Date:         Sun, 07 Jul 96 21:04:59 CDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Joel Walker <JWALKER@ua1vm.ua.edu>
Subject:      Re: oil

On Sun, 7 Jul 1996 17:02:31 -0500 you said:
>Asked about Kendall oil @ the FLAPS, they pointed out
>an additioned rating beyond was Castrol had. They
>also pointed out the same rating on the house brand
>oil, which they said was Valvoline.
>Any difference? Should I stick with Castrol? Is Kendall
>worth the money?

it's my considered opinion that oil is like soda pop: it's a personal taste.
:)  my brother hates Castrol (claims it accelerates wear on the cams); i,
on the other hand, have had good luck with Castrol 30W and 20W50 ... over
ten years on my old 71 bus. :)

on the other hand, i did change to Kendall 20W50 on the advice of a porsche
mechanic who did some personal testing: he put several oils and greases into
a muffin pan and stuck it in the oven in his kitchen. turned up the temp to
whatever the max is on them things (400F??) and waited a couple of hours.
he claims that Kendall was the only oil that wasn't burnt black ... so that's
all he'll use in his own porsche and what he puts into his customers' cars.
do i believe him? yeah ... cause his wife divorced him not long after that.

so i started using Kendall back in about 1981 or so, changed from Castrol.
now, in my 80 bus at that time, i had an oil temp gauge. when i changed the
oil, i noticed that the temp was lower... about 15C lower!!! and all i had
done was change the oil. i didn't believe it. but it stayed that way. i never
had the guts to put the Castrol back in to see if it would go up again. :)

am i still using Kendall? yeah. would i use Castrol? yeah. would i use
Valvoline? yeah.

i think it is more important how often you change your oil, rather than the
brand that you use. pick a nationally-known brand of "good reputation" (that
is, i wouldn't use Bubba's Recycled Motor Oil and Salad Dressing!!), and
change it often (i suggest 2500 miles). as long as the oil is certified as
API/SG/SH or higher, i think you'd be ok.

what about Mobil 1 and the other "synthetics"?? well ... for the money, i
think you'd be better off changing more often with dino-oil. i used to get
my oil analysed by a laboratory, and the viscosity would change from 30W
to 46W in only 3000 miles. besides, it's not JUST the lubricating ability
of the oil that you change: there are contaminants from the combustion
process that make their way into the oil, and unburned fuel (from blowby,
compression leaks around the rings, which is normal; and it's especially
problematic in diesels), and crud from the air filtration system. all this
stays in your engine until you change the oil. me? i'd rather get it all
out as quickly as possible and as often as i can afford.

so why not change every 1000 miles?? 1500? 2000?  good question. here we
come back to the original problem: personal opinion. :)  i picked 2500
because it fit better into the "recommended" 7500 mile oil change interval
in the owner's manual. 2000 miles would undoubtedly be "better", according
to my logic. and really, it would mean only that you'd change oil five times
(instead of four) every 10,000 miles. maybe on my next bus ... :)

so ... is Kendall worth the extra money?? well ... yeah. to me. i like it.
i've had really good luck with it. but other people use Havoline, Pennzoil,
Valvoline, Castrol, and many other well-known brands with equally good
success.

so what's the answer?? well, to me, it's "change the oil and filter often".
period. use the best oil you can find/afford/like/steal/borrow.

but i don't necessarily agree that one particular brand is "better" than
another. i happen to like Pepsi-Cola, but other people like Coca-Cola just
as much. big deal. Miller Lite versus Bud Lite. same thing. your choice. :)

joel

>'76 Campmobile
>(just waxed and really shiny)
>