What motor oil is the best?

[Batmobile_Engage]

I know of some extreme examples of Lucas Oil doing awesome things. 3 cars with over 150,000 miles on them left running in neutral at 3000rpms with all the oil drained out. 2 died at 5 and 7 minutes. The Lucas Oil motor took 42 minutes to pop.
If its not a good idea, why does my motor run smoother with it?

 

[Spamby]

Correction to holy. "Ester" not ether.

 

[HolyCrapItsFast]

Yeah that!

 

[Spamby]

I know of some extreme examples of Lucas Oil doing awesome things. 3 cars with over 150,000 miles on them left running in neutral at 3000rpms with all the oil drained out. 2 died at 5 and 7 minutes. The Lucas Oil motor took 42 minutes to pop.
If its not a good idea, why does my motor run smoother with it?

Sounds like the late night info mercials advertising "restore" engine oil additives. restore would do the same thing but with sand and water being blown in. LOL
Does it run smoother or is it the placebo effect? All of us are guilty of it at one point in time. Not saying that it doesn't but you get my point.
Smoother doesn't necessarily translate to better.

EVERYONE SHOULD DO A UOA (USED OIL ANALYSIS) AT LEAST ONCE OR TWICE A YEAR. PERIOD. Do this and give yourself something else to obsess about. LOL

With that said, a UOA will help you get a better idea of what your engine and it's oil is doing or not doing.

 

[Batmobile_Engage]

I'm always skeptical about the placebo effect but in this case, my motor does really idle smoother...of course as some of you know, my idle was never great in the first place.
I do know, that before I started adding the Lucas Oil, my motor would generally consume ~0.5qts/3000 miles. Now, no consumption at all.

 

[Spamby]

I'll put it this way, all of our engine driven compressors never see oil additives, ever. These are several thousand horsepower engines utilizing single and twin turbos as big as your entire engine.

 

[Spamby]

From Amsoil's page. It eludes to the fact that base stocks may be whatever is necessary, PAO, ester, mineral oils, hydro cracked, etc.

" AMSOIL maintains formulation details as proprietary and does not divulge specifics regarding the type of synthetic base stocks used in its synthetic lubricants. AMSOIL developed the world?s first API-qualified synthetic motor oil in 1972 and has remained the leader in the synthetic lubricant industry by continually researching new technologies and demanding only the highest-quality raw materials. As the company moves forward with new technologies it is increasingly more important that this information remains proprietary. AMSOIL views synthetic base oils the same as it views additives, with each having its own set of unique properties. AMSOIL does not insist on a particular type of base stock, but insists on particular performance parameters. AMSOIL chooses whichever synthetic base stock or combination of base stocks delivers the desired result and tailors its lubricants to be application-specific (gasoline, diesel, racing, transmission, gear, extended drain, extreme temperatures, etc.). At the end of the day, the type of base stock used to formulate the oil is inconsequential; the product?s performance is what matters. "

 

[HolyCrapItsFast]

Then Redline it is for me. It is advertised as type V ester only synthetic.

 

[Batmobile_Engage]

Honestly, I don't mean to come off the wrong way. I know how knowledgeable you guys are, but all I ever hear is "oh those additives are never as good as X-brand" but never any proof, etc. as to why this is good and that is not. Like "my cousin's brother's dog's last owner has a race car and his team doesn't use it, so it must not be necessary".

Until someone gives me an actual good reason to NOT run Lucas Oil, I will continue to at every change.

 

[IGOTASTi]

Amsoil Dominator is a great oil. We have done tons of builds from small engines to V8 monsters and never had one issue.

Remember you get what you pay for.

 

[Spamby]

Definitely trying not to refute that Amsoil is not quality oil, just saying that over the years I found it almost impossible to find what exactly base stocks are in oils. Oil companies are generally going to keep their formulas a secret.
Another thing is that there are only a few actual oil producers, meaning that many oils on the shelf are actually base stocks made by the big oil producers. Exxon, Total/Elf and Shell come to mind.
Oil boutiques will spec a base stock and then obtain it from the big guys. They will generally add their special packages to it. Given the business world, base stocks may be obtained from one or many different producers.

