Where To Get Synthetic Oil Cheap!
 

WAL MART 20$ FOR 5 QUARTS PENZOIL SYNTHETIC REGULAR AUTO ZONE PRICE 699 NAPA 599 PEP BOYS 649

SO WAIT THATS ABOUT 37$ TOTAL AT AUTO ZONE VS 21$ AT WALMART:eek:

I've been buying synthetic oil at Wal-Mart since I've started using it years ago. Its always been the cheapest place.

I'm always skeptical of Wal-Mart's products, and oil would be one of them for sure.

I've spoken with people who work for companies that supply to Wal-Mart, and they have to take a very "chinese" approach- make a product extra-cheap for Wal-Mart. This "cheapification" is more apparent in some products than others, but I'm always afraid of what I can't see.

One possibility, and this is COMPLETE speculation, would be that the oils sold to Wal-mart are the "startup" and "shutdown" product from the manufacturing plant, which could have a less-certain mix of components or might carry residual product from the previous product made on that machine. Then Pennzoil would leave the higher-quality, more "in-spec" product for more premium purchasers. But there are plenty of ways that Pennzoil could supply a "cheapified" product to Wal-Mart and still meet the specifications on the label (as long as they are bent & twisted just slightly).

Of course we Americans have totally forgotten how to comparison shop- if we see a phone with 12 buttons, we think "well it has 12 buttons so it must work the same as the Radio Shack phone with 12 buttons" and ignore the fact that the wal-mart phone has cheaper springs, lower quality materials, thinner casing, shorter cords, and so on. And believe me, Wal-Mart is going to do everything they can to make you comparison shop THEIR way - "this phone has 12 buttons, and it only costs $X.XX" and hopes you overlook many of the less obvious traits of the product.

Sorry, I'll get off my soap box now.

-BC

The ONLY reason I go to Wal-Mart is to get my oil and oil filter. I never buy anything else there.

Mobil 1 is also $22 for 5 quarts. That with a supertech filter run around $25 pre-tax for an oil change... well, used to. I have a 6 quart engine now so it's $30 now.

First of all, the comparison is 5 1Qt bottles, vs 1 5Qt bottle @ Wallyworld. Naturally you should get a bulk price from the 5Qt bottle (but not always). Take two seemingly identical products. For example Mobil 1 5W30 Extended Performance oil. Check the UPC code for the one @ Wal-Mart, and the UPC code for one @ your local auto parts store. If the #'s match, you're buying the same product. If they don't, even if its only by 1 digit, something's different.

I've learned a lot in the past couple of years, and I've stopped using the orange can of death on my vehicles (Save for Rusty, I still have a stockpile of them that fit, and it only goes maybe 1,000 miles between oil changes anyway).

stop being paranoid the walmart 5 quart bottles are not less anything ....... they are the same oil as that sold in autozone or ricermart ..... save the conspiracies for walmart underwear and socks and their vile offering of "food"

I hope nobody here uses the Extended Performance Mobil 1... That's some of the most disgusting oil I think I've ever seen lol. The texture and everything is just all wrong!

paranoid....... there are laws that prohibit that, they also print whats in the food on every label, check the labels on the food they sell at walmart, and you will be horrified, thats like saying a cd player sold at wal mart has a fake label on it, because its 20$ cheap than it is at circuit city dude, paranoiddddd

you're right, its neon colored, i had to stop using that stuff because it burned so badly back to pennzoil synthetic, saturns burn oil, this helps them.. pennzoil is make by a real motor oil company, mobil is a joke, remember its exxon mobil funding the overthrow of iraq and venezualian government and funding false reports on global warming, mobil1 is pure overhype, probably castrol repackaged

i stopped buying gas at mobil stations because every time it rained my car ran like crap

paranoid???

i'll defend Bob. i've been in retail and wholesale, and i can tell you what he says is in fact true. manufacturers and such MUST cater to low price seekers even if it means inferior products. "you get what you pay for" is a legit concept.

