Whats the best oil

[9camaro9]

changing my oil this weekend... whats the best besides royal purple? I heard quakerstate was pretty good. should i get synthetic? btw im rolling up on 74k.

[01MaroIL]

my guess is most will give either Mobil 1 or Royal Purple for an answer.

[vanbibber]

once my car is back in one peice its going on a mobil 1 diet. with either one you cant really lose.

[terminaldegree]

I posted this a few weeks ago to a similar question:

Do you change your own oil?
If you don't change your own oil, do you mind paying twice as much for an oil change?
Do you prefer running beyond 3,000 miles per oil change?
Do you run your car hard, or operate in extreme environments?
Are you going to keep your car past 125,000 miles?
Is your engine clean and dry? [no leaks]

If you answer "yes" to the vast majority of these, then synthetic may be a good idea. DIY with an inexpensive full synthetic and a decent quality filter is going to run you $25. Unless you keep your eyes peeled for sales, rebates, and giveaways. I haven't paid more than $2.75 a quart for a good synthetic in the last year by keeping an eye out for deals.

A lot of people like RP "regular" series oil [they make some wicked racing oils too, but they're freakishly expensive and harder to find]-- the only knock against it is that it tends to shear out of grade. It seems to protect engines well.

A lot of people like M1, and especially since it's cheaper than many of its competitors. It seems to last long and not shear down. The only knock against M1 is that some people think it makes their engines noisier, and sometimes shows higher iron wear in oil analysis results.

I wouldn't consider the Quaker state stuff in the same league as these two; QS and Penzoil are the same company, and PZ usually gets slightly more advanced formulations. QS is all about slick marketing. I think there are rebates out there for the new PZ "platinum" synthetic.

Other interesting choices: Amsoil [expensive], "made in Germany" - labeled Castrol 0w-30 [only at Autozone], Redline [controversial and expensive], Maxlife synthetic [not the regular stuff], acea a3 - rated Supertech synth [cheap], Havoline synthetic [often on sale, good].

I like to run oversize filters [the pf-52 size, not the -47 or 3387a size]. For the money, AC delco "made in usa" filters, PureOnes [when on sale for less than $5], and Wix [when less than $6] are good filters; the Mobil1 and K&N are way overpriced for what they are.

[96RS Alex]

Royal Purple is sold at Pep Boys. At $5.99 a qt thats expensive as hell.