I've heard from tons of people that quaker state and penzoil were about the worst thing you can buy. I personally have used castrol GTX and wix filters since i bought my car over a year ago. But it seems to be one of those things where everyone has their own preference. But I've always wondered if I should switch to a high mileage oil since my car is 26 years old.

 

At that point why would you, your vehicle is 26 years old and if it runs good then why switch?

 

napa and parts master are re-badged Valvoline oil. just like jimmy vs blazer

 

True, it runs great in my opinion since I've had it not once has it failed me.

 

In my experience, Store brands are the same as Valvoline, just a different name on the bottle, hell they're all from the same dead dinosaurs! hee hee...

I've never had any problems with any store brands, just that Pennzoil and Quaker State trash. I wouldn't put that $hit in a lawnmower. Nor will I ever touch anything that says "High Mileage" even if it's my Castrol version of high mileage..

I do really like Royal Purple too, (The oil really is purple in color, or at least until it touches the inside of the head, then it's turns brown!) But, I am too cheap to spend 10 bucks a quart on oil. Plus, I didn't notice any difference in performance between Castrol (Non-synthetic) and Royal Purple. Other than the weight and mass of my wallet.

My butt-dyno does feel a difference from Castrol 5w30 and Valvoline 5W30 though. I do feel an increase in performance from using Castrol, but that is just my opinion. The best oil additive I have found is Restore, it takes about a week to kick in, but I swear it dropped a second off my 0-60 times. It's best 10 bux you can spend. I have been running this stuff for the past 15 years and I have noticed a substantial increase in performance in EVERY vehicle I have dumped it in.

I do NOT drive like an old lady, on the contrary, I am that as$hole that passes you in the grass on the highway doin 115 in an old first gen! I have 245,000 miles on her so far and she'll still smoke the tires. But to each their own...

Hope that helps...

 

Castrol is a marketing corporation not an oil manufacturer or refiner
they buy who ever's oil is cheapest at the time as long as it is up to the specs printed on the container.

i used it for years before i found out.
the extra money you spend for it is just in the flashy label, the packaging and there advertising time on tv.

if you do regular oil changes at recomended intervals your all set use what ever oil you trust.

personaly i use quaker state and penzoil and have had no problems.

 

That AC Delco filter you're using is no different than the Fram you used before, just a higher cost. We cut filters apart here at my Parts Store, and those were two we cut. Gotta say, i was shocked. I've always used WIX and that's exactly what I recommend for my customer. Just good, solid internal makings you can't go wrong with. And as far as my oil, my '97 has 195xxx and I run 5w30 MOBIL ONE.

 

To address the points brought up in a couple of posts, there are only two types of base stock that non-syntheic motor oil is refined from, paraffinic and naphthenic, Pennsylvania crude (long recognized as high quality) is where Pennzoil came from and is a paraffinic base. Naphthenic oil is the type found in Texas and other Gulf areas. Most conventional oils today are paraffinic and any difference between oils from this stock comes from the refining method. Today very few 'synthetic' oil brands use a synthetic base stock but rather use natural crude that is extremely highly refined using processes developed just a few short years ago.
It's not the base stock that makes the oil but the refining method, additives, and blending that count. The idea that an engine that has sludged from a particular oil is just anecdotal. Sludge comes from a poor engine design combined with using cheaper oil for an extended drain period that used up its additive package of detergents and dispersants so that it could no longer combat the contaminants introduced from engine use. Very few oil companies refine their own oil, but buy the base from 3 or 4 refiners, then add their additive package, and do the blending. Any name brand oil today is a very high quality oil.
The only way to see if a particular oil is perfroming well in a particular engine is to have a used oil analysis done from your engine. Period.

 

To those who say Valvoline is the same as Napa oil
If this is true, then it would be the same as comparing Cheetos to Wal-Mart cheese crunches.
It MAY come from the same place, but the QUALITY is going to be different.
Why would they sell their good oil for say $2.50 a quart, when they can get $5.00 a quart for their brand name? It's not going to be the same oil.
That's why if you want a good oil, it's best to go brand name. You DO get what you pay for.

Although avoiding Pennzoil and Quaker State are spot on. Also, it has been proven Mobil 1 isn't great, either.
Valvoline Syn, and Castrol Syn have been proven to be a much better synthetic oil.
I have heard great things about Amsoil, too.

 

I've ran nothing but Quaker State in my vehicles for the last 25 years and never had a problem. Lots of people dislike Pennzoil, the biggest complaint I've heard is it turns really dark in between oil changes. I think that's a matter of the detergents in it, but I could be wrong.