It’s not worth skipping the essential auto maintenance procedure of changing your oil.
Maintaining a car (or any other motorized vehicle) safely and effectively for the longest time requires routine oil changes and using the best motor oil brands, whether the work is done at home or by a professional.
Drivers risk blocked oil filters, poor fuel economy, needless oil use, and eventually ruined engines if they use the incorrect oil or forget to refill it.
Every motor oil is not made equally. Once widely used, conventional motor oil is composed of refined crude oil.
These days, the best motor oil brands are superior for most cars (but conventional choices are still available if preferred).
Different autos, trucks, and motorbikes are considered when creating certain synthetic oils.
While some are designed to withstand high temperatures, others concentrate on enhancing engine performance.
Additionally, buyers can buy synthetic blends with varying ratios of the two categories.
To assist you in choosing the best motor oil brands for your requirements, we’ve included a shopping guide on our blog list of the top synthetic oils.
1. Amsoil
Amsoil merits a spot on our list of best motor oil brands because it is a forward-thinking business that uses science to create motor oil, even though its popularity may not be as great as other brands outside the United States.
It is a trailblazer, having made history in 1972 when its 10W-40 product became the first synthetic motor oil to fulfill American Petroleum Institute requirements.
It specializes in synthetic motor oil products for the automotive, power sports, industrial, and racing industries.
You could be forgiven for believing that synthetic oils are of worse quality than their natural counterpart, just as synthetic fabrics.
But the reverse is true. Synthetic oils function far better because they lack the molecular imperfections present in natural oil and the contaminants included in carbon-based goods.
Since Amsoil is less prone to thicken than standard motor oils, it is a motor oil that will perform well in all weather conditions, even if you drive a station wagon on a short commute year-round.
You can confidently press the snooze button on your alarm a few more times because you’ll be able to start your day off more easily and be more likely to get to work on time.
Despite producing great motor oil, these best motor oil brands rank lowest on this list because of their narrow range of products.
2. Pennzoil
Pennzoil is also one of the best motor oil brands. The broken Liberty Bell shows another company that takes pride in its American heritage in its emblem.
However, there is one local commodity that, when used consistently, will keep your system operating smoothly—unlike cheesesteaks and Hershey bars from Pennsylvania.
The brand’s motto, “Long May We Drive,” promises never to stop striving for greater outcomes to keep drivers pleased for longer.
Pennzoil deserves praise for being a corporation that prioritizes its customers.
Known for its vivid yellow packaging, Pennzoil has been in business for over a century and continues growing.
Customers can purchase exclusive service packages from it, which ensure protection for 500,000 miles or 15 years.
It does make conventional motor oils and synthetic mixes. Still, it also offers a wide variety of full-synthetic lubricants, such as Platinum (a premium synthetic), Ultra Platinum (produced from natural gas), High Mileage (designed for older cars), and Platinum Euro (designed for European cars).
Additionally, Pennzoil regularly sponsors drivers on the NASCAR and IndyCar circuits, with each car bearing the company’s eye-catching yellow livery and branding.
IndyCar and NASCAR drivers Scott McLaughlin and Joey Logano, respectively, are among its current drivers;
Team Penske is its primary partner and has achieved great success with them over the years.
Although its athletic accomplishments generally give consumers confidence in Pennzoil products, the corporation is not as well-known worldwide as the companies that rank higher on the list of best motor oil brands.
3. STP
The STP No. 43 car, originally driven by seven-time Daytona 500 winner Richard Petty, is well-known to motor racing fans, especially NASCAR. This sport-focused motor oil brand sponsors Petty.
With its headquarters in Danbury, Connecticut, STP offers exceptional products steeped in racing history.
It also remains the primary sponsor of the Richard Petty Motorsports vehicle driven by Darrell “Bubba” Wallace, Jr.
STP was a clever marketer founded in 1954 as a manufacturer of oil and fuel additives to make your automobile smoother.
Since 1960, you could see its emblem on race car liveries and hoardings promoting its product line.
The fact that its sponsored teams enjoyed tremendous success—largely attributable to drivers like Petty, Mario Andretti, and Bobby Hamilton—did not hurt either.
STP, producing motor oil for decades, is now a household name. However, the company only offers two motor oil products: Pro Performance conventional oil and SYN Full Synthetic oil, which come in grades 5W-20, 5W-30, and 10W-30.
