High Mileage Oils & Seal Conditioners

[buster]

I think one of the overlooked benefits of High Mileage oils are the extra seal conditioners found in these products.
MaxLife blend for example uses conventional and some synthetic base oils, but the key to these oils are the extra seal conditioners which do work.

Valvoline is claimed to have the best seal conditioners on the market. Over time, they do wear out and become brittle. You also get additional cleaning detergents with these products.

I think for those that don't extend drains past OEM recommendations, and are not seeing extreme temperatures, they are a very good value.

MaxLife 5w30 is also dexos 1 compliant, so it has to be a fairly robust oil.

 

[Mark72]

Buster...I truly believe you. Not just because of your words, but of all the many reviews I’ve heard others give this product here. At the same time, my head is still spinning from old convos I use to have with someone who use to post here often and was a HUGE Pennzoil fan. (I think you know who I’m talking about  haha. He always told me High Mileage oils were a waste... Either use syn or conventional and call it a day. But he was fairly old-school to I suppose

 

[buster]

I used to think that too. If you're using a synthetic for the car's entire life, it may be a waste. However, I know for a fact that High Mileage oils from Valvoline and Mobil do use MORE seal conditioners than their synthetic offerings.

I see his point though.

 

[NMBurb02]

I remember reading on an oil company's website that when switching from non-High Mileage to High Mileage oil, your first one or two OCIs should only be 3,000 miles due to the higher detergent concentrations in the High Mileage oil, which can break down existing sludge and varnish and thereby shorten what could otherwise be a 5,000+ mile OCI. I just passed 3,000 miles on my first fill with Castrol GTX High Mileage and have two 5+ quart jugs of MaxLife NextGen in the garage, but am not sure if I should change the oil now or wait until my Burb's GM oil life monitor tells me to change. Your thoughts?

 

[Donald]

What about the seal swelling additives?

 

[Donald]

What about the seal swelling additives? Who wants those if not needed!

 

[buster]

There are different types of seal additives. If you don't need them, you don't need them. MaxLife uses Seal conditioners, which are not just swellers I believe.

 

[JOD]

Originally Posted By: buster
There are different types of seal additives. If you don't need them, you don't need them. MaxLife uses Seal conditioners, which are not just swellers I believe.


All GF-5/SN rated oils have to meet certain requirements for seal compatibility, including changes in elasticity, size and hardness. So, all modern oils are going to include seal "conditioners". High Mileage oils are pretty much by definition going to rely on increasing seal size, so they're definitely "swell agents". That's how they reduce leaks. While they have their place, I wouldn't use a High Mileage oil unless I had a specific issue I was trying to address. That said, there are also limits to seal swell with GF-5/SN, so I don't think High Mileage oils are going to blow up anyone's engine. I just think it's a card best left holding unless you really need it. At 130K I don't think I'm even close yet.

 

[buster]

JOD, I agree for the most part and I'm not suggesting High Mileage oils are for everyone or even needed. However, Valvoline clearly states that MaxLife is also good for new cars.

The way I see it, MaxLife is a good in between oil from conventional to synthetic and there is no harm going back and forth between them.

The seal conditioners help maintain the seal elasticity, not swell them.

 

[CATERHAM]

Originally Posted By: JOD
Originally Posted By: buster
There are different types of seal additives. If you don't need them, you don't need them. MaxLife uses Seal conditioners, which are not just swellers I believe.


All GF-5/SN rated oils have to meet certain requirements for seal compatibility, including changes in elasticity, size and hardness. So, all modern oils are going to include seal "conditioners". High Mileage oils are pretty much by definition going to rely on increasing seal size, so they're definitely "swell agents". That's how they reduce leaks. While they have their place, I wouldn't use a High Mileage oil unless I had a specific issue I was trying to address. That said, there are also limits to seal swell with GF-5/SN, so I don't think High Mileage oils are going to blow up anyone's engine. I just think it's a card best left holding unless you really need it. At 130K I don't think I'm even close yet.

That pretty much sums up my attitude to High Mileage oils as well.
I would add that they are also heavier with a lower VI than their non High Mileage counterparts.

On balance I consider High Mileage oils to be marketing gimmick because they target vehicles with 75,000 miles regardless whether an actual problem like oil leaks exist.

