I just stopped in at BPS and bought 2 gallons of Pennzoil XLT blended oil.  It was only $13.97 a gallon.  What are your opinions on the brand of oil you use in your outboard?  I noticed that this oil seems a lot thinner that the Quicksilver I had been using.

Personally i think it all comes out of the same spicket.

If the oil you have "meets or exceeds" the SAE specs for your application, you should be good to go.

To my knowledge, none of the motor manufacturers make motor oil.  It is made for them by one oil company or another. 

I just stopped in at BPS and bought 2 gallons of Pennzoil XLT blended oil. It was only $13.97 a gallon. What are your opinions on the brand of oil you use in your outboard? I noticed that this oil seems a lot thinner that the Quicksilver I had been using.

This is my Opinion I think that it is the best oil out there to run in a steel bore Outboard  Pennz XLT is a Synthetic Blend just about all of the high performance guys run this oil in there steel bores and the guys that run nikaseal bore motors Run the Pennz 100% synthetic 

The XLT is what I run in my old 1967 Evinrude 80. Seems to me that it makes less smoke too.

Do you guys mean XLF instead of XLT?

I use the Pennzoil XLF Extended Life Formula Synthetic on my boat. It is kinda thin, but I only need about 2 gallons a year. It smokes very little and the engine is as clean as a whistle after two years of running it. Walmart has sales on it in the spring and fall, dropping it as low as $11 a gallon.

http://www.pennzoil.com/#/engine-oil/pennzoil-marine-xlf-synthetic-blend-2-cycle-outboard-engine-oil-extended-life-formula

I bough the expensive Evinrude oil at first and I think it's the same stuff as Pennzoil, but it costs 3x as much. Pennzoil XLF claims it meets engine warranty requirements for Johnson/Evinrude, Murcury, Yamaha, etc. and it's meant for injection or pre mix systems.  I see no need to switch.

Yup, got the name wrong.  I will try it and see.  I did notice that the Quicksilver does smoke quite a bit.  Man, when I started it up in front of my house last spring the mosquitoes were running for their lives   Nothing like the sound of a Black Max out of the water!!!!

Having run a lube oil distributorship, I can vouch for the fact that OEM oils are manufactred and packaged by oil companies. As for the OP question, brand matters the same way it matters for anything else. All the name brands produce quality products. If you try to save a few pennies buying no-name brands, you may be ok or live to regret it. Pennzoil (and I'm sure others) spends a lot of money on R&D and puts out quality products. As suggested, check the manufacturer specs and see that your lube meets or exceeds them. Even a quality product won't help if used in the wrong application.

YES, it matters.

Same old story all the time, even if it all comes out of the same plant, that does not mean it all had the same additivies put in it going through that plant.

All you're gas may come out of the same pipeline.  Does that make it all the same when you buy it at the pump.  If you think so, then keep thinking all the oils are the same also.

YES, it matters.

Same old story all the time, even if it all comes out of the same plant, that does not mean it all had the same additivies put in it going through that plant.

All you're gas may come out of the same pipeline. Does that make it all the same when you buy it at the pump. If you think so, then keep thinking all the oils are the same also.

Great observation. The additives make the difference, at least that's what I recall from my drag racing days. I don't think you can go wrong with the Penzoil. I've been using the non-synthetic for years with zero problems.

I tried a few different brands. Noticed that some of them had a real strong ammonia smell as compared to the OM oil. Figured that can't be too good on engine components.

So I now stick with Evinrude XD 50. I buy it by the case at a good discount and it is not very much more than less expensive brands. This way I absolutely know I'm getting the right oil for my OB. Just not worth it to me risking a $10,000 OB to save $30/year

I only run Evinrude XD100 in my Evinrude 200 HO Etec.  I spent too much on the engine to take a chance with it.  If you have a carburated outboard it probably doesn't matter as long as it meets the manufacturers minimum standards.  I ran the cheap Walmart oil in my 1977 70HP Evinrude and it was fine.

well lets put it like this if you talk to the top engine builders in the Us most of them will tell you that they trust and run Pennzoil in there outboards i trust what Jay Smith @ JSRE says about oils