Although these best motor oil brands produce high-quality goods that are reasonably priced, their performance-based motor oils might be too specialized for the average consumer, and the brand is ranked lower overall due to its small selection of motor oils.
Nevertheless, STP has influenced American motor racing more than most other brands.
4. Havoline
Havoline is another motor oil manufacturer with a long history of innovation and research.
The most noteworthy of them was the invention of a filtering method that debuted in 1904, meaning that, in the middle of winter, you could start your Ford Model B with just a few cranks of the engine because the cold would not have reduced its oil to a gloopy, waxy mass.
Later, petrol added compounds that inhibited corrosion, lessening the piston rings’ wear. It also kept creating formulae that lessened damaging deposits in the engine.
Chevron Lubricants, the seventh-largest oil corporation in the world, has acquired the petroleum brand Havoline from Texaco Oil Corporation.
Havoline offers many products, such as standard conventional, synthetic blends, and 100% synthetic motor oils.
However, their Pro RS Renewable product stands apart from the competition.
It is a synthetic motor oil that contains 25% plant-based oil sourced responsibly, making it better for the environment and less harmful to emissions.
These best motor oil brands also come in recycled cardboard packaging and improve your car’s fuel efficiency.
Havoline receives cool points on our ranking since it gives us the sense that it is trying to improve in one of the worst industries in environmental preservation.
5. Valvoline
Valvoline, founded in 1866, is reminiscent of the Old West when prospectors flourished and “black gold” was discovered nationwide.
With over 140 countries under its belt, Valvoline is a major manufacturer of synthetic oils, synthetic blends, high mileage, heavy-duty, small engines, and performance motor oils.
It also produced the first branded motor oil in history and was the first company to supply motor oil exclusively for the Ford Model T, which was produced in large quantities.
The company still bills itself as “The Original Motor Oil.” Like many of their rivals, these best motor oil brands have made significant contributions to mechanical engineering innovation and have assisted in overcoming some of the practical challenges that the automotive industry has encountered in the past.
Imagine, for instance, that your car would need up to eighteen different lubricants for different applications.
This was true up to Valvoline’s invention of the all-purpose X-18 single-grade oil, which occurred well before 1939.
Imagine now having to change your engine oil type with every season change. Once more, this was required until Valvoline developed all-climate motor oil.
Although the quality and performance of its products are generally on par with those of its competitors, Valvoline receives extra credit in this ranking for being a trailblazer in an industry that is currently flourishing and for continuing to make noteworthy advancements in both innovation and quality.
6. Motul
Motul takes itself very seriously and takes pleasure in its artisan approach to motor oil production, despite its blatant assertion on its website that it understands “the subtle art of lubrication.”
It has made significant investments in its R&D division and has led the motor oil production market, particularly in the heavy industrial sector.
Its MotulTech division offers specialized industrial solutions and carries this knowledge into its consumer products.
The world’s first semi-synthetic motor oil, Motul Century 2100, was made by this particular R&D department in 1966.
They also manufactured the first fully-synthetic motor oil in 1971, which set the stage for the full-synthetic motor oils that came out the same year.
Over 300 racing victories have been attributed to Motul’s 300V performance lubricant. These best motor oil brands also offer various consumer motor oils for various uses.
These include its 4100, 6100, and 8100 product lines for normal engines, each having a choice of full-synthetic and mineral blends to suit varied applications, as well as historic cars, four-stroke engines, hybrids, and electric vehicles.
Despite being ranked as a midfielder, Motul is unquestionably a high-quality brand with a rich heritage that dates back to the Industrial Revolution.
These are the best motor oil brands. It was formed in 1853, has a rich history, and built Pennsylvania’s first oil rig in 1966.
It also upholds strong ideals as a firm that encourages diversity, creativity, and knowledge exchange.
7. Shell
Shell is next on our list of best motor oil brands, a major player; to imply otherwise would be to understate the situation.
The origins of this omnipresent Anglo-Dutch enterprise date back to the mid-1800s, when its founder, Marcus Samuel, extended his London antique business to include the sale of oriental seashells.
Founded in 1907, the modern-day Shell Oil generated about $42 billion in revenue in 2022.
With over $1 billion spent annually on its research and development center, its product variety is wide, as one might imagine, and its motor oils reflect this dedication to excellence.
Most of Shell motor oil is part of the Helix product range, the lubricant used by the Ferrari Formula One team.
This covers mineral, semi-synthetic, fully synthetic motor oil, and diesel engine oil.
