I set out to compare some of the leading oils in some of the more important categories in an effort to decide which motor oil was best for me. All oils are synthetic unless noted otherwise. I included one "crappy" non-synthetic motor oil and one "high-performance" non-synthetic for comparison to full synthetic oils. On a related note, recently, Mobil 1 took Catrol to court over Catrol's synthetic oil line. Castrol's oil wasn’t actually synthetic, but rather, a super-refined conventional oil, and calling it synthetic. This was done because conventional base stocks are cheaper than synthetic. To make a long story short, Mobil 1 lost the case, and has since switched their "new formula" to a super-refined dino oil, in the same fashion that Castrol did.

Here is a description of each category that I recorded:

Viscosity Index – A higher number shows less change at higher temperatures, very important, especially in turbo cars.

Viscosity – Lower numbers are better here because they will show which flows better.

Flash Point – VERY important, this number indicates the temperature at which the oil is ruined. Again, very important in a turbocharged vehicle.

Pour Point – Shows the lowest temperature that the oil can still be poured in.

Max Oil Life – This is a no-brainer, this is how long the oil lasts in the car.

Price – Duh….

On to the comparison:

Viscosity Index – 141

Viscosity @ 40 Degrees Celsius – 70.3

Flash Point (Fahrenheit) – 455

Pour Point (Fahrenheit) – -49

Max Oil Life – ~12,000

Price – $5.25/Qt. For normal, $9.25/Qt. For Racing

Viscosity Index – 185

Viscosity @ 40 Degrees Celsius – 40

Flash Point (Fahrenheit) – 450

Pour Point (Fahrenheit) - 65

Max Oil Life - ~10,000

Price – $4.29/Qt.

Viscosity Index – 136

Viscosity @ 40 Degrees Celsius – 64

Flash Point (Fahrenheit) – 518

Pour Point (Fahrenheit) - 58

Max Oil Life – 10,000 – 18,000

Price – $7.75/Qt

Viscosity Index – 150

Viscosity @ 40 Degrees Celsius – 74

Flash Point (Fahrenheit) – 415

Pour Point (Celsius) - -33

Max Oil Life – 3,000 – 5,000

Price – $3.50

Viscosity Index – 105

Viscosity @ 40 Degrees Celsius – 98

Flash Point (Fahrenheit) – 450

Pour Point (Fahrenheit) - -22

Max Oil Life – 3,000 – 5,000

Price – $1.75

Viscosity Index – 188

Viscosity @ 40 Degrees Celsius – 57.9

Flash Point (Fahrenheit) – 460

Pour Point (Fahrenheit) - -76

Max Oil Life – 35,000 or One Year

Price – $8.35/Qt.

Viscosity Index – 188 (Amsoil)

Viscosity @ 40 Degrees Celsius – -40 (Mobil 1)

Flash Point (Fahrenheit) – 518 (Redline)

Pour Point (Fahrenheit) - -76 (Amsoil)

Max Oil Life – 35,000 or One Year (Amsoil)

Price – 1.75 (Penzoil)