Myth busting automotive experts perform a head-to-head test of the cheaper Walmart brand synthetic motor oil versus a name brand conventional motor oil. Plus, why you should not use a racing motor oil in your stock passenger car.
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From earlier articles we’ve learned that choosing the correct motor oil for your car’s engine is one of the most important maintenance efforts you can make to get the most life out of your car.
The foundation to this fact is that not all motor oils are the same, and as a result you can harm your engine using the wrong type or an inferior motor oil.
A Simple and Direct Motor Oil Comparison Test
In a recent The Motor Oil Geek YouTube channel episode, the host and his associate have on hand some specialized piston rings that reportedly offer the best of two functions needed for your car’s engine:
- A short break-in period
- Piston ring wear that lasts longer
The specialized rings consist of a soft metal outer coat and a more durable inner coat, which is referred to as “Variable Hardness Coating”.
A softer piston ring provides a quick break-in where the piston rings wear down and conform to the necessary ring-surface to piston wall-surface mating needed for optimal lubrication and protection of the cylinder walls. The downside to a softer piston ring, however, is that it wears out too quickly.
The flipside of using a more durable piston ring is that it takes longer to break-in and may actually score the cylinder walls too much, negating the benefits of a more durable ring.
However, a combination of an outer softer side to the ring supported by an inner more durable inner ring material is potentially a good arrangement of getting the best of both worlds for a piston ring that meets the two listed functions above.
To test whether this dual function piston ring combo works, the host and his associate perform a typical wear test while at the same time pitting a cheap Walmart brand (Supertech) synthetic motor oil versus a name brand (Havoline) conventional 10W-30 motor oil.
Related article: Is the Cheaper Costco Kirkland Oil Miserly on the Additives Your Car’s Engine Needs?
The significance of this test is that the specialized piston rings with a soft outer coating for quick break-in wear, supplies detectable and measurable breakdown particles in the oil that are piston ring-related only——not from any other components is the engine. In other words, it is a good, simple, and direct test to see just how piston ring wear compares between two different motor oils.
Follow along with the host in the video below and discover:
- The correct way to test motor oils against each other.
- Why you should prefill your oil filter with motor oil when changing your car’s oil and filter.
- Why Havoline motor oil was chosen for the comparison test.
- One way to tell whether a motor oil has gotten old.
- Where Walmart Supertech really comes from.
- Three key findings with this oil comparison test.
- Why friction modifiers and viscosity choice are so important in your motor oil.
- External factors you have to take into account when comparing oil test results.
- Which oil resulted in more horsepower during the dyno testing.
- How actual oil life is determined.
- Which motor oil was a surprising winner when it came to engine wear and motor oil longevity.
- What third-party additional tested oil (that costs more) does a better job than the other two.
- What happens when you use racing oil on a street motor.
WALMART Oil Showdown: Myth Busting Results!
For additional engine oil related articles, here are three selected articles for your consideration:
- The Truth About Motor Oil Additives
- What Adding Boost Can Do To Your Engine Oil
- The Truth About Whether Valvoline’s Restore & Protect Motor Oil Really Works
Timothy Boyer is an automotive reporter based in Cincinnati. Experienced with early car restorations, he regularly restores older vehicles with engine modifications for improved performance. Follow Tim on Twitter at @TimBoyerWrites and Facebook for daily news and topics related to new and used cars and trucks.
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Image source: Deposit Photos
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