i find it amusing that some blast capitalism ONLY when it's convenient. ie wally world couldn't possibly break laws or be immoral, but those oil companies...well, they're just evil!

in regard to synthetics, i'd make an informed purchase. mobil1 and amsoil are the only brands i'm certain that are 100% PAO based TRUE synthetic oil. but, mobile1 does sell generic non-fully synthetics, so be careful. again, you get what you pay for and cheaper products are there to generate extra sales.

one last thing. amsoil contains more expensive, higher quality PAO bases than mobile1, and also has ester to help condition seals giving longevity to them. disclaimer: i do NOT sell amsoil.

bobc455 is right about WalMart. Same brand, same UPC, same minimum specifications, there's a chance that the WalMart product will skim closer to the minimum specs than another store. The same is true of Home Depot and Lowes vs. other stores; same brand tool, same UPC, chance of less quality.

An example that is easy to observe: Tony's frozen pizza. Get it from WalMart and it's got visibly less cheese, and the crust is often bubbled up (before cooking). It's $2.50. For $4 at other grocery stores, it's much more consistent, far fewer crust bubbles and more cheese.

It's not 100% of products, but it is a significant portion of them. When there is a difference it's usually not a huge difference.

WalMart oil is good enough for my cars, and WalMart food is good enough for me.

95% of the time they will be different. At least around here. Every auto parts store here sells 4 quart jugs of oil, not 5 quart. Only big places like Wal-Mart have 5 quart jugs.

That's why I mentioned comparing the 1Qt bottles. Everyone carries those.

EDIT: I guess I was thinking that while I typed that response, but I never stated in there what I was thinking clearly. Anyway, a 4Qt and a 5Qt bottle are not the identical product.

I have the Mobil 1 EP 5W30 in the Hooptie, and Mobil 1 10W30 High Mileage in Rusty. I use Mobil 1 0W30 in The Beast. I chose the EP oil for the Hooptie as it doesn't get driven much (Only went 1,100 miles in the past year), and I do extended change intervals on it.

I've never seen the EP oil straight from the bottle. I had it changed, and they put it in for me. Its still a wonderful light honey color (at least it looks that way on the dipstick), and the oil has been in that car for nearly a year.

Next time you are checking the oil put some on your fingers and rub them together, then do it to the other cars. It has a very weird texture to it.

their clothes dont skim they are totally open about being garbage, dont try to shop for clothes there, building 19 any day over wal mart

The following link will take you to a rebate form for a $15. rebate on Pennzoil Platinum bringing the cost for a 5 quart jug down to $5.

https://pennzoil.com/documents/04946%...ine%20form.pdf

I've used the Wally world Syn tech brand 5/30 for years now. The oil analysis have always shown it to still have good protection left at 7 to 8k. Could I buy other oils and maybe push the change interval to 10k? Maybe, and it might even be worth it except that I wasn't getting any better life expectancy out of Mobil One. Same changes, same TBN numbers as the WAY cheaper synthetics. No thanks.:thumbdown:

Jim T.

Mix Your Oil
 

I have been mixing my oil for years, after reading the FAA report on Synthetic motor oil. The FAA is super restrictive, you cant add octane booster to you plane and until 2000 you could not add synthetics to the oil. So the FAA did a study and found that a total synthetic did not wash off the rings enough to get the carbon fouling out of the rings. The result, rings would stick and blow oil past the piston. So the FAA worked on a number of experiments, they found that a mixture of 45% Synthetic, 45% multiweight 20/50, and 10% 30 weight was the best for longevity. The synthetic has its wonderful lubricity, the 20/50 washed the rings, and the 10% 30 weight left a film of oil on the crank for start up to eliminate the metal on metal of a crank that has cooked off its thin synthetic oil.

