Walmart Super Tech Vs. Major Brands???

[tcr1016]

I have seen Walmart Super Tech has all the oils and fluids I need. But I have been cautious since I never see it on TV. Well I ran across this site and I am thinking a bit different.

Wal-Mart Super Tech Motor Oil - Reviews on RateItAll
Anyone Have good luck with it??? I need to change my ATF and radiator fluid and thinking about using SuperTech. Anyone opinions??

[illflem]

From discussions I've read on Super Tech before about the only thing I see wrong with it is you never know which brand you are getting as Walmart goes with the lowest bidder, continually changing.

[aceracer24]

Walmart Super Tech is what I have been using and can't say I have had any problems with it. Not sure about the lowest bidder/constant change. How do you know this? Not disagreeing but this is the first I have heard of it.

[nivram]

If you know someone that has the last three issues of the TDR publication, there is comparession charts that will answer your questions on all brands. These oils were new out of the bottle and tested by a couple of labs to get the test results as to there chemical makeup. the brand names were not give out, just a number for obvious reasons. intresting read. What prompted the test was the comperesson for CI4+ and CJ4 the new oils.
nivram

[aceracer24]

Hmm thanks for the info. Wasn't aware of that. Maybe I should start looking around for a new brand

[Duluth Diesel]

I like to know what I'm getting. AMSOIL everywhere it can go. If I drove a 1984 Hyundai, then WalMart fluids would be fine. But I don't.

[carlsonr]

Supertech lubes all meet industry specs and are generally made by one of the large producers such as ashland oil(valvoline) or dupont(prestone).They can afford to sell the product cheaper because they are the single largest retailer in the world.Prestone probably sells more antifreeze labed supertech then they do in the yellow bottle labeled prestone.

[Diesel Head]

you got's to be kidding

[tony597fitter]

This is the TDR ratings from best to garbage.


Price API Performance Category
$/gal. Oil # Brand/Description My Estimate Actual
Best
9.98 1 Cummins/Valvoline Premium Blue 15W40 CI-4 plus CI-4 plus
17.36 8 Shell Rotella T Synthetic 5W40 CI-4 plus CI-4 plus
21.89 12 Cummins/Valvoline Premium Blue Syn. 5W40 CI-4 plus CI-4 plus
9.98 13 Pennzoil Long Life 15W40 CI-4 plus CI-4 plus
10.88 14 Chevron Delo 400 15W40 CI-4 plus CI-4 plus
35.00 20 Red Line Diesel Synthetic 15W40 CI-4 plus CI-4
Good
10.36 2 NAPA Universal Fleet Plus 15W40 CI-4 CI-4
25.70 10 Amsoil 5W40 CI-4 CI-4 plus
13.51 15 Caterpillar DEO 15W40 CI-4 CI-4 plus
12.68 16 John Deere Plus-50 15W40 CI-4 CI-4
19.99 18 Lucas 15/40 Magnum 15W40 CI-4 CI-4
Satisfactory
9.68 3 Mobil Delvac 1300 Super 15W40 CI-4 plus CI-4 plus
7.68 5 Wal Mart Super Tech Universal 15W40 CI-4 CI-4
9.52 6 Castrol GTX Diesel 15W40 CI-4 CI-4
9.52 7 Motorcraft Super Duty 15W40 CI-4 plus CI-4 plus
9.99 19 Pilot Premium HD 15W40 CI-4 CI-4
12.00 21 LiquiMoly Diesel Special 15W40 CI-4 CF-4
Ho-Hum (least favorite)
10.96 4 Shell Rotella T Triple Protection 15W40 CJ-4 CJ-4
27.55 9 Amsoil Premium Synthetic 5W40 CJ-4 CJ-4
10.80 11 Castrol Tection 15W40 CJ-4 CJ-4
12.99 17 Chevron Delo 400 LE 15W40 CJ-4 CJ-4

[Duluth Diesel]

Yep, seen that test before. A lot of legitimate talk about how flawed the test was, so take it with about a 5 pound bag of salt.

