Guest jclay Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Hi All, so I just got back from my local Advance Auto Parts, where 2 quarts of Quaker State set me back $6.11..times being tough, (for me anyway) I was wondering if there is any real difference between the QS and the "Advance" brand oil which runs $1.98/ quart? Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aircraft engineer Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 depends on your point of view - the cost difference is mostly "advertising", not "product quality differences" Oil is made to a specification and that sets the "minimum" is must meet. SE SH SJ, whatever. Remember that the STORES don't REFINE anything (they just BUY packed product from someone else). You are likely buying a "major manufacturer" anyway. Oil doesn't lose the lubricity, but the additives can and do "wear out" (the part of the oil that makes the viscosity change when the oil gets hot - the "-30" part of the "SAE 5-30".) So - "store" brand versus "name" brand - depends on what's on sale (to ME anyway). Given the identical spec - they will all claim they "meet or exceed" - and that's the advertising hype - the "exceed" part. As with anything, you have to TRUST the label, though. Out here Schucks (Checker, Kragen) has a special this week for SHELL (name brand enough?) for $1.49 with a $1 rebate for 12 qts. So .67 per quart net (yeah, I can subtract - I just add in the TAX - which in on the $1.49) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 are you saying one brand was $6.11? is that synthetic? you shouldn't be comparing synthetic prices to dino oil prices. what kind of oil are you trying to run? this might be two questions...."should i use synthetics"...is the first question. then the second might be brand. i go with name brand stuff, but if $ was tight i would not. i can't imagine that using one over the other will really mean a difference in whether your vehicle makes another 100,000 miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aircraft engineer Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 $3/qt I think about what to expect right now. Of course, it's possible to get Mobil 1 on sale on a rebate for about that much Extreme wear studies (lab tests) have shown essentially no difference between motor oils in overall performance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobcob Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 I seem to recall reading a report about the classifications of motor oil and that as long as the oil has a certain logo on the bottle then it is to the specs of whatever the certifying group is The logo is that round red seal with the black ring around it directly below the 'X' in GTX. Basically, a store brand 10-30 with that seal and a "Name" brand 10-30 are going to be the same in basic chemical composition the "name" brand may (or may just claim to) have some additives for cleaning or whatever but in terms of basic lubrication they are the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Better question, want to risk a 3000-5000 engine over 6 dollars? nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aircraft engineer Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Since I'm used to "buying to spec" (since I used to be on some of the committees that WRITE the specs) I DO trust the spec. Now assuming I can trust the manufacturer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaru360 Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 I use walmart store brand oil in everything. All the cars I work on get regular oil. The 360 gets walmart 2 stroke oil, the WRX gets walmart synthetic. Never had any issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86subaru Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 odd lots did have name brand oil 2.bucks a qt, synthetic blend, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aircraft engineer Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 never mind... (it was "blended with what?") synthetic...perfectly clear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nug Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Better question, want to risk a 3000-5000 engine over 6 dollars? nipper If the oil passes SAE/ACEA/ILSAC testing, and you change it on a reasonable schedule, then yeah, I'd risk it, because there is no risk. I've seen the testing they do. There is no way in hell you are running anything that hard, unless you simply never change your oil and just keep adding it when it is consumed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86subaru Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 i have read alot about oil 's, synthetic blend is all i use , every 4500 mi, with napa gold oil filter, 10w30 , they all make it, , 2 bucks a qt or 4.50 qt, short trips, there are lots of reading, about this, less leaking, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 If the oil passes SAE/ACEA/ILSAC testing, and you change it on a reasonable schedule, then yeah, I'd risk it, because there is no risk. I've seen the testing they do. There is no way in hell you are running anything that hard, unless you simply never change your oil and just keep adding it when it is consumed.I wont trust an off brand unless i know who is actually making it, especially from a discount seller. i am just too fearful of to many chineese counterfits. They can put any thing they want to on the can or the label, but with no traceability, there is no way to prove what it actually is. Been burned too many times by chineese counterfits, or just plain junk, that was not what it was supposed to be. