Is this engine oil good?

Lou C

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Nov 10, 2002
Messages
13,546
What it sounds like to me is they are trying to avoid paying the premium to get their oil certified. If it is as good as they say, then cost is the only reasonable explanation.
If someone was really curious, they could buy a qt of it and sent a virgin oil sample to Blackstone Labs or similar and see how it does.
 

matt167

Rear Admiral
Joined
Sep 27, 2012
Messages
4,252
Walmart sells quicksilver oil pretty cheap in the automotive boat section.. if you go to the marine section of sporting goods, you can get the Penzoil marine oil a little bit cheaper. Because that makes sense ( not )

20w50 super tech would probably be just as good a ton cheaper. The only thing that matters is if you have a flat tappet cam, you have enough ZDDP. Because 20w50 is not used in any modern vehicle, its specs can have more ZDDP… product sheet for any off the shelf oil is available if you have the time to find them
 

Lou C

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Nov 10, 2002
Messages
13,546
For the 4.3 if it was a marine engine to start, I'm pretty sure they went to a roller cam starting in 87 or 88, my old '88 definitely has a roller cam.
Mercruiser sells a variety of oils and after doing oil analyses with the 25/40 conventional and the syn blend 25/50, the conventional has about 750 ppm of zinc but the syn blend has about 1250 ppm. Might be good for those running flat tappets.
Having said that all I have used in my '98 Jeep with the 4.0 flat tappet is Valvoline Max Life 10/30 and with about 750 ppm of zinc the cam/lifters are just as quiet as they were when it was new, 27 years ago! Currently at 183,000 miles which isn't really a lot for a 4.0 that was well maintained.
So maybe once it's broken in, the level of zinc in most conventional oils is adequate.
 

Scott06

Admiral
Joined
Apr 20, 2014
Messages
7,272
For the 4.3 if it was a marine engine to start, I'm pretty sure they went to a roller cam starting in 87 or 88, my old '88 definitely has a roller cam.
Mercruiser sells a variety of oils and after doing oil analyses with the 25/40 conventional and the syn blend 25/50, the conventional has about 750 ppm of zinc but the syn blend has about 1250 ppm. Might be good for those running flat tappets.
Having said that all I have used in my '98 Jeep with the 4.0 flat tappet is Valvoline Max Life 10/30 and with about 750 ppm of zinc the cam/lifters are just as quiet as they were when it was new, 27 years ago! Currently at 183,000 miles which isn't really a lot for a 4.0 that was well maintained.
So maybe once it's broken in, the level of zinc in most conventional oils is adequate.
Most of the issues you see now flat tapped issues are new cams during break In. What people (resonably smart YouTube channels) is the cams and lifters are not machined correctly. Inconsistent or lacking taper to cam lobe and convex lifter bottom. Any oil quality or metalurgy issues are on top of this. Your experience backs this up.

I would think this guy for 20-40 hrs a year can run just about any 30, 40, 50 wt oil. Stopped using the conventional QS 25w40 and settled on Mobil 1 15w50. Seems to have less shear and viscosity breakdown after high rpm runs. The qs syn blend seems to do better as does the merc racing 25w50 full synthetic but I can buy M1 five qt for $10 less than a gallon of QS or merc.
 

Rivergator

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
May 7, 2013
Messages
238
The label specifically does not say it is. Just says it meets or exceeds. The final say is the nmma website which lists all oils certified, and this is not. That alone is the reason to not use it. Deceptive marketing specifically to lure consumers.
Thanks for all the info. That's why I posted it here in the first place to hear other boaters input and opinion. I haven't bought that oil or used it and if I ever do I will make sure it passes all the check marks.
 
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