Oil and filters? It is the question of the day

[chrismoore701]

Ok guys let's hear your thoughts on this topic. I have a 79 c10 and an 09 Silverado. I used to be a penzoil and fram kind of guy but I have since changed my ways after hearing talk on here. I use either purelator or wix. And mobile one pure synthetic. But that is crazy expensive. What do you guys think about valvoline.

So what are you guys running? What combo?

And when you pick a brand of oil should you stick with it? Or is it ok to get what's on sale?

Thanks

[mixermike]

I personally only use WIX filters. Everyone has their favorites as I do too, but I don't think you can go wrong with any big name brand of oil.

[drivewaycustoms]

I'm a Purolater or AC Delco man.

[Nick_R_23]

Wix (also branded as Napa Gold) for filters, and Mobil 1 synthetic for oil. Sure, it might be a little more expensive compared to other brands, but it's the cheapest insurance I can buy for my engine, and I'd rather pay a couple extra bucks every oil change than for an early engine rebuild.

[quadzero]

Originally Posted by mixermike

I personally only use WIX filters. Everyone has their favorites as I do too, but I don't think you can go wrong with any big name brand of oil.

I agree. I like WIX, (the brand we sell at the shop I work at) and I use any big name brand of oil as long as long as it's synthetic.

[TheCougarine]

Currently I have a WIX filter and Valvoline in my '73 c30 and Shell Rotella and an AC Delco filter in my '76 Trans Am. I'd imagine you'd be happy with Valvolines synthetic if you want to run a synthetic or I ran Synthetic Rotella in a couple Miatas that I had previously used Mobil 1 in and really liked it especially considering the cost difference.

[Malo83]

Run Pennz High Mileage 10w40 and FRAM ph 373 2qt filter on my 83 Silverado, been running the Pennzoil, FRAM combo for the last 33 yrs

[cadillac_al]

Mobil 1 is about $25 a jug at walmart. It's only $10 more than regular oil. I don't think it's too crazy since it lasts twice as long.

[Alex V.]

Valvoline is good stuff. I currently have conventional 10w40 in my Suburban's 350 and have used it in my Cruze most of its 87,000 miles. Dad ran Maxlife from day one when he got his '97 Suburban (Vortec 350) with 170,000 on it, and it's still running very well at 420,000. I use Schaeffer's 7000 in my '85 because I work that engine to its limit sometimes and Schaeffer's is darn good stuff. And Wix filters in all.

Too many people switch around between completely different oils too often to say it does very much harm, but I believe in staying with one unless there's a compelling reason to change.

Incidentally, Schaeffer's now has a syn blend 10w30 "racing" oil that has 1700-2300 PPM zinc. I suspect it's just their regular 10/30 with extra ZDDP, but I could be wrong. Also, my experience is that Schaeffer's keeps engines extremely clean.

[rich weyand]

AC Delco PF1218 filter.

Mobil1 10W30 with 1/2 bottle of ZDDPPlus.

[Dead Parrot]

As an IT person, this is very similar to "What hard drive do you recommend?" The answers are mostly based on which brand the poster was using when it failed. Every mass produced gizmo will have a percentage of bad units. This unfortunately includes oil filters and the oil itself. If you get one of the bad ones, your thoughts toward that brand will probably not be printable.

For most daily driver type applications, probably not much difference between major brands. For store brands, research who makes it.

That said, for my truck, I use Valvoline 10w-30 and Fram. Change every 5000 miles because it is easy to remember. When the thousands digit on the odometer changes to a 0 or 5, time to change the oil. No logs or stickers needed.

[68post]

I use Purolator Pure One filters mostly, they are a great value. Without those I use K&N or Mobil One filters.

Valvoline oil is high quality, their High Mileage line is excellent - especially the trans fluid !

[ranger danger]

Napa Gold (Wix) filters and Shell Rotella T6 synthetic. My wife is a Chemist for Shell so its kind of a payback. Otherwise it would be Mobile one or Amsoil.

[chrismoore701]

I use synthetic in my 09, what about the old girl? standard with ZDDP? or synthetic?

[TheCougarine]

I use a zinc additive in both of mine. The TAs 455 is basically new but the 350 in the truck has a little over 100k so weather a zinc additive is actually giving the truck any benefit at this point is up in the air but I figure it can't hurt. Nothing wrong with running synthetic in your 79 and it offers some benefits over standard oil but if you're like me and change your oil at around 3k miles or so then standard oil would probably suit your needs just fine.

