Digging Into the Timeless Question, “Which Oil is Better?”

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SouthTexan

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Which oil is the best? How many times has this been argued? Some say Amsoil. Others say Rotella. Without any comparative data, how do you really know? Bro-science? He said, she said?

Well, the guys over at Blackstone Labs analysed the data to come to the conclusion that most of us(besides the brand biased guys) already knew. There really is no difference and what matters most is the viscosity(grade) of oil and how long between oil change intervals.

Note: Please read the whole thing and not just look at the graphs. It explains on page 5 why the Amzoil had lower iron wear metals in the first two engines and not in the third. I don't want you Amzoil brand loyal guys only looking at the charts and coming to the wrong conclusions.

Digging Into the Timeless Question, “Which Oil is Better?”
 
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bhonshell37

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Which oil is the best? How many times has this been argued? Some say Amsoil. Others say Rotella. Without any comparative data, how do you really know? Bro-science? He said, she said?

Well, the guys over at Blackstone Labs analysed the data to come to the conclusion that most of us(besides the brand biased guys) already knew. That there really is no difference and what matters most is the viscosity(grade) of oil and how long between oil change intervals.

Note: Please read the whole thing and not just look at the graphs. It explains on page 5 why the Amzoil had lower iron wear metals in the first two engines and not in the third. I don't want you Amzoil brand loyal guys only looking at the charts and coming to the wrong conclusions.

Digging Into the Timeless Question, “Which Oil is Better?”
You should post this on the synthetic oil forum

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SouthTexan

SouthTexan

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I didn't know there was a synthetic oil forum here. Although, one of the engines in the article is the 6.7L Cummins found in the HD trucks.
 

bhonshell37

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I didn't know there was a synthetic oil forum here. Although, one of the engines in the article is the 6.7L Cummins found in the HD trucks.
Yah, just search syn oil

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reloaderguy

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I don't have time to read the whole report, how about the Cliff Notes? I mean, besides "it's all the same ****" because we already know based on Blackstone's own reports it's not all the same ****.
 
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SouthTexan

SouthTexan

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I don't have time to read the whole report, how about the Cliff Notes? I mean, besides "it's all the same ****" because we already know based on Blackstone's own reports it's not all the same ****.

Read the second paragraph of my initial post and you will get the summary of the report.
 

HvyDuty

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Thanks for posting this.

For years I swore by Mobil 1 Syn for gas engines. Then about 10 years ago I found out on bobistheoilguy.com that Mobil stopped using PAO Group 5? (True Syn) base stock for the oil and switched to highly refined dyno oil (forget the group name)

I switched to German Castrol Syn as that was apparently the best going (still had high (ZDDP?).

When I had diesels I used Rotella T 5w-40 with good results.

Now except for my 6.4L hemi which gets German/Belgium 0w-40 (its the only oil that quiets cold startup chatter). I use what ever good name brand is on sale but generally prefer Pennzoil.
 

reloaderguy

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Read the second paragraph of my initial post and you will get the summary of the report.

Your second paragraph doesn't tell me anything. I already know I can't go 100k miles between oil changes. How about you bullet point it for everyone who doesn't care to read Blackstone's marketing materials designed not to alienate anyone.
 
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SouthTexan

SouthTexan

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Your second paragraph doesn't tell me anything. I already know I can't go 100k miles between oil changes. How about you bullet point it for everyone who doesn't care to read Blackstone's marketing materials designed not to alienate anyone.


My second paragraph summarizes the report. I can't help if you do not understand what it is saying. Sorry!
 
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68PowerWagon

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Thanks for sharing ST.
Pretty much what I would have figured about todays oil. 30 years ago I think there would have been a lot different out comes between the brands. I did some engine re-builds in the late 80's. I seen the inside of some engines of loyal Quaker State & Valvoline users. The Quaker State engines were very dirty with a lot of gummy residue. One engine in particular was really bad. After removing the intake I was literally pulling out hand fulls of gunk. Valvoline, which I was using at the time because I was poor & it was cheap, seemed to break down rapidly causing pre mature wear.
Of course back then an engine with 100,000 miles was considered a lot. Now a person can easily get 2-3 times that.
Again thanks for sharing
 

HvyDuty

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I think ExxonMobil sued back in the day and was allowed to call their highly refined dino "Fully Synthetic Oil".

