Anyone see an mpg increase with a certain oil?

[damanwitdaplan]

I was wondering if anyone has a good story out there regarding a definite increase in MPG if they use a certain brand of oil compared to others.

I'll start by saying I have a 2004 S-type, 130K on it. Always used Maxlife with MPG rock steady at 18.6 mpg. I tried MoBil1 and MPG dropped to a steady 18.1. After the hoopla about Supersyn a few months ago, I switched the Maxlife out for it and voila! A steady 19.5 mpg! I find this amazing! A full 1.4 mpg improvement over Mobil1. I always use the same brand of gas and my driving routine is rock steady.
I've found a new favorite...

Anyone with similar experiences out there?

 

[Lethal1ty17]

i've found my driving style always negates my choice of an energy saving oil.

 

[garlicbreadman]

my overall average with maxlife(34-36mpg) is about 1mpg less than synpower(35-37mpg). Its really weird though, I went 430 miles on a 10-11 gallon tank with maxlife which was never done before on any synthetic i've used: syntec, synpower, amsoil, platinum.the best i've done with synthetic is 390 tops.

 

[Popinski]

I lost mileage using Valvoline Maxlife products. However, one guy told me that it is because I used 10w40 instead of 10w30.

 

[znode]

Maxlife is also always blended thick, so you're supposed to lose MPG. Especially if you're also running 10W (why would you anyway? The HTHS on Maxlifes are already extra high. AND you went up a grade? It's almost like running a 5W-30 engine on 10W50!) That's just... well, let's just say I don't see any reason why you would want to do that.

 

[Shannow]

There was quite some variance between even 0W-40s, let alone 10W-30 to 15W-40.

Currently got Mobil X2 3000 5W-40, with a litre of Motul 10W-40 ester, and mileage is consistantly 10km/l.

Delvac 1 (last change) was usually around 9.5.

Since we dropped to annual 10k km OCI on this vehicle, seasonal variance has gone, as has my trending due to data loss on one or another PC failures.

 

[Jimmy9190]

I am getting about .5 to .75 after switching from Carquest brand 10W30 conventional to Quaker State Advanced Durability 10W30. I will keep tracking my MPG to see fi it is consistent. I got about 2 MPG less when I used Maxlife.

 

[simple_gifts]

Too many uncontrolled variables to attribute mpg changes to oil.

My mpg has been as low as 39 and as high as 51 for highway trips and that is with the same oil.

 

[tig1]

Fairly large differances in MPG take place all the time. With the same wt. oil you won't see much differance in mileage. Recently I went from 5-30 to 5-20 and believe a very slight differance can be seen. What you are talking about is a 6-7% increase, and that ain't gonna happen with changing brands.

 

[demarpaint]

I think most people will see more of a mpg increase increasing tire pressure than switching brands of oil, and staying with the same grade of oil.

 

[StevieC]

My engine is an oil [censored] and has slept around with many oils and weights and I noticed very little change between them all.

 

[Popinski]

Originally Posted By: znode
Maxlife is also always blended thick, so you're supposed to lose MPG. Especially if you're also running 10W (why would you anyway? The HTHS on Maxlifes are already extra high. AND you went up a grade? It's almost like running a 5W-30 engine on 10W50!) That's just... well, let's just say I don't see any reason why you would want to do that.

I used 10w because that's what my car calls for. Plus, my car burns a quart every 3,000 miles on any Synthetic oil.

 

[ARB1977]

None of the oils ive used has increase or decrease milage. Ive used Redline 5W30, Amsoil 5W30, 5W30 HD, 0W30, GC and currently Mobil One AFE 0W30....this is in the Tacoma.

 

[shrooms]

The Civic was getting Maxlife 5W30 and the mileage DROPPED from 38-40mpg to 30mpg. MAJOR difference. Switched to MC 5W20 and the Civic is back up to 38-40mpg.

 

[Blumurder]

Originally Posted By: StevieC
My engine is an oil [censored] and has slept around with many oils and weights and I noticed very little change between them all.

hahaha

 

[mechtech2]

Thinner oils are always better for economy and power.

But when I hear of 1/2, 1, or more MPG with similar viscosities, it seems certain there are other factors involved.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
Thinner oils are always better for economy and power.

But when I hear of 1/2, 1, or more MPG with similar viscosities, it seems certain there are other factors involved.

I agree, my E430 gave me about 3-7% better MPG (from 18-21 MPG to 19.0-22.5 MPG) with xW20 than 0W40 in short trips as well as long trips of more than 50 miles.

 

[Corvette Owner]

My mileage went up about 10% on my 2001 Impala when I changed the factory fill to Mobil 1 after 3,000 miles (from about 20 mpg to 22.5 mpg), but this may have been to engine breaking in.

 

[demarpaint]

Most likely break in, pretty much the same thing happened to me with my Jeep.

 

[4ever4d]

I did notice a change of .5 mpg to the positive when going from 5-30 to 5-20 weight but was negated by installing new shoes on all 4 corners haven't noticed any changes in brand difference,the old Merc. still getting over 20mpg i'm happy.