[tucsonjwt]

I use any oil and filter that is free or nearly free. I have conventional oil in the shed: Valvoline, Mobile, Penzoil, Peak, etc. I "bought" this oil in Black Friday sales over the years, and with the rebate it was either free or $1 per quart. I have filters that were also free: Fram, Purolator, Microguard.

I have read that Wix was the best filter, but I drive my 83 454 less than 1,000 miles per year. I change the oil and filter once per year so I don't think I need synthetic oil or expensive filters.

Aside from synthetic oil, I don't think the brands of oil are significantly different.

I think I have about 30 quarts of oil and 9 fiters left. It looks like the auto parts stores have stopped giving away free oil and filters in recent years.

All of the oil I have is 10W40.

[07SSSC]

I work at a Chevy dealership, so AcDelco filter on everything and I used to run Castrol before we switched to the GM oil program and never had an issue, my dad always used Chevron brand oil with no issues too.

I run Mobil 1 5W30 in my Cobalt (required oil for that car), AcDelco Dexos 1 5W30 synthetic in my '00 Trans Am, AcDelco 5W30 conventional in everything else but I add ZDDP additive in the flat tappet engines. After having 4 cams go flat over the years I figure it's cheap insurance and so far that's held true.

[Nick_R_23]

Originally Posted by tucsonjwt

I use any oil and filter that is free or nearly free. I have conventional oil in the shed: Valvoline, Mobile, Penzoil, Peak, etc. I "bought" this oil in Black Friday sales over the years, and with the rebate it was either free or $1 per quart. I have filters that were also free: Fram, Purolator, Microguard.

I have read that Wix was the best filter, but I drive my 83 454 less than 1,000 miles per year. I change the oil and filter once per year so I don't think I need synthetic oil or expensive filters.

Aside from synthetic oil, I don't think the brands of oil are significantly different.

I think I have about 30 quarts of oil and 9 fiters left. It looks like the auto parts stores have stopped giving away free oil and filters in recent years.

All of the oil I have is 10W40.

Actually, if your vehicle sits that much, that's where a good oil matters the most. Oil can break down over time even when not used, and also turn acidic and cause damage in that way too. A modern synthetic oil is the best protection you can get there. Even a cheap synthetic would be better than a conventional oil any day.

[MikeB]

I like WIX (NAPA Gold) or Mobil 1 filters. Many of the others are shadows of their former selves, like AC for example.

If the 79 C10 has the original engine with a flat tappet cam, I'd spend a few extra bucks on oil with higher ZDDP levels. But if you don't do that, just use whatever name brand is on sale. Mobil 1 15W-50 has higher levels of ZDDP than most retail store oils, but that may be a bit too much viscosity for an engine with less than 75K miles. I'm not a fan of playing chemist with a ZDDP additive, because there's no way to know how it will blend in with the oil's additive package.

As for the 2009 Suburban, I'd use whatever weight and type GM recommends. Possibly 5W-20 or 5W-30 semi-synthetic.

Enough info here to make your head explode!
https://www.bobistheoilguy.com

[69heavychevy]

For my C10 I use Valvoline VR1 since it has extra zddp with any premium filter thats on sale.

For my Mustang I have always used Mobil 1 full synthetic with a Mobil 1 filter.

For my other 2 Nissans (daily drivers), I always buy Valvoline conventional with a Bosch filter when its on sale as a bundle at Auto Zone.

I think for most newer model cars any name brand oil with a good filter changed in regular intervals is sufficient.

[GRADYS Performance]

Amsoil synthetic oil and High Efficiency oil filters.

[chrismoore701]

What about switching back and forth with the oil? Or should I stay with the same brand? Any other thoughts on this?

[tucsonjwt]

Consumer reports had an article on motor oil several years ago. They concluded that any oil that had the API logo on the bottle was ok for everyday use. They did not find any appreciable difference among the various brands.

I think having the proper oil level in your vehicle is more important than the brand you have in it.

Synthetic oil has its place, but I think an everyday vehicle runs fine on any API oil if it is changed frequently. In my case, it gets changed about every 1000 miles or once a year.

[Alex V.]

By "everyday" do you mean any mass-produced vehicle with a conventional engine of roughly average output? 'Cuz if you use that lubrication philosophy in my Cruze (a 4 yr. old "everyday economy car") the turbo won't last more than a few oil changes. There are compelling reasons for using more than conventional oils in less than race-duty engines.

[abig84]

What's funny is I have and have owned nothing but high mileage older chevys and have put nothing in them then the cheapest oil and filters I can find and never had any engine issues. I always look at it like oil is oil, just occasionally change it