oil – a case study i did

[jeremyfountain]

lets start with a brand new 2002 f150 v6 pushrod motor

i used motorcraft for the first 2 oil changes and went to royal purple for 220,000 miles with no oil consumption.

royal purple got hard to find in my areay last year so i went with castrol high milage

it drank oil like crazy (1 qt every 1500-2000 miles)

swaped back to royal purple and things are back to normal with no or very little oil consumption

250+ k on her now…. does an engine break in differently when a specific oil is used throughout the

break in process?

Topic

[Kevin Criswell]

Interesting question.

I really don’t know, oil is so much more stabilized and advanced than it was even just 10 years ago. So far I have found almost all oils in the same classification are pretty close to each other in quality.

Each manufacturer claims that theirs tests the best, but of course that is because they conducted the tests. I have used almost every oil out there from Royal Purple and Amsoil to the stuff I get a Rural King (Havoline re-brand) and not yet found one iota of difference. This concept that either Amsoil or Royal purple have found a secret magic formula to make it go longer and better than the rest is bunk at best. And the truly sad part is OA tests have shown that the expensive oils often wear at the same exact levels as average priced oils.

As far as break-in, ugh that is a loaded topic. I have heard arguments from both sides. Compelling scientific sounding arguments as to which type (and brand) to use. I have heard arguments made for conventional and synthetic and yet reality seems to say that it does not matter. Some expensive cars come from the factory with synthetic and some with dino.

I have always told my customers the same thing.

“Use any brand of oil you want. makes no difference as long as you use the API classification that meets or exceeds the rating for your vehicle.”

oh and
“Put only oil in your crankcase, fuel in your fuel tank and antifreeze in your cooling system. Anything else is snake-oil and should be treated as such.”

[EricTheCarGuy]

[Author]

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