High mileage oil, is it really needed?

[wtd]

Currently all of my vehicles have over 75,000 miles with 132,000 miles being the most. Currently I've been using 5w30 Valvoline conventional in all of them. Is there any benefit going to a high mileage oil if the engine is in good shape? Thanks.

Wayne

 

[coffee]

It is not needed but will not hurt anything and will probably help in the long run. If I were you I would use the MaxLife 5w30 syn blend.

 

[sangyup81]

Originally Posted By: wtd
Is there any benefit going to a high mileage oil if the engine is in good shape?


Probably not except for small, unnoticeable things. You'll see the noticeable benefits if your engine was in a state that really needed these things

 

[JHZR2]

IMO, case by case thing. Generally, no, but if a slight leak is forming, a slightly more robust oil is wanted, etc., it may be a good choice.

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

I have never used high mileage oil on any car...Not even on a 88 Town Car that had 300K miles or 99 Grand Marquis that had almost 200K miles.

 

[Mark72]

you know, i'm wondering if when GF5 SN rated conventional oil comes out, I think there will be EVEN less of a need for High Mileage oil because they will have a better seal compatability rating. it's part of the new GF5 standard...you can read about it on their website.

 

[wtd]

Thanks for the replies. I guess I will just stick with a regular conventional oil. Now I just need to decide if I'm staying with Valvoline or go with something else. I'm a big Havoline/Chevron fan but you can't find Chevron around here at all and since Walmart quit carrying Havoline, you can't find it very easily and when you do, its about $4.00 a quart.

Wayne

 

[tig1]

Here is XMs advise for those who may need to High Mileage oil.

http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Oils/Mobil_1_High_Mileage_10W-30.aspx

 

[1999nick]

Originally Posted By: tig1
Here is XMs advise for those who may need to High Mileage oil.

http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Oils/Mobil_1_High_Mileage_10W-30.aspx


Sounds to me like Mobil 1 High Mileage would be a good oil for most any engine. I used it for an OCI last year in my 2005 Nissan Pathfinder with the 4.0 V-6, and just changed it out at 9117 miles. It used one third of a quart in 9117 miles, and still looked very good. My Pathfinder had about 34,500 miles on it when I put the oil in. I was impressed by the specifications on the Mobil website mentioned above. I especially liked that it is still an SL oil, like German Castrol, and has extra antiwear and cleaning additives. A minor downside is the fact that it is too robust to qualify as a fuel saving oil.

I now have the Mobil 1 0W30 maximum fuel saving oil in it, and do not notice any change in the fuel consumption. I notice no change at all in the sound of the engine, either. Bought the 0W30 with that coupon last month.

 

[killagt]

if you go with maxlife, my first choice would be Maxlife, then Pennzoil High Mileage, then Quaker State High Mileage, grap wat ever on the list, but try maxlife first.

 

[gfh77665]

I like MaxLife because it's 30% synthetic. I am not sure if the others have any synthetic at all.

 

[Nickdfresh]

There's no major benefit to using High Mileage oil in an engine that has been previously well maintained in most cases. However, the beefier add pack may do some light cleaning if there are any deposits, a High Mileage engine may or may not benefit from a slightly thicker oil, and it wouldn't hurt the seals to maybe do an OCI. It seems people here think you either have to use High Mileage or conventional oil and that you can't go back after using a run of MaxLife or something whereas I think it might not be a bad idea to do a run of High Mileage oil, preferably in summer, to take advantage of the seal conditioners...

 

[Boss302fan]

I really like the Maxlife semi syn because it has a good amount of moly and it is really inexpensive at Walmart...Excellent oil that can be used in a new or higher mileage car.

 

[fdcg27]

If you have a specific problem, or set of problems, like high consumption, heavy deposits, or seal leaks, an High Mileage oil is certainly worth a try.
Other than that, why bother?

 

[mechtech2]

High mileage oil is primarily to benefit seals. There is a slight cleaning, softening, swelling, and sealing benefit.
It can indeed help. Not always, but it sure can work.

But other benefits are a slightly tougher oil . More additives for longer life and sometimes better wear. Often they are a bit thicker than 'normal' oils - they are biased thicker in their viscosity range.

Use High Mileage oil? It can't hurt. It may help.
I think there is a possibility that it can prevent seals from leaking in the first place [if they are getting old].

 

[Spector]

No need unless you have an issue that it may be able to help with. If no problems stick with what you have been doing

 

[wtd]

None of my vehicles have any real issues with the engine. My 98 K3500 with the 7.4L doesn't seem to like 5w30 conventional Valvoline very much since the engine is noisier with it than before. I may try the Maxlife in it and see if it makes any difference.

I've been reading some posts on here that suggest the Valvoline doesn't have a very good additive pack. Is there a different brand of oil I should be looking at? I want something that I can get pretty easy locally. Thanks.

Wayne

 

[daman]

I like using a High Mileage oil for the beef'd up add pack,SL vs a standard SM PCMO raiting,seems to clean better too.

if you have a car with 132,000 miles id use it sure.

 

[snakyjake]

Sounds to me like all vehicles would benefit from High Mileage oil...at the least it would prevent the problems from occurring.

Not sure how it can be a "higher viscosity formula" when it is a 10w30. Higher than what?

 

[Cujet]

High Mileage oils often contain a more robust additive package. I've read it's a way for the oil companies to produce quality oils under the current regulations.