I love the Great debates.. Toyota vs Landrover, Cat vs Volvo, Samsung vs iPhone..
- and oil is one of them. I've recently learnt a great deal about oils, but the bottom line is as long as it meets the required specs and tests, then one of the best ways is to do your own oil sampling. takes a while. but if you are worried about the quality of your new oil, its the way to go. OEM's offer it, WEARCHECK is awesome too. that is the only surefire way to give yourself a bit of clarity.
At my last job, the guys on our fllagship site went through a 9 month intensive program to determine the best service interval- what oils to use, when to change it, which brand to use and what filters to change.
we used CAT oils for the machines on warranty, and it was expensive, but worth it.
The point is, you can debate till the cows come home, finding the right alternative oil isn't easy, everyone has an opinion on what brand they like. we used Fuchs, it worked, met the spec, wasn't that much cheaper than other generic brands, but was on account. so it worked for us.
As nigel said in the beginning;
IMHO a good oil (& filters) is the cheapest insurance policy you can ever buy for your equipment and if you buy the cheapest oil from Joe Blow's Gas & Groceries it usually ends in tears.
