OEM vs NON-OEM Oils

I agree with everything GeeBee said. Change every year regardless of hours.

As to oil, use an oil that meets the specs produced by an industry standard provider. IE don't use Magnifico (made up) oil from Brazil because it is a few cents cheaper than Castrol. When you cheap out, you get bit in the A$$.
 
I would highly recommend you do oil analysis annually on your engines Walter. Those are expensive engines and analysis can head off trouble early.

It was oil analysis that saved my big block Merc from dying an early death when I discovered that the oil cooler was leaching copper, a sure sign of impending failure which would have resulted in water in the oil and engine failure. Replaced the cooler, end of problem. Equally so, oil analysis pointed to problems with my airplane engine which enabled me to negotiate an appropriate price. Finally oil analysis enabled me to walk away from a boat when analysis showed salt water in the V drives, which I later found out was because the boat was swamped in a lagoon during a hurricane. The owner flushed the drives, but only once which did not clear all the salt and sure enough it popped.

I do analysis on my diesel truck, my boat and my airplane. I keep the records and it is always impressive to a prospective buyer when you can show him regular oil analysis along with corrective actions if needed. I use BlackStone labs. Only 25 bucks per analysis and they ship you the kits free. If you buy their vacuum pump for 30 bucks it is so easy you can do it yourself.

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/
 
to the OP, read the lubrication specs in the manual for both the engine and the IPS. any brand of oil that meets those specs is fine to use. the specifications = performance standards and are industry standards. follow these and you cant go wrong in spite of what some in the various oil co marketing departments would have you believe.

since most of us are recreational in use, we almost never use the engines long enough between annual oil changes for service life of the lubricant to enter into the calculus. different issue on a commercial use or generator that is heavily used.
 
I agree with you vic33004 for the most part. However a recreational use engine places greater demands upon lubricants than a commercial use engine. Indeed Lycoming for instance will extend the warranty of an aircraft engine an extra year if it is used at least 40 hours a month. The recognition being that a frequently used engine will not have as much acids and moisture as one that is not. For that reason, I recommend the best lubrication money can buy for infrequently used engine.
 
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