No Moly in Maxlife?

[actionstan]

Hello all!

I have finally settled on valvoline maxlife for my two high mileage vehicles.

However as of late I am a little bothered. There has been a few post on bitog about no more moly in maxlife since the latest updates to the maxlife formula. Ill be honest, I have no real idea of what moly does and why I want it.. Other than it is highly regarded around here, I also think it helps reduce wear?

So what does this mean for maxlife? I have seen a few shrug it off as no big deal, and a comment or two saying this really lessens the value of maxlife.

I won't do anything rash like dump the oil out of both of my cars this instant.. I just wonder should I make the switch to pennzoil HM(pr another?), or has valvoline maxlife made up for the lack of moly with other unseen additives?

All inputs appreciated thanks!

 

[volk06]

Maxlife still has moly, the just took it off the pds.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Are there any new SN voa`s/uoa`s of Maxlife?

 

[chubbs1]

Moly is still in Maxlife, I am sure other good additives as well. We just cant see them from cheap VOA's. ML is still a great lube, use with confidence!
OIL Valv MLG SN/GF-5
5w30
MILES IN USE NA
MILES ON UNIT NA

Mfg Date Code Jan-2011
Sample Taken Mar-2011

MLG Universal Avg.
ALUMINUM 0 0
CHROMIUM 0 0
IRON 1 1
COPPER 0 0
LEAD 1 2
TIN 0 0
MOLYBDENUM 117 58
NICKEL 0 0
MANGANESE 0 0
SILVER 0 0
TITANIUM 0 0
POTASSIUM 0 1
BORON 3 59
SILICON 4 5
SODIUM 332 33
CALCIUM 1853 1816
MAGNESIUM 6 59
PHOSPHORUS 650 616
ZINC 730 750
BARIUM 0 0

SUS VIS 210ºF 59.2
cSt @ 212ºF 9.99
FLASHPOINT ºF 450
FUEL % -
ANTIFREEZE % -
WATER % -
INSOLUBLES % -
TBN -

 

[actionstan]

I see I didn't think valvoline would drop moly but this is the thread that made me question it, it seems their is even confirmation from valvoline in a email reply. This could be chocked up to a misinformed customer service rep, and a bad uoa but I have my doubts.

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/01-honda-crv-4-000-miles-valvoline-maxlife-5w30.196826/

 

[MolaKule]

Quote:
I won't do anything rash like dump the oil out of both of my cars this instant.. I just wonder should I make the switch to pennzoil HM(pr another?), or has valvoline maxlife made up for the lack of moly with other unseen additives?



Until recently most analyses of MAxlife showed 125 ppm of moly.

If they have recently stopped using a PI package with moly in it then they have replaced it with another friction modifier, most likely a polymer ester.

 

[buster]

^ good to have Molekule around for info like this. Thanks Mola.

 

[JANDSZIRKLE]

from what i have read here, the maxlife nexgen still has moly in it.

pennzoil yellow bottle and regular pennzoil has a good dose of it unless they have changed as well. check for voas and uoas of those, pretty impressive looking.

i like valvoline, have used it for years in all sorts of vehicles with no bad results due too the oil.

this fall, when i do my winter change will give the pennzoil high mileage a run in our ranger too see how it goes though.

if i were you, i would use it with confidence. if your vehicles are running fine, shouldnt be an issue, just my 2 cents.

 

[actionstan]

Originally Posted By: MolaKule
Quote:
I won't do anything rash like dump the oil out of both of my cars this instant.. I just wonder should I make the switch to pennzoil HM(pr another?), or has valvoline maxlife made up for the lack of moly with other unseen additives?



Until recently most analyses of MAxlife showed 125 ppm of moly.

If they have recently stopped using a PI package with moly in it then they have replaced it with another friction modifier, most likely a polymer ester.


Thanks for the info! Any idea if it should be as good as moly?

 

[KCJeep]

You are right a couple of very recent UOA's showed the moly to be MIA from Maxlife.

I was initially disappointed as well but I trust Valvoline enough not to be too bothered by it...it's pretty obvious there has already been some unseen goodies in Valvoline as the add pack is a yawner on paper but the UOA's are always stellar.

 

[MolaKule]

Yes. The new friction modifiers are at least as good as moly and don't leave any ash.


Another type of polymer ester is being used as an anti-wear additive and my testing results so far has shown that I can lower the ZDDP and viscosity and get excellent wear reaults.

 

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: actionstan
I see I didn't think valvoline would drop moly but this is the thread that made me question it, it seems their is even confirmation from valvoline in a email reply. This could be chocked up to a misinformed customer service rep, and a bad uoa but I have my doubts.

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/01-honda-crv-4-000-miles-valvoline-maxlife-5w30.196826/


Moly all by itself isn't the be all to end all in an oil. Its how the formulation works together.
See it as the completed oil is greater than the sum of its parts. Each component works in unison with the other elements,and these combined ingredients are what makes the oil as good as it is.
Almost every oil has components for anti-wear,detergency,friction modification,acid control and extreme pressure. An oil can use different ingredients to achieve a set of parameters the oil must perform to,different producers will use different ingredients based on availability and cost to achieve these parameters.
Or simply put "there is more than one way to skin a cat"

 

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted By: MolaKule
Yes. The new friction modifiers are at least as good as moly and don't leave any ash.


Another type of polymer ester is being used as an anti-wear additive and my testing results so far has shown that I can lower the ZDDP and viscosity and get excellent wear reaults.


Are these polymer esters also compatible with/synergistic with decent boron levels as well?

 

[MolaKule]

Originally Posted By: dailydriver
Originally Posted By: MolaKule
Yes. The new friction modifiers are at least as good as moly and don't leave any ash.


Another type of polymer ester is being used as an anti-wear additive and my testing results so far has shown that I can lower the ZDDP and viscosity and get excellent wear reaults.


Are these polymer esters also compatible with/synergistic with decent boron levels as well?

Testing so far show compatiblity with any base oil or additive component.

 

[Zako2]

There are plenty of UAS of Maxlife. All that I have seen show it has moly. I am kind of curious though, why don't Valvoline Conventional and SynPower don't have moly but Maxlife has.