Quote Originally Posted by hieu1004 View Post
Sorry for being a newb, but what is the difference between SL & SM? Do the SM's have less additives?
They generally have different additives. SM is the later of the two specs.

Would you recommend the SL or SM formulation for me?
Any recommendation from anyone has little value compared to the requirements of the maker, since they are de facto the best in the world at making their engines - they've had the most experience.

That said, it's not easy to find a bad oil IMO.

Follow the specifications listed in your owner's manual, including the API spec, the ILSAC spec if listed, and the viscosity range listed. Also follow the manufacturer's maintenance schedule to the letter and keep all receipts. This is generally the safest course.

There are several "what oil" threads here and of course there's BITOG's site with lots of UOAs and discussions. I'm not trying to be elusive; I'm trying to point out that there are specific requirements by the maker, but also that there are dozens of options to meet them so you have lots of choices even when meeting very specific specs.

Happy shopping.