Motomaster oil etc

[RBI]

A short while back there was a thread about Motomaster tires , and who would and wouldn't use them etc.

My question is what about MM auto oil and other fluids ?

MM , seems to make ( or has their name on ) just about everything else that they sell in the way of fluids . ie: anti freeze , brake , steering fluid , stop leak stuff etc etc etc .

To me I kind of wonder if it's the same sort of thing as " Generic " meds , ie off the shelf meds ...headache , back ache , cold/flu etc or even prescript meds .

I have no problems with Generic brands , as the pharmacist will tell me that yes , they are exactly the same thing .

But I will certainly admit , that I trust the pharmacist re meds far more than I trust the parts guy ( at CT ) re auto products . The parts guy could very easily be giving me good advice/answers , but I just never know for sure .

Basically for me , if the price is close , I'll spend that little bit extra ,and buy the brand name product , but often wonder if it makes any difference .

Are we as a whole spending more than we really need , because of the world of Marketing ?

I know that for times like ....I'm down a litre of oil ,and I'm planning to do a full oil change in a couple of weeks , I have no problem buying what ever oil is the best price ( ok cheapest ), that's usually a MM oil .

Does anybody totally use nothing but MM products ?

:thinking-006:

[ren008]

I think the general consensus is a lot of these generic fluids are simply re-brands. Head to "Bob is the Oil Guy" website. There are guys on there who's primary hobby is investigating these fluids, do analysis's, and scoping out the best deals.

[ETOWNCANUCK]

Depends on what I'm buying.

Like tools

And just because a store has a house brand,
Which they all do,
Mean it's as good as the name brand.

You get what you pay for,

A little research goes a long way.

[CaberTosser]

Really it comes down to the ratings on said oil, there are various levels of ratings available but they're all standardized by API. I'm not driving a lamborhlghini so pretty much any oil will do for my 2000 GMC 5.7. The various ratings are noted in the link.

I do change my own oil and pay particular attention to keeping the gasket surfaces fastidiously clean. I've also used additives and am disappointed that the Lubro-Moly moly additive I used to get is no longer available.


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_oil

[rusty99]

I fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum when it comes to generic brands. When it comes to oil, I feel more comfortable with the name brands. A few years ago I purchased some Motomaster oil as it was cheaper and all I needed to was an oil change before parking my truck for a year. The Motomaster oil felt so thin and just didn't have the viscosity that name brand oil had. It felt like watered down oil. Just my 2 cents. I figure for the cost difference between Generic oil and brand name oil is minimal (I always buy on sale).

[elkhunter11]

Really it comes down to the ratings on said oil, there are various levels of ratings available but they're all standardized by API. I'm not driving a lamborhlghini so pretty much any oil will do for my 2000 GMC 5.7. The various ratings are noted in the link.

I do change my own oil and pay particular attention to keeping the gasket surfaces fastidiously clean. I've also used additives and am disappointed that the Lubro-Moly moly additive I used to get is no longer available.


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_oil


There are minimum standards that a lubricant has to pass in order to obtain the rating, but those are minimum standards. During my past working career and some specialized training, I was involved with testing different fuels and lubricants, and as a result, I have seen for myself that just because they meet the same minimum standard, they are not the same. I have avoided using certain fuels and lubricants in my vehicles ever since.

[recce43]

mm oil is made by esso

[Selkirk]

mm oil is made by esso




True ^

And Esso makes some of the best oils on the market ... and they also make some of the worst.

Guess what you're getting, when you buy MM oil :)



Mac

[leeaspell]

mm oil is made by esso

Actually most, if not all, is made by Shell, check out the msds online. I use it in several vehicles, only buy when on sale though. I have full trust in any SOPUS product

[elkhunter11]

mm oil is made by esso

Regardless of who makes it, the oils are made to the customers specification and price point. If the customer wants the oil as cheap as possible as long as it meets the minimum standards, that is what the supplier make for them.

[Morbius131]

My belief is this, as long as the oil you are using meets the testing specifications required for your vehicle I will use it. Now with that said, I make sure to stick to the identified change requirements. So if they say every 3 months or 5000km (just as an example) I will change it accordingly (with more emphasis on the mileage). I believe that more expensive products simply build in a larger buffer area if anything. So if you are one to push your vehicle to the extremes as well as the time between changes, go with a more expensive oil and potential additive because they potentially offer better long term protection; however, if you are diligent with changes then you should be alright with any brand with approval specifications.

Morb

[Foot Stomper]

Regardless of who makes it, the oils are made to the customers specification and price point. If the customer wants the oil as cheap as possible as long as it meets the minimum standards, that is what the supplier make for them.

Elkhunter you get a GOLD STAR! :happy0180:
I have worked for a manufaturer or two of collision shop chemicals like body filler and primers etc so I do know what goes on behind the scenes... manufacturers make lots of different stuff BUT they make it to the standards/price that their customer wants it made.

To say that XYZ makes Mom's Cookies, so therefore assume that ALL cookies made by XYZ will be the same as Mom's Cookies is a huge mistaken assumption! Mom knows how to make all kinds of cookies!!!!!

