Costcos Kirkland motor oil is made by Warren. They also make the oil for amazon and walmarts supertech oil.
It meets the current API standards for motor oil.
Yes it works as well as most other synthetics out there unless you have some specific need/heavily modified vehicle.
Yes you can use 5w-30 in vehicles that call for 5w20 or 0w20. The 20 weight oils are for CAFE needs, not engine longevity. But its best to not use a 20 weight oil in a car that came with 30 weight when new.[SIZE=3]
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expiredHomerSaidDoh posted Apr 10, 2024 7:37 PM
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A traditional premium synthetic has a high performance additive package that meets usually ACEA and Euro OEM specs and uses a better VM that burns cleaner. They also tend to use a better Group III and and/or PAO (Group IV).
You have to understand how these products are made, the Kirkland (Costco), Amazon Basics, and Supertech (Walmart) cheapy syns are all based on a bid in this case Warren won the bid with the lowest cost product. Hence you get just the bare minimum in engine oil, so a skimpy conventional additive packages (8-9% treat) and cheap and dirty VM (OCP). The goal with formulating these products is to make it as absolutely cheap as possible or you don't get the bid.
When premium brands formulate their synthetics (Mobil 1, EDGE, Platinum, Liqui Moly) their goal is to differentiate so when you see 10x better wear protection or sludge prevention it is in comparison to exactly these market general cheapy products as those meet the bare minimum specs. Your premium syns will use a higher end additive pack (13-16% treat) and a clean burning, shear stable star polymer. They also tend to use some higher end base oils like GTL, PAO, esters along with GIII. These also tend to meet ACEA and a lot of the harder Euro specs like Mercedes, VW, etc. This is why you don't see a Kirkland 5W-40 for a VW or Porsche as those products can't meet the tougher specs.
The reason people seem to think they are all the same is they never take apart their engines to see the difference. The higher performance oil will keep your engine running closer to new for longer where the cheap products leave more deposits, sludge, and cause more wear. Your engine will still run, but it will burn more oil and have less hp (clogged piston rings) and likely shorten turbo life as those bearings hate deposits.
Here is a little more proof, most of the big lubricant marketers have introduced their own cheapy syns for fighting grade synthetics to compete with kirkland/amazon/supertech. Mobil has Mobil Synthetic (no 1 in that name) for example. Look up the specs and it's just API SP/dexos1 and is likely a market general cheap formulation just like the others. Mobil 1 however is a different beast and is self formulated by ExxonMobil and still has a nice slug of PAO in the products.
Now if you get into higher variants, I'd agree HM, EP, SUV etc the variance there is much smaller. They might have a little booster or be a smidge thicker but very similar to each other.
My suggestion is to compare specs. If they only meet SP/dexos1 then they are basics. If they meet Porche, VW 50x, MB 229.x, BMW, ACEA specs then they are high tier with robust additive packages.
SWRI Seq IV wear test [swri.org]
UOA is useful but doesn't give you the full picture, for example darker oil doesn't mean it's bad as higher end oils have almost double the dispersant which means they solubilize more contaminants, crappy oils will leave more behind in your engine and sumps.
BTW I used to make these types of products and run all OEM/API/ACEA testing to get them approved.
I don't think I'll convince people like you who think cheaper is better, but the truth is they are different products. A McDonalds hamburger isn't the same as one from Shake Shack, the ingredients are just different and your engine is just like your body, the bad stuff leads to deposits, clogs, wear etc, but it happens slowly over time.
As an ex formulator it pains me deeply when people say "oil is oil" it's like telling a chef that soup is soup because they all use water...
The Shell GTL "oil" for instance has proven to improve deposits on a Sequence IIIG test with the same additive pack over the regular Yubase Group III.
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I think Costco took the 2pk 5qt's off the site when the sale went live.
This 10 quart sale price is actually a bit cheaper than the 12 quart deal offered online.
Should I stock up now or wait?
Is this lowest it gets to?
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Should I stock up now or wait?
Is this lowest it gets to?
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Should I stock up now or wait?
Is this lowest it gets to?
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I also believe Kirkland full synthetic is made by Warren, which is the same company that makes quite a few private label oils, and their ratings are genuine so it should be fine.
Use full synthetic, a quality filter (often overlooked), and change it on time and you'll be fine. If money isn't a concern, something like Mobil 1 Advanced or Pennzoil Platinum will be marginally better for about twice the cost if it makes you sleep better at night.
* Don't use high mileage oil unless your engine is high mileage and consuming a bit more oil than necessary, as it contains seal swelling compounds that work great if needed, but can cause issues if they aren't.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4Ch98S
Kirkland v Super Tec
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9il_pi
I always used Mobil 1 - this time I could not find M1 deals anymore!
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