-Chuck

[mud sweat and gears]

What lab did TDR use, and What tests did they preform? It is real easy to make a list and rate things off of the cuff, but true testing requires independent labs, blind testing, and very strict testing standards that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and I doubt TDR put that kind of money out for oil testing. Use what oil you want, but when these rigs cost this much money, and you put the money into them we do, I would not trust my investement to Wally world!:thumbsup

[tony597fitter]

In Issue 54 we started talking about the cause and effect of the
lower 2007 diesel emission requirements. To examine the changes
to lube oils we contracted with a “hired gun,” John Martin, formerly
(25 years of service) of Lubrizol Corporation.
For those not familiar with Lubrizol,it is one of a handful of companies
that make and sell the additive package that goes into the fi nished
product, the one gallon lube oil jug.
More on John’s credentials: He holds several patents and has
published many industry-related technical articles. he is a past
Chairman of the Cleveland Section of the Society of Automotive
Engineers (SAE) and both a Recognized Associate and a Silver
Spark Plug (their highest honor) of the Technology and Maintenance
Council of the American Trucking Associations. He is a recognized
lubrication consultant to both the racing (NASCAR and NHRA) and
trucking industries.
We were fortunate to have John’s article addressing the CJ-4 lube
oil specifi cations. Then in Issue 55 John wrote a three page article
that debunked several lube oil myths.
Last issue we blindfolded John and sent him oil analysis data from
eight unused lube oils and asked him to comment. Astutely he
picked the CJ-4 oil out of the bunch, identifi ed the Exxon/Mobil oil
by its unique blend of additives, and used price logic to determine
the lube oil from Wal-Mart. He didn’t hold anything back when he
stated, “I wouldn’t cross the street for a free crankcase of oils 3
(the Exxon/Mobil Delvac 1300 Super CI-4 plus) and oil 4 (the Shell
Rotella T that meets the new CJ-4 specifi cation) unless I was running
a fl eet of busses or garbage trucks.”
John commented on all eight of the lube oils with his favorites being
oils 1 and 8. Oil 1 was the Cummins Premium Blue CI-4 plus and
oil 8 was Shell Rotella T (synthetic) CI-4 plus. Price dependent,
John’s choice was oil 1.
At the conclusion of the article we promised that we would add more
oils to the survey. And we did. From mail-order to tractor dealer,
to truck stop, to European diesel oil, we added 13 more lube oils
to the test.
Before I share the results it is necessary to establish the ground
rules. For those of you that have good recall you can skip this
section.
Ground Rules
I’ve been reminded that each quarter we have new members that
may not have access to the previous material. Therefore, before
you look at the results of the oil test (or any test or article written for
your consideration) one has to wonder if there is an agenda hidden
behind the data. Do I have a hidden agenda here?
Most assuredly, no. I have several friends in the lube oil manufacturing
and retailing business. The TDR has lube oil advertisers. I cheer
for race teams with lube oil sponsorship and livery emblazoned on
the sided of the race car. Lube oil companies sponsor many of the
diesel drag race and diesel sled pull competitions in which the TDR
audience participates.
When new lube oil is analyzed you can get a good idea of the quality
of the additive package that, as learned from Martin’s experience,
makes up 20-25% of the lube oil blend. Maintaining viscosity at
higher temperature, maintaining high alkalinity and protecting
against wear with the right blend of molybdenum, zinc, phosphorus,
and boron are important lube oil attributes. Readings for calcium
are a way to measure dispersion detergency.
In a blind-sampling-from-the-bottle test done by Trailer Life
magazine in January 2005, I was greatly disappointed to see that
Wal-Mart Super Tech 15W40 diesel oil stood toe-to-toe with other
very respected brand names.
Why disappointment? First, consider what John Martin said in
Issue 54, “Consequently there is less and less difference between
engine oil that barely passes the API certifi cation test and one that
is designed to pass by a signifi cant margin. Therefore, oils meeting
a given performance spec (example API CI-4+) are approaching
commodity status.”
Second, I am not a big fan of Wal-Mart. I could go into a long tirade
but I will refrain.
Third, for all of my vehicle ownership years (let’s see, that is about
36 years) had I been duped? Had I fallen for the marketing hype? Or
as we know, the focus on lube oil base stock versus the importance
of the additive package changed over the years. Is this a good
excuse? I do not want to believe that lube oil is just a commodity.
Yet the Trailer Life grid did not lie.
Your thoughts? How about this, “Well, Mister Editor, you’ve
established that the test is unbiased. But, if you are not going to
change what a person believes, why bother?”
Good observation and question. The answer, “I’ll spend the money
on lube oils and analysis so that John Martin and I can have data
to debate and discuss. If by chance the data might enlighten and
educate others, then so be it.”