Maxlife, good stuff!

[FCD]

So since we have been a month on lockdown now here in Spain due to the COVID-19 , i've been spending plenty of time in the garage. So i decided on ordering online a jug of Valvoline Maxlife 10W-40, "Synthetic Technology" , which i have read only is one of the few 50/50 synthetic blands o the market, supposedly 50% Group II and 50% Group III HC ( according to a BITOG type Spanish forum ) Acoording to a VOA on oil-club.ru, although it is from 2015, the European version has a whopping 1600ppm of Zinc!! ( Really ?, more than VR1? ), 1500ppm of Phosphorous and 133 Moly, and 3400ppm of Calcium. Specifications : SPI SM/SN, ACEA A3/B3 / A3/B4, plus various Renault, VW, MB and Fiat specs, and 5L of it costs 25€ with free shipping, not bad at all. I noticed it immediately after starting the engine, but definetly after a week it sounds quieter / smoother. Compared to the 15W-40 HDEO and 20W-50 PCMO i have tried before it definetly seems to run quieter both cold and warm ( Makes sense since 10W-40 is the specified viscosity for the Ford CVH ) On the 15W-40 HDEO it had a lifter that tended to tap at cold idle sometimes, however the tap always goes away once you rev the engine up a bit, and on the Maxlife 10W-40 it doesn't do it at all. Despite being at 110k miles and being 32 years old it's surprising that it really burns no oil at all, no smoke from the exhaust ever, not even a small puff on cold start, it only has a slightly "sweaty" oil pan gasket, and it dribbles a little oil when you shut the engine off from inside, yes INSIDE the distirbutor, which has a small seal on the main shaft which tends to age and harden causing it not to seal anymore so it always dribbles a drop or two of oil from the distirbutor when you shut it off, strangely enough it doesn't appear to affect the way the engine runs at all. Video of it running : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D94y6fFM4Gw

 

[dlundblad]

I wonder how your formulas compares to to ours. 10w40 isn't A3/B4. I'm not even sure you can get full synthetic Maxlife in 10w40. 10w40 and 20w50 in the blend formulations though. Last I looked, the 20w50 was A3/B3 too.

 

[SR5]

I'm using the Valvoline DuraBlend 10W40 semi-synthetic right now, it would be similar, if not exactly the same as your maxlife. I've always like this oil, as you said, it feels "smooth" for whatever that is worth. The Durablend is rated API SN/CF, ACEA A3/B4, MB 229.1, VW 502.00, VW 500.00, and I can pick it up at the local Bunnings warehouse at $30 (AUD) for 5L (about 17.50 Euro or $19 USD) which is a pretty good every day price here. And better than half the price of a full synthetic for me. I've also used the MaxLife 20W50 semi-synthetic (SN/CF and A3/B4) which was a fine oil. Valvoline do make good stuff, and I've always been told that their semi-synthetics are at least 30% synthetic (Group III) when I have spoken to their tech people (some time ago).

 

[Triple_Se7en]

My departed Chevy S10 ran best on the Maxlife Blend 5w30. Did not feel the same when I tried the Full Synthetic Maxlife. Glad you found a winner FordCapriDriver.

 

[krismoriah72]

Here is a VOA of maxlife 10w40 high mileage to compare to https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/4436195/VOA_Valvoline_Max_Life_High_Mi Here is a VOA of maxlife 5w40 also done by oil-club.ru also shows high levels of additives.. https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/4339521/1 i dont read russian but is it possible they use a different numbering system? metric vs standard? their additive numbers always seem really high.

 

[Sveina]

Originally Posted by FordCapriDriver

Acoording to a VOA on oil-club.ru, although it is from 2015, the European version has a whopping 1600ppm of Zinc!! ( Really ?, more than VR1? ), 1500ppm of Phosphorous and 133 Moly, and 3400ppm of Calcium. Specifications : SPI SM/SN, ACEA A3/B3 / A3/B4, plus various Renault, VW, MB and Fiat specs, and 5L of it costs 25€ with free shipping, not bad at all.

Isn't these levels not compatible with API SN?

 

[SR5]

Originally Posted by Sveina

Originally Posted by FordCapriDriver

Acoording to a VOA on oil-club.ru, although it is from 2015, the European version has a whopping 1600ppm of Zinc!! ( Really ?, more than VR1? ), 1500ppm of Phosphorous and 133 Moly, and 3400ppm of Calcium. Specifications : SPI SM/SN, ACEA A3/B3 / A3/B4, plus various Renault, VW, MB and Fiat specs, and 5L of it costs 25€ with free shipping, not bad at all.

Isn't these levels not compatible with API SN?

Yes for an ILSAC viscosity grade eg 0W20 or 5W30. For these there are limits on Phos (and therefore Zinc). Something like 600 to 800 ppm Phos from memory. No for a non-ILSAC viscosity grade, which are the thicker xW40 and xW50 oils. They can have much higher Phos and zinc levels.

 

[SR5]

Originally Posted by krismoriah72

Here is a VOA of maxlife 5w40 also done by oil-club.ru also shows high levels of additives.. https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/4339521/1 i dont read russian but is it possible they use a different numbering system? metric vs standard? their additive numbers always seem really high.