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aircraft engineer Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 not worth it to transport oil that far for very low markup. I'm not worried about counterfeit quarts of oil "bad" oil makes itself known quickly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86subaru Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 name brand , meaning same as your buying from autozone , walmart, sent a sample to the dealer in fairborn , ohio, [ subaru dealer since 1976 rated best in the state of ohio] good all the way around oil, sorry i only drive 5 miles to work and back, no more said, another oil debate,are you real sure the off brand store your getting it from , which i have never heard of, , is good oil, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3eyedwagon Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 Napa's store oil is made by Havoline, one of the largest oil manufacturers in the world. I'm sure all the other automotive chains use similar practices. It's kinda like buying batteries; lotsa companies sell them, but only a few companies make them! I think everyone here is dead on the ****, as long as you stay with an oil that has correct certification, and ratings; you are fine. I've been running NAPA oil in almost all of our company rigs for years now. The main thing is to keep up on the maintenance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 one day USMB will hopefully ban oil threads too! Napa's store oil is made by Havoline, one of the largest oil manufacturers in the world. It's kinda like buying batteries; lotsa companies sell them, but only a few companies make them! manufacturers take the choice selections for themselves. the rest, which may be identical in quality or lower, goes to be rebranded. the "rebranded" brands aren't necessarily the same quality. could be, probably is, and usually is, but it doesn't have to be. what is being discussed here is the "chance" and "significance" of that "possibility of lower quality". if that sounds ambiguous, it is. there's no way to quantify that without some oil company insiders. i don't think that's going to happen so just take your pick and don't worry about everyone else thinking/believing the same. or do some research and oil analysis which has only been done on a very limited scale. i've read some reports and studies indicating some oils have higher ash counts and all that blah blah blah...you can search for that kind of boring research if this interests you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulwnkl Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 Amazingly enough, yes, there is a difference between the huge-name brands and the no-name brands. Not 50%, though. The difference is mostly advertizing, but the house brand will buy from the cheapest supplier to meet their specs (which is probably just 'it's gotta have the starburst on the front'), and that supplier will change. NAPA is an excellent example because for years and years theirs was made by Ashland (Valvoline's parent). Anyway, if it meets the specs, it meets the specs, so use with confidence. You only need care if you spend a bunch of money on analyses and tweaking to absolutely optimize the smallest details of your engine's operation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aircraft engineer Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 YUP - like for eggs - Fred Meyer PS (president select) sure seem like the same eggs as "Egglands best " - even marked the same way except with "P/S". Oil works the same way - they don't change the formula - they just put it into A DIFFERENT BOTTLE for "house brand" sales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsince77 Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 NAPA is an excellent example because for years and years theirs was made by Ashland (Valvoline's parent). Here in Colorado, Napa oil is still Ashland. At least that's what the label says. Is it different in different parts of the country? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zstalker Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 it's so refreshing to hear a majority of people on a board actually evaluating these things with their brains, not saying junk like "Mobil is the only oil you should ever use" or "Pennzoil is full of parafin" (a really retarded statement on multiple levels). I agree totally with the above statements, just wanted to voice my gratification for the objective, intelligent nature of this board as a whole. ~Erik~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyhorse001 Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Oil works the same way - they don't change the formula - they just put it into A DIFFERENT BOTTLE for "house brand" sales. Actually, truth be known, I'd bet they don't even change the bottle. I bet they just load in a different roll of labels & fire the line back up. Advance uses a black bottle w/red lid. So does Havoline. Coincidence? I think not. It's not in the manufaturers best interest to change how they make thier product. When they need to go back to thier premium brand, they'd have to stop the line to get the specs back in order. Downtime costs BIG BUX! I know we ran premium American Greetings product, and Dollar Tree product on the same machines. The quality was exactly the same. The only difference was the labels. The price difference? AG $6/roll DT $1/roll. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aircraft engineer Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 I was using "different bottle" in the generic A different label means a "different bottle" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyhorse001 Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 I was just taking your statement one step further A/E I wanted those not in manufacturing to know that, changeovers, or tool changes, are not going to happen often in a high-speed production environment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulwnkl Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Here in Colorado, Napa oil is still Ashland. At least that's what the label says. Is it different in different parts of the country? I haven't hardly even been inside a NAPA in a year or 3. A poster up the thread a ways claimed NAPA's house brand was now Chevron/Havoline; that was the basis for my statement of 'used to be.' I have no clue but it wouldn't surprise me if Ashland was still the supplier, nor even to find that they have different suppliers in different parts of the country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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