I use Havoline or Quaker State Synthetic Blend, largly due to a test Chevrolet ran that found the best longevity of bearing life came from these 2 brands. Who were the losers, everything else including Mobile 1 and Castrol due to they're inability to cover the crank after running. Now the Chevrolet test was in 2006, so many motor oil companies have changed hands or merged operations. If anyone has new data I'm all ears.

How do I mix it? I take one of those clear plastic 1 gallon water jugs you get from the dollar store, drink the water and let it dry for a day, when all the water is gone, I draw graduated lines on the side of it and start mixing my 3 oils. With the new synthetic blends I dont have to mix the 2 oils, so I just add a shot of 30 weight. Now in winter I decrease the multi grade regular oil to manufacturer recomended viscosity, but I still add the 10% 30 weight.

I've had the same experience with WalMart synthetic 5W30 in my Geo. Interestingly, the oil consumption went from about 1k miles per quart to about 2k miles per quart. I haven't had it professionally analyzed, but it seems to be working just fine. And I sometimes go 7-8k miles between oil changes...something always seems to come up at around the 3k mile time to keep me from changing the oil (I've got a jug and a filter sitting in the garage right now waiting for me to have some time to get out there and change it...)


Some WalMart items are OK...I like the cheap mini-blinds...for under $4.00 I can replace them anytime the cat gets mad at me and decides to pee on the blinds. Socks and underwear do OK for the price...we have a Winco store in town that is as good a deal as WalMart for food, and the quality is a lot better.

I am so glad that I am running Synlube in my xB and DON'T have to worry about changing oil any more. (www.synlube.com) Now at 28266 miles and running great (24,566 on Synlube without a change).

I used to get my Geo oil at Walmart - Castrol 5w30 syntech usually the blend and did 7-8k change intervals. It used a bit of oil but with only holding 3 quarts it was not a big deal. Emissions were really low so no problem there . . . if only it didn't rust away I might still be driving it.

Do you send that oil off for testing or do you just believe the manufacturer?

quaker state and pennzoil are the same company btw

What Synlube? Can't really be analyzed the conventional way since it contains particles of solid lubricant and some sacrificial iron compounds already which would skew the test results. The indicator of good lubrication is the high gas mileage low noise and low heat levels that I get and since they have not had any oil related failures and have not changed the formular for many years I don't worry about testing it for wear. How many people send out oil samples with Mobile 1 which has changed several times in recent years? I have yet to wear out an engine before the body rusts away but in this case I hope to drive my xB a bit more than I have and get some use out of it. Hopefully the excelent rust prevention that Toyota/Scion uses will let this one last a good deal longer than prior cars I have owned.

https://www.fcsdchemicalsandlubricant.../xo5w20qsp.jpg
In the 5Qt size is $11.60 at Walmart
Motorcraft 5W-20 Premium Synthetic

So you have to accept on faith that you can go without changing your oil for so long?

It is my observation that this is the case with most vehicles regardless of the oil products or oil service intervals, with some specific exceptions.

I just don't think I personally feel comfortable with the same oil in an engine for more than 10,000 miles, no matter what oil or filters are used, but that's just me. When I was young & stupid I used to change my oil & filter as soon as the oil started to turn black on the dipstick. That was about every 1,500 to 2,000 miles for Valvoline 10W30 back in the late 80's - early 90's. I also used to use 10W30 in winter, and 10W40 in summer. That was the first habit I broke myself of. I switched to using 10W30 year round. Then I started doing 3,000 mile oil changes. Once I switched to Mobil 1 synthetic I went to 5,000 miles. No more worrying or keeping track of when it was serviced. If my odometer reading is divisible by 5,000 my service is due. I've been pleased that the oil never turns black, and I'm not interested in deviating from my 5,000 mile schedule. My vehicles run smooth & quiet (with the exception of Rusty - you can hear that truck coming from a mile away. The exhaust is very noisy.)

EDIT: Dad used to always do oil changes on the Bonneville every 5,000 miles. I think the book called for changes every 7,500 or 8,000 miles.

