3 Recommended Synthetic Oils

[Bugshu]

My current 3 recommended oils are:

1. Redline 5w-20
2. Pennzoil Platinum Ow-20
3. Royal Purple 5w-20

Occasionally you can find M1 Ow-20 oil on a shelf that still has some old stock and Id recommend that oil. Id also recommend the Pennzoil Platinum 5w-20 if you cant find their new Ow-20.00

Pennzoil Platinum is an exciting new oil and in my opinion its better than the Mobil 1 5w-20 oil. I like the basestocks better and the adds seem to make more sense to me.

GF-4 has caused a lot of confusion in oil and if you are going to go with a GF-4 or SM rated oil then Id choose the Pennzoil Platinum but M1 has had a great reputation for years and you arent going to go wrong using it if you so desire. Its not like your engine will explode or anything.

There are some ok dino oils available but if you are going to go with a dino then Id almost recommend going up to a 30 viscosity oil such as a 5w-30 or Ow-30. The Phillips TropArctic 5w-30 is fantastic for the price and some people like Havoline. Schaeffers 5w-20 has add packs on par with the better synthetics and is a fantastic oil but you pay for that quality and it will probably cost you $3 per quart to get it.

Theres a little varience in viscosities of oil so you have to be careful going with 30s because some oils are rated at 30 but are knocking on the door of being a 40. The Phillips TropArctic is a fantastic oil (Synthetic Blend 50%) and can be found for under a $1.50 at most stores. Phillips also makes the Conoco, Kendall oils and some believe they supply Ford and its 5w-20 Motorcraft line.

If I were to use a 5w-20 dino or a Ow-20 dino (other than Schaeffers) then Id supplement it with Valvoline Engine Protector (Red Bottle) or Valvoline Synpower additive (Silver Bottle). A half bottle of each should do you for an entire oil change. A third of a bottle may be even better. The Silver Bottle is pretty stout. Valvolines Synpower additive (Silver Bottle) is becoming extremely hard to find. I buy all that I see whenever I run across it.

I currently am using a bottle of the Red EP to boost additives a bit and raise the viscosity just a scooch during a very hot summer.

In September Im going to drain the oil and get back to a 20 for the winter. Most of my miles this summer have been highway so boosting my oil to a 30 hasnt really bothered me. With gas prices rising I probably will try to stay in the 20 as I exit the sub 20K breakin period of the Pilot.

Happy Motoring All,



Bugshu

[xGS]

Originally posted by Bugshu
My current 3 recommended oils are:

1. Redline 5w-20
2. Pennzoil Platinum Ow-20
3. Royal Purple 5w-20

Occasionally you can find M1 Ow-20 oil on a shelf that still has some old stock and Id recommend that oil. Id also recommend the Pennzoil Platinum 5w-20 if you cant find their new Ow-20.00

Pennzoil Platinum is an exciting new oil and in my opinion its better than the Mobil 1 5w-20 oil. I like the basestocks better and the adds seem to make more sense to me.

GF-4 has caused a lot of confusion in oil and if you are going to go with a GF-4 or SM rated oil then Id choose the Pennzoil Platinum but M1 has had a great reputation for years and you arent going to go wrong using it if you so desire. Its not like your engine will explode or anything.

There are some ok dino oils available but if you are going to go with a dino then Id almost recommend going up to a 30 viscosity oil such as a 5w-30 or Ow-30. The Phillips TropArctic 5w-30 is fantastic for the price and some people like Havoline. Schaeffers 5w-20 has add packs on par with the better synthetics and is a fantastic oil but you pay for that quality and it will probably cost you $3 per quart to get it.

Theres a little varience in viscosities of oil so you have to be careful going with 30s because some oils are rated at 30 but are knocking on the door of being a 40. The Phillips TropArctic is a fantastic oil (Synthetic Blend 50%) and can be found for under a $1.50 at most stores. Phillips also makes the Conoco, Kendall oils and some believe they supply Ford and its 5w-20 Motorcraft line.

If I were to use a 5w-20 dino or a Ow-20 dino (other than Schaeffers) then Id supplement it with Valvoline Engine Protector (Red Bottle) or Valvoline Synpower additive (Silver Bottle). A half bottle of each should do you for an entire oil change. A third of a bottle may be even better. The Silver Bottle is pretty stout. Valvolines Synpower additive (Silver Bottle) is becoming extremely hard to find. I buy all that I see whenever I run across it.

