genereic vs name brand?

Question

is generic oil ie.. store brands off brands just as good and as effective as lets say penzoil, quaker state valvoline ect.

Answer 1

if the generic works the exact same as name brand, why pay a lot of money more for the same product!

Answer 2

if the store brand oil has the star burst on the front of the bottle that says it meets api certifacation and on the back of the bottle there is a round symbol that says it meets api sm thats the current spec for motor oil of that grade the real difference now is the additives that each brand adds to make there brand unique in the market...simply put generic brands are all that the have to be while national brands are value added products that are aggressivly marketed

Answer 3

I buy generic oil all the time...I think it's called "Master Mechanic". It's True Value Hardware's store brand. Never had a problem with it.

I say go for it and save a buck.

Answer 4

Read the ingredients list. They're almost always exactly the same.

Don't be ripped off just because one company charges more so that they can support a car in Nascar and a million $ advertising budget. Their product is almost always exactly the same as the generic.

Answer 5

brand named oil is better cause of the better additives in it and is cleaner. generic oil is recycled oil from people who give their used oil to places like pepboys, autozone, ect. that's also the reason that they are much cheaper. if your buying oil for a grocery getter than generic wont hurt the engine but if your buying oil for a hot rod then I'd go with the good stuff (that isn't always the most expensive brand)

Answer 6

store brands are generally re-constituted oil (recycled) but usually just about as good. i personally prefer Castrol but that's whats been pushed on me since i became a mechanic 13 years ago.

Answer 7

Pass on the Generics. Run Shell Rotella-T, 15W40 unless you're in a really cold climate. It has better lubricity than synthetics. Hot Rod magazine did a multi-page article about oils, particularly as they relate to camshaft wear, a few months back. Basically car oil is getting worse, due to emission requirements on new cars, diesel oil is still carrying the max amount of what provides lubrication, which is what all, especially used & older, cars need.


http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/engine/flat_tappet_cam_tech/oil_summary.html
http://www.fordmuscle.com/blog/use-the-right-oil-with-your-flat-tappet-cams/11295
http://www.shell.com/home/Framework?siteId=rotella-en&FC2=/rotella-en/html/iwgen/leftnavs/zzz_lhn2_0_0.html&FC3=/rotella-en/html/iwgen/products/dir_products.html

Answer 8

Oil comes from the same place. It is refining that matters. Store brand vs name brand not much difference. Synthetic vs mineral, big difference. 10w30 vs 30 weight once again big difference.

Answer 9

As long as it says "compare to penzoil", it's the same thing. :)

Answer 10

kinda like the difference between Tylenol and generic acetaminophen .... same stuff.... different bottle
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