Looking for the highest quality conventional oil

[ch1ch2]

I read a Consumers Report study on conventional oils back in the '80's.
They used brand name oils in NY city cabs for the test.
Havoline and Valvoline came out on top. Hope I spelled them right.
Those are the only oils I now use in my gas powered engines. I have had 3 vehicles with over 200k miles each using them.
That test was a long time ago and a lot has changed since then so take it for what it is worth.

 

[Copperhead]

To the OP question, there are several very good HDEO blends that are excellent and are very cost effective. I am a big fan of blend oils in my heavy duty commercial stuff. Today, I got the oil changed in my Detroit 60 12.7L and had them fill with the new Mobil Delvac Extreme 10w30 CK-4 syn blend. Got 11 gallons (10 in the engine and one spare gallon) for $150, or $13.63 a gallon from the shop I use. I have been wanting to try a fill of the new CK-4 stuff and this was a great opportunity to do so. Will send in an oil sample at the next change and see how it looks. Prior to that, I was using a Schaeffer syn blend in the the engine. The engine is a factory reman that now has 639,000 miles on the reman and uses only about 2 qts of oil in 22,500 miles. The prior Delvac Elite syn blends have shown very good performance in commercial diesels. I have seen a bunch of used oil samples from others that show it is an impressive oil. The Delvac Extreme is the same Delvac Elite, but now meets the new CK-4 standard.

I took a '96 Cummins N-14 to over 1.4 million miles on a conventional Kendall 15w40 without a major repair. Went right to work for next owner. When I got it sold, it was using about 1 gallon of oil every 8-10,000 miles. Very respectable. There are some very high quality oils on the market. No need to spend more than you need to. And the HDEO syn blends are a pretty impressive value. Best of both base oil worlds, and very good additive packages in them.

 

[daugen]

In addition to Shell branded lubricants, Pennzoil-Quaker State Company, doing business as SOPUS Products, Inc., produces motor oils and other automotive products under the Pennzoil and Quaker State brand names.

I did not realize Shell, Quaker State and Pennzoil were all under one roof now. Should be a lot of savings that way in research. Shell has been my go-to for diesel and Pennzoil my choice for gas.
Over decades of stocking spare quarts of oils for various cars and trucks I now have quite a collection of what I had thought was some obsolete oil.
But in rototillers and other warm weather machinery, seems just about any name brand will work fine. Particularly when you change oil once a year or every other year whether you need it or not. So I'm going to use up the conventional 10/30, but some of these other viscosities are pretty odd. Some go down to 0, some are Dexos, some are syn blends, some are old straight weight 30. That would work fine in warmer weather; frankly it was the standard for a long time.
I even have some old straight 40 out of some Detroit 8-71's. I use that in my oil can. Likely a multi life supply...

Kubota has been adamant about my lack of need for synthetic oil. I put it in anyway for cold weather starting.

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

I read a Consumers Report study on conventional oils back in the '80's.
They used brand name oils in NY city cabs for the test.

1. That was 30 years ago. Things have changed radically in the oil world.
2. Consumer Reports wouldn't know how to do a proper test if you wrote the instructions in crayon for them. They have about as much credibility as Honest John's Used Car Sales.

The most important thing is to change it regularly. Any good name brand will do. If the effort put into finding The Perfect Oil were put into doing useful things, America's productivity would double.

 

[Copperhead]

LOL! that may be quite true! So many oils, and so many biases, and so much marketing hype. But then, I think the chasing the best oil thing has been around as long as autos have been built. It was just as much a deal back in the 60's when I was beginning my driving time, and hasn't skipped a beat. More than likely because a auto or truck is one of the most expensive thing folks will lay money out for and they want it to last with minimal problems.

 

[Texasmark]

From a thread I did about switching back to dino oil from synthetic http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/oil-fuel-lubricants/372323-switch-back-dino-oil-synthetic.html I'm thinking that's probably what I will do. After all, I only use equipment in warm weather, sometimes around 55 or 60 degrees but mostly into the 80 and above range. So the cold start of synthetic is no big deal and I use a lot of gallons of oil a year. Seems to me that dino oil today is light years ahead of anything from years ago.