That's exactly how I do my service intervals lol

They have other customers listed that have gone a great many miles without changing the oil and a few people I have met on line have used it without any problems. Usually when conventional oils start looking their lubricating properties you see a mileage drop and an increase in engine noise tapping knocking etc. Not seeing any of this.

As far as the cost I would have done 5 oil changes by now . . . at $20 each and an hour of my time each plus shopping time to get the oil . . . That's $100 and 5+ hours. And combine that with 28266 miles using 831 gallons of gas at 34mpg vs 657 gallons at 43mpg equals a savings of 173 gallons at $3 a gallon = $520 saved. Sort of pays for some scangauges and acetone doesn't it?

the first rule of Wal-Mart is the only other place you shop is at another Wal-Mart

you can save 700$ a year increasing your mileage by 7 or 8 miles per gallon

just think each mile is a 100$ bill!!

That savings depends on your car and how much you drive. Someone that drives a Prius and averages 10k a year won't see anywhere near $700 in savings. With current gas prices you'd have to get the mileage my car does over 12k miles to make a $700 savings per year at 7mpg.

$2143 over 12k miles for my current 14mpg lifetime mileage
$1428 over 12k miles if I increased mileage to 21mpg
Savings of $715/yr

Synthetic is not the only characteristic
 

Synthetic oils last longer and give slightly better fuel mileage. My father-in-law is an engineer at GM and he says the best mileage is with synthetic oil that has friction modifiers which is an expensive additive. Friction eats power. Royal Purple, Joe Gibbs, and Schaeffer are examples of synthetic oil that has friction modifiers. They all cost more than Mobil 1 except Schaeffer but it is hard to find.

ALOT of people drive 15-20k a year hence the 700$ thing

ALOT of people drive 15-20k miles a year hence the 700$ thing:thumbup:

Perhaps synlube is as good as it claims, but it is falling in the extraordinary realm. If there is proof, their site makes it hard to find. Then things like this make me doubt that it is even there.
From their FAQ:
Bolded the part that caught my eye. Do they themselves know what the numbers mean? I agree with using a lower W number in the oil isn't a problem. The xW-xx is just a labeling system. The actual measured viscosity of the W number is higher than the operating temp viscosity to begin with, and, outside extreme environments, the oil quickly heats up and thins out anyway.

But to claim a thicker operating temp oil is better shows a lack of understanding, or just being misleading. A higher viscosity doesn't mean a better lubricant. Otherwise, maple syrup would be better than astroglide. It takes more effort to pump thicker fluids, and thus more strain on the oil pump. Then, for engines designed for a lighter weight, the channels the oil flows through will be narrower, which will add to the strain.

Wow...
Such a generalized, and blatantly false statement really does make it quite hard to take anything said by them as true....

i've heard that(the first paragraph) before. but i've heard and seen for myself the cleaning power of synthetics. also i can confirm that synthetics are drawn to heat, keeping its lube on warm starts. cold starts, well what about lucas?

i often wonder and doubt studies especially since the API does not rate amsoil. it makes me wonder also how many other independent studies do not include amsoil or ALL motor oil for that matter.

Synthetics do clean out the engine extremely well. On Rusty (my 1986 Chevy C-10) I switched to synthetic somewhere between 140K and 150K miles. At 190,000 dad & I took the engine apart to change the timing chain. With the oil pan off, and looking straight up at the crank, the engine was so clean that you would swear you were looking at a new engine. There was also no sludge in the oil pan.

What did it look like before you switched to synthetic?

If you ever get the chance, take a gander at an engine that is being taken apart that ran synthetic and E85 it's whole life. It's unlikely that you'll find one that needs it for anything less than overheating until the headgasket blew but still. You'd swear that engine had no more than 20 miles on it. The plugs come out immaculate looking like they've never been run, the combustion chambers are clean, the inside of the engine looks almost new. It's incredible.