Is Valvoline Really That Bad?

[schwartr88]

Ive heard that castrol will sludge up an engine in 2k miles. Ive heard that pennzoil will leave a pound of wax in your engine. Ive heard that quaker state is only marginally thicker than water. Ive heard.............The list goes on and on.

 

[Mr Nice]

Do you have any Winn Dixie supermarkets in your area that are closing down? If so, I know they carry GTX and its possible to score a couple of quarts cheap

 

[bighead]

quote:

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Originally posted by schwartr88: Ive heard that castrol will sludge up an engine in 2k miles. Ive heard that pennzoil will leave a pound of wax in your engine. Ive heard that quaker state is only marginally thicker than water. Ive heard.............The list goes on and on.

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Yeah, but I can pretty much guarantee that you didn't hear about GTX sludge or Pennzoil wax from this forum. However, when you repeatedly hear this or that about a certain oil based on actual data, you tend to kinda lean that way, ya know?

 

[mechtech]

When did "Pennzoil sludges engines." turn into "Valvoline sludges engines."? I feel left out - like I missed a myth milestone!

 

[eddyzima]

Buford T, the links to valvoline uoa's were 2 under 3k and one 3k with dino. not a test of any oil. i have nothing against the big V, but for the money it seems other brands do better. UOA's in the past have seemed to show higher lead than some of the other oils. but maybe just me looking to hard.

 

[crashz]

Before BITOG I used to be a Valvoline/Fram/3000 mile oci type of guy. And my vehicles ran beautiful. So there is no doubt in my mind that Valvoline is a decent oil. But from a little research, Valvoline is not exactly the best bang for the buck. I run Motorcraft oil (when using a dino)in my trucks because of the consistantly good UOA's, decent add packages, and GrpII+/GrpIII base stock. All for a price less than the other name brand's.

 

[bighead]

quote:

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Originally posted by mechtech: When did "Pennzoil sludges engines." turn into "Valvoline sludges engines."? I feel left out - like I missed a myth milestone!

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No mention of Valvoline sludging engines. The Pennzoil and GTX comments were made to try to drive the point home that just because you hear this or hear that, it doesn't make it true. I made the comment that those were myths, as opposed to Valvoline's weak(er) add pack being based on VOA evidence. You're good mech, you didn't miss anything

 

[FordF150]

Had a Toyota 4-Runner with 130k that had Valvoline Syn almost exclusively....Never had a wrench on it...Never burned a drop... There was a Valvoline quikie lube that my wife took it to..since I traveled alot at the time...She wasn't the most prompt at changing the oil.... Valvoline is one of the products I would use without hesitation...Along with several others.

 

[blupupher]

Seems some knock it because of the price vs VOA, but a VOA does not show everything. UOA's seem to show good wear results. Terry seems to think highly of AllClimate. I used it for quite a while (about 4 years exclusivly whe I got 4 cases for $0.69/ qt) and will use it again if I find it on sale. I just need to use all my free oil first. Maybe if they would offer some AllClimate for free more would try it.

 

[grbr95]

I also mentioned in another post hoe Valvoline is the clearest/cleanest oil I've ever seen. Is that because Vavloline doesn't use dye in their oil? So many people talk about dyes being used, but it makes no sense. Why would dye be needed anyway, and if Valvoline is so clean looking, is this because they don't add dye to it?

 

[schwartr88]

If I could find some funding Id be willing to do a VOA on valvoline AC, run it 4k miles then do a UOA.

 

[Buford T. Justice]

You can get MaxLife or MaxLife Synthetic almost for free... http://www.valvoline.com/maxlife/microsite.asp

 

[Mr Nice]

Bio-T, Nice car

 

[Bio-T]

Thanks LT4 Vette. I just turned 7,800 miles. No that is not a typo. All original including tires. (battery is new, not OEM, Delco maint free)

 

[Buford T. Justice]

Hmmm... http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=11;t=000356 Probably nothing to worry about.

 

[Bio-T]

Time for my yearly change on my 1982 ElDorado. So I went to AutoZone. Picked up 5 Quarts of 5W30 MaxLife Synthetic and one STP (E-Core Champion) Filter. The oil was $27.45 and the filter was $4.19. Full rebate on the oil and in-store $4 off the full flow. Total cost of my oil change, 19 cents plus tax on the oil. Vavoline MaxLife has one of the better balanced additive packages. IMO This is the third year for a free yearly Valvoline oil change on this vehicle :

 

[OiledMustangGT]

i think valvoline is a pretty good oil but it is usually priced much higer than the equivalent castrol, shell, etc equivalent oil

 

[Buford T. Justice]

I am reading old posts like a mad man, lol... http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=11;t=000293

 

[Buford T. Justice]

I am kind of thinking about going back to Valvoline MaxLife Synthetic 5W-30. I am currently using Mobil 1 EP 5W-30. I am somewhat worried it might not work as well in higher mileage engines like the MaxLife. Of course I never got a UOA done on the Valvoline I was running before making the switch to Mobil 1 EP I would like to run an initial OCI of 2,500 miles, then make a 5,000 mile run and have a UOA done, then make another run of 7,500 miles and have a UOA done, and then try for 10,000 miles and have a UOA done. MaxLife has a lot of Moly (200 range) and a high TBN of 10 when new so I think it could do it plus handle severe driving conditions. I also like the fact that MaxLife Synthetic 5W-30 is a thick 5W-30 like Mobil 1 EP 5W-30 is. I know that Mobil 1 EP has Moly in the 80 range and I am not sure what the TBN is when it is new. On top of that, Valvoline seems to have a lot of rebates on their oils as of late... http://www.valvoline.com/maxlife/microsite.asp Why does a Mobil 1 EP oil change have to be so expensive compared to an equal oil designed for high mileage engines? Just a cost scenario for my 1998 Ford Mustang GT (6 qts. required)... Mobil 1 EP 5W-30 ~$30 - 5 qt. jug at Wal-Mart ~$7 - 1 qt. bottle at Wal-Mart ~$5 - Motorcraft FL-820S oil filter ~$42 - TOTAL Valvoline MaxLife Synthetic 5W-30 ~$20 - 5 qt. jug at Wal-Mart ~$5 - 1 qt. bottle at Wal-Mart ~$5 - Motorcraft FL-820S oil filter ~$30 - TOTAL before rebate - $17.50 Rebate $12.50 !!!!

 

[bighead]

Bio-T, first off, that car is AMAZING looking. I've always wanted that year model El-dog, just could never find one that didn't need major fixing up. Second, how in the world does that car have less than 10K miles on it? I put that on my car in about 6 months lol... Back on topic... I think some people coming to the rescue on Valvoline's behalf keep mentioning Maxlife and their other lines of oils, which are in fact good. However, I think what we're trying to show is that the AC is slighly over priced for what you get. Granted, ANY oil run for 3K will show great UOA's, but will you have that safety cushion if you accidentaly go for 5 or 6K? Some say ST dino is good, but has a slightly weak add pack, but look at it's price point. Same goes for the ST syn. If I could get Valvoline AC for under 2 bucks WITHOUT having to wait for some silly 50 cents off sale, then yeah I'd be inclined to give it a go for a few short OCI's. But I think for as much as(and often more) than Havoline, Pennzoil, GTX, it just doesn't do it for me. Sorry, don't mean to offend any of the long time Valvoline faithful, just my unprofessional opinion.