What's the best synthetic oil?

In reply to yupididit: I'd keep using whatever you had been using. Seems to be working.

tjbell wrote: This is one of those you ask 5 people you will get 7 answers. I have and always will use mobil one, as did my father. Check out bobistheoilguy forums

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irish44j wrote: We use T6 in the rallycross car, in the enduro car, in my tuned DD WRX, in the tow rig, etc. It's highly recommended on BITOG for many applications, and even better you can buy it on sale at Wal-Mart damn near every other week in gallon jugs. But as suggested above, if you really want a bunch of geeky "scientific" analysis of different oils, just go to the BITOG forums and you'll get plenty of that :)

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Streetwiseguy wrote: Figure out the manufacturers spec, and buy an oil that meets it. Modern oils meet all sorts of different requirements for different reasons. Brand names mean very little. Its the fine print on the back of the can that makes the difference.

And this.

Oil is oil for the most part. The only thing I subscribe to is the proven fact that zinc has been almost eliminated from modern car oils. Diesel motor oils (such as the rotella mentioned) still have lots o' zinc.

I run it in my stage rally car, my truck, and any other vehicle I have. Truck goes about 20,000kms in between oil changes and has 300,000kms on it.

And finally, the most telling is BITOG doing their testing with a brand new (2002) camaro SS. They basically didn't change the oil for over 20,000 miles and eventually gave up. With so much less blowby and better machining practices nowadays, oil lasts a LONG time.

Kramer wrote:

ShadowSix wrote: To be honest, in the year or two I spent as a mechanic, I rarely saw a Japanese or American car, owned by maintenance-conscious person, that really had any oil-related problems at all.

Valvoline had a deal that if you used their oil and changed at regular intervals, they would warranty your engine for 300,000 miles against oil related failures. They wouldn't do this unless oil related failures were all but nonexistent.

they still do that. I'm playing along with the gimmick to see how it pans out on my 2012 mazda skyactiv. It does stipulate that the oil changes can't be over 4000 miles apart. In which case, I think Trop-Artic would probably be okay, but whatever. If this stupid variable output oil pump takes a E36 M3 at 200,000 miles, maybe I'll be glad I played the game.

If nothing else, it's helping me keep track of my maintenence.

I prefer Mobil 1 just because you can get it anywhere and it's generally much cheaper than the other big name brands.

This coming from a guy who almost became an Amsoil dealer.

IIRC, some flavors of M1 are stouter than others these days, however, the stuff typically specced in a Porsche (0w40, 15w50, various other Xw50s) are still top notch products. I run 0w40 in my Prizm and it sees redline any day I take it out, I expect a good oil report when I drain it at 7000 miles(also note that, the oil has been in there since fall, and this was also my winter car).

This thread and a back issue of GRM got me looking at Motul products. Since it hasn't been mentioned in this thread I thought I would ask opinions. Full synthetic with and recommended by Porsche and others. Expensive though.

I've never tried Motul motor oil but their manual transmission fluid is the best I've ever used. It's super smooth even when it's cold out.

I think Motul motor oil may be overkill unless you have a highly modified engine or do extended oil change intervals.

yupididit wrote: How about for a euro gas motor with over 320k miles?

My Alfa V-6 with 206,000 miles runs good on Rotella T6. The previous owner used Mobil 1 15W-50, which I think also has high zinc content. I just happened to have some leftover Rotella from my Eclipse. I asked about it on BITOG and they said it should be fine.

yupididit wrote: How about for a euro gas motor with over 320k miles?

Some sort of Xw40, M1 0w40 or 5w40 diesel oil, M1 15w50 if you run it hard.

Based on what I've read here at GRM, I've switched my allegiance from Mobil 1 to Rotella T6, especially since all my cars have between 90-140k on the clock, except the TSX, and that usually only gets driven 8 or 9 miles a day, so I figure the extra since can't hurt there either.

The only drawback is that Wallyworld doesn't seem to carry a wide variety of weights in the T6.

I buy whatever is part of the 5qt + filter deal at Advance Auto when I walk in.

I don't think I've ever had an oil-related failure on a car, unless you count pretty much running water for oil in the Lemons car.

I was able to quiet down some top-end noise in a 250,000+ mile Dodge Neon with Castrol Edge synthetic.I also use Castrol GTX in my '83 Z28.Meanwhile,SWMBO prefers Mobil 1 synthetic in her '00 Camry.

Some things I have learned working on cars. Asking what's the best oil is like asking what spark plugs are the best. Many different types to fit many different situations. There are many companies making lots of really good oil out there. The best oil in the world is useless without oil pressure.

Redline in the M3; engine, trans, diff, CVs. Motul 300V 10/40 or 15/50 in the Hayabusa motor in the race car. Rotella T6 in everything else but the Sprite that has some 20/50 Valvoline racing oil in at the moment.

2 stroke oil, the car burns oil badly and that stuff designed to be burned, so it just works for the situation

The Brad Penn Porsche love fest came from when it was still Kendall oil. I would have a hard time putting it into a modern Porsche since it apparently meets no standard now.

Personlly, I bounce between Castrol and Valvoline synthetic for the wife's car, whichever is cheaper.

Rotella T6 in the Miatas with Amsoil trans and diff fluids.

