10W-30 vs 5W-40 Syn Valvoline

[Dominic]

I'm going to send off my 10W-30 (finally, poor college student had no funds to do this for a while) and have the maxlife analyzed. I'm considering testing the Synpower 5W-40 against it. Does anyone think the Synpower 5W-40 would produce less wear #'s than the maxlife 10W-30? Engine = 3800-II GM V6 I have the datasheets from Valvoline concerning both oils and the 5W-40 has a much lower NOACK (8-9) instead of Maxlife's "<15.0" rating. I assume this is better also? [ April 25, 2003, 01:44 PM: Message edited by: Dominic ]

 

[Al]

I am not a big fan of Valvoline oils. Based on results we have seen here. I think that Castrol GTX and Chevron give better results. But that's neither here nor there. I believe that the Synpower is a Group III. It (Synpower) will probably do a little better). Then again the 3800 would run well on grapefruit juice. Great engine.

 

[palmerwmd]

I would look real forward to see that!!! Fred...

 

[Bror Jace]

We could call this test "Clash of the Underachievers." Actually, I don't know how Valvoline Synpower in 5W40 would fare ... but their 5W30 and 10W30 was pretty lousy. The Max Life ... is it the new, sucktacular formula ... or the classic formula which was loaded with moly? The original form was pretty good ... but then they took the moly out and it became another over-hyped, under-performing Valvoline oil. --- Bror Jace

 

[Mystic]

I was more impressed with Valvoline MaxLife than with Valvoline Syn. I used to use Valvoline until I discovered this web site. There do not seem to be very many Valvoline fans here. In my car the MaxLife definitely ran better. I regretted buying the syn. I have come to the conclusion (from personal experience and this web site) that the average person is better off with either a good conventional oil (Castrol and Chevron are rated high here), or else Schaeffer's Oil. Of course, if you were involved in racing Redline might be great (and maybe Schaeffer's also). The people at this web site are very impressive-some work for oil companies, many get their motor oils checked out at labs, and others study oil filters or work for companies that make air filters. Every product I have used that seemed to be well regarded at this web site has worked for me. I am trying to decide which way to go-frequent oil changes with the best conventional motor oil and best oil filters I can find at a good price, or extended oil changes with Schaeffer's Oil, and a high quality oil filter. One product I definitely recommend is Auto-RX-I believe strongly that it works. I became addicted to frequent oil changes because of my Dad (he was an excellent mechanic), and because of other influences. It would be very difficult for me to go beyond 3000 miles on an oil change-it would probalby keep me awake at nights.

 

[Oilmeup]

Im with you. Although I really like Amsoil oils, I am an oil change Nazi! So I have decided to go with high quality Dyno oil and quality oil filters and frequent changes. I just feel a lot better.

 

[segfault]

Synthetic Valvoline 5w40 has produced better oil analysis results than Mobil 1 5w30 in Volkswagen's VR6 engine. While it may not do that in every engine, I would say that it would probably give better results than Maxlife.

 

[Dominic]

Alright well I'll get the results of these two oils to entertain you guys with I haven't really analysed my oil on this engine because its so new. Now that I've got 12,000 on it, I can start running some tests. Grapefruit Juice

 

[Roger]

I don't know about 5W40, but Mobil 1 5W30 produced much lower wear nembers in my Maxima than Valvoline 5W30 SynPower when both were run for 5K miles. For what its worth...

 

[palmerwmd]

quote:

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Originally posted by segfault: Synthetic Valvoline 5w40 has produced better oil analysis results than Mobil 1 5w30 in Volkswagen's VR6 engine.

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Hear , Hear!! Fred... [ April 27, 2003, 07:35 PM: Message edited by: palmerwmd ]