opinions on oil choice

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Originally Posted By: Clevy
I don't even know what to say to this.
20 grades are 20 grades. They all meet whatever viscosity characteristics required to meet the 20 grade spec.
Your whole post made me explode laughing.
I read some stuff here sometimes that really makes me wonder.

OP. If your burning a quart every 2000 miles a high mileage oil in the same grade isn't going to achieve anything except making your wallet lighter.
Going a grade thicker and being a High Mileage oil might help but it truly depends on many things.

So you've got a burner eh. I'd love to see you use some mos2 and see if it affects the start up smoke and the oil consumption. Its 8 bucks a can and available at napa.
Liqui-moly makes the stuff. If you used the mos2 AND the motor oil saver you could likely nurse lots of miles out of that 5.0.
270000 miles from an 86 5.0.
And what kind of miles do we get from today's engines using today's oils.


Laugh as much as you like Clevy but read more carefully next time both exactly what the OP said and what I recommended.

Firstly, you claim the OP is burning a quart every 2000 miles.

Well, the OP is saying a quart every 3000-4000 miles from leaks and burning so your basic reading comprehension is lacking. This is not an excessive amount.

As you should know by now, High Mileage oil conditions seals so this may help with some consumption. Yet you claim this will lighten his wallet, when it in fact makes no difference as it's the same price as regular oil! And you then go on to recommend additives which will of course lighten his wallet. He also says his engine is perfect and smooth, so why should he even consider additives when good old 5w20 has gotten him to 141k miles and a perfect engine?

Then you should look up the viscosity specs of the various 20 and 30 weight oils and their High Mileage variants and report back what you find. Suffice to say there are differences which *might* matter for someone with minimal consumption without affecting fuel economy.

As I said, he has minimal consumption due to leaks not just burning and my idea is to go thicker more slowly, and add more conditioning. That's all. If you still get consumption then top up / change with the next thicker oil. It won't take him long to find just how thick he needs to go.

Still laughing out loud now that you realize you doubled his consumption rate, ignored that he has leaks, recommended an additive for a perfectly running engine and not understood viscosity differences between different oils?

I suggest in future you take the time to read more slowly, not have a pre conceived idea that you want to sneer at certain posters and being unable to wait to tell them you laughed out loud or exploded. This may benefit you in all the work you do, not just on this board.
 
^^^YES SIR! And snap to it, boy! I think the response is at least as laughable. Go get em!

But seriously, 4k miles isn't very bad at all for per quart, would likely stay under our radar here until it became every 2k miles or so, then if not a leaker we simply go up a grade.

If it is leaking the High Mileage oil deserves a shot, but just like additives it is far from a perfect solution to every single user's problems. Just too many variables, too many individuals, too many cars...
 
Originally Posted By: TrevorS
30 weight Maxlife is thicker than most 30 weight oils.


No, not really.

According to the Valvoline data sheet, Valvoline MaxLife xW-30 is 10.7 cSt at 100C. About on par with your average xW-30.

In contrast, Pennzoil High Mileage, Quaker State Defy, and Mobil 1 High Mileage xW-30s are in the 11.5-12 cSt range at 100C.

I am NOT saying Valvoline MaxLife isn't a good oil - it is a good high mileage oil with seal conditioners that has demonstrated the ability to reduce oil consumption. BUT in some cases a thicker oil may also be desired as an intermediate step before going all the way to a 40 weight - and Valvoline MaxLife might not be the appropriate choice in that specific circumstance.
 
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