Synthetic oil

I have used synthetic oil in my 99 Trooper since new and oil
consumption has been negligable between changes, 3000-5000 miles. This
engine is notorious for oil consumption but this one is an exeption.
The first two oil changes on my 2005 Corolla were done by the dealer at
no cost at 4000 mile intervals. I put in Wal Mart full synthetic 5w-30
for the third change.
The question is, is Wal Mart full synthetic a true synthetic or a
waste of money for a 5000 mile oil change. It does get cold here in
Massachusetts where if you are a convicted criminal and a friend of the
mayor you too can become a constable and assist in debt collection,
illegal car reposessions etc.

Ron

"ronbon" <n877@msn.com> wrote in message
news:1154636531.483590.93050@h48g2000cwc.googlegro ups.com...
>I have used synthetic oil in my 99 Trooper since new and oil
> consumption has been negligable between changes, 3000-5000 miles. This
> engine is notorious for oil consumption but this one is an exeption.
> The first two oil changes on my 2005 Corolla were done by the dealer at
> no cost at 4000 mile intervals. I put in Wal Mart full synthetic 5w-30
> for the third change.
> The question is, is Wal Mart full synthetic a true synthetic or a
> waste of money for a 5000 mile oil change. It does get cold here in
> Massachusetts where if you are a convicted criminal and a friend of the
> mayor you too can become a constable and assist in debt collection,
> illegal car reposessions etc.
>
> Ron
>
I would look at the label on the oil to see what kind of API certification
it has.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

"ronbon" <n877@msn.com> wrote in message
news:1154636531.483590.93050@h48g2000cwc.googlegro ups.com...
>I have used synthetic oil in my 99 Trooper since new and oil
> consumption has been negligable between changes, 3000-5000 miles. This
> engine is notorious for oil consumption but this one is an exeption.
> The first two oil changes on my 2005 Corolla were done by the dealer at
> no cost at 4000 mile intervals. I put in Wal Mart full synthetic 5w-30
> for the third change.
> The question is, is Wal Mart full synthetic a true synthetic or a
> waste of money for a 5000 mile oil change. It does get cold here in
> Massachusetts where if you are a convicted criminal and a friend of the
> mayor you too can become a constable and assist in debt collection,
> illegal car reposessions etc.
>
> Ron
>

My guess is that Wal-Mart full synthetic is better than conventional oil,
but not as good as Mobil 1.

I purchased a 5 quart container of Mobil 1 5W-30 at Wal-Mart recently for
about $21.50. I am not sure how much cheaper Wal-Mart synthetic is in
comparison, but I doubt it is significant to most people.

"ronbon" <n877@msn.com> wrote in message
news:1154636531.483590.93050@h48g2000cwc.googlegro ups.com...
>I have used synthetic oil in my 99 Trooper since new and oil
> consumption has been negligable between changes, 3000-5000 miles. This
> engine is notorious for oil consumption but this one is an exeption.
> The first two oil changes on my 2005 Corolla were done by the dealer at
> no cost at 4000 mile intervals. I put in Wal Mart full synthetic 5w-30
> for the third change.
> The question is, is Wal Mart full synthetic a true synthetic or a
> waste of money for a 5000 mile oil change. It does get cold here in
> Massachusetts where if you are a convicted criminal and a friend of the
> mayor you too can become a constable and assist in debt collection,
> illegal car reposessions etc.
>
> Ron
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ron, are you saying indirectly that you don't necessarily believe everything
that Wal*Mart says about their products? For shame ! Bite your tongue,
knave! :-)

"mack" <mackerel@dslextreme.com> wrote in message
news:12d5ga385hkk7ed@corp.supernews.com...
> Ron, are you saying indirectly that you don't necessarily believe
> everything that Wal*Mart says about their products? For shame ! Bite
> your tongue, knave! :-)

No, I don't think that is what he is saying.

Several years ago, Mobil sued Castrol over the "full synthetic" label and
lost. The FTC ruled that Castrol could call their crappy synthetic "full
synthetic." So it is probably safe to say that Wal-Mart would have been sued
by another oil company if their oil was could not legally be called a full
synthetic.

Keep in mind, that the Wal-Mart full synthetic is probably identical to some
other motor oil sold under a different name. Wal-Mart does not make the
items they sell, even the item with Wal-Mart label on them.

But the Wal-Mart full synthetic motor oil (like the Castrol full synthetic)
is inferior to Mobil 1. Interestingly, the Castrol Full Synthetic sold in
the US is different than the Castrol full synthetic sold in Europe.

