other day i was at the local wal mart and saw they have their own house brand in synthetic now. 3 dollars a quart, same API rating as mobil, or whatever other oil i compared it to. now i know wal mart doesn't have a refinery so who makes it for them? would it be "just as good" as mobil or any of the others? i've always used pennzoil dino oil and mobil synthetic. this has just got me wondering about the wal mart brand. thanks

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ICON Motorsports

1st & 3rd
MM Black Diamond Lodge 538 F&AM

 

Ed,

Both the local WallyWorlds around here haven't had the 5 quart promotional jugs of Mobil 1 for several months now. Maybe that's why. Other than their $15.00 jugs, the best I've been able to do is about $3.15 a quart in the six bottle cases.

If you want to find out the source of the synthetic, ask the Customer Service counter for an MSDS on the oil. They should have sheets available for most of the products they sell. An MSDS usually lists the manufacturer's name and address, along with all other relevant safety information.

------------------
Later,
Vader
------------------
"I'm'a do Things My Way - It's My way or the Highway."
Adobe Acrobat Reader

 

never even thought of the msds, could get one for all the synthetics and see who does what, or makes it. i bought 3 of the 5 quart jugs of valvoline synthetic for 5 dollars each a while back, but not seen any others in over a year. i think i have around 20 5 quart jugs in the garage, plus 4 or 5 cases of pennzoil dino oil. man am i a pack rat or what?

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ICON Motorsports

1st & 3rd
MM Black Diamond Lodge 538 F&AM

 

I just picked up the Mobil 1 Syn. (10W-30) six pack a couple days ago from Wal-Mart. I've been using Pennzol (10W-30)since I've had the car. I thought I would try the Synth. oil and see what happens. Since my car had 151,000 miles on it, it probably leak all over the place. Do ya think it's a bad idea to put it in? At $26.00 for the six-pack that stuff ain't cheap. Since I haven't opened it yet I could take it back to get something else. What else would you recommend?

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'87 Trans Am:
(Engine)
305 TPI
160 Degree Thermostat
TB Bypass
Accel 300+ 8.8 Racing Wires
Accel Super Coil
Bosch Platinium Plugs
Custom Ram Air with K&N
Removed Emissions Equipment & Cat.
(Stereo)
Kenwood Excelon

 

Jobryan26, Use the Mobil 1, you'll be happy with it.

 

Jobryan, Mobil 1 is good stuff and I use it in everything, but I would replace the valve stem oil seals and anything else that might leak in an engine with that many miles on it before you make the switch. I converted my '90 to M1 with 36K on the odometer, and an '86 Blazer with the 2.8 with 130K on the OD. Both smoked like a chimney after 2 or 3 days, right at startup, and fouled the plugs pretty good. With the Blazer, I just kicked myself and switched back to good 'ol Pennzoil since it's not worth working on. For the Camaro I put in new valve stem seals. Problem solved and now it doesn't use oil even with synthetic 5W-30. For my '98 Blazer, I switched to Mobil 1 after 500 miles on the odometer. It purrs like a kitten through a Gibson exhust. You just have to be a little careful with older cars. Try it and find out what needs fixin', and then decide whether to fix it and stick to the M1 or go back to the ancient stuff. Just my $0.02

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1990 IROC 350
Mods: Too busy trying to make it run right to mod it.
Airfoil, Dynomax cat-back, Accel coil, 180 t-stat, Bald Eagle tires,
Hypertech fan switch, Ruger P95DC, hot wife, new oil filter,
thick rubber floormats, towels in the seats.
18.0 @ 85MPH since I'm one big-a$$ MF
"It's better to have and not need than to need and not have."

 

My sources say it's Quaker State Synthetic. Brother In-law is a TLE manager. He says it comes from QS.

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82 camaro--original steering wheel, brake/gas pedals, seats--everything else modified
82camaro

 

I've heard of some doing half/half with dino oil...

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89 IROC-Z 350 TPI

-Flowmaster Catback
-Performance Resource Chip
-700R4 (Rebuilt) Too much done to actually list
-K&N Airfilters
-Ported Plenum
-2.77 Gears (not much to brag about but eh, its there)
-MSD 8.5 mm plug wires
-Gutted cat
-!AIR

 

i mix the dino oil with synthetic 50/50. from what i've read it's a good mix, better than most oil a nd close to all the benifits of full synthetic. i use 15-50 mobil in my tractor, cut the oil consumption down by 75% and it looks like it stays cleaner a lot longer. i love post about oil, you see so many differant ideas

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ICON Motorsports

1st & 3rd
MM Black Diamond Lodge 538 F&AM

 

my loacal WallyWorld had Castol Full 5 quart jugs Senthitic for $18 after tax!! Good Price for hear... I swear Oil is more expincive here..

OOhh Yeaa I stocked up all right

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Hecubus
Check out my new site http://www.geocities.com/hecubus91
91-Z28 305 Tpi "G92" mods-- K$N/Foil/Cat Back 3" Flowmaster/3" High Flow Cat/B&M shifter/ Intrax Springs/ Kyb Shock's-Struts's/Poly Bushings/Hotchkis Strut Tower Brace/ 100-150 Nos Wet Plate System/ 155lph Fuel Pump/ Holly Adj. Fuel Press. Regulator/Digital Fuel, voltage & Oil Press Guage's/MSD 6al/ Blaster coil/ Optima,Yellow top batt.

