Well Sal, this is probably the first time anyone has ever said this to you, you’re wrong! All those oils you listed are not the same. Some are dinosaur based and some of them are synthetic (mostly PAO). The synthetics will resist breakdown much longer than the petroleum based oils. The additive packages will break down before the synthetic base stock. If you change the filter every 3000-5000 miles and add a quart of new oil, synthetics might never have to be changed. One of the Ford engineering vice presidents ran a test with his personal company car, a new Lincoln. They ran dino oil for 10,000 miles to break in the engine. Then they put in synthetic oil (Mobil 1 I believe). From that point they changed the filter every 3000 miles and topped off with new synthetic. The filters were disected and examined for products of wear. At 100,000 miles they pulled the engine and tore it down for inspection. All the internal parts were within new part specification. Like Don said, run a good synthetic, change the filter regularly, and the engine will likely outlast the car.
The chemical plant where I worked made PAO (polyalphaolefin) base stock for synthetic oil and sold it to several brand names. We also made synthetic brake fluid base stock.
Mobil 1 made a name for themselves by being the first mass market fully synthetic engine oil. There have been questions in recent years about whether the quality is the same as it used to be. The specialty brands like Amsoil and Royal Purple exist as premium brands at premium prices, so they have to keep their quality at the highest level. I have used Amsoil for many years and I have met some of the principals of Royal Purple in Houston. Both brands are very good. The only difference may be the purple dye in the Royal Purple products.
The very best oil filters for your car are the ones sold at the dealership parts counter having the same logo as the one in the grill of your car. Several of the aftermarket oil filters are good, but you never know if their overpressure/bypass valve is correct for your engine. Hating on the Fram filter is a popular sport, but actual scientific testing does not show that they are as bad as the internet keyboard warriors say. I know for a fact that the Fram lawyers take a very dim view of public badmouthing of their products. My last boss was a Porsche guy. He took his Boxster in for service and the service manager called him to tell him they found a Fram filter on the Boxster engine so they were voiding his warantee. He told the service manager he would call him back and called Fram’s legal department. The Fram lawyer asked for the contact information of the service manager. About half an hour later the service manager called my boss back to tell him that he had made a mistake and everything was just fine and they were going to give him an oil change for free for his trouble. I liked that story so much I asked for the Fram legal contact info. Less than a year later I took my Maxima in for service and while I was still filling out paperwok with the service writer a technician popped his head in to say “that car has a Fram filter on it”. The service writer put on his best “this is going to be bad news” face and gave me the same B.S. story about “voiding warantee”, and lecturing me on proper car care. I gave him the hand stop sign and told him “hold that thought”. I whipped out my cell phone and called Fram’s lawyers. Took me about a minute to give him the particulars. He asked me if the service writer was available. I told him he was standing right in front of me. He asked to speak to him so I handed him the phone and I couldn’t resist saying “it’s Fram’s lawyers”. The service writer listened to the lawyer for about five minutes, occasionally giving the lawyer info like his name, the dealership’s name, the dealership’s number, and finally “it’s not a Nissan policy, it’s instructions from the dealership management”. The service writer then spouted off a list of names and phone numbers. After he handed my phone back, the service writer told me there was no problem using the Fram filter. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it. Be careful getting between someone and their income. Walmart has been selling Fram oil filters forever and they probably sell more oil filters than everyone else combined. That would not have continued on for so long if the Fram filters were technically deficient.
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Mochaman wrote:
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