Oil of choice?

aernan · 01-17-2013, 12:07 PM

I've made it through my first 5k miles and gotten my complimentary oil change and inspection. From here out I'll be filling the car with my oil of choice.

What oil will you be using?

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cbdallas · 01-17-2013, 12:36 PM

Pennzoil Ultra. One of the lowest NOACK numbers available, which is good for D.I. engines.

aernan · 01-17-2013, 01:43 PM

I had to look up NOACK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NOACK_Volatility_Test
it's how much the oil evaporates under heat load.

I've never heard of Pennzoil Ultra. I found their page http://pennzoil.com/motor-oil/pennzo...synthetic-oil/

It looks like the ST takes 5W30 oil
according to the PDF from the pennzoil page the NOACK of their 5W30 oil is 11.9

There are two links on that page to buy the oil. the 0W40 and the Euro formula. The link for the 0W40 shows a single quart bottle and it costs $54.19 I think that can't be for a single quart. I searched google shopping and there was an ebay link selling 5 gallons (20 quarts) for $129. So that works out to $6.50 a quart.

on Amazon they have the 5W30 in a 6Pk (one oil change for us) for 51.95 ($8.66 a quart). They also have the 0W40 at $13.09 a quart.

cbdallas · 01-17-2013, 01:45 PM

See if you're able to open this doc.

http://www.epc.shell.com/Docs/GPCDOC...1207271344.pdf

If it won't open for you, it's located in here: http://www.epc.shell.com/

aernan · 01-17-2013, 02:00 PM

oh wow both documents are put out by pennzoil and are both talking about the same oil but the numbers are completely different. They are reporting 6.4% for NOACK which is a very good number (lower is better) and the other at this link http://pennzoil.com/wp-content/uploa...icMotorOil.pdf reports it as 11.9% which is not that great. I wonder why/how they are distributing to different data sheets with different number.

aernan · 01-17-2013, 02:03 PM

I started reading on wikipedia about oil viscosity http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_oil I always thought it 5w30 stood for 5 "weight" 30. But what it really stands for is Winter. According to wikipedia
"Based on the coldest temperature the oil passes at, that oil is graded as SAE viscosity grade 0W, 5W, 10W, 15W, 20W, or 25W. The lower the viscosity grade, the lower the temperature the oil can pass. For example, if an oil passes at the specifications for 10W and 5W, but fails for 0W, then that oil must be labeled as an SAE 5W. That oil cannot be labeled as either 0W or 10W."

That's quite informative. I guess paying for 0W oils is only a good idea if you live somewhere that gets quite cold. The lowest temperature I have seen in the morning is 27 degrees F.

cbdallas · 01-17-2013, 02:05 PM

The 11.9 was for the SM oil. They're selling SN now.

aernan · 01-17-2013, 02:53 PM

In my truck I run amsoil. When I did my original research it was the best oil I could find. After spending some time reading on wikipedia it seams the US oil regulation and testing systems fell behind auto makers requirements. The best oil they sell for this application is their SAE 5-W-30 signature series. At 10.15 a quart. It's NOACK is 7.0 and most of the numbers are nearly identical with the Pennzoil Ultra oils. Now I have no idea which would be a better oil. I'm actually leaning to the Pennzoil.

http://www.amsoil.com/shop/by-produc...?code=ASLQT-EA

Are there any other oils that perform in this category that should be considered? Maybe Mobil 1 or Royal Purple has a product?

cbdallas · 01-17-2013, 02:57 PM

For D.I., I'm concentrating on the NOACK number of the top-selling synthetics. Right now, Ultra is at the top of that heap. I think Mobil 1 is in the 11s with NOACK, but I haven't seen the data sheet on that one lately.