How to choose engine oil?

[Enhanced Vehicle]

There are many opinions of what makes a good engine oil, and how a good oil should perform....

There are just too many diversities of thoughts ......

I would like to share how I choose my engine oil:

1) We know that engine oil is made of base oil and additive.... If we would have idea on the quality of this 2 raw material, it should be very helpful in choosing engine oil...

- I prefer engine oil makers that have their own crude oil extraction and base oil processing facilities. It might not guarantee good quality but we would at least know the quality of the raw material should be more consistent... Many many lubricant companies has to buy base oil from someone else.

- It might be difficult to find out where do they source the additive packages, but I would try ways to find out from whom they source from.... I personally prefer they buy from Americans and Europeans than from countries like China...

2) First of all, I don't believe what the engine oil makers claim on their quality and standards, tell me who will claim that their oil is not up to spec?? I don't quite like the statement, such as "meet", "exceed", "surpass" certain standards without a third party standard body certification.... I will check on http://eolcs.api.org/ whether the specific brand/model of engine oil, made in specific country is officially a licensee of American Petroleum Institute (API)....
Besides API, I would like to check if the engine oil is:
- ILSAC GF-5 certified (for gasoline engine oil)
- JASO MA, MA2 (for 4T)
- OEM certified such as Dexos (GM), WSS (Ford), LongLife (BMW) and etc
- ACEA: Actually their standard is very high, just too bad that they just provide guideline on their standard, they do not check and test whether the candidate oil is up to the specifications.... you can expect that many many many engine oil makers likes to tell people that they meet ACEA standard.....

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[Waiora_ProTuner]

so, which oil is it?

 

[Enhanced Vehicle]

so, which oil is it?

1) I prefer synthetic engine oil made from API group III base oil....

-These are the companies that have their own crude oil extraction and API Group III base oil refining facilities:
a) Chevron, Richmond CA.USA
b) Petronas, Melaka, Malaysia
c) Exxon Mobil, Fawley UK
d) Suncor (Petro-Canada), Ontario, Canada
e) Nippon Oil, Yokohama, Japan
f) Repsol, Cartagena, Spain
g) Shell, Qatar GTL
h) Kun Lun, (Petro-China), China

I prefer engine oil which is blended with chemical / performance enhancer package made by
a) Lubrizol, US
b) Infineum, UK
c) Afton Chemical, US

2) log on to http://eolcs.api.org/
and check if the products made by the above mentioned companies have
-API SN
-ILSAC GF-5


Engine oil that fulfills above mentioned criteria will be my choice....:wavey:

 

[DanzEterna]

hmm...so which oil to choose?

 

[Enhanced Vehicle]

1) Caltex (made in USA, not SIngapore)
2) Petronas Syntium 7000
3) Mobil 1 EP
4) Petro-Canada
5) Eneos Fine (Made in Japan only, not by Mayshowa)
6) Repsol Elite Brio and Prado (Made in Spain, not by UMW Malaysia)
7) Formula Shell and Pennzoil Ultra (Made by SOPUS, USA only)
8) KUN LUN Tian Run
and etc....

 

[bakti331]

thx.good info
very definitve and informative
not just butt feeling

 

[6UE5t]

How about Total/Fina/Elf oil group and Castrol? I used to use Total oils and seems pretty good as well.
But I'm not that particular, as long as the price is within my budget, from world reknown brands, and has the spec for my cars, that's it.
So far has only used Pertamina oil (when in Indonesia), Repsol, Castrol, Total, Petronas, Shell, and now using Mobil (Super Semi synth for one car, and Mobil 1 Full synth for the other).

 

[ixeo]

7) Formula Shell and Pennzoil Ultra (Made by SOPUS, USA only)

How about Shell Helix Ultra made in the E.U. ? And Motul?

 

[amrancharger]

i think its more difficult to choose genuine engine oil as too many fake oils in the market now.

 

[Enhanced Vehicle]

How about Total/Fina/Elf oil group and Castrol? I used to use Total oils and seems pretty good as well.
But I'm not that particular, as long as the price is within my budget, from world reknown brands, and has the spec for my cars, that's it.
So far has only used Pertamina oil (when in Indonesia), Repsol, Castrol, Total, Petronas, Shell, and now using Mobil (Super Semi synth for one car, and Mobil 1 Full synth for the other).

Well, this is the beauty of free market.....Every consumer will have their own criteria in choosing engine oil....

Since you are comfortable with the performance and value of the products, by all means, continue using them and you do not need agreement from anyone else but yourself..:proud::proud:

If you really want my comment, i would have to say that they are just not my choice, it is not difficult to understand if you read my criteria on my previous post...

---------- Post added at 12:26 AM ---------- 6 hour anti-bump limit - Previous post was at 12:13 AM ----------

How about Shell Helix Ultra made in the E.U. ? And Motul?

This Shell is not my choice...

because it is not official licensee of API and ILSAC

FYI, only Shell engine oil made in India (certain diesel range), made in US (by Shell Oil Products United States) and made in Japan (by Showa Shell Sekiyu KK on certain gasoline range) are licensees of API / ILSAC....

On Motul, I might consider...
1) H Tech 100 plus
2) J-01
3) Specific Hybrid

---------- Post added at 12:51 AM ---------- 6 hour anti-bump limit - Previous post was at 12:26 AM ----------

i think its more difficult to choose genuine engine oil as too many fake oils in the market now.