[pseelk]

Elkhunter you get a GOLD STAR! :happy0180:
I have worked for a manufaturer or two of collision shop chemicals like body filler and primers etc so I do know what goes on behind the scenes... manufacturers make lots of different stuff BUT they make it to the standards/price that their customer wants it made.

To say that XYZ makes Mom's Cookies, so therefore assume that ALL cookies made by XYZ will be the same as Mom's Cookies is a huge mistaken assumption! Mom knows how to make all kinds of cookies!!!!!
They may not be the same,but they all meet API standards (oil) they should all be good to use .No?

[jcrayford]

My belief is this, as long as the oil you are using meets the testing specifications required for your vehicle I will use it. Now with that said, I make sure to stick to the identified change requirements. So if they say every 3 months or 5000km (just as an example) I will change it accordingly (with more emphasis on the mileage). I believe that more expensive products simply build in a larger buffer area if anything. So if you are one to push your vehicle to the extremes as well as the time between changes, go with a more expensive oil and potential additive because they potentially offer better long term protection; however, if you are diligent with changes then you should be alright with any brand with approval specifications.

Morb

^ I think that Morb has gotten more to the point about any brand of oil. It's not necessarily the brand of oil being changed, more so the frequency of oil being changed.

While I've only run Quaker State in my gasser and wife's car, I try very hard to religiously change the oil in each vehicle at the 5000 Km mark. Sometimes I go a little longer (500 km) but never pushing it to 7500, 9000, etc.

The price of oil changes (when performing it yourself) can be done relatively cheaply if you're watching for the sales. Even if you don't catch it on sale, I can change my gasser for about $30 and know that I've done the job correctly.

[Bushrat]

Often times the discount in price comes from bulk purchase contracts where the same product is simply packaged to the customers needs. Not many manufacturers are going to shut down production to reformulate a product that meets the same specs just to repackage it for another buyer. They will do a production run for several customers of a product and label/package the same product differently to satisfy the customers needs. Pricing is mostly dependant on the volume of the sale. Manufacturers sell varying quality lines and may have dozens of different formulations meeting dozens of different specifications and application requirements and these products may be sold under hundreds of different names and house brands and types of packaging, but it is very doubtful that each brand and each quality level is made to different specs. Around the world there are literally thousands of brands of motor oil sold at the retail level, yet there are only a dozen or so manufacturers and they do not manufacture 1000 different products. There are many jugs of identical oil on the shelves all in different bottles with different labels at different prices. Quite often the a cheaper jug of oil can turn out to be better quality oil than a higher priced brand. As someone already mentioned the 'Bob is the Oil Guy' website is a great resource.

[mudbug]

I've never had any issues with using sir oil in anything I run :)
Boats, trucks, chainsaw you name it theyve all seen that oil used in them no problems

[brad8210]

I use moto master or Walmart brand whatever is cheapest in all my vehicles no problems so far my last Chevy rolled 600 thou over before the transmission let go all the oils have to meet a standard so why not the only thing that gets the expensive Mobil 1 synthetic is my tractor only reason is they make 0w40 and it sure makes a difference at -35 trying to start an old diesel

[xxclaro]

I don't think there is really much difference as long as it is API rated and oil changes are regular. I'd stick with 5000km, no matter what the manufacturer says or the oil life monitor says if I was using budget oil. Its cheap enough on sale that there's no real reason not to.

In a couple of my vehicles I run synthetics, as they sometimes go well over the 5k mark before changing and they start better in winter. For my daily driver Civic, I collect the remnants of all the oil boxes at work till I have 4l of whatever, and presto chango!

[regl]

Often times the discount in price comes from bulk purchase contracts where the same product is simply packaged to the customers needs. Not many manufacturers are going to shut down production to reformulate a product that meets the same specs just to repackage it for another buyer. They will do a production run for several customers of a product and label/package the same product differently to satisfy the customers needs. Pricing is mostly dependant on the volume of the sale. Manufacturers sell varying quality lines and may have dozens of different formulations meeting dozens of different specifications and application requirements and these products may be sold under hundreds of different names and house brands and types of packaging, but it is very doubtful that each brand and each quality level is made to different specs. Around the world there are literally thousands of brands of motor oil sold at the retail level, yet there are only a dozen or so manufacturers and they do not manufacture 1000 different products. There are many jugs of identical oil on the shelves all in different bottles with different labels at different prices. Quite often the a cheaper jug of oil can turn out to be better quality oil than a higher priced brand. As someone already mentioned the 'Bob is the Oil Guy' website is a great resource.

Agree I worked in both Esso and Texaco oil blending plants in the seventies All the base oil used in western Canada came from Esso Both Havoline 10-30 and Esso Extra 10-30 had identical formulas. Esso used to supply a premium oil called Royal Triton that had a purple color to it. Its price was 2 or 3 times the cost of Esso Extra. Now the good part, when Esso was canning Esso Extra 10-30 and then would can the Royal Triton the canning line would stop and the operator would reach up and open a valve on a small line connected to the product line and continue to fill the Royal Triton cans. Just a bit of info from someone from that era

Reg