"ronbon" <n877@msn.com> wrote in message
news:1154636531.483590.93050@h48g2000cwc.googlegro ups.com...
> I have used synthetic oil in my 99 Trooper since new and oil
> consumption has been negligable between changes, 3000-5000 miles. This
> engine is notorious for oil consumption but this one is an exeption.
> The first two oil changes on my 2005 Corolla were done by the dealer at
> no cost at 4000 mile intervals. I put in Wal Mart full synthetic 5w-30
> for the third change.
> The question is, is Wal Mart full synthetic a true synthetic or a
> waste of money for a 5000 mile oil change. It does get cold here in
> Massachusetts where if you are a convicted criminal and a friend of the
> mayor you too can become a constable and assist in debt collection,
> illegal car reposessions etc.

I don't know if you care, but the Wal*Mart Full Synthetic Oil is produced by
Warren Performance Packaging (Warren sells oil under the Kendall and MAG 1
brand names). See http://msds.walmartstores.com/cache/24014_1.pdf . Warren
is not 100% clear on what they mean by full synthetic. The literature for
their MAG 1 Oil says "The 100% synthetic base oils in MAG 1...." I am
guessing that the Wal*Mart full synthetic motor oil is a highly processed
Group III oil like Castrol Syntec - i.e., a highly refined conventional oil.
Not a "true" synthetic in my book, no matter what the FTC says. Although
Warren makes both MAG 1 and Wal*Mart Full Synthetic oils, they don't
necessarily contain the same additive package. However, if the Wal*Mart Oil
is API Certified, it means it least meets at least some minimal performance
requirements. It is API certified isn't it? I can't actually find Wal*Mart
in the list of API certifications (Warren is there).

See:

http://www.wd-wpp.com/specsheet/fullsynthetic.pdf
http://msds.walmartstores.com/cache/24014_1.pdf
http://www.wd-wpp.com/msds/00102998.pdf
http://www.wd-wpp.com/about-warren.html
http://eolcs.api.org/
http://msds.walmartstores.com/

Ed

On Thu, 03 Aug 2006 13:22:11 -0700, ronbon wrote:

> I have used synthetic oil in my 99 Trooper since new and oil
> consumption has been negligable between changes, 3000-5000 miles. This
> engine is notorious for oil consumption but this one is an exeption.
> The first two oil changes on my 2005 Corolla were done by the dealer at
> no cost at 4000 mile intervals. I put in Wal Mart full synthetic 5w-30
> for the third change.
> The question is, is Wal Mart full synthetic a true synthetic or a
> waste of money for a 5000 mile oil change. It does get cold here in
> Massachusetts where if you are a convicted criminal and a friend of the
> mayor you too can become a constable and assist in debt collection,
> illegal car reposessions etc.
>
> Ron

Check to see if they use Group III base stocks. If they do then its not a
true "full" synthetic. Amsoil makes all their oils (minus the XL line)
from Group IV base stocks. You can also look for PAO, which means its
Group IV.

"Mark A" <nobody@nowhere.com> wrote in message
news:N5ydnXkD8J60Rk_ZnZ2dnUVZ_qWdnZ2d@comcast.com. ..
> "mack" <mackerel@dslextreme.com> wrote in message
> news:12d5ga385hkk7ed@corp.supernews.com...
>> Ron, are you saying indirectly that you don't necessarily believe
>> everything that Wal*Mart says about their products? For shame ! Bite
>> your tongue, knave! :-)
>
> No, I don't think that is what he is saying.
>
> Several years ago, Mobil sued Castrol over the "full synthetic" label and
> lost. The FTC ruled that Castrol could call their crappy synthetic "full
> synthetic." So it is probably safe to say that Wal-Mart would have been
> sued by another oil company if their oil was could not legally be called a
> full synthetic.
>
> Keep in mind, that the Wal-Mart full synthetic is probably identical to
> some other motor oil sold under a different name. Wal-Mart does not make
> the items they sell, even the item with Wal-Mart label on them.
>
> But the Wal-Mart full synthetic motor oil (like the Castrol full
> synthetic) is inferior to Mobil 1.

In what practical way is Castrol oils performance inferior?



Interestingly, the Castrol Full Synthetic sold in
> the US is different than the Castrol full synthetic sold in Europe.
>

Castrol has a huge range of synthetic oils and so does Mobil. Some synthetic
oils from both brands meet some of the higher performance and longevity
standards demanded by certain vehicles and some do not.

Huw