Oil comparison - Am I wasting money ?

[lazyitus]

Simple one, this.

I've recently used Silkolene fully synth 5W-40 in the Griff and I've been very happy with it. As with all oil products today, it aint cheap.

Now then, Halfords do their own 5W-40 fully synth (which is apparently produced by comma (the same as their Comma Syner-G 5W40 in fact).

5 litres of the Halfords stuff can be got for c£35, which is £15 cheaper than what I was buying Silkolene for.

I'm all for keeping my car in tip-top condition but...

Is 'badge snobbery' the real reason behind me (and many, many others) not buying Halfords oil ? Surely I can't fk up my engine using this cheaper brand can I ?

Edited by lazyitus on Monday 18th August 11:57

[Derek Smith]

You say it is apparently the same as the comma top-level stuff. Are you certain of this?

I always reckon that if you pay £110 for something worth £100 you've wasted £10. If you pay £90 for something worth £100 without finding out why, you've probably wasted £90.

Mind you, if what you say is correct, I might well go to Halfords.

[tamore]

unless you're doing 6000 miles per week, or have a major oil leak, the difference is negligible. i'd stick with a 'brand' where engine oil's concerned.

[lazyitus]

Derek, I've had two seperate people say this to me.

Here's the gem. Esso own Comma. Esso do a 5w-40 called Esso Ultron for more money which is basically a very similar oil but not identical.

Makes you wonder, doesn't it ?

Edited by lazyitus on Monday 18th August 12:22

[lazyitus]

tamore said:

i'd stick with a 'brand' where engine oil's concerned.

I'm not disagreeing. But, why ?

It seems to me that people (including myself) will quite happily suggest sticking with a more expensive brand just because of the comfort factor when in fact, there's a big cloud of bullst involved.

I dunno ?

[Fex2005]

I use Mobil 1 at the moment; however the guy who services it told me that a regular oil change is more important than the quality/manufacturer as even the cheaper oils must meet the same minimum EU/BS(whatever) standards as the expensive stuff.

Not sure how true this is tho....

Edited by Fex2005 on Monday 18th August 12:23

[tamore]

lazyitus said:

tamore said:

i'd stick with a 'brand' where engine oil's concerned.

I'm not disagreeing. But, why ?

It seems to me that people (including myself) will quite happily suggest sticking with a more expensive brand just because of the comfort factor when in fact, there's a big cloud of bullst involved.

I dunno ?

because the price differential for 1 oil change and topping up a car over a year is probably less that £30. is it worth the 'gamble'?

[lazyitus]

tamore said:

lazyitus said:

tamore said:

i'd stick with a 'brand' where engine oil's concerned.

I'm not disagreeing. But, why ?

It seems to me that people (including myself) will quite happily suggest sticking with a more expensive brand just because of the comfort factor when in fact, there's a big cloud of bullst involved.

I dunno ?

because the price differential for 1 oil change and topping up a car over a year is probably less that £30. is it worth the 'gamble'?

I'd say no.

But I'm interested in knowing if it is a gamble or not.

[Pupp]

Just to add to the debate, Halfords do their own branded 5w50 'motorsport' fully synthetic. I have no idea who the manufacturer actually is but I did enquire of their customer services people whether 'fully synthetic' meant ester based or based on mineral stock. They eventually confirmed the latter... (apparently 'synthetics' are not always synthetic)

[brogenville]

Pupp said:

Just to add to the debate, Halfords do their own branded 5w50 'motorsport' fully synthetic. I have no idea who the manufacturer actually

Again, made by comma, and sold directly from comma as 5w50 motorsport oil. However, its about £35 from halfords, but if you do a search on the comma website to find a local supplier of comma oils, you'll find that you can get it a lot cheaper from the motor factors.

Didnt someone say that the comma stuff is made at the same place that makes Mobil1, and that its made to the same standard?

B.T.W- I totally agree that saving money on your oil, and changing it twice as regularily will be better for your engine than buying expensive stuff and keeping it in twice as long.

[dingg]

its all down to 'good' marketing guys ,
the thing to do to put your mind at rest when using a no name oil of the same weight and spec is to find out the proper analysis sheet for the oil
compare it to the analysis sheet for the well marketed (read most expensive)oil and make your choice.
I have done and now use EXOL fully synth 5-40w in my serp. chim , have done for 2 years and oil pressure remains good at 45 psi dropping to just above 30 when idling after a hoon.
ps its PAO ester based and excellent value

DYOR

[The AJP Griff]

I wouldn't worry about the name on the tub,so long as it meets the same specs API Sl B3 etc etc.There must be an awfull lot more brands out there than there are actual oil producers!

