Brand/Type of Motor Oil to Use...

[RavynX]

Sup everyone. I know the title may sound like a stupid question, but seeing as how my GA is at 108,200 miles now, I'm considering about making sure my engine lasts for a good while longer; at least through the rest of college and a bit after while I'm getting a start in life.

I've used Quaker State Peak Performance 5w30 the past few times (now that I change my own oil). I've seen the "Higher Mileage (over 75,000 miles)" formulas on the shelf rated at 10w30 and I was wondering if that's what I should use in my GA. They also say they the Higher Mileage oil helps increase compression and fills in scarred cylinder walls; true or no?

What would happen if I put in 10w30 in the 2.4L engine?

What Brand/Type of oil does everyone else use here and there experiences with different ones?


Quaker State Higher Mileage:
http://www.quakerstate.com/pages/pro...hermileage.asp

Quaker State Peak Performance (comes in 5w30 and 10w30):
http://www.quakerstate.com/pages/pro...erformance.asp

[Fat Matt]

The best easily available "off the shelf" oil you can get is Mobil 1. No ands, ifs or buts.

It's a PAO Group IV FULL synthetic like full on race oils (such as Amsoil, Royal Purple and Redline). The VAST majority of other synthetics on the market (such as Castrol Syntec, Valvoline Max Life etc) are all now Group III oils, which are essentially "cracked" group II fossil oils.

Either way, unless you have a hookup for Amsoil, and a place that can order it, your best bet is Mobil 1..........



Now, if you are cheap and/or a more "normal" driver and don't want to pay for a full synthetic, Most name brand Fossil oils are almost the same. Castrol GTX seems to have a slight advantage over other conventionals in performance oriented applications since it reportedly has a high flash point and better high temperature performance, but still not even on the level of a Group III synthetic (let alone a Group IV).



And do NOT bother with synthetic blends...........they cost almost as much as some full synthetics, but offer only about 5% more protection than a good conventional oil.


Here's a nice article that might help you decide if synthetic oil is for you: http://www.csaa.com/global/faqdetail...57C220,00.html



One final thing..............do NOT use oil additives (Slick 50.....Prolong etc). Over time, they are one of the WORST things you can do to the internals of your car.

[Fat Matt]

Oh.............in addition.

Oil filters are not as important as actual oil choice, but even there, not all filters are created equally.

Do NOT use Frams. They are shit...........

At the LEAST, use a decent conventional filter like an AC Delco, Wix, Or Purolator Pure 1.

And for the best protection, K&N and Mobil 1 filters (both made by Champion Labs) are the BEST (but you WILL pay for it). K&N is more flow biased, the M1 more towards filtration...........both are good choices for anyone though (if you want to pay ~$10 per filter).

Here are a couple of links comparing oil FILTERS:

http://www.minimopar.net/oilfilterstudy.html

http://www.shoclub.com/lubrication-o...n-oilpart5.htm

[Fat Matt]

Finally..............if you are comparing Q-State oils, use the "High Mileage" oil.

It's been refined better, and has a higher flash point (generally indicates better high temp performance) while keeping an equal to lower pour point (good for cold starts) than the "Peak Performance" oil they market. In addition, the HM oil has a better VI and holds it's viscosity nicely throughout the temp range.

Go look at their product data sheets if you want to learn more.



I'd still go to a full synthetic (M1, Amsoil etc.) if you beat on your car or want it to last though.

[Fat Matt]

And I'm spent.............

[darkfox]

Wow Matt. I finally agree with everything that comes out of your mouth in a thread. I couldn't of said that better on my own.


I've always been a proponent of mobil 1 full synthetic oils... its what i put in my car every oil change, and its why my engine runs like its almost new. And I TRY to only use AC Delco Oil filters, i break down and get STP if they dont have them... used the mobil one filter once, in combo with the mobil 1 synthetic oils. My car went for a good 7000 miles before the oil started to turn color. That was amazing.

[RavynX]

:eek: Wow, you know your motor oils. :)

Thanks so much for all of the tips and articles.

As far as oil filters go, I think I'm currently using the Mobile 1 filter, and I definitely don't use Fram. =)

If I were to put in the Mobile 1 synthetic oil, would it take another oil change or two to get the rest of the old QS oil out from the internals? And would that by okay?

Also, if I do get the Mobile 1 synthetic, should I get the 5w30 or 10w30?

I'll read up some more on those articles and let you know what I think. =)

Thanks again Matt!

[RavynX]

Okay... I will most likely not be getting anything synthetic since I do not have heavy modifications/power and I drive it normally.

So I'll either go QS High Mileage or something that may be better such as the Castrol GTX High Mileage.

Opinions?

[Fat Matt]

Sounds like a pretty smart choice for you.........

I would probably drop engines (Ka-Boom!) too much of I used a conventional oil............I'm just too abusive. Synthetics are GOOD for people like me.

[SL04P0PR]

apparently they're good for people like me, too :( synthetic blend just doesn't hold up to the task as well i suppose...

[RavynX]

I used the Castrol GTX High Mileage oil and the car is running great. I took it to the track (the "broke into the 15's" post that I made) a couple hours after I had changed the oil and it still looks good. =)

As for the filter... last time I used the Bosch filter, and this time I used the same one. One of the articles that Fat Matt posted said that the Bosch filters are really good ones. I also didn't want to spend $12 on a Mobil 1 filter. =P Those were the only 2 good ones I could find.

Thanks again Matt for the great info and good links. =)

[RavynX]

Here's a pic of the 5 quart jug I got...

[urweak]

Can you explain the wieghts of the oil. Like 5w30, what does that really mean.

[RavynX]

Originally posted by urweak
Can you explain the wieghts of the oil. Like 5w30, what does that really mean.

http://www.howstuffworks.com/question164.htm

A few highlights from the article...

(a multi-weight oil) 5w30, for example, is the viscosity grade of the oil (thickness). The more thick the oil is, the higher the viscosity rating is.

The first # is the viscosity at cold temperatures while the second # is the viscosity at operating temperatures.

Another way of looking at multi-vis oils is to think of a 20W-50 as a 20 weight oil that will not thin more than a 50 weight would when hot.

You also might want to check this link out...
http://www.vtr.org/maintain/oil-overview.html

[RXmar2]

I use Castrol Syntetic 20w50.......