Motor oil company and API groups

[atekido]

There used to be a site. that Showed the oil API groups and where the major motor oil companies fell in the groups. mobil 1, redline, royal purpoal, Amsoil ,castrol and such. It was a pretty interesting read. Does anyone have a link to a site like that? I have searched google but cannot find a similar site. It really shed light on how a certain version of quakerstate made in Germany and a few other like amsoil, redline actually had a Higher Grade of "synthetic" than mobil one and such. It was fairly informational but of course that was 2-3 years ago and now i can't find the site or a similar one :(

Sponsored

 

[Jeff_oddo]

Bobs the oil guy or some shit like that. I can't remember

 

[m6pwr]

There used to be a site. that Showed the oil API groups and where the major motor oil companies fell in the groups. mobil 1, redline, royal purpoal, Amsoil ,castrol and such. It was a pretty interesting read. Does anyone have a link to a site like that? I have searched google but cannot find a similar site. It really shed light on how a certain version of quakerstate made in Germany and a few other like amsoil, redline actually had a Higher Grade of "synthetic" than mobil one and such. It was fairly informational but of course that was 2-3 years ago and now i can't find the site or a similar one :(

http://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/29113/base-oil-groups for base oil groups. The actual blend of base oils in any particular oil is proprietary (i.e.double super secret). And they are blends, not !00% of any particular group, even for oils like Redline advertised as group V ester based). I've read that it is possible to "reverse engineer" an oil to discover the exact makeup but it supposedly would cost in the ten of thousands of dollars for each and every version of oil. Plus the lube mfrs are constantly fiddling with their formulations. AMSOIL is a good example. When it first came on the market, it was a group V ester base. Sometime later the advertising and tech sheets described it as a group IV PAO base stock. Don't see that anymore in their literature, so it is probably a group III syn. The group III syns nowadays with their advanced additive packs perform so well that the "higher" grades are probably superfluous for most applications.

 

[Jeff_oddo]

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com

 

[atekido]

cool thanks. I wasn't sure if Bob was trust worthy or not since i know at one time a few years ago he was catching some flack as possibly having an agenda.

thanks for the feedback. now to just find a place near me that even sells amsoil lol. I apparently none of the oreiley's,autozone ect sell it here in York, NE

 

[m6pwr]

cool thanks. I wasn't sure if Bob was trust worthy or not since i know at one time a few years ago he was catching some flack as possibly having an agenda.

thanks for the feedback. now to just find a place near me that even sells amsoil lol. I apparently none of the oreiley's,autozone ect sell it here in York, NE

Just to be clear, used oil analyses (e.g. Blackstone labs, Polaris, etc.) will not tell you the formulation of the oil, most particularly with respect to the base stock - - if that is the criteria you want to use in choosing an oil for your Ford. Uoa's can give you a limited insight into a few of the additives used in the oil (e.g. whether or not the oil contains moly and how much, how much calcium, etc.). From the standpoint of the virgin oil out of the bottle, that's about it.

Uoa's are most useful in determining the condition of the used oil in your particular car, and whether it is working ok in your specific car at the specific miles and driving conditions while the oil was in your car. Uoa's are best used to determine if you need to shorten your oil change interval or even if you can extend the oci in your particular usage. They are not practically useful in choosing one brand of oil over another.

I have a feeling that your original question was really, "What oil is the best oil for my car."

My advice would be to check your owner's manual for the viscosity, api service, and oem standard recommended for your car (e.g. 5w20, API SN, Ford WSS-M2C945-A, for the Coyote V8) and go with an oil that meets those criteria. The following survey gives an idea of the various oils available and their "certs" (the oem standards they meet). Take your pick. http://www.noln.net/sites/default/files/images/downloads/specialty motor oil guide.pdf.

There is a relatively new oil that is not listed; Pennzoil Platinum Ultra with "Pure Plus Technology". It's made from natural gas as opposed to dirty old crude oil. It's very pure, produces relatively little deposits in the engine, has high thermal stability, and is claimed to perform like a group IV PAO. It would work great in a highly stressed direct injection turbo motor, but would probably be overkill in a Coyote V8.

 

[atekido]

Just to be clear, used oil analyses (e.g. Blackstone labs, Polaris, etc.) will not tell you the formulation of the oil, most particularly with respect to the base stock - - if that is the criteria you want to use in choosing an oil for your Ford. Uoa's can give you a limited insight into a few of the additives used in the oil (e.g. whether or not the oil contains moly and how much, how much calcium, etc.). From the standpoint of the virgin oil out of the bottle, that's about it.

Uoa's are most useful in determining the condition of the used oil in your particular car, and whether it is working ok in your specific car at the specific miles and driving conditions while the oil was in your car. Uoa's are best used to determine if you need to shorten your oil change interval or even if you can extend the oci in your particular usage. They are not practically useful in choosing one brand of oil over another.

I have a feeling that your original question was really, "What oil is the best oil for my car."

My advice would be to check your owner's manual for the viscosity, api service, and oem standard recommended for your car (e.g. 5w20, API SN, Ford WSS-M2C945-A, for the Coyote V8) and go with an oil that meets those criteria. The following survey gives an idea of the various oils available and their "certs" (the oem standards they meet). Take your pick. http://www.noln.net/sites/default/files/images/downloads/specialty motor oil guide.pdf.

There is a relatively new oil that is not listed; Pennzoil Platinum Ultra with "Pure Plus Technology". It's made from natural gas as opposed to dirty old crude oil. It's very pure, produces relatively little deposits in the engine, has high thermal stability, and is claimed to perform like a group IV PAO. It would work great in a highly stressed direct injection turbo motor, but would probably be overkill in a Coyote V8.

You are correct in the real question being which oil to use. I like to learn and know why something is better from the science of it not just go off the words of a lot of people who have don't have a background in chemistry or physics. Most people on here just go off of hearsay instead of factual evidence. I have pretty much come to the conclusion any 5w20 or 5w30 "synthetic" will be more than sufficient but like most car enthusiast I tend to want to go above what is needed just because. But I like seeing just how different or the same mobil 1, redline, royal purple, Amsoil and such products are. I had noticed a few more companies saying the product was from natural gas vs the normal crude oil so im glad you mentioned that as I was sure if that was something that had been around a while or was fairly new in the last few years. thanks for the info! and pretty much every product i looked at that was 5w20 met the Ford specifications for 5w20.

 

[m6pwr]

Atekido: I can identify 100% with your sentiments and desire to learn about lubrication science. I'm just a "user" like most everybody on this forum, but I find automotive lubrication an endlessly fascinating subject. BITOG or Bob Is The Oil Guy is definitely the gateway drug. Your comment about Bob's "agenda" is interesting. There are something like 45,000 subscribers on BITOG. At one time or another you'll hear repeated just about every myth, superstition, and wacky idea there is about oil and automotive lubrication. But there are also members who post regularly who are real-life formulators/chemists who make their living in the oil industry. After awhile you'll learn who to trust.

Sponsored