Rotella TTT 15w40 in winter for the mx6, Valvoline VR1 20w50 in summer. Will probably switch to Amsoil. Amsoil in the trans.

Jeep gets whatever is on sale.

Escort gets T6, Amsoil trans fluid.

I use mobile1 stuff because I had the best results with it in the sr20 powered 240sx I had. Other oils would start to thin out after 1500-2000 miles and I would see a slight drop in oil pressure. Switched to M1 and never saw it drop after that. That was enough to win me over, so I run all M1 fluids in the race car.

DD gets whatever is on sale.

I'll probable continue to run Amsoil in my track car … but it seems that lots of y'all advocate using Rotella (diesel ? ) in a gas car ?? would there be any adverse affects if I were to switch from valvoline syn. to the rotella in my Mom's Fit ( '13 with only 3000 mi … it's had it's first oil change… that was the valvoline) ?

The standards for Synthetic oils changed a few years ago-- this is why you hear folks badmouth Mobil 1. It's still a quality product--- but it isn't the same formulation that it used to be.

For a street car--- most off the shelf oils will work fine. In a racing application (or for cars with flat-tappets) there's quite a difference. There is a ton of science that goes into oil design. This year we had Harry King (Millers Oils) give a tutorial at the Mitty about oils, and Lake Speed (Driven Racing Oil) has spoken at the BMTA conference. Both of these guys have forgotten more about oil than most of us will ever know. Hopefully they will chime in----as there is a lot of false information, and misconceptions about what makes a quality oil and what does not. They are also both great at giving information--- without pushing a specific product.

Mobil 1 in the daily drivers. Rotella Diesel in the flat tappet classic Triumphs. Redline in the turbo.

Is anybody paying contingency for the race car stuff? That's the stuff I using.

DD stuff, I'm broke as of right now so it's the WM SuperTech synthetic.

I've ran RP, M1, etc... Oil is oil. It's cheap to keep changing it until you are happy with what you are running.

I don't use synthetic, BUT, I have friends that run AMSOIL in their cars and have never had problems.

My dad has been using Royal Purple for about 20 years and is pretty loyal to it.

I had real good luck with Penz Platinum. Started running it in the LT1 Z28 at 72K miles.

She had already been supercharged and sprayed in the previous owners hands while being run on dino oil, and when I bought her she had lots of rubber on the rear quarters, so Im assuming she was rode hard and put away wet.

I pulled the intake shortly after buying and there was quite a bit of sludge buildup and dark staining.

So started running the Penz Platinum in a 3-5K mile drain interval.

Pulled the top end apart at 108K and the cam and lifters looked good, all the sludge was gone, and only light discoloring in the valve covers.

All the engine builders said a stock lt1 bottom end isnt good past 6200 rpms for long because of the bearing used and clearances.

So I revved the E36 M3 out of mine to 7K RPM everyday for the next 5 or 6 years and 70K miles, always saying she is a ticking time bomb and waiting to pop, but never did, just sold her, still strong.

I will continue to run Penz Platinum as it is generally considered to be one of the very good readily available reasonably priced oils.

There are a ton of good oils and generally if you keep it changed regularly you will have no problem.

I read a recommendation buy a guy who performed UOA that said buy the cheapest synthetic you can find, a good filter and keep it changed regularly and youll never have a problem.

spitfirebill wrote: The Brad Penn Porsche love fest came from when it was still Kendall oil. I would have a hard time putting it into a modern Porsche since it apparently meets no standard now. Personlly, I bounce between Castrol and Valvoline synthetic for the wife's car, whichever is cheaper.

The Brad Penn meets standards. They don't pay for the certifications since it won't meet the current with the higher ZDDP levels.

wbjones wrote: I'll probable continue to run Amsoil in my track car … but it seems that lots of y'all advocate using Rotella (diesel ? ) in a gas car ?? would there be any adverse affects if I were to switch from valvoline syn. to the rotella in my Mom's Fit ( '13 with only 3000 mi … it's had it's first oil change… that was the valvoline) ?

The issue with Rotella and other oils with high zinc (ZDDP) content is that they will "poison" the catalytic converter over time if the engine happens to also burn oil. That's why modern gasoline motor oils have lower ZDDP content than in the past. If you live in a emissions testing state, that might become a problem down the line. Racing, diesel, and classic car motor oils still retain high ZDDP content.

Most of the time I see Rotella recommended for a gas engine is either because it's an older engine with flat valve tappets (which see the most benefit from ZDDP) or for some other special application. For example, Mazda actually has a TSB suggesting Rotella be used in Mazdaspeed3s/Mazdaspeed6s/CX-7 Turbos with leaky turbo seals. I don't have to worry about emissions in my Alfa because it meets the cutoff date in MA, so I run Rotella in it.

I also want to plug Pennzoil Platinum again. Not a canoe I promise! I'm just a firm believer in the stuff. I will get my Mustang's used oil tested by Blackstone Labs but I know it will turn out well. The engine felt more eager on Platinum then when it was using the mystery dealership fill (I got 4 free oil changes from them when I bought the 'Stang). It's highly recommended by the BITOG forums and was one of the few oils that would not break down from fuel dilution in my old Mazdaspeed3. Direct injection engines are notoriously harsh on oil. Pennzoil Platinum/Ultra, Rotella, Amsoil, Red Line, German Castrol, and Motul can survive the fuel dilution.