What oil does everyone use?

[MOA_Chaser]

I think I'm using Valvoline this time around. I get a decent, non-synthetic oil that meets or exceeds the ratings spec'd by Yamaha. Whatever is on sale or has good rebate offers. I don't bother with synthetic because I change my oil once a year... and my season is only about 4 months (tops) of weekends and occasional weekday nights. No sense in using expensive synthetics when you're changing your oil that frequently.

 

[scokill]

Interesting that Yamalube isn't a certified NMMA oil....

Not clear to me why an oil needs to be "Marine" certified.....

https://www.nmma.org/certification/certification/oil/fc-w.aspx

I lose faith in NMMA certification every time I hook up to my trailer and see the certification sticker. Cert is all about the Benjamins.....

 

[MikeyL]

I think I'm using Valvoline this time around. I get a decent, non-synthetic oil that meets or exceeds the ratings spec'd by Yamaha. Whatever is on sale or has good rebate offers. I don't bother with synthetic because I change my oil once a year... and my season is only about 4 months (tops) of weekends and occasional weekday nights. No sense in using expensive synthetics when you're changing your oil that frequently.

A lot of people would do themselves a LOT of "good" if they would read this post CAREFULLY !

VERY well said. Thanks for saying what a lot of us were thinkin' and understanding.
PS - I "prefer" synthetics" for no good reasons. Just because i "feel good" giving hard-earned money away to Mobil Exxon. LOL.
But when you can buy a 5.1 qt container of Mobil 1 @ Wally World for $22 and change, why not ? Sorry. I just checked (I keep about 70 qts on hand for a lot of vehicles) - and it's just gone up to $ 26.68.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mobil-1-10W-40-High-Mileage-Full-Synthetic-Motor-Oil-5-qt./17034354

 

[MikeyL]

Not so much: http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/a2316/4232672/

Briefly, there are two types of "synthetic" oils on the market. Group IV oils consist of molecules that are synthesized from simpler chemical compounds. This lets the chemical engineers "tune" the characteristics of a lubricant to exact specifications. These oils flow more freely at extreme low temperatures and don't break down at very high temperatures. As a side benefit, they generally can be specified one or two grades lighter than a mineral oil, which consumes less energy as friction inside the engine and saves fuel. These are superior products, and command a premium price. Mobil 1 is a good example of a high-end Group IV. Group III lubricants are made from reprocessed petroleum products normally left over after making crude oil into gasoline, diesel fuel, heating oil and other products. They're more modestly priced, and have many of the desirable characteristics of the higher-priced spread. In much of the world outside the USA, Group III-based lubricants are not permitted to be marketed as "synthetic." Castrol Syntec is a good example of this type.

http://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/29113/base-oil-groups

EXTREMELY well-written, accurate and correct in all aspects. Most people judge oil and oil "types" based on personal opinions, some of which quite simply are wrong. @Big Shasta gives us an ACCURATE portrayal of FACTS< not innuendos.

And @Julian - You're also right when you write "Not clear to me why an oil needs to be "Marine" certified....." - I don't think any of us expose our boats to the type of marine environments where a "marine rated" oil needs to be used. Plus, if you're changing you oil every year, and it has 20 to 60 total hours on it ?????????

Oh, and for those who wanna use YamaLube ...... Ok Fine. I, like you, love driving down the highway looking @ Yamaha oil rigs pumping oil out of the ground. It excites me to see my boat manufacturer making their own oil. <LOL !> Please note this paragraph was written in jest .... nothing more.

 

[Jim Robeson]

I don't believe anyone here really believes Yamaha owns their own oil rigs. But I do believe that Yamaha buys oil, from someone that provides them with what they specify. It would be like the oil that comes in your new automobiles. I don't believe GM has any oil wells either but they do have their own brand of oil that meet what they specify. In my simple mind, if Yamaha wanted to use Mobile 1 or any other oil then they would specify that.

But like most people, everyone has an opinion and they are entitled to that opinion. Kind of like a$$holes...everyone has one

 

[MOA_Chaser]

I think that Yamaha provides and recommends the oil because 1. they make profit from it, and 2. they can charge more because it has "Yamaha" on it and they know there's a sizeable number of owners out there that will gladly pay more for the same oil through Yamaha "just to be safe" and so they feel like they're putting high end stuff in their motor (whether it's actually high end or not). I also run Purolator filters instead of Yamaha-branded ones.

 

[jlcj7]

I have been using Yamalube since i bought the boat, i keep saying i will switch over to Mobil 1, but never have... creature of habit i guess...

 

[scokill]

I don't believe anyone here really believes Yamaha owns their own oil rigs. But I do believe that Yamaha buys oil, from someone that provides them with what they specify. It would be like the oil that comes in your new automobiles. I don't believe GM has any oil wells either but they do have their own brand of oil that meet what they specify. In my simple mind, if Yamaha wanted to use Mobile 1 or any other oil then they would specify that.

But like most people, everyone has an opinion and they are entitled to that opinion. Kind of like a$$holes...everyone has one

What's interesting is that pretty much any oil meets Yamaha's spec's...even specs going back years and years and are now obsolete.

 

[jcyamaharider]

Just bought Valvoline conventional and K& N filters. Just my opinion, but I think any oil we put in these things will do the job for as little as we use them. Even conventional oil lubricates these engines more then enough for wear.

