Which Shampoo As Engine Oil Substitute Brand Wins?
We compared 2 shampoo as engine oil substitute options head to head. BestLine came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
BestLine
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Head & Shoulders
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The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Lubricity wear scar, standard load | Lubricity wear scar, 4x standard load | Cold flow vs 10W-30 at extreme cold | Engine run as full crankcase oil substitute (16 oz fill, intended 1-hour run) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1BestLine | .44 x 1.48 mm (from the video description; not spoken in narration, only described qualitatively as showing relatively small scoring) | 1.17 x 2.39 mm (from the video description); narrator states this is still meaningfully better than Head & Shoulders even though the load was quadrupled | not tested | not tested |
| 2Head & Shoulders | 1.6 x 3.43 mm (from the video description; not spoken in narration) | 3.23 x 6.8 mm (from the video description); still worse than BestLine's scar even at BestLine's quadrupled load | test is set up in narration ('compare how Head and Shoulders compares to 10W-30 oil at extremely cold temperature') but no result is ever spoken or otherwise resolved in the transcript | engine seized well short of the intended hour; exact failure time never spoken (narrator expected at least 15 to 20 minutes and implies it fell short even of that); engine could still be forced to spin afterward but was very stiff, with suspected cylinder wall scoring and likely compression loss; the shampoo foamed up under heat |
How it was tested
- lubricity/wear-scar test at standard load
- lubricity/wear-scar test at 4x standard load (weight on the bearing quadrupled for more contrast)
- cold-temperature oil flow test vs 10W-30 motor oil (result not resolved in the available transcript)
- engine run as full crankcase oil substitute (16 oz fill, intended 1-hour duration)
“Head and Shoulders is definitely not as good as most of the products we've tested. In fact, I would have to say that Head and Shoulders is the worst product we've tested.”
Data notes and caveats
Myth-test triggered by viewer claims that Head & Shoulders shampoo would beat any oil additive on the lubricity tester; the claim is decisively rejected. The wear-scar measurements for both products at both loads exist only in the video description, never spoken in the narration itself (only qualitative statements like 'the amount of scoring on each bearing is relatively small'); logged to data/onscreen-only.txt along with the never-resolved 10W-30 cold-flow comparison and the unspecified exact engine failure time. BestLine functions here as a reference benchmark product rather than a full standalone review subject; it was not run through the engine crankcase-substitute test in this video.
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