Recommended Brand of Motor Oil?

[bootymac]

I wasn't talking specifically about the M1 vs Pennzoil - there are a lot cheaper (but decent quality) oils out there that more than meet the factory spec of

Use only engine oil of SG, SH, SJ, SL or SM grade.

The J24B is a fairly agricultural engine (by modern standards)- it's not boosted nor high revving. That's reflected with the minimum spec of SG- which is a very old standard.

There are tests everywhere that show certain oils can perform better under extreme conditions, but those test conditions should never exist in your engine in the first place! So, it's a bit hard to conclusively say brand X oil will make my engine last longer because it was better at test X.

PS: Like I said - how many people on here are going to own their Kizashi long enough to wear the engine out?

I agree that the use of any approved oil is adequate (given that it's changed regularly), but I feel that engine wear is only one of the many considerations in choice of oil. To each their own

I used Castrol Syntec and Mobil 1 in 5w40 and 5w50 on my GTI and there was no difference between the two. However, my engine was much quieter and smoother when I changed to Shell Rotella T6. It's cheaper too!

I'd use Rotella T6 on the Kizashi too but it only comes in 5w40

[KuroNekko]

How many people are honestly going to keep their Kizashi long enough to wear the engine out - even if using a cheaper known brand oil of the correct ratings?

I have had engines die from timing belts snapping prematurely.

What!? You aren't on a 300,000 mile banzai charge with the Kizashi like I am!?
Jokes aside, I agree that using top tier motor oils is excessive, but there are benefits. While I don't plan to keep the Kizashi forever, I want it to run and last as if I am. I want the reason I move on from the Kizashi be for better performance or more advanced technology in a replacement than problems with the Kizashi. Truth be told, I don't expect to have many problems with this engine. It seems rather solid and while low-tech compared to rivals, it's also proven for the long run unlike these DI & turbos in other cars.

I think using better motor oil is somewhat of an insurance on keeping the engine internals clean, lubricated, and performing optimally.
While I agree that there may not be a real need to pursue the best motor oil for a simple engine like the J24B which doesn't see too much demanding use, there are observations that some oils are better than others in the way the engine runs and sounds. It's my observation that Pennzoil Ultra 5W-30 offered smoother and quieter engine performance than Mobil 1 5W-30.

While it may not matter too much whether a Group III synthetic vs. a PAO/higher tier synthetic is used in the Kizashi's engine, it's nice to know which motor oils are true synthetics, which offer the best characteristics, and most importantly, which ones offer the best performance in the Kizashi's J24B engine.

[bootymac]

It's been a while but I recall seeing a thread on BITOG where someone did UOAs on both PP and M1 on the same vehicle. PP had better results and it was driven further too. It was these findings that convinced me to choose PP over M1

[KuroNekko]

It's been a while but I recall seeing a thread on BITOG where someone did UOAs on both PP and M1 on the same vehicle. PP had better results and it was driven further too. It was these findings that convinced me to choose PP over M1

Do you guys not get Pennzoil Ultra in Canada? It's supposedly better than Platinum and only costs a few bucks more when bought by the 5 quart jug at Walmart. I recall threads of BITOG saying that Platinum was really good, but Ultra was better.

[murcod]

Pennzoil seems to no longer be sold in Australia. Even some of the brands that are sold both here and in North America (eg. Mobil 1) don't seem to necessarily be the same products. It makes it hard to compare apples with apples.

[bootymac]

It's been a while but I recall seeing a thread on BITOG where someone did UOAs on both PP and M1 on the same vehicle. PP had better results and it was driven further too. It was these findings that convinced me to choose PP over M1

Do you guys not get Pennzoil Ultra in Canada? It's supposedly better than Platinum and only costs a few bucks more when bought by the 5 quart jug at Walmart. I recall threads of BITOG saying that Platinum was really good, but Ultra was better.

Haven't seen PU in stores yet. I don't think I'll benefit from it as I don't do extended OCIs. If the price difference is minimal though, I might give it a try once my stock of PP runs out. I loaded up at $4.50/L, which is cheap for Canadian pricing.

[KuroNekko]

Haven't seen PU in stores yet. I don't think I'll benefit from it as I don't do extended OCIs. If the price difference is minimal though, I might give it a try once my stock of PP runs out. I loaded up at $4.50/L, which is cheap for Canadian pricing.

That's cheap for American pricing too. What's your OCI on PP?

Pennzoil seems to no longer be sold in Australia. Even some of the brands that are sold both here and in North America (eg. Mobil 1) don't seem to necessarily be the same products. It makes it hard to compare apples with apples.

Sounds so. What brands are popular Down Under for motor oil?

[bootymac]

Haven't seen PU in stores yet. I don't think I'll benefit from it as I don't do extended OCIs. If the price difference is minimal though, I might give it a try once my stock of PP runs out. I loaded up at $4.50/L, which is cheap for Canadian pricing.

That's cheap for American pricing too. What's your OCI on PP?

I don't drive a lot so I just change it annually. So far it has worked out to be 5000-6000km per year.

For what it's worth, Suzuki Canada's schedule is 12500km or 7.5mo for normal and 5000km or 3mo for severe. No idea if this is with synthetic or conventional oil

[KuroNekko]

I'm pretty sure that the oil change intervals in the owner's manual are for conventional oil. I have not read anything in the owner's manual or elsewhere that calls for synthetic motor oil to be used in the Kizashi.

Pennzoil's official stance on extended OCIs with their synthetic products is this (taken from a dialogue with a Pennzoil rep featured on BITOG):

Question:
Is it Pennzoil Platinum for normal 10k miles OCI and Pennzoil Ultra Platinum for extended OCI up to 15k miles?

Answer:
Pennzoil Platinum® Full Synthetic motor oil with PurePlus™ Technology and Pennzoil Ultra Platinum® Full Synthetic motor oil with PurePlus™ Technology are extremely robust formulations, but lubricant marketers do not set oil drain intervals. Drain interval recommendations belong to the engine manufacturers.

I'd say your OCIs are short given the mileage, but your Kizashi is more your 2nd/winter car, right? In that regard, the time may expire before the mileage.

Mine is my daily driver and I drive it at least 30 miles a day, 5 days a week. It also regularly sees stop-and-go traffic and city driving conditions. My OCI is 7500 miles (12,000 km) with synthetic motor oils like Pennzoil Platinum/Ultra, Mobil 1, and the like. My typical burn-off is about 0.5 quarts between OCIs with Pennzoil P/U, but I've burned and added 0.5 quarts already with Mobil 1 and it's only been about 3000 miles since the oil change.

[BxKizashiS]

I use Castrol Synblend and always with a K&N filter
If you go to amsoil.com you will find some great oils and lubricants for our cars. From engine to transmission. Very great stuff which i will be buying from soon.