Is there any difference between...castrol,quakerstate,penzoil...ect??

[SouthernYankee]

I need to get some good 10w30 for my mower and I was wondering if there is any difference between the big oils?

penzoil, quakerstate, castrol..ect.


I am not looking for synthetic...just regular oil. thanks

[Restrorob]

I got somewhat bashed the last time I posted about oil, I have been some type Service Tech. all my life and seen different engines ran on different brands oil.
My preference is Castrol.

[grass_cuttin_fool]

In my opinion, oil is basically oil. If you dont change it, none of it is any good. Some brands my be a little better , but all brands have to be changed to get good service from it

[jud149]

I'm sure there are differences in the various brands of oils as each oil company uses its own additivies. However, all major brands meet or exceed the latest tests of ASE (Automobile Society of Engineers) which is stamped on the oil container. So, I don't think you can go wrong with any brand meeting/exceeding these tests as long as you do regular oil changes. As for synthetic, IMO it is the best oil available today. I use Mobil 1 in everything, including cars and lawn equipment.

[lawnmaniac883]

I think the main difference in oils is the additive package and cleaners within them.

[Jason Rose]

Years ago, probably 20 now... My step dad was doing work at a place where they were asking the same question. They brought in indepent testers and somehow tested a number of name brand motor oils. The one oil that stood out on top. Trop-Artic. Just happens to be just about the most inexpensive oil brand out there! I don't remember which, but he said it was either Quaker State or Castrol that was WORST. And the consensus was to AVOID Pennzoil, not that it dind't work well but that it broke down faster than the others. Meaning that the longer it sat, used or not, the less effective it was.

A lot of things have changed in those years I'm sure... Honestly I'm not too picky about my oil brands. I will buy Trop-artic many times simply because I know it's good and cheap! The only oils I avoid are the ones branded by the grocery stores or off brands Iv'e never seen before. I'm sure they are made by another bigger company, but I'd bet it's not of the same grade as the name brand stuff.

[Roger]

Some information about oil ...

http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi

[lawnboy dan]

castrol = best oil, quaker state = worse. 10w-30 is too light for a lawnmower. use sae 30 instead

[MBDiagMan]

Yes, most mower engine manuals even warn about extra oil consumption with 10W30. Straight 30W or a heavier multigrade like 15W40 works better in mower engines.

As far as brands go, as long as you are using a premium brand and more importantly, changing it often, you will be in good shape.

Good luck,
Doc

[Restrorob]

Just a Reminder, Kohler States 10w30 oil in Command Engines.

[lawnboy dan]

yes this is true .command uses 10-30 . there is an exception to every rule. they say to run 10-30 cause thicker oil will make it too hard to pull start. how true. this is a lot of motor to pull start as is! i sometimes wish mine had electric start

[Restrorob]

yes this is true .command uses 10-30 . there is an exception to every rule. they say to run 10-30 cause thicker oil will make it too hard to pull start. how true. this is a lot of motor to pull start as is! i sometimes wish mine had electric start

Kohler Recommends 10w30 due to the hydraulic lifters in Command Engines. According to Technical Support Thicker grade oils will not allow the lifters to perform as intended.

[Jman]

Asking the question of which oil is the best is like asking what vehicle is the best. We've all had good and bad with all makes, models and types. When it comes to oil, I agree with an earlier post. If the oil is API certified, with the logo on the container to the latest specs, use whatever you think works. People in the past would complain about this oil or that. The two that most people hated were Pennzoil and Quaker State. These used to be blended with true Pennsylvania crude oil. Today probably 90% is blended with middle east oil. When refined to the standards set today, it really doesn't make that much difference. Try a couple of different, the additives do help, no doubt. I have chosen the oil I use because of the lack of discoloring during running and the lack of consuming during running. But to give everybody a couple of quick stories of years ago. We had a customer bring a vehicle into the shop with an engine on it's last leg, burning oil, no power, knocking, the whole nine yards. Upon inspection (removing the valve cover) we couldn't see the rocker arms thru the sludge!!! Everybody that walked thru the shop said "look what pennzoil does to your engine". It had 79,000 miles, yes it had pennz, but the customer would only change it every 10,000 miles!!!The oil had only been changed 7 times since the car was new, he said it wasn't quite due for a change yet and that couldn't be what caused the problem. Next story. My father bought a new 73 Nova with the infamous 307 V-8, gutless wonder. He ran pennz all the time. I aquired the car in high school. We changed the oil every 2,000 miles. Sold the car with 150,000 miles. The next kid that bought it ran it to 227,000 before it finally lost a cam lobe, which G.M. was NOTORIUS with back in that era. The point being made is, change the oil, service the unit, and they will last a good long time.

[RedWolf]

My fuel man sells kendall.When I started useing it my stuff,It ran better and it is cheap.I started running it in my truck and all I have to say is,"WOW THE POWER MAN THE POWER.":)

[steve45]

I used to run aviation oils in my mower. As an airplane owner, I had plenty of it around, and I figured the operating conditions were very similar--occasional use in an air cooled engine.

Years ago, Mobil Oil was one of my accounts (I'm in sales). They ran Mobil 1 in their company vehicles and NEVER changed it. They just changed the filters at about 10,000 miles and topped the oil level. I switched to Mobil 1 in my vehicles and started changing it at 10,000 mile intervals. I stopped using Mobil 1 for several reasons: everything I put it in started leaking within a month of the change, the FAA BANNED Mobil's synthetic aviation oil because it would cause sludge (incompatible with leaded fuels), and it's expensive. A synthetic oil will quickly drain off of cams, etc. so you're starting dry if the engine isn't used daily.

I switched to a synthtic blend (Valvoline synthetic blend) after hearing good things about it. My Tahoe has 341,000 miles on it, almost all of it on this oil. I change it at 5000 mile intervals, oil consumption is about a quart in 5000 miles.

I've started using this in my 4-stroke lawn equipment, too.