[Swepco]

Hello Towpainter;

In response to your posting, I am very familiar with Schaeffer Oil Products, in fact I was invited to join their sales force several years ago. They do make some products which are definitely better than the average, national brand products bought off the shelf, but with experience I've had about "the competition" I decided to stick with Swepco and have never been sorry.

Any assumption on your part which would imply that Swepco products are "snake oils" are without merit.....I'm sure that Jay Shields, the grandson of the founder of Schaeffer would not even go that far!

For that matter, if someone wanted to take a "step-up" from the majors, and didn't want to pay a higher price, it would probably be a good choice for them - it is always better to step up from what is commonly available from lube manufacturers who are in competition with each other because of "low price." (Schaeffer is higher priced than the majors, as Swepco is higher-priced than Schaeffer). I'm glad that you are using Schaeffer and are happy with it, but it is not the only thing out there that works well. I have been involved in racing for over 22years now, and believe me, I've seen the results in using different oils too!

Schaeffer's claim is that they are the "King of Moly" technology in oil products, and they use moly in just about everything they produce. Moly is an excellent friction modifier, but not the only thing neccessary for a fully balanced lubricant. Swepco does use Moly in quite a few products, including their Engine Oil, but does not rely on it solely, it's the complete package that counts, including the quality of all of the ingredients used to make the products.

So you see, I am not discounting the fact that Schaeffer makes a better quality oil than the "average" product, but I wanted to set you straight on some things you perhaps didn't realize. Generally, you will not hear me throw rocks at any products even though I am sometimes tempted to (because, as you stated, there are "snake oils" out there). Everyone has their own likes and dislikes, it's up to them to be informed about up-to date conditions and applications, that is what this site is mainly about. Many times, in my monthly newsletters, I do not even mention a Swepco product, or even Swepco at all, it is meant to educate people so they know more about the industry - obviously, when there is a need to have a comparison, I will do so, just so they know there is something else out there they should be aware of.

Jeff Ismail at IHO decided quite some time ago in favor of using Swepco products in his equipment and for recommending them to his customers and friends. Previously, he had experimented with many other oils, including the up and coming synthetics but was not completely satisfied with them. It was just a few months ago when he asked me to be the moderator of the "Oil Tech" section of his website. IHO also stocks many Swepco products and those can be purchased directly from the website.

Swepco (Southwestern Petroleum Corporation) has seen extremely good growth in the 75 years they have been in business (no, they didn't make the axle grease for the covered wagons!) - they do not advertise, instead using those resources to keep overhead down and to continue to do research & development on new products. They, like Schaeffer's is a family run corporation. They sell in over 80 countries around the world through factory trained representatives, such as myself.

If you would like to respond to me personally, please do so and tell me what town in Georgia you are in, I can arrange to find out who and where your closest Swepco Field Service Representative is if you wish.

Dick Floryanowich