 

[Jim Robeson]

@scokill ... I've been searching for a little while now trying to find the actual specs for Yamalube but have been unsuccessful. All I can find is that it meets or exceeds manufacturer's recommendations and that it is considered a certified marine oil. With that being said, I came across a very interesting and informative article about engine oils. Pretty long but it may be worth a read if you're interested. http://forum.chaparralboats.com/index.php?showtopic=13471

I know after reading this article I will probably switch over to ... @MikeyL are you sitting down .... Mobile 1.

 

[Julian]

Not sure if I'm reading this correctly but I think Yamalube is a certified marine oil...

View attachment 19420

Silly me for thinking that the list on the page was "the list"....sigh....thanks for correcting that!

 

[spaz1868]

I use Mobile 1 full synthetic only because I only change the oil in the boat once a year so I splurge on it. Now the oil in the car is another story. I get what is on sale or what has a good rebate when I go get the oil. Or even whatever the car wash place uses.

 

[PEARCE]

I use Belray 10w40. It's formulated for high reving 4 stroke engines. It's a conventional or dino mineral oil.

 

[scokill]

It

@scokill ... I've been searching for a little while now trying to find the actual specs for Yamalube but have been unsuccessful. All I can find is that it meets or exceeds manufacturer's recommendations and that it is considered a certified marine oil. With that being said, I came across a very interesting and informative article about engine oils. Pretty long but it may be worth a read if you're interested. http://forum.chaparralboats.com/index.php?showtopic=13471

I know after reading this article I will probably switch over to ... @MikeyL are you sitting down .... Mobile 1.

It probably doesn't matter in the end...it's all what we believe or have experienced. My manual says to change oil every year at the start of the season or 100 hrs, and the filter every 2 years or 200 hrs. I believe we all go above and beyond that. The 2008 spec is as follows: 4 stroke motor oil (duh) SE, SF, SG, SH, SJ, SL 10w 30. SE is for engines built after 1979 and later and SL was 2001 and later. These are all obsolete and current specs are backwards compatible, but if you had good SE oil sitting around it would meet the spec.

 

[dan144k]

Conventional Oil VS Synthetic Oil.
The way a friend explained it to me years ago. Probably 15 years ago.

If you lost most of the oil from your engine and were still running with only one quart in the motor?
What type of oil would you want the last quart to be?

That was when I stopped using conventional oil and switched to Mobil-1.
2 years ago I stopped using Mobil-1 and now use an even better synthetic (personal opinion)

 

[Jim Robeson]

I lose faith in NMMA certification every time I hook up to my trailer and see the certification sticker. Cert is all about the Benjamins.....

That is exactly how I feel when we get audited by UL. We pay them a ton of cash just to have the UL label on our products. Same for all those other accreditations we have to have in order to do business with other folks. Sorry, went on a little rant there.

 

[scot71]

I don't believe anyone here really believes Yamaha owns their own oil rigs. But I do believe that Yamaha buys oil, from someone that provides them with what they specify. It would be like the oil that comes in your new automobiles. I don't believe GM has any oil wells either but they do have their own brand of oil that meet what they specify. In my simple mind, if Yamaha wanted to use Mobile 1 or any other oil then they would specify that.

But like most people, everyone has an opinion and they are entitled to that opinion. Kind of like a$$holes...everyone has one

My only exception to this statement is that if GM has their own brand of oil. Why is my dealership

(GMC, Cadillac) only offering Valvoline when I go in to get an oil change for my truck?

 

[Jim Robeson]

My only exception to this statement is that if GM has their own brand of oil. Why is my dealership

(GMC, Cadillac) only offering Valvoline when I go in to get an oil change for my truck?

Good question. Is your truck a new truck, not that it makes a difference but if you go their fast lube place that might help explain that. That is just a guess on my part. I think a few years ago GM started using something called Dexos, I think. So my statement may not be true anymore. That was made based off what my dad used to tell me when he would take his in to have the oil changed...nothing but GM oil went into his truck.

 

[MikeyL]

To me, it's a simple answer.
To wit, MOST every thing in life (including our government @!) can be answered by three simple (and very DANGEROUS) words:



Ya might wanna keep this simple Truth in mind ........
and never, ever, forget where ya got it !
Kiss, Kiss ............ Mikey Lulejian - Lake Oconee, GA

 

[Ronnie]

I used to use Mobil 1 synthetic because I perceived synthetic oil to be better than non synthetic and I can get 6 quarts of it cheap at costco. I have since switched back to yamalube non synth because that is what my current boat's first owner used and he didn't have any problems with the boat while he owned it (first 100 hours). I went with mobile 1 synth right after I got the boat and developed oil cooler problems (one cracked the other warped) before putting 100 more hours on the boat. The dealer used yamalube when they replaced the coolers and I just bought two gallons of it for this seasons oil change.

Interestingly, when I went to buy the oil this time around I considered buying yamaha's semi synth blend (gold colored bottle) which is a little more expensive but the sales rep recommended that I stay with regular yamalube because it's what yamaha recommends. I can't say for sure that the synthetic caused my oil cooler issues but I'm having a hard time believing that the problems and move to synthetic oil were coincidental and unrelated.