I currently am using a bottle of the Red EP to boost additives a bit and raise the viscosity just a scooch during a very hot summer.

In September Im going to drain the oil and get back to a 20 for the winter. Most of my miles this summer have been highway so boosting my oil to a 30 hasnt really bothered me. With gas prices rising I probably will try to stay in the 20 as I exit the sub 20K breakin period of the Pilot.

Happy Motoring All,



Bugshu

In this post [Mobil 1 (or Synthetic engine oil)] you stated:

Id rank the best synthetic motor oils in this order

1. Redline 5W-20
2. Mobil 1 OW-20
3. Pennzoil Platinum OW-20
4. Royal Purple 5W-20
5. Pennzoil Platinum 5W-20
6. Mobil 1 5W-20

So, which ranking is correct?

[humanoid]

Where's Amsoil stand?

[Bugshu]

Mobil 1 Ow-20 is no longer being manufactured so its hard to recommend it. If you can get M1 Ow-20 then by all means buy it.

I dont see much of a reason to buy Pennzoil Platinum 5w-20 if you can buy the Ow-20 so I would put the Pennzoil Platinum Ow-20 as the one that I recommend. However, Pennzoil Platinum Ow-20 is late to market and its a bit hard to find. I was told that it would hit shelves in June and its August and Ive yet to see it on a shelf. I do recommend the Ow-20 Pennzoil Platinum over the 5w-20 and as its arguably the only Ow-20 being made these days in the synthetic world then it certainly has some advantages that make it worthy of my recommendation.

I dont recommend M1 at all because honestly I think the other synthetics are better but I did mention it in the other post as being one of the so called "true" synthetics that belongs in the category when you are talking about group 4 and group 5 synthetics.

In short, If M1 Ow-20 was still being made then Id recommend it but its not. Id look at Pennzoil Platinum 5w-20 if you needed to do an oil change in the near future but you couldnt find any of the Ow-20. M1 5w-20 would be an option if you really wanted a synthetic and didnt like the Pennzoil and found the RP and RL a bit difficult to buy.

Of course M1 has 30 some odd years in synthetics and that will influence many even if perhaps others have passed them.

Amsoil is an absolutely fabulous oil and its underrated and I recommend it. Still, they arent big in the 20 viscosity marketplace and the last that I could remember their oil was a synthetic blend of group 3 basestock and regular oil. What makes Amsoil special is just absolutely loaded additive packages. However Amsoil is very expensive. I would suggest that Schaeffers 5w-20 is also highly additized with a synthetic blend of group 2 and PAO and it should be cheaper. For that matter, you could take a relatively cheap oil like Motorcraft 5w-20 synthetic blend oil and pour in a half bottle of Valvoline Synpower (silver bottle) additive and it would have additives that would compete with the Amsoil.

Amsoils market is the extended drain and 30 viscosity oils handle extended drains better than the 20s. Amsoil and Mobil 1 EP are fantastic oils but Im not holding my breath waiting for them to come out in a 20 viscosity.

Amsoil Ow-30 series 2000 is arguably the best extended drain oil ever made. It barely gets started at 10,000 miles and it could protect a car nicely up to perhaps 20K miles and one year of service. I doubt a finer extended drain oil has ever been made. The problem for Honda owners is that so called insolubles can start to thicken the oil and Amsoil is fairly thick out of the bottle. Amsoil Ow-30 can turn into a 40 as the drain is extended and this is a bit thick for a vehicle which recommends a viscosity of 20.

I love Amsoil and their 5w-20 is ok but I cant recommend it because its expensive and there are better oil values for the money. Why would one really want a synthetic blend oil that costs as much as some competitors full synthetics? Amsoil XL 5w-20 is rated for 7500 miles and Id suggest the Pennzoil Platinum oils could get you there as well while being fully synthetic and offering some enhanced advantages that come with higher quality basestocks. PP oils should compete nicely on price with the Amsoil syn blends.

Honestly, there is just a better oil for the money in the 20 category than the Amsoil.

If you want to talk 30s and go 20K miles between oil changes then Amsoil is king. Though, M1 EP is going to start nipping on the heals of that Monarchy.

Happy Motoring All,



Bugshu