"I spent all my money on race cars, beer, and Broads... The Rest I wasted"

[This message has been edited by Hecubus (edited April 08, 2001).]

 

82 camaro is right. I work in TLE here in College Station. Wal-Mart just puts Quaker State in Super Tech bottles and sells it for cheap.

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82 Camaro:
350, Erson cam, ported heads, Crane Hi-6 ignition, Accel supercoil, Comp Cams 1.6:1 rocker arms, Turbo 350 tranny with 2500 stall.

 

I asked the owner of Kendall Racing Supplies about using Mobil 1 in my TA. This guy races sprint cars and has been a V8 engine builder all his working life. He says the clearences in our V8s is about 3 thou as opposed to about 1 thou in later generation V8s designed for synthetic lubrication. He says to stick with mineral oil for a mineral engine. Synthetic is just too thin.

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84 Trans Am HO L69 WS6
5 Speed manual
Vortech Cherrybomb no cat
Removed A/C A.I.R. Hdflap
H/made cld air induction
K&N
Otherwise STD

 

Ahhhrrrggg, Quackerjunk. Be afraid!

------------------
Rob P
89RSconvtZZ4TPI
Edelbrock Hi-Flow Intake
SLP Dual Cold Air Intake
1 5/8" Headers
Semi-Siamesed Runners
MSD6AL/relocated MAT/ AdjFPR/IROC frnt@rear swaybar/wonderbar/steeringbox/alum drvshaft/ Alston SFC/3:23posi disc rear/MAC LCA/H.Adams Panhard Rod/KYB struts/ shocks/
92Z28convt5spd
71Impala convt 402BB
BETTER DRIVING THRU SUPERIOR HORSEPOWER!

 

Danger,

Ask him what the cut-off date is for "older" engines. I had a 1988 Astro w/232 V-6 for ten years that ran 178,000 miles on synthetic, towing boats, sonwmobiles, kids, other cars on dollies, and a small tractor pretty regularly, plus the short trips around town in -20°F weather and 100°+F in the summer. The only engine problems I ever had was a failed EGR, a PS pump that ate itself, and an oxygen sensor that just wouldn't signal any more. I never even pulled the rocker covers, and never had leaks.

Did I get lucky or was 1987 (when the engine was built) one of those "synthetic" engines?

Incidentally, the piston clearances on my 1974 355 are specified at 0.0007-0.0017", not 0.003". And rod and main clearances are specified at 3 tenths on the low end as well. My '86 305 is listed with almost the same range, but are just a bit tighter. All of my Hearst/Motor manuals from back to 1964 say throw them away once they reach more than three thousandths. Did you hear him correctly, or am I missing something?

Also, synthetic oil can be "thinner" than mineral oils, but it can also be thicker. 15W base synthetic (ISO 46 viscosity) is considerably more viscous (thicker) than a mineral oil base with a 10W SAE crankcase rating (ISO 32). A 10W synthetic starts out at the same actual viscosity of a similar 10W mineral oil. The synthetic just doesn't lose viscosity to breakdown nearly as fast as a mineral oil, so a mineral oil would actually tend to get thinner faster than a synthetic. Just the opposite is true in extreme cold, where the mineral oil turns to tar and the synthetic just keeps flowing at nearly the same rate as if it were 200°F.

The film strength of synthetic oil is also much greater than that of mineral oils, which is why it is ideally suited to gasoline engines with varying stresses and shears on different places in the engine. A mineral oil that is "ideal" for piston ring lubrication would suck for timing chain service, so the formula is compromised for reasonable protection for all engine components. Synthetic oils are less of a compromise because of their suitability over a wider range of applications. The synthetic should provide better lubrication and sealing in a loose engine.

I can understand why your builder friend would not use synthetic, though. Most racing engines never see the equivalent of even 10,000 miles before a teardown. In general automotive service, this is the point where many of us consider our engines just "broken in" whereas a race engine would be worn out. Why waste the money on something that will provide little benefit, since the oil is probably changed every 500 miles anyway.

------------------
Later,
Vader
------------------
"I'm'a do Things My Way - It's My way or the Highway."
Adobe Acrobat Reader

 

My 86 TA has over 200,000 miles on it now and it has ALWAYS had Rotella T (15w-40) put in it!! I also used Rotella T on my V-6 '80 firebird until it overheated and died because of the radiator!! Shell has been around for a LONG time!! Can't complain!

 

Well I'm gonna try it and see what happens. I can always go back. Thanks guys

------------------
'87 Trans Am:
(Engine)
305 TPI
160 Degree Thermostat
TB Bypass
Accel 300+ 8.8 Racing Wires
Accel Super Coil
Bosch Platinium Plugs
Custom Ram Air with K&N
Removed Emissions Equipment & Cat.
(Stereo)
Kenwood Excelon