I have generally gone crazy over the years researching oil. Once I find the answer I turn the corner and there is another twist. I researched Total Quartz 9000 and found it to be a base stock of group V, IV. This supposed from a letter directly from Total. Now I turned the corner and found evidence that contradicted this. I can say that the oil is super slippery and clear with a pink tinge to it. Scientifically my fingers say its a high quality oil. LOL
This debate or discussion will never end. The end will come when they oil companies tell us exactly what's in the oil and then it will only take on a new discussion.

 

[finallymysti]

So given this uncertainty, i read it as, pick a reputable brand, if the car seems to like it, run it with a proper oci and viscosity

 

[Spamby]

So given this uncertainty, i read it as, pick a reputable brand, if the car seems to like it, run it with a proper oci and viscosity

BINGO!

And do an occasional UOA.

 

[Batmobile_Engage]

One reason that I started using the Lucas Oil was that, while I was on active duty, I would
be going out to see Monday-Friday every week for a couple months. Sometimes we'd be out
longer. It seems like after adding the Lucas Oil, the engine starts much easier, most likely
because it's been sitting for a little bit and some of the oil makes it way back down into the
pan, leaving some components dry. Call me crazy, but I have always considered the moment
when you turn over a cold engine, especially one that hasn't been run within a few days or
more, to create the most wear inside your motor (especially between the piston rings/cylinder
walls and the valve train).

This has been discussed in ridiculous depth on some of the other forums I used to browse back
in the day. Even to the point where people compared cold start wear conditions between different
types of oil, weights, etc.

I can definitely tell, and especially after a fresh oil change, that my starter doesn't work anywhere
near as hard to start the motor when I use the Lucas Oil.

 

[IGOTASTi]

Grinder has made the switch over to Amsoil Dominator. Grinder have you seen a change?

 

[Grinder34]

Grinder has made the switch over to Amsoil Dominator. Grinder have you seen a change?

Honestly, no. I wouldn't expect to be able to feel the difference in motor oils on a day-to-day basis (assuming a reasonable quality to start with), but I will trust the research and UOAs done by those before me. I will probably run Amsoil for hard track days, and Rotella for daily driving. I know that Rotella isn't THE best oil, but it seems to be more than just "good enough" for daily driving and the price point is SO MUCH cheaper than Amsoil, it's hard to pass up. I just ordered a blackstone UOA kit and I may try to compare analyses, but we'll see. If Amsoil were cheaper, it would be an easier decision. If I'm feeling rich when its time for an oil change, I'll probably go with amsoil, otherwise Rotella.

 

[SudoSTI]

So I used to run RT6 in my old built motor 06 WRX but now that I'm PLATINUM I was thinking I'd use my benefits and start using AMSOil. So being that my car will primarily be a DD but I'd like to start getting into AutoX, which AMSOil type would be my best option? Or should I not bother and just stick with RT6 like my last car?

 

[Batmobile_Engage]

Lots of people here love AMSOIL. I've used AMSOIL Dominator (10W-30) a couple of times. It's pretty good stuff. There's also a great AMSOIL motor oil that comes in 5W-30, although I don't believe it contains zinc like Dominator does. I might go back to it at some point, but for now I'm running 4.0 quarts of Castrol Edge Titanium (full synthetic) 5W-30 and 0.5 quarts Lucas Oil Pure Synthetic Oil Stabilizer. I suppose I'm a Lucas Oil fanboy though. :lol:

 

[SudoSTI]

Would the Dominator handle cold starts very well? This is for my DD and it can get below 0* on occasion in the winter. Is it the Signature Series 5w-30 that's the other good one? There's a local guy running the Euro blend 5w-40 in his newer WRX hatch but I'm not sure why he chose that oil. TBH I'm pretty sure he doesn't even know why he chose that oil. :lol:

 

[Batmobile_Engage]

It think it would do just fine. JJ, you wanna chime in here on the AMSOIL for him? [MENTION=1]IGOTASTi.COM[/MENTION]