I believe most marketed "Synthetic" oil today is not true Group 5 synthetic PAO and is a waste of money. The "regular" oils today are almost as good anyway.
 

reloaderguy

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My second paragraph summarizes the report. I can't help if you do not understand what it is saying. Sorry!

Against my better judgement I took the time to read the report. Much like your paragraph, Blackstone stated specifically the study was inconclusive at best. Frankly I'm not sure you understand what you wrote. This will either support you previously held beliefs or it'll be bullocks, take your pick.
 

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Against my better judgement I took the time to read the report. Much like your paragraph, Blackstone stated specifically the study was inconclusive at best. Frankly I'm not sure you understand what you wrote. This will either support you previously held beliefs or it'll be bullocks, take your pick.

May be I'm blind in one eye and can't see out of the other but I never saw the word "inconclusive" in Blackstone Lab's report.

Blackstone's conclusion, if "conclusion" is the right word to use since it is a report and not a white paper or a research document, is "Whatever differences exist from oil brand to oil brand, we don’t see a lot of difference in terms of wear for most types of engines".
 
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SouthTexan

SouthTexan

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Against my better judgement I took the time to read the report. Much like your paragraph, Blackstone stated specifically the study was inconclusive at best. Frankly I'm not sure you understand what you wrote. This will either support you previously held beliefs or it'll be bullocks, take your pick.

I only summarized their findings in the report(which you asked for footnotes since you didn't want to read the report). If you don't like said findings, then you can call Blackstone at 260-744-2380 and compare your data with theirs.
 

reloaderguy

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May be I'm blind in one eye and can't see out of the other but I never saw the word "inconclusive" in Blackstone Lab's report.

Blackstone's conclusion, if "conclusion" is the right word to use since it is a report and not a white paper or a research document, is "Whatever differences exist from oil brand to oil brand, we don’t see a lot of difference in terms of wear for most types of engines".

Their findings are limited to the samples sent in. All reporting is self selected by the vehicle owners without any controls.
 
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SouthTexan

SouthTexan

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Their findings are limited to the samples sent in. All reporting is self selected by the vehicle owners without any controls.

You are taking this report the wrong way. This report is about analytics, not testing.

They said from the start that all they were doing was analyzing current data that they had (which is probably more data than anyone else has) to try and out if the data showed that one brand of oil had different wear rates than another. Based on the data, the numbers(which don't lie or have any bias) show that there really is no difference between the brands in regards to engine wear.

If you have any data you would like to show that refute Blackstone's report then please post it. As an analyst, I am all about seeing more data.
 
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BossHogg

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Their findings are limited to the samples sent in. All reporting is self selected by the vehicle owners without any controls.

This is a ridiculous position, Blackstone is the leading oil anailsys company out there and they are respected throughout the industries like marine, aviation, off-road, over the road, and by private interest like us.

Attempting to discredit Blackstone for the sake of anchoring your position doesn't make you look good. Yes, their findings are limited to the samples they analyze, that is obvious. To suggest their findings are inaccurate because of limited samples is a bad assumption. How many 10s of thousands of sample do you think they used?
 

reloaderguy

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This is a ridiculous position, Blackstone is the leading oil anailsys company out there and they are respected throughout the industries like marine, aviation, off-road, over the road, and by private interest like us.

Attempting to discredit Blackstone for the sake of anchoring your position doesn't make you look good. Yes, their findings are limited to the samples they analyze, that is obvious. To suggest their findings are inaccurate because of limited samples is a bad assumption. How many 10s of thousands of sample do you think they used?

You contradicted yourself. No one is discrediting Blackstone, just pointing out the report has no real finding. All sizzle, no steak.
 

Rupert

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Their findings are limited to the samples sent in. All reporting is self selected by the vehicle owners without any controls.

And we all should know how much weight to give reports based on "self reporting" in our decision making.


Where's that " stirring the pot icon thingy?
 
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SouthTexan

SouthTexan

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And we all should know how much weight to give reports based on "self reporting" in our decision making.


Where's that " stirring the pot icon thingy?

It's bro-science, just like the guys in the bodybuilding forums. :crazy:
 
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