Age of new motor oil an issue?

From what I've heard it's as good as it was when new. No personal experience to back this up however.

I hope not... I just bought 6 5 qt. jugs of Tech 2000 Full Synthetic at WalMart, they are clearance priced at $6.00 each for the 5W-30 and

10W-30... $1.25 a qt for full synthetic is a pretty good deal even for Quaker State.

Rob

Shooting from the lip here,

Don't think there's a "use before" or "expiry" date on them. My only concerns would be: A) The possibility of freeze-thaw cycles having some affect on the oil over a really long time. Although it freezes and thaws in your car, but then you change that regularly. B) Separation like gas does, assuming you're not talking about synthetics

------------------

That's exactly why I am asking... it's hard to find good deals on oil in my neighborhood these days, just paid $1.89/quart for regular Quaker State, roughly twice as much as I used to pay in my old neighborhood... so my plan is to go on a hunt for a mega sale on oil (which will probably mean devoting a half day traveling all over the place to several different stores) and then buy up enough cases to last the next two years or so. Because oil adds up... especially when you take care of 5 vehicles and change the oil 3 to 4 times per year on each.

As far as my research indicates, age is of little significance on oil in the bottle on a shelf unless it gets to over 200 degrees or under -30 degrees. I would say that QuakerState motor oil is not "good" for use reguardless of how old it is.

---------------------

Then what brand of "regular" (non-synthetic) motor oil do you recommend for the average daily-driver grocery getter? I'd like to spend under $1.30 per quart. In otherwords, please do not recommend a fancy expensive synthetic oil. For a race car, sure, but I don't think it is necessary for me to put fancy expensive oil in my wife's cheap daily driver, especially when I change the oil religiously every 3k miles. Gee, I thought Quaker State was supposed to be good? Seems like every other month there is a different "favorite" oil. I remember some years back everyone was yelling that Castrol was really bad and to never use it. Then after that people were saying Castrol was ok.... and so on. Perhaps there should be a daily oil report in the newspaper letting people know what the "oil of the week" is. Then there are those who claim that ALL regular motor oil is the same (as long as it has the latest classification, "SL" or whatever). Comments? Are there any recent credible articles out there that test and compare regular non-synthetic sub-$1.30 per quart oils?

Are

** there any recent credible articles out there that test and compare regular ** non-synthetic sub-$1.30 per quart oils? **

Every test I've looked at basically said the same thing: all conventional petroleum products perform pretty much the same.

Then there's that fancy, expensive synthetic stuff that everyone makes a big fuss over.

IMO, you get what you pay for.

-JD

________________________________________________________ | | | 1998 Laser Red GT RAMFM Member Since 1998 | | M-5400-A Suspension http:/207.13.104.8/users/jdadams || Subframe Connectors & Seat Bracing, Strut Tower Brace || 4-point K-frame Brace, Tremec T-45 & OEM 3.27:1 Gears ||________________________________________________________|

The half-life of oil at room temperature is about a bazillion years. Don't worry.

huh..yeah I and I have heard things about every other motor oil out there.. are there any tests that show quaker any worse than the others ?

When I had the low end done on my 289 a few years back, a retired motor oil salesman said that almost all motor oils perform exactly the same, except that Valvoline ran about 10 degrees cooler in their independent tests. So, I use Valvoline.

-------------

Where can we see that test? Or, can you be more specific in your description of the test?

Yes there are. The test that I saw involved the valve covers on a Thunderbird. Use what you like. Remember what you were advised.

Valvoline

#1 Choice of TOP Mechanics...

Valvoline Damn It ...

:-)

Google is your friend. There are plenty of tests on the Internet on wear scar, pour points, flash points etc. What I saw were the valve covers off of a 302 Thunderbird that were filled with parafin.

WalMart Tech2000 88 cents/qt.

At 3K intervals, this oil should be just fine.

Rob

Funny you should mention this. I recently replaced the oil in my 93 with full-synthetic Tech 2000 from Wal-Mart. All the more expensive stuff said their oil was GM Corvette approved, and gave some four digit tech number. Guess what, the Tech 2000 did too. At $5 cheaper a gallon, I bought it. My car runs great.

Brad

That begs the question, who manufactures Wal-Mart's oil?

bill Car: '64.5 Mustang: 260 V8, 3 sp, factory a/c, SVO cam, Performer intake, Holley 390 cfm carb, Pertronix, Hi-Po exhaust manifolds, 1.5" front & 1" rear drop, Jacobs wires, Torq Thrust D's

Guns: Colt AR15, Sig P220, Moss. 590A1, Marlin 70P

Do you mean to imply that WalMart does not have their own petroleum producing country, tanker fleet, research lab network, refinery, & packaging plants?

:) !

Rob

P.S. I think most of their lubricating oils are Quaker State products... according to the last auto department manager I spoke with, but that is certainly subject to change at the drop of a hat (or at least a multi-million dollar contract).

Quaker State is and has been owned by Pennzoil:

for well over 15 years, so you're getting the same oil, the same additive package in different bottles. For a little bit less when you buy Quaker State!

Refinish King

PS All oils have paraffin in it, it just depends on how much that particular brand's additive package's blend requires. In the 80's when Quaker State's proportioning valves froze open, and their demise started, that's when their reputation went down the tubes!