is high mileage oil worth it?

[oil_dude]

hi,everyone! i'm a newbie to this forum and already spent a few hours reading alot of postings and learning alot about base stocks and used oil analysis and so fourth.
so,here's my question:is high mileage oil all cracked up to whats it's supposed to be,or is it just a marketing ploy? or is regular conventional oil just as good or would diesal oil be just as good if not better.excluding synthetic oil of course.my 98 isuzu work truck has 260,000 miles on it and they use valvoline high mileage 10/40w.on this forum i thought who better to ask this type of question then here.
thanks for your answers! i always just wondered about that question.

 

[ericthepig]

Yes, they work. I have a hi-mile Mazda that could put out an embarrassing plume of smoke on start-up and after idling a few minutes. Obvious valve-guide issue. With HMs - no plume. They're not marketing hype! I had the smoke plumes even with heavy oils (Mobil 1 15w50 and Castrol 20w50) - I was surprise at how well HMs fixed this.

 

[ThirdeYe]

Yes they work, and they're actually really good oils. They usually come with a very robust additive package and a portion of synthetic. Definitely worth the price in my book, unless you're like us, who stash 75+ quarts that they get on sale

 

[TallPaul]

Especially worth it (and for any car, not just high mileage) when it's Maxlife. Maxlife gives you a blend with PAO and moly, besides the typical high mileage oil attributes.

 

[Vilan]

My Metro is drinking oil pretty quickly (quart per 300 miles or so). Last oil change I thought I'd try Castrol High Mileage in it. Didn't slow it down a bit. I've since topped up with Walmart High Mileage, still no change.

Of course my engine is pretty far gone at this point so I didn't expect much to happen. And if your car has just a minor leak or burning then it may well improve with High Mileage oil. Just don't expect a miracle in a can.

 

[Merkava_4]

I'm thinking High Mileage oils are more robust and durable than regular conventional oils, but I'm basing that purely on opinion; I have no way to substantiate that.

 

[75003]

Lots of fans of Maxlife and Castrol High Mileage oils here. What about Pennzoil? How does it compare?

 

[blackdiamond]

The Maxlife is cheaper than blend at my local Walmart and only a couple bucks more than conventional.