Yes, it is sad but true.....

This is because....
1) fake / counterfeit oil has extremely good margin... (500% and above is possible)
2) Easy to sell, volume of business is good...
3) Very very very hard to tell whether it is fake or not... sometimes, the fake packing can be better than the real ones....
4) You can start the business easily with limited capital, you don't need a factory, you just need a small shop lot, a simple bottling machines and some foreign workers....

Another sad facts:

- Even the seller tell you it is genuine, it might not, because he might not know... or... he might know, but the margin is too tempting...

- Usually the fake engine oil will not have any detectable symptoms during operation.... you might feel some power loss or some extra noise, but those are not really significant.... You might think it is due to other mechanical issues..... The worst fact is that when you start to notice, it would usually be too late, serious damage had already been done....

- You might think buying from petrol station is safe....but so far no explanation or procedure can convince me that it is totally safe...

 

[yeehau86]

Any comment for Redline engine oil? Am comparing with Torco SR-1 now

 

[BLaCkHoWLiNG]

My choice of oil:

1. NEO SYNTHETICS
2. TORCO

nothing else

 

[Enhanced Vehicle]

Any comment for Redline engine oil? Am comparing with Torco SR-1 now

Redline is blended with Ester base oil (API Group V), performance is very impressive on paper but it is not API licensed...

Check out the pros and cons of Ester base oil on the picture below....


Torco SR-1 is
1) Pretty high flash point
2) quite good HTHS
3) average NOACK
4) pretty low TBN

http://www.zerotohundred.com/newforums/picture.php?albumid=2680&pictureid=9014 http://www.zerotohundred.com/newforums/picture.php?albumid=2680&pictureid=9013

---------- Post added at 02:02 AM ---------- 6 hour anti-bump limit - Previous post was at 01:57 AM ----------

My choice of oil:

1. NEO SYNTHETICS
2. TORCO

nothing else

Your right to choose.... respect that!

 

[yeehau86]

Redline is blended with Ester base oil (API Group V), performance is very impressive on paper but it is not API licensed...

Check out the pros and cons of Ester base oil on the picture below....


Torco SR-1 is
1) Pretty high flash point
2) quite good HTHS
3) average NOACK
4) pretty low TBN

Perhaps some elaboration on the short forms? I can't get what you mentioned above bro.

Also, what are the cons of non API licensed oil?

 

[amrancharger]

Yes, it is sad but true.....

This is because....
1) fake / counterfeit oil has extremely good margin... (500% and above is possible)
2) Easy to sell, volume of business is good...
3) Very very very hard to tell whether it is fake or not... sometimes, the fake packing can be better than the real ones....
4) You can start the business easily with limited capital, you don't need a factory, you just need a small shop lot, a simple bottling machines and some foreign workers....

Another sad facts:

- Even the seller tell you it is genuine, it might not, because he might not know... or... he might know, but the margin is too tempting...

- Usually the fake engine oil will not have any detectable symptoms during operation.... you might feel some power loss or some extra noise, but those are not really significant.... You might think it is due to other mechanical issues..... The worst fact is that when you start to notice, it would usually be too late, serious damage had already been done....

- You might think buying from petrol station is safe....but so far no explanation or procedure can convince me that it is totally safe...

i have to agree dat some dealers/shops are not even aware selling fake oils.
end up we as consumer will get rip off...

thanks for ur advise...

 

[Enhanced Vehicle]

Perhaps some elaboration on the short forms? I can't get what you mentioned above bro.

Also, what are the cons of non API licensed oil?

Redline is ester based synthetic oil....

Pros of ester base oil:
1) High Viscosity Index, meaning the viscosity is more stable under high temp fluctuation.
2) Good low temp performance
3) Good deposit control, meaning good cleansing capability.
4) Hydrolytic stable, less decomposition.
5) Good film strength, meaning the lubricant can take very high pressure sandwiched between 2 surfaces.

Cons of ester base oil:
1) Less miscible oil, meaning you would have problem mixing with additive/chemical.
2) Hygroscopic: Ester will naturally attract water/moisture from atmosphere.
3) Elastomer compatibility: Less friendly with rubber/polymer seals in engine


Non API licensed means the quality / performance of oil is not checked / measured by API... meaning that there is no 3rd party audit on the quality / performance.....

---------- Post added at 10:13 AM ---------- 6 hour anti-bump limit - Previous post was at 10:02 AM ----------

i have to agree dat some dealers/shops are not even aware selling fake oils.
end up we as consumer will get rip off...

thanks for ur advise...

Don't thank me, I had not advise you yet on how to avoid counterfeit / fake oil....

I have some guideline which might help, but I am not going to reveal here because who knows there are fake oil makers/sellers also reading this tread...

Pardon me, I only share this guideline with people I know personally...

 

[aalto]

I usually by 2-3 bottles every year during UMW raya warehouse sale (Penzoil/Repsol). Confirmed original straight from factory..

 

[Enhanced Vehicle]

I usually by 2-3 bottles every year during UMW raya warehouse sale (Penzoil/Repsol). Confirmed original straight from factory..

That is what I used to do 1 year ago...

 

[EvolutionZ]

Lucas Oil...?

 

[Enhanced Vehicle]

May I know which model of Lucas Oil?