Fixed my oil consumption :)

[Dominic]

Was running Mobil 1 10W-30 in my 3.8L V6 Camaro.

Input = 5quarts 10W-30 with PF52 Long Filter Spec (used on the 4.3L V6)
Output = 4.2quarts 10W-30... after draining the filter

No spills.

Now I run Valvoline Maxlife 10W-30:
Input = 5quarts 10W-30 with PF52 Long Filter Spec

Output = 5quarts to the brim!!

Not to mention the engine is significantly quieter cold or warm, and my fuel economy has not changed (its still good).

This is also on a 3,000 mile oil interval - which I might change in the future but for right now at $1.88/quart 3,000 miles is plenty cost effective for me.

 

[Dick in Falls Church]

Did the dipstick show the oil level low with the Mobil 1? If not, you might have had a great deal of Mobil 1 hanging on to the metal after you pulled the drain plug. Obviously, you don't seem to have this "problem" any more.

 

[Idrinkmotoroil]

I am a firm believer in these max life and long life oils (I am using the Castrol high mileage formula). My car used to consume over 3 quarts per 3000 miles, I have just gone over 3000 miles with the Castrol oil and just finished putting in the last bit of the first quart top up bottle. So my consumption has been cut by 2/3rds. These products seem to work as designed, I like em.

 

[Patman]

It's the thicker viscosity. M1 10w30 is under 10cst at 100c, while Maxlife 10w30 (according to my two oil analysis with it) is 11.4 to 11.5.

When you drained the Maxlife did you take a sample for analysis?

 

[Dominic]

According to Valvoline spec 10W-30 = 10.5 cSt @ 100C.

In any case I took a sample last change on maxlife, its all sealed up, I just dont know how to ship it? I guess I just take it to the post office with a check and tell them to ship it to Terry? I've never shipped oil before...

If Maxlife is turning out to be 11.4 or so, its higher than spec. I've got the new SL spec sheet in pdf format - its on their website.

 

[Patman]

I too was surprised at the viscosity being thicker than advertised, but in two seperate analysis, with two totally different batches (since one was SJ formula then the second was SL) it showed up thicker.

What you should do is send Blackstone an email and request their Terry Dyson service, so they will send the results to Terry when they are done and he will interpret them. This service is $35 and includes TBN. It's a great deal!

What did you use to collect your sample with if you didn't have a kit though? Hopefully whatever you caught it with is totally clean and won't affect the sample.

 

[Dominic]

Blackstone labs sent me a kit a long time ago and I finally used it, but I didnt have any paperwork for them (I think it got lost in the move from california). I have the one bottle sealed in the other bottle, labelless black outer bottle. I didn't know I could specifically request Terry Dyson through blackstone - thats pretty nifty! I was going to send it straight to him for $25 instead...

So can I just put a shipping label on it and USPS will ship it unopened? Does it need to be taped? Thanks Patman.

 

[MolaKule]

FWIW, I go to:

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/terry.html

and print this off, and then cut the label out with scissors. I place a 4 to 6 oz. bottle of oil
in a platic ZipLock back and then place the whole thing in a small cardboard box which is then shipped UPS or Postal.

 

[Patman]

What I always did with my samples that I sent to the US, was to put the plastic bottles inside a bubble wrap package just to be safe. I figured it was the best way to do it since for me it was travelling a longer way. You may want to do the same.