[RIP_puffsorted2]

lazyitus said:

Simple one, this.

I've recently used Silkolene fully synth 5W-40 in the Griff and I've been very happy with it. As with all oil products today, it aint cheap.

Now then, Halfords do their own 5W-40 fully synth (which is apparently produced by comma (the same as their Comma Syner-G 5W40 in fact).

5 litres of the Halfords stuff can be got for c£35, which is £15 cheaper than what I was buying Silkolene for.

I'm all for keeping my car in tip-top condition but...

Is 'badge snobbery' the real reason behind me (and many, many others) not buying Halfords oil ? Surely I can't fk up my engine using this cheaper brand can I ?

Edited by lazyitus on Monday 18th August 11:57

I work on the assumption that the more oil changes with a cheaper brand are better than less oil changes but with a more expensive oil for the same cost - in other words in your example, you can get 4 changes of 'Halfords' for 3 of Silkolene over the same time/mileage period

[2Munkys]

I asked the guys at Halfords about this; I was told it is supplied by Comma and is a hydrocrack and not an Ester based oil. So perhaps not the very best, but good enough probably.

I still use the Comma stuff though but under another label from a local outlet (a darned sight cheaper than Halfords too). You'll sometimes see Halfords doin' a two for one offer though which aint bad.

At the end of the day, how much differnce in mileage do you think you'll see on your bores when comparing a good oil against the best. Lets suppose your motor does 100K miles, an oil change every 6K, that's about 17 oil changes, you pay an extra £25 for your 'best' oil and that's £425 plus all the top ups.

[QuiteQuietCerb]

dingg said:

its all down to 'good' marketing guys ,
the thing to do to put your mind at rest when using a no name oil of the same weight and spec is to find out the proper analysis sheet for the oil
compare it to the analysis sheet for the well marketed (read most expensive)oil and make your choice.
I have done and now use EXOL fully synth 5-40w in my serp. chim , have done for 2 years and oil pressure remains good at 45 psi dropping to just above 30 when idling after a hoon.
ps its PAO ester based and excellent value

DYOR

couldnt agree more, with tvrs the oil is changed very frequently which also reduces the risk. Another factor could be your driving style if you give it the beans everytime you drive it, better off using something more expensive

[Uncle Fester]

Just had the engine rebuilt at V8D, so asked them what they recommended.

The additives vary and zinc is very good for wear protection. However this gradually damages the cat over about 70k miles, so most oils no longer have it. Mine is decatted, so they recommended Valvoline VR1.

The 20/50 mineral is good, the 5/50 synthetic better. Afterwards I found there is also a VR1 semi-synthetic 10/60 that I will ask about for next time.

[Derek Smith]

Pupp said:

Just to add to the debate, Halfords do their own branded 5w50 'motorsport' fully synthetic. I have no idea who the manufacturer actually is but I did enquire of their customer services people whether 'fully synthetic' meant ester based or based on mineral stock. They eventually confirmed the latter... (apparently 'synthetics' are not always synthetic)

A synthetic oil is normally classed as an oil which passes the American Petroleum Institute's test to be classed as 'synthetic'. It's got nothing to do with what its base is, only its performance.

I seem to remember being told that the first oil to pass the test was 100% synthetic, hence the name stuck. (This might be pure whimsey.)

It's the additives that matter and in discussing the matter with a chap who worked for BP, he reckons that if it isn't given the proper name, its not the proper stuff. So if it says Halfords, then it isn't Valvoline. This chap had no axe to grind as he was ex BP but it was just the one bloke.

I could dig out my notes if anyone's interested but in general it would seem that to pass the API tests the oils would have to be refined organic or artificial hydrocarbon thingies (stripped of its technical terminology). Something about even sized compounds which the additives are added to.

The thing about synthetics is that the oil can be 'topped up' with the additives whereas non sythtetic oil has a fairly fixed life expectancy.

What he did say was that there was little difference between the synthetic oils produced by the major oil companies, but also that 'racing' synthetics are designed for cars that race so are best avoided for cars used mainly on the road. They are not some form of super oil.

[Derek Smith]

In addition: I think it was the same bloke whom I told that I used to change the oil filter more frequently than it said in the schedule in all my cars. I was told this was rather silly as a filter didn't reach its most effective until it had been on the car for a little time.

[That Daddy]

Derek Smith said:

In addition: I think it was the same bloke whom I told that I used to change the oil filter more frequently than it said in the schedule in all my cars. I was told this was rather silly as a filter didn't reach its most effective until it had been on the car for a little time.

Thats cobblers,not aimed at yourself by the way

[Rocket Pepper]

Everything you ever wanted to know.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/