars, 6 months duration, 34,600 miles on the average, equipped with AMSOIL 10W-40 Engine Oil, AMSOIL Full-Depth Oil Filters, AMSOIL BY-Pass Oil Filter, AMSOIL Lifetime Air Filter.Material and maintenance cost for the 4 units with conventional lubricants and filters was $1,052.11. With AMSOIL Lubricants and Filters, the total was only $638.20 - nearly 40% saved per mile!AMSOIL saves in labor and material costs because it can be used many thousands of miles longer than conventional lubes.

And here is another ... http://www.synthetic-motor-oil-chan...tomers_cars/hondo_police_department_texas.php

The City of Troy, Michigan has switched its entire Police and City Hall Fleet (approximately 350 vehicles) to AMSOIL Synthetic Lubricants.

History: In the past, all marked and unmarked police vehicles would come in monthly for an oil change, lube and safety check. As a test, we switched two marked Chevrolet Caprice vehicles over to 100% synthetic AMSOIL engine oil and extended the drain intervals to 20,000 miles, with a new oil filter installed at 10,000 miles. The vehicles were still scheduled to come in monthly for a safety inspection (tires, brakes, suspension, lights, etc...), but the oil is not drained, only a sample is taken. When the two test vehicles reached 70,000 miles, the City of Troy technicians removed the oil pans and also removed the main and rod bearings to check for wear using the plastic gauge test. The bearings showed very little wear. the same procedure was performed on two marked cars, same year, make and model, using petroleum oil. The wear on the two vehicles with petroleum oil, changed monthly at about 2,500-3,000 miles, showed slightly more wear in the plastic guage test. The results were well within specifications in both cases.

Currently the city is using all Ford Crown Victorias in its police fleet. With the help of oil analysis, we were able to extend our oil changes to 18,000-20,000 miles with a new filter installed at 9,000-10,000 miles. We are currently using AMSOIL synthetic engine, transmission, and rear differential oil in all vehicles serviced out of the city hall facility.

SAVINGS: Savings have been noticed due to the decrease in number of oil filters and quarts of oil purchased and disposed of . Labor time to complete a preventative maintenance (A or B) on a vehicle has been reduced, allowing up to 50% more vehicles to be serviced each day. To date, we have not had to re-build an engine or transmission with the new extended oil change intervals.

AMSOIL INC. and the Texas Department of Public Safety conducted a field test to determine the cost effectiveness and engine wear protection provided by AMSOIL products in severe service applications. AMSOIL 5W-30 Motor Oil and Super Duty Oil Filters were installed in five police vehicles. No oil changes were performed during the 24,000-mile testing period. At the 12,000 mark, the oil filters were changed and one quart of oil was added to each vehicle to replace the oil lost with the filter change-out.

The Texas Department of Public Safety police fleet vehicles were 1999 Ford Crown Victoria patrol cars. The Texas Department of Public Safety invested $58 per vehicle to install the AMSOIL products. Using conventional petroleum oil for the standard 3,000-mile drain intervals, the Department invests $176 per vehicle over the 24,000-mile testing period.

Without even taking into consideration the superior protection and performance AMSOIL motor oil offers over a conventional lubricant, the Texas Department of Public Safety saves $118 per vehicle in lubricant expenses alone. When extending these savings to all nine vehicles in the Canyon office, AMSOIL motor oil saves the department $1,062. Taken even further, if all 100 vehicles switched to AMSOIL motor oil and SDF oil filters for drain intervals of 24,000 miles, they would save $11,800. If all 3,000 vehicles statewide made the switch, the state would save a staggering $354,000 in lubricant expenses alone.

Oil analysis results of one of the test vehicles showed that the superior lubricating properties of AMSOIL Synthetic 5W-30 Motor Oil provided outstanding protection and performance throughout an extended drain service life. AMSOIL Synthetic 5W-30 retained its stable operating viscosity throughout the trial, and contaminants such as iron and lead were virtually nonexistent. Based on the results of this test, the Texas DPS has since converted all their vehicles to AMSOIL bumper to bumper.

Every story has two sides ....

 

[85Dave]

Al, got any follow up info on this? Are they still using Amsoil? Any other links besides Amsoil sites?

 

[aldive]

The Illinois State Police have used Royal Purple® 5W30 and 10W30 weights (depending on the vehicle requirements) and use 15,000 miles as the oil change interval.

The extended change intervals certainly save dollars, but more importantly save man-hours for which our troopers can be on the road instead of waiting for their vehicles to be serviced.

The Illinois State Police are also very pleased with the high level of customer service received from Royal Purple®.”

 

[85Dave]

The Illinois State Police have used Royal Purple® 5W30 and 10W30 weights (depending on the vehicle requirements) and use 15,000 miles as the oil change interval.

The extended change intervals certainly save dollars, but more importantly save man-hours for which our troopers can be on the road instead of waiting for their vehicles to be serviced.

The Illinois State Police are also very pleased with the high level of customer service received from Royal Purple®.”

I saw that too! Kinda funny. The fleet manager for ISP quoted above is also the guy quoted in the Police Fleet Manager article. Apparently RP worked well for the small block Chevys, but they had a lot of problems using it in the Crown Vics. As noted above, the ISP doesn't use synthetics anymore. Maybe we should notify Royal Purple so they can update their website? This is why I take "testimonials" from vendors websites with a grain of salt.

 

[aldive]

This is why I take "testimonials" from vendors websites with a grain of salt.

Indeed; I feel exactly the same.

The only testimonial that I really value is the UOA results in MY truck. I am sold on synthetic oil, extended drain intervals, and bypass filtration. If the UOAs back it up, I plan to go at least 50k on the current oil in my truck.

 

[Creager]

Havoline, been using it for years

 

[85Dave]

Indeed; I feel exactly the same.

The only testimonial that I really value is the UOA results in MY truck. I am sold on synthetic oil, extended drain intervals, and bypass filtration. If the UOAs back it up, I plan to go at least 50k on the current oil in my truck.

Interesting project. Do you have any pics of the bypass setup or maybe a link?