Any names you like for the highest quality dino oil? Maybe even a semi-syn since they seem to cost the same as a dino oil? Good conventional (dino) oil is around $60 for 5 gallons and synthetic around $115 to $150+ ? (Deere).


How about one of the basic Rotellas like T-4 or T-5? Heavy Duty Diesel Engine Oil Products | Shell ROTELLA(R)
Mobil Delvac? Heavy duty engine oil | Mobil Delvac Engine Oils
Others?

Shell Rot T is what I use in diesels and 15W-40 for the older machines and 5W-40 for the new ones. I used to buy 15W-40 in the 55 gal drum when I had my rock bucket.....took 11 gallons on a change (800 cu in Cummins Big Cam)

Not that it's any better or worse than others mentioned.....I just asked around and that's what most folks were using in my circles and then one day I saw the full syn and that was that. I like the pricing on it too.

 

[Copperhead]

Well, I hadn't put in an order for Schaeffer for several months and hadn't kept up with their pricing. Checked with my rep last night and a 55 drum of 5w40 Schaeffer 9000 can be had for about $1196 or roughly $21.75 a gallon. And Schaeffer will have it delivered free of charge to your front door and even truck tailgate service to unload. And for a kicker, they will throw in 3 free oil samples kits complete with analysis and free postage. Of course, their syn blend versions will be lower priced but same free delivery and oil sample kit deal. And they do have 6 - 1 gallon cases that can be bought if someone doesn't want a drum. I am very partial to all their product offerings at Schaeffer, and I have grown partial to their syn blend offerings. Have never found a stinker in the bunch. And killer grease.

 

[daugen]

Sorry to report I don't know the name Copperhead, don't see their trucks in this area.
Are they the refiner or just the distributor/marketing outlet, or both?
Mostly commercial use?
There are so many good choices. Valvoline, Pennzoil, Mobil, Shell, Chevron, Red Line, Amsoil, the list just goes on.
Then all the different brands that are just rebranded something else, private labeled.
but am not knowledgeable about commercial market.

 

[RickB]

Well, I hadn't put in an order for Schaeffer for several months and hadn't kept up with their pricing. Checked with my rep last night and a 55 drum of 5w40 Schaeffer 9000 can be had for about $1196 or roughly $21.75 a gallon. And Schaeffer will have it delivered free of charge to your front door and even truck tailgate service to unload. And for a kicker, they will throw in 3 free oil samples kits complete with analysis and free postage. Of course, their syn blend versions will be lower priced but same free delivery and oil sample kit deal. And they do have 6 - 1 gallon cases that can be bought if someone doesn't want a drum. I am very partial to all their product offerings at Schaeffer, and I have grown partial to their syn blend offerings. Have never found a stinker in the bunch. And killer grease.

For $1200 a barrel, they should come and do the oil changes, too. Most distributers deliver for free, and 3 oil analyses will run $90 at high retail. It's not hard to get them done by reputable labs for free through many distributers.

 

[daugen]

If one was looking for the highest quality conventional oil, which I assume is crude oil based, not synthetic anything,
isn't the issue one of having an oil spec that guarantees a minimum capability, but expectations seem to be higher?
And how to quantify that one oil is 20 percent "better" than another.
Isn't it really the additive package, and how does one really know what's in it? subject to change too...

I know there are lots of comparison tests out there, including the oil industry web site, but they don't convey much
useful info to the layman. I'm not a chemist and I don't know how much manganese is good bad or indifferent.

So how do we quantify quality? Cost per quart/gallon is easy, but what are we buying?

Personally, I think conventional oil performance has improved so much in modern times, perhaps due to the
additive packages, that for me it would get down to name brands and lowest cost. Unless one can quantify quality,
and really prove one is better than the other, which likely should reflect that both are so good it might not make a difference
in most applications.