That looks like a typical Euro A3/B4 add pack to me. High TBN from lots of Calcium detergent (~3100 ppm) and a heavy dose of ZDDP giving ~ 900 ppm Phos and ~1000 ppm Zinc. Very similar figures to this VOA of M1 0W40 another Euro A3/B4 oil https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/2365762/

 

[LeoStrop]

Not sure about those Zinc and Phosphorus numbers, but glad it is working out for you! I'm also eager to try a Grp. III 10W40 on my oldie, but i'm not sure how it will like it. Have been looking out for some HDEO's like Rimula R6M and Delvac XHP Extra (MB 228.5 is good stuff). How are those options around there for you? Sadly they are not very easy to find, and the majority comes in 20L only. But since i like to change my oil at 6 months and that barely hits 3k miles, maybe the good and trusty CI-4/SL, MB 228.3 Mineral should be good enough.

 

[FCD]

I almost bought some Shell Rimula R6M 10W-40, it's an extremely good oil. I've seen UOAs of it on oil-club.ru of 30,40,50.000km and the oil was still ok. But it's a "true" full synthetic made from GTL and i think even some PAO, and i was scared it would make the engine leak. It also doesn't carry any Gasoline engine specifications, probably because of the 1.6 Sulphated ash and TBN of almost 15, it also has 1300-1400ppm of ZDDP and over 4000ppm of Calcium, a very heavy add pack. I've even thought of making a blend of my own with about 50% Rimula R4X 15W-40 ( Mineral, API SL,CI-4 , ACEA E7 ) and Rimula R6M. My logic is that both are HDEOs from the same brand, Shell, and the same product line, Rimula, so they shouldn't at least in theory have any problems in terms of the additive packages not working together, R4X has a somewhat weaker add pack with 1100-1250ppm of ZDDP and around 2500-3000ppm of Calcium.

 

[FCD]

One thing i just realized is that on the site where i bought the oil from it's advertised as fully synthetic, i thought Maxlife 10W-40 was a blend. On the bottle it says Synthetic technology, but on the datasheet it says it's a blend? No ofcourse outside Germany , like here in Spain you can legally call a Group III a.k.a HC oil fully synthetic. So i'm not sure now wether the European Maxlife 10W-40 is a Semi Synthetic, a.k.a a blend, or a Group III HC " so called" full synthetic. Still i'm happy with how the engine runs with it, significantly quieter and feels smoother than any other oil i have tried.

 

[NuttCase]

"Synthetic technology" is a more recent pseudonym for semi-synthetic. So your bottle and data sheet are consistent.

 

[user52165]

delete - wrong post

 

[LeoStrop]

Originally Posted by FordCapriDriver

I almost bought some Shell Rimula R6M 10W-40, it's an extremely good oil. I've seen UOAs of it on oil-club.ru of 30,40,50.000km and the oil was still ok. But it's a "true" full synthetic made from GTL and i think even some PAO, and i was scared it would make the engine leak. It also doesn't carry any Gasoline engine specifications, probably because of the 1.6 Sulphated ash and TBN of almost 15, it also has 1300-1400ppm of ZDDP and over 4000ppm of Calcium, a very heavy add pack. I've even thought of making a blend of my own with about 50% Rimula R4X 15W-40 ( Mineral, API SL,CI-4 , ACEA E7 ) and Rimula R6M. My logic is that both are HDEOs from the same brand, Shell, and the same product line, Rimula, so they shouldn't at least in theory have any problems in terms of the additive packages not working together, R4X has a somewhat weaker add pack with 1100-1250ppm of ZDDP and around 2500-3000ppm of Calcium.

I am also worried about leaks using it, and it's just overkill for me. Around here, the TDS of the R6M shows 1.9 of SA and a TBN of 15.9!! https://shell-livedocs.com/data/published/pt-BR/f203c2c6-7c3d-4340-87f2-b37493371421.pdf To be fair, i have nothing to complain about the RT4 X, works great and i can get it cheap on 4L just 2 min walking form my house. But since temps are always high around here, i was looking for a bit more [email protected] But i end up stuck with the 14,Xcst of the 40s or go for 18-19cst of the 50s. Maybe my next change i will try 1L of Motul Power 15W50 and 3L of Motul Turbolight 10W40, that would give me 15,87cst. Around here the Maxlife 10W40 is a blend, but there is no ACEA A3/B4. Only API SM. I recently saw a VOA of the ELF Evolution 700 STI 10W40 , i was impressed with the 1300ppm of Zinc, 1120 of phosphorus and 125 of moly. The only strange thing was the VI of 201 (14,96cst/ 78,57cst). Maybe can be another good one for you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMhyI2YG83A&list=PLNyVE5F6dRv_dqAiMo9jpOpttw1MkKcuh&index=6

 

[hemitom]

not trying to be an a-hole but it sounds like a tractor running..

 

[FCD]

Cellphone microphones always pick up the higher pitch noises, iy really doesn't sound that bad. Then again even when they were new the press critiziced the Ford CVH engine for sounding rough. And when you consider mine is 32 years old now and has 110k miles it's no surprise. I can get a brand new set of genuine lifters from Ford, just haven't bothered changing them as the sound really doesn't bother me.

 

[SR5]

Originally Posted by NuttCase

"Synthetic technology" is a more recent pseudonym for semi-synthetic. So your bottle and data sheet are consistent.

Yes I agree

 

[nicholas]

10w-40 naxlife is an A3 rated oil We used to use it in our Audi in the summer.

 

[zfasts03]

MaxLife has always worked well for me. Full syn and blend. Engine seemed a little quieter and slowed any leaks. This was on my `97 5.9 Dodge Ram and currently running it in my `06 Odyssey. I used the 5w-30.

 

[Jackson_Slugger]

They have an exclusively Euro 5W-40 MaxLife I can't believe they haven't brought here: https://sharena21.springcm.com/Publ...bd1/5b9c9ce1-cff4-e811-9c1b-ac162d889bd1