Actually any quality oil would work provided the weight is rated for your area (climate). That being said I run Mobil 1 because it's easy to get and I go 5K on changes. If I could I'd run Amsoil but it's a PITA to find. The only benefit to a synthetic is it more refined and therefore can be run longer than a conventional oil. I don't think there is any of these "quality" oils that will produce any notable power difference. If you were loosing 5-10hp from friction in the oil you'd be in a bind. You might see that in a thinner oil but I wouldn't like running an oil to thin for my area. Down here we tend to run a thicker oil that what I'd expect someone in ND to run.

Stay away from Penzoil and Quaker state!!

 

Please put some factual data behind this statement......

 

I guess it would help if I could spell...

Personal experience: (I know it doesn't carry much weight but here goes). I had a 5.0 pulled from my 73 bronco. The block was washed so the Machinst gave me a deal on a HO 5.0 he removed from a stang because the owner couldn't come up with the rest of the $ for payment. Motor didn't have much time on it but was caked with a sludge/gummy like substance. I didn't think anything of it but asked him when I returned with the block apart so he could check it out. He immediately stated the owner ran Quakerstate and that he's seen that trend over time.

On to Pennzoil: Friends father works for them so she always uses that in her 98 cutlass. In late 04 she developed a intake manifold coolant leak. After pulling the manifold to fix the problem I found a similar sludge coating the valley.

Since then I stumbled across some information called the The Motor Oil Bible by Mike Kaufman. While I only skimmed through this, the 2 brands in question were on the very bottom of his list. Amsoil is 1st followed by the other (what I call) quality oils. Mobil 1, Havoline, Valvoline, etc..

Now while they can and may improve their blend, addatives etc.. I treat them like Fram. Try to remember which blend from those companies are good might lead you to the wrong decision. Completely staying away with them and going with something I know has a good track record, much better decision.

There are more to this list but i tend to stay focused on the top and because they are easy to get I'm not worried. The 2 lower grade oils stay in my mind from my experience and the book.

 

Gladly.....First....let me say that I work in POL (petroleum, oil, lubricants) for the government. I work with oil and gas. Now...I may not know THAT much about engines...but I do know oil/gas. And, I can tell you that Quaker State and Penzoil have a higher level of Paraffins in them than any other oil on the market. And I mean a HIGHER level. Now...this may get a bit long but here it goes....

These "paraffins" that I talk about refer to the chemical structure of the oil...not the wax (because both contain paraffins). And these oils account for approximately 80 percent of a motor oil formulation in Penzoil and Quaker State (much less in other brands). Crude oil refiners remove wax from base oil through a process called dewaxing. Also, oil formulators add special additives called pour point depressants to motor oil to neutralize any residual wax remaining in the finished product (Quaker State adds less). Pour point depressants are one part of the complex mixture of additives necessary to meet the rigorous requirements of ILSAC (International Lubricant Standardization and Approval Committee) GF-4 and API (American Petroleum Institute)

If you look at it....petroluem oil is made of four main hydrocarbon groups. Of which...the saturate group makes up most of what is our oil. This group is comprised of paraffins and isoprenoids. Paraffins are straight-chained hydrocarbons with wax being a long-chained hydrocarbon which will make it solid at surface temparature and volatile at higher temperatures (giving you that wax appearance on your valve covers when you remove them).

Equally as important, petroleum oil molecules, as contrasted to uniform-sized synthetic oil molecules (this is why our vendors always suggest synthetic oil), vary significantly in size, shape, and length. So, when your engine heats up, the smaller molecules evaporate, while the larger ones tend to oxidize and become engine deposits. As a result, refined petroleum lubricating products differ widely in their overall quality and performance. The presence of these is at the very root of the considerable performance differences between synthetic and petroleum-based motor oils...more importantly...why you need to mindful of Penzoil and Quaker State.

Whew....that was long.

 

I totally agree on all points as far as waxes go with penn and quaker......but I am talking Q synthetic....which also in the amsoil comparison data did very decently in most tests....sometimes as good as mobile 1 sometimes not as good but at almost all points better than regular petro stuff, and better than motorcraft blend.....

Basically I got Q syn for the same price as non-syn. also Shell is now in control of Q and penn, and the synthetics are still synthetics....might not be as exotic as amsoil but still do better than the dyno stuff. the differences between the Q advanced engine and mobile 1 or castrol syntec are so small it would only make a noticable difference in only the most extreme of circumstances.

 

Anyone know for sure

 

redline 5w-30 here.

 

See what they told me was to run the 5w20 motorcraft or a full synthetic equivelant which is the mobil 0w20. my motor is quiter since i swaped over to the full syn

 

Absolutely ^ 100% on the money. I'm just shocked someone else out there knows that.....everybody has the petroleum on new engines myth around for so long.

I like Amsoil 0W-30 fully synthetic. Beats Mobil one in the 4-ball wear tests and boil point/evaporation tests (among other tests) every time, but not by a lot. If Amsoil quit being produced, I would definitely use Mobil 1. For filters, Motorcraft, Purolator, AC (yes they make very good oil filters) and wix. Stay away from Fram. Their pretty orange paint job with black non-skid grip is where all of their quality and engineering went, inside is pure junk.

 

pertaining to the QS and Penzoil arguement..

as long as you keep your oil changed with the recommended weight of oil, there usually isn't a problem BUT....

it seems that there are more stories and rumors with QS and Penzoil than others.. why not just use something else? seriously, when you walk into the autozone, there are many other brands to choose from and they're basically the same price, as far as i'm concerned, the castrol or mobil conventional is easier to reach. ever hear bad stories or rumors from any of those? why use something you hear rumors about when there are oils that don't have rumors and are the same price? the same with oil filters

 

You can use whatever is rated for the engine, dino or sythetic. Myself, I used dino for the first 10 thousand miles and then switched to synthetic. That's what I've always done with prior vehicles; and, I've never had an engine let go on me. (Could just be lucky, I guess.) I say stick with what works... Especially if it saves you money. The truck has been making close to 400 rwhp since the first few months of ownership. It curently has been making over 500 for more than 6 months, and is a daily driver with more than 40,000 unbabied miles on the stock long block.