Thoughts on cheap oil?

[Dustin Jackson]

Prompted by a really expensive oil change on my fiancés car I decided to try and see how cheap of an oil change I could get for my Tahoe by doing it myself.

I used 6 quarts of Walmart SuperTech Full Synthetic 5w-30 dexos oil with an AcDelco PF63 oil filter. Total was under $40 I think.

The only concern I had was on the first startup I think I had some slight knocking while oil pressure was building, I did prefill the oil filter. Is that normal?

Other than that I haven't had any issues, but it has me wondering is running cheap oil bad? Are there any concerns that I should have? My thought process is cheap clean oil is better than old oil.

 

[Geotrash]

Prompted by a really expensive oil change on my fiancés car I decided to try and see how cheap of an oil change I could get for my Tahoe by doing it myself.

I used 6 quarts of Walmart SuperTech Full Synthetic 5w-30 dexos oil with an AcDelco PF63 oil filter. Total was under $40 I think.

The only concern I had was on the first startup I think I had some slight knocking while oil pressure was building, I did prefill the oil filter. Is that normal?

Other than that I haven't had any issues, but it has me wondering is running cheap oil bad? Are there any concerns that I should have? My thought process is cheap clean oil is better than old oil.

The Walmart full synthetic oil is all I run in my '07. It's actually good quality stuff.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

There are certification standards for motor oil, and if the Walmart brand of oil meets those standards, I would not be concerned.

 

[Geotrash]

There are certification standards for motor oil, and it the Walmart brand of oil meets those standards, I would not be concerned.

It is indeed DexOS certified.

 

[Marky Dissod]

... it has me wondering, is running cheap oil bad?

Running bad oil is bad.
I won't run 'API SM', or older oil - API SN SP or SP+.
Group4 Synthetic 0W30 or 5W30 every oil change. I'll ALLOW whatever 5W30 between oil changes (every 3500 miles).

If you hunt enough to get lucky, the cheapest is almost always bad, but the most expensive is seldom the best.
Does not only apply to oil ...

 

[mikez71]

My thought process is cheap clean oil is better than old oil.

That's how I always felt, usually problem is getting around to changing it!
Still always get Mobil1, seems priced reasonably at walmart.. Hoping Mobil 1 still good?

 

[Geotrash]

Still always get Mobil1, seems priced reasonably at walmart.. Hoping Mobil 1 still good?

I ran a '99 Isuzu Rodeo to 300K on Mobil1 (3-5k mile oil changes), which is unheard of for that engine. Most of them die (rod bearing failure) long before 200K.

 

[Art Contoni]

Another interesting thread...Always wondered about Walmart oil and when I couldn't find conventional oil for my Daughters 99 & 00 Camry's I just bought two jugs of the Full Synthetic for their next changes.

 

[iamdub]

Another interesting thread...Always wondered about Walmart oil and when I couldn't find conventional oil for my Daughters 99 & 00 Camry's I just bought two jugs of the Full Synthetic for their next changes.

It'll be perfectly fine. Just change it every 5K unless it gets really dirty before then. Those are 500K-mile cars when cared for and will rust apart before the powertrain dies.

 

[swathdiver]

Prompted by a really expensive oil change on my fiancés car I decided to try and see how cheap of an oil change I could get for my Tahoe by doing it myself.

I used 6 quarts of Walmart SuperTech Full Synthetic 5w-30 dexos oil with an AcDelco PF63 oil filter. Total was under $40 I think.

The only concern I had was on the first startup I think I had some slight knocking while oil pressure was building, I did prefill the oil filter. Is that normal?

Other than that I haven't had any issues, but it has me wondering is running cheap oil bad? Are there any concerns that I should have? My thought process is cheap clean oil is better than old oil.

If my motor rattles on start up it's not good enough for my trucks. This is why ACDelco oil is used in ours.

Most of the oils out there have viscosity numbers that are quite low. ACDelco, the old Shell Rotella Gas Truck and RedLine have the highest numbers.