5w20 conventional motor oil, hard to find?

Chris1983

I've been using it for years the Pennzoil brand 5 quarts, i was at walmart and they had zero of it. They had Synthetic blend and Synthetic but not just conventional same at advanced auto, amazon.

I do not watch to switch to anything else.

Any insight?

thecardoc3

The word synthetic in North America doesn't mean man made like it does in other places around the world. A Group III + (conventional oil) can be called a synthetic here. A product that is a Group II combined with some Group III + can be called a synthetic blend. So you are actually more likely to get a conventional oil with those labels than you are a true synthetic. One way you can tell is to look for the GM dexos1 Gen2 license. An oil's base stock has to be a Group IV synthetic to get that approval, so without it an oil is very likely to be a conventional base stock.

Chris1983

Here is the label.

thecardoc3

It is getting harder to find. Curious why don't you want what is listed as a synthetic blend since it is in fact conventional oil base stock? https://www.toolschest.com/product.jhtm?sku=achr110738&utm_medium=CPA&utm_campaign=commissionjunction&utm_source=affiliate&content=4226242&cjevent=b03e60ad903c11eb81e201df0a82b82d

Chris1983

That price is high. Walmart is $17-18

Why is it getting hard to find?

Would synthetic blend be safe in a older car with 200,000 miles that uses no oil?

kyfdx

Chris1983 said:

That price is high. Walmart is $17-18

Why is it getting hard to find?

Would synthetic blend be safe in a older car with 200,000 miles that uses no oil?

Which car?

thecardoc3

Chris1983 said:

That price is high. Walmart is $17-18
Why is it getting hard to find?

Fewer cars require it.

Chris1983 said:

Would synthetic blend be safe in a older car with 200,000 miles that uses no oil?

Yes, that would be OK and like I said it's probably conventional oil with a little additional processing anyway.

Chris1983

I have a 1996 Tacoma and a 2009 corolla both with over 200,000 miles on them. I bought them new and the oil looks new when i change it and they don't use any oil or have any leaks at all.

The guy at advanced auto said to use Synthetic blend since conventional oil is no where to be found. He said if i found it anywhere it's old stock.

Even the High Mileage Conventional oil says Synthetic blend on the 5 qt jug.

I've always used Valvoline in the tacoma and pennzoil in the corolla.

Most everyone says i should use high mileage but i don't really see a point.

Maybe i'm just stuck in my ways

thecardoc3

Remember the word "synthetic" really doesn't mean anything in North America. "Synthetic Blend" in most cases means even less. The oil companies don't have to tell consumers what base stock is used in the formulation of any of their products and it get's even crazier when a Group III + can be called a synthetic when it is just a conventional oil with some additional processing. In other parts of the world only Group IV, Group V and Group VI, legitimate man made products can be called a synthetic.

Chris1983

Why would valvoline, pennzoi maybe others start calling it "Synthetic Blend" are consumers more likely to buy it?

I found there spec sheets.

texases

With no leaks, no need for high mileage oil. But no need to worry about using synthetic or synthetic blend, they should cause no problem.

Chris1983

To me the specs do not look much different.

thecardoc3

Chris1983 said:

To me the specs do not look much different.

That would be because they really aren't different and fall well within the grades, which is also why you can not only go back and forth between them, you can mix them if you want to. That BTW is what the 5W and 20 really are, they don't reflect a given viscosity because that is actually dependent on temperature and can be manipulated by the additive package. They reflect a range of tests known as the grade of which the viscosity is only part of the picture.