 

[buster]

I wouldn't say they are a gimmick, they are more of a speicality oil with a specifi purpose.

 

[Ayrton]

Well they make a difference in my old car.

I wouldn't use them while under warranty only because if something happened I wouldn't want the dealer to say "oh you used an oil for old cars." You know how some people think and find anyway to get out of something.

 

[buster]

"Do I have to wait until my car reaches 75,000 miles before I can use MaxLife?

Valvoline MaxLife motor oil is designed for high mileage vehicles of 75,000 miles or more. However, it is perfectly acceptable to use the high mileage motor oil in new or used vehicles with less than 75,000 miles."

 

[TFB1]

The idea is use the oil before the puddles appear under your car and not wait till you have to cross your fingers, hoping the High Mileage oil fixes it... There probably isn't a 10 year old vehicle with 100K mi that would not benefit from High Mileage oil... I would give exception to the ones that have had short OCI of 3k mi or less...

 

[Quattro Pete]

Would you guys use High Mileage oil in a 10-year-old 530i with 80K miles? It drips a tiny bit of oil, from the rear main seal probably.

 

[buster]

Agree. All oils have seal conditioners, but High Mileage have more. Some cars will NEVER need a High Mileage oil.

BMW's for example apparenlty have poor seals and tend to leak. Other engine makes differ and will never need a High Mileage oil.

The added seal conditioners can't hurt.

 

[buster]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Would you guys use High Mileage oil in a 10-year-old 530i with 80K miles? It drips a tiny bit of oil, from the rear main seal probably.



Definitely. My brother had a rear main seal leak in his Toyota and M1 High Mileage stopped it. Many people have had leaks stopped by using High Mileage oils. Defintely worth a shot QP.

 

[CATERHAM]

Originally Posted By: buster
I wouldn't say they are a gimmick, they are more of a speicality oil with a specifi purpose.

I believe the product's a gimmick because they're not targeted at a specific problem but rather simply a vehicle with some miles on it regardless of whether a problem exists (usually not),
consiquently it's an often misused product.

Although they're not marketed as such, High Mileage oil's are no different than any other oil additives, and OEM's do not recommend their use. Sometimes they work to deal with a specific issue but they won't repair a real problem such as a damaged oil seal.
There have always been products such as seal swell agents (Gunk sells one) that you can try is you've got an oil leak you want to try and solve short of replacing the seal itself.
High Mileage are simply a new twist on that.

 

[buster]

The XOM guy that knew a bit about the TGMO 0w20 uses High Mileage oils after 50k miles for his cars.

They usually containe a bit more robust of an additive package and extra seal conditioners.

Quote:
In our lab testing... we have found no detrimental effects of using High Mileage oils in newer vehicles or recent rebuilds with new gaskets.

But we did find issues with using those "shock" treatment oil additives that had too much swelling agents. But that was over 3 years ago in our testing. Most High Mileage oils we did test, had just enough.

High mileage oils actually have better additive packages than their standard counterparts, and costs the oil refineries much more money to blend/produce, and are lower profit margins compared to their standard oils.

I believe the current price of Quaker State Defy, and Mobil High Mileage oils are excellent bargains for the price I recently saw at WalMart a few days ago.

 

[CATERHAM]

Originally Posted By: buster

BMW's for example apparenlty have poor seals and tend to leak. Other engine makes differ and will never need a High Mileage oil.

The added seal conditioners can't hurt.

That's not true as my older Bimmer doesn't leak a drop and the propensity of BMWs to leak is no greater than any vehicle I know of, perhaps even less.

I have no problem trying a High Mileage oil to try and correct a problem but using a High Mileage oil as a preventative measure I certainly don't recommend. The additional seal swell agents can in theory can shorten the life of an oil seal. For example there are no 0W-XX high VI High Mileage oils consiquently if you're using an oil like Mobil 1 0W-40 you'll be taking a hit to your cold starting performance and engine lubrication efficiency generally.

QP, to deal with rear main oil leak on your 530i my first choice would be trying a seal swell additive that doesn't also thicken up your oil. Second choice in a High Mileage oil would nothing heavier than a High Mileage 5w30. You don't want to go with a heavy High Mileage 10W-40 because if does work you won't know if it is the heavier oil or the seal agent that's working.