Motor Oil Jun 1, 2019 Test: Which Brand Wins?
This Jun 1, 2019 head-to-head test of 4 motor oil options has the measured results for each. See how they ranked and watch the full test video.
Amazon Basics
Price shown in test: $19.99 for a 5-qt container
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The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.
Evaporative loss test
- 1Penrite Vantage
started at 423.27 g, now weighs 420.56 g, loss of 2.71 g (beat Amazon's 2.88 g loss)
- 2Schaeffer's Supreme 9000
started at 416.83 g, now weighs 413.73 g, loss of 3.1 g, worst of the four, about twice Quaker State's loss
- 3Quaker State
started at 442.19 g, now weighs 440.66 g, loss of only 1.53 g, best of the four, won this test, described as very impressive
- 4Amazon Basics
started at 407 g, now weighs 404.12 g, loss of 2.88 g
Lubricity test (wear scar)
- 1Penrite Vantage
edged out Amazon by a very small margin, won
- 2Schaeffer's Supreme 9000
edged out Quaker State by a fraction of a millimeter, won
- 3Quaker State
lost to Schaeffer's by a fraction of a millimeter
- 4Amazon Basics
lost to Penrite by a very small margin
Cold oil flow test
- 1Penrite Vantage
team won the race, new oil crossed first, cooked oil beat cooked Amazon by nearly 3 in and new Amazon by 6 in
- 2Schaeffer's Supreme 9000
team Schaeffer's won, crossed about a half inch ahead of new Quaker State, even though cooked Quaker State individually crossed first
- 3Quaker State
cooked Quaker State crossed the finish line first individually, but team lost to Schaeffer's by about a half inch since this is a team race requiring both new and used oil to finish ahead
- 4Amazon Basics
new Amazon beaten by Penrite's new oil by 6 in, cooked Amazon beaten by cooked Penrite oil by nearly 3 in
TBN
- 1Penrite Vantage
slightly higher than Amazon
- 2Schaeffer's Supreme 9000
slightly higher than Quaker State
- 4Amazon Basics
slightly lower than Penrite, slightly lower than Mobil 1 but higher than Lucas
- 3Quaker Statenot tested
All measurements (2 more)+
Anti-wear additives
- 1Penrite Vantage
quite a bit more than Amazon
- 4Amazon Basics
less than Penrite
- 2Schaeffer's Supreme 9000not tested
- 3Quaker Statenot tested
Detergents/dispersants
- 1Penrite Vantage
more than Amazon
- 2Schaeffer's Supreme 9000
more than Quaker State
- 3Quaker Statenot tested
- 4Amazon Basicsnot tested
How it was tested
- evaporative loss test (200 g of oil heated 375 to 400F for 3 hours, weighed before and after)
- additive package comparison via oil lab analysis (anti-wear additives, detergents and dispersants, TBN)
- lubricity test (bearing wear scar comparison after film strength test)
- cold oil flow test (new and heat-cooked oil team drag race at minus 40F)
Data notes and caveats
This is one round of an ongoing playoff style tournament series (Elite Eight advancing to Final Four), and it actually contains TWO separate head to head pairings rather than one 4 way ranking: Amazon Basics vs Penrite, and Quaker State vs Schaeffer's. Penrite won all 3 tests against Amazon and advances; Schaeffer's won 2 of 3 tests against Quaker State (Quaker State won evaporative loss only) and advances. Because two different winners emerge from two separate pairings in the same video, no single top level winner or runner up is recorded, per the products' own notes for each pairing's result. budgetPick is set to Amazon Basics on the strength of the host's closing personal endorsement ('Amazon seems to be a very good all-around engine oil and it's what I personally use because it's a great price and a really good product') even though it lost its pairing outright, so no verdictQuote is attached at the top level. RESOLVED brand identity conflict: the transcript captions Amazon's opponent as Pennzoil throughout, and the description's master product list also names it Pennzoil Ultra Platinum, but the video title asks Amazon Basics vs Penrite, and the transcript's own factual profile for this brand (Australian, family owned since 1926) matches the real Penrite, not Pennzoil. A sibling video in this same tournament series (id WrR7-kQulao, already logged in data/re-pull.txt) independently names Penrite as a real, separate competitor from Pennzoil in a later round, confirming both brands exist distinctly in this series. Combining the title, the internal fact profile, and this sibling-video corroboration (three independent checks agreeing against the single reused affiliate list line), this brand is resolved to Penrite throughout this file, correcting the caption's Pennzoil mislabel. The description's Products Tested the Oil Series list is a shared block covering the whole multi video tournament (15 brands), not specific to this video's 4 competitors, which is why most of that list (Mobil 1, Lucas, Kendall, Amsoil, Castrol, Red Line, Royal Purple, Valvoline, Motul, Liqui Moly, WalMart) does not appear among this video's actual competitors; Mobil 1 and Lucas are mentioned mid video only as additive reference points, not as competitors, and are excluded from products. Lubricity test results are qualitative only (very small margin, fraction of a millimeter); no exact wear scar measurements were spoken.