The selection is quite extensive because there is also Shell Advance, which is designed exclusively for motorbikes.
Additionally, Helix Ultra, the first engine oil derived from natural gas, is produced by Shell and offers protection for many extra miles despite its reassuringly high price.
Shell knows its time is running out if the petrochemical sector doesn’t undergo reform.
To do this, it invests in financially, ecologically, and socially responsible solutions while pursuing cleaner energy.
It will be interesting to see where this takes Shell Oil in the next few years and decades, even though cars with moving parts will always need lubricants.
8. TotalEnergy
Like its French counterpart Michelin, TotalEnergies S.A. is a wildly successful French business that dominates motorsports and serves the automotive sector.
These include the Dakar Rally, Formula One, Moto GP, Superbike, and World Rally Championship, among other well-known athletic events.
Given that it has one of the broadest product lines in this ranking and its stats speak for themselves, Total is a fitting name.
As the fourth largest lubricant producer in the world, it serves 160 countries with 5,800 workers spread across 42 production units.
Its offering includes products for 17 market areas, such as the automotive, maritime, metalworking, mining, food processing, and chemical industries.
These best motor oil brand’s product line includes parts for diesel engines, older engines, performance engines, downsizing, thermal and hybrid engines, and ordinary petrol engines.
Despite knowing for at least 50 years about the catastrophic consequences of melting ice caps and growing CO2 levels in the atmosphere, TotalEnergies has recently come under fire for allegedly downplaying the effects of fossil fuels on the environment.
Even yet, it has been compelled, like all big oil corporations, to consider renewable energy due to public concerns.
It is also trying to rectify its previous misdeeds and continues to rank well in product quality, range, and overall influence.
9. Castros
Castrol is an acronym for “castor oil” since the company’s founders discovered that incorporating a small amount of the well-known laxative into ordinary motor oil helped engines run better during hot weather and cold starts.
Castrol has its origins in the early motor and aviation industries, going all the way back to 1899.
Since then, it has supplied NASA with oil and formed numerous corporate alliances in the motor racing industry.
Its products fall into multiple categories: RV, vehicle, EV, marine, and industrial. Most motorists are probably familiar with Castrol’s widely available GTX traditional motor oil.
Still, the brand also offers full synthetic, synthetic blend, high mileage, and ultraclean categories of motor oil.
Castrol’s extensive product line includes a specific monograde oil suggested for usage in hot regions, proving that no detail is overlooked.
In terms of marketing and innovation, Castrol is a trendsetter.
They would utilize the Castrol logo to advertise on banners at aviation events, taking advantage of the public’s rising interest in flying.
It was the start of a lengthy history that continues to this day of oil companies advertising during athletic events.
Castrol is a pioneering corporation historically and currently supplying the lubricant for the first transatlantic flight and the Mars Space Rover project.
Ignoring Castrol’s outstanding credentials is impossible, so it is no surprise that the best motor oil brands are ranked second.
10. Mobil
Mobil is ending our list of best motor oil brands. Given that Mobil is the official motor oil of both Chevrolet Performance and NASCAR, its reputation precedes it.
With a strong R&D team consistently seeking innovation for its product line, the American corporation is the preferred oil supplier for numerous leading automakers.
Founded as the Vacuum Oil Company in 1866, Mobil, like many other significant motor oil firms in this ranking, originated in the middle of the 1800s.
In response to the need for synthetic oil technology in extremely cold temperatures by several industries during the early 1960s, Mobil initially manufactured bearing grease for sub-zero flight operators.
By 1971, Mobil had produced Mobil 1, the first synthetic motor oil available everywhere and still the industry leader today.
Today, the company’s top-tier Mobil 1-Annual Protection product is hailed as a breakthrough for prolonging oil life and offering 20,000 miles of engine protection.
Several highly regarded brands, such as Bentley, Corvette, Cadillac, Mercedes-AMG, and Porsche, use Mobil 1 as their preferred motor oil; on the assembly line, Mobil 1 is used in over 70 of these high-performance vehicles.
Additionally, the business knows the contemporary needs for different motor oils.
It offers specialized solutions for vehicles with diesel particulate filters, hybrid engines, turbochargers, stop-start technology, or catalytic converters.
Mobil 1’s continuous quality across its wide spectrum has made it the preferred option for numerous prominent industrial, sporting, and auto manufacturing bodies since it combines innovation and variety.
There’s a reason Mobil 1 is ranked number one in the best motor oil brands rating.
