I use Royal Purple 5W30 and K&N oil filter. Use on every car and works great.

 

Yea seem like a gimmick too me.

 

I don't know of anyone that has needed to have their engine replaced under the Valvoline warranty, but I guess that says something about the quality of the oil. There's really not that much to it. If your '90 or newer vehicle has under 125K you choose the coverage you want (up to 300K miles), change your oil & filter every 3-4K and register your oil changes online. Perform routine maintenance on your vehicle as recommended by the manufacturer and keep your receipts - something you'd probably do anyhow (service records). If your engine fails from an oil related problem Valvoline will pay up to $5K to have the engine replaced. I read all the 'fine print' before signing up and I didn't discover any hidden 'gotchas' or 'gimmicks'. The conditions of replacement are straight forward and to the point. The biggest 'gimmick' in the oil industry (or at least the one that gets the most laughs from experienced mechanics around here) are the companies that make their oil flashy colors and give it a name that implies it is somehow superior to other oils.

 

I've been using nothing but full synthetic oils for over 20 years now. Between my wife and I we have logged just under a million miles in those 20+ years. And we typically put 150K - 250K miles on them before we trade them in. I have 166K on the Intimidator SS and the oil pressure is as good as when it was new. I have used all of the MAJOR brands and found them all to be pretty much the same. We have NEVER had ANY engine problems of ANY kind other than replacing ignition components in ANY of our vehicles.

I would NEVER consider using ANYTHING but full synthetic oils. And I ALWAYS go at least 4K miles before changing the oil. Usually more. I've gone as much as 12K miles.

But here's something no one has mentioned:
To me the key isn't whether you run Mobil 1 or Valviline or Penzoil, it's what oil filter you use and how often you change it. I've run Mobil 1 Extended Performance oil in my previous '01 SS LE and changed the filter every 3K - 5K miles, but didn't change the oil for 2 or even 3 filter changes. AND I never buy the cheapest filter available. I stick with one of the top rated brands available, such as a NAPA Gold (Wix) or a Purolator. Fram is one of the worst rated filters out there. Dirt is what kills the engine, not the oil, IMO.

A few years ago NAPA had their Gold filters on sale for half price. I bought 20 of them. I think I might have 1 left.

I do have 1 exception to my rule: I have a '95 F150 4X4 beater that uses almost as much oil as it does gas. I use what ever brand oil is available to put in it. But this only a wood hauler and not a daily driver either. AND it's a Ford. I've never had a Ford that DIDN'T leak oil. EVER! And I've been driving for well over 40 years.

Also, I always buy the 5 qt jugs, which will usually save you about $1 a qt.

 

I don't use synthetics anymore, especially Mobil 1. I didn't have good luck with it back in the day so I quit using it. I use conventional Pennzoil in everything now with no problems and 5W-30 for the Monte.

Wayne

 

I use to work at a Valvoline, so I run 5w30 synthetic blend or full synthetic and I use either purolator, stp, or fram oil filter.

 

I will say this I've used conventional oil in the past but once I begun using the synthetic/blends I've notice a big difference in how well the motor runs

 

I only use Royal Purple 5W30 and K&N oil filter in my 05' Monte LT. The car just runs better. -P

 

I use Valvoline 5w-30 full synthetic

 

I used Synthetic amsoil. seemed to be good. just wanted to try something new