Redline, does it not play well with others?

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Kind of an oddball question and no, I'm not spreading myths that haven't been true since the '70s.

I have two reasons for this question. First, many years ago when I first began using it in my TL I was told that it would be a quart low over the OCI. I didn't give this any consideration because the car has never used a drop of oil and there was no way a different oil could cause this. I always check in the same place so it's consistent, no issues with the car not being level. Sure enough, after 1,000 miles I was .5 quarts low. It never used a drop after that.

Fast forward to about a year ago, about 5 years later. Two OCIs ago I had to use an off the shelf oil so I picked M1 0-40 since it's a good oil and I already use Redline 0-40. This has been my only deviation from Redline since I started. Obviously the Mobil one was fine. I swapped back to Redline at the next change which was uneventful.

Today I decided to change the oil a bit early because the engine has been a little noisier than normal. I've been one of the lucky ones with practically zero valve train noise on a J series but lately I've been hearing the valve train more, especially at a drive through. So when I drained the oil it seemed thicker than normal. It was only about 120F but it was thick even for that temp. I could dribble it onto the concrete and it would sort of get taller. We are talking significantly thicker than it should be.

The car is usually driven 3 miles round trip per day, 1.4 miles each way up until lately the last thousand miles were 10 miles each way mostly freeway. I'm sure it could be oxidation but it's Redline and it's a weak 258hp V6 that's driven very easily. It doesn't smell like fuel. The air filter is in great shape. Only premium top tier fuel used.

Luckily I drained it into a very clean container for other reasons so I'm going to get an analysis done. Until then, anyone got suggestions or ideas, is it possible it's the 1/2 quart of Mobil One that was left inside the engine?Just curious until I get results back. Oh, this OCI was about 3,000 miles. Filter is a RP synthetic media.

I'm going to guess its something other than the interaction of the two oils but wanted to bring it up for the [censored] of it.
 
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Originally Posted By: BrocLuno
So what's the question... You want top top up Red-Line with another oil, or change out completely?


Sorry lol. I posted way before I was done writing. It's been edited now.
 
Are you asking why your oil appeared to be thicker than usual,or why your engine is making more valve train noise?
 
Originally Posted By: MolaKule
How does the OP KNOW it's thicker???

Good question and this is why I mentioned it will be tested, to back up my visual. However, it is thick enough that it's obvious just by looking at it/pouring it and comparing it to the new oil of the same type and at the same temp. The difference is easily visible to the eye and I imagine the test is going to show a significant increase in viscosity over the virgin oil.

I'm wondering how this lightly used Redline oil became so thick. I've never had this happen before. While it doesn't make sense, the only factor that has changed is this batch went in right after a Mobil One run. Possibly coincidence but that was the only change. I've been running Redline 0-40 for a very long time.

The engine is much quieter now, after the change. It actually cranks over quicker now. I'm back to that one in a million J series with pretty much zero valve train noise. I even took it by Dewars and forced myself to get ice cream after taking it for a 10 minute run down the freeway to compare noise up next to a concrete wall. The first 3 times I started the engine, it overshot idle by several hundred rpm. Usually there's no noticeable change in noise or performance after an oil change in this car. There was definitely something going on with the old oil and I'm glad I got it out of there.

I'm not ruling out the usual reasons for an oil thickening but I doubt an oil like Redline ran into excessive oxidation in under 3,500 miles. I'll post the results of the test once I get them, hopefully in a week or so. I'm really looking forward to this UOA.

I could have just titled it "Why did my oil thicken so much" but that would be boring lol.
 
Redline is racing oil - by nature it's very competitive when other brands are involved ;-)

There's always the prospect that something is wrong with the engine and the goopy oil was the first sign of trouble. The test will tell, hopefully.
 
Originally Posted By: jaj
Redline is racing oil - by nature it's very competitive when other brands are involved ;-)



You might consider that Red Line it a very good oil for daily drivers if you ever used it for a while. It does cost a bit more but since oil changes are such a small part of the cost of maintaining a car if you do it yourself the difference is no big deal. I run into people that are experts on Red Line oil that have never used it, ever. They must be very smart people because they have very strong opinions about Red Line products and can even tell you exactly what oil you should use without even knowing where you live or what you drive. Amazing.
 
Originally Posted By: AcuraTL
Today I decided to change the oil a bit early because the engine has been a little noisier than normal. I've been one of the lucky ones with practically zero valve train noise on a J series but lately I've been hearing the valve train more, especially at a drive through.


How many miles are on your engine, and did the new oil change the noise? A J-series should be nearly dead quiet at idle.
 
OK, so you are asking if there is a known reaction between Red Line and M-1... Not that I'm aware of, but we have not used every combination of Red Line with other oils. Since most of teh Red Line I see is in drag cars and never gets mixed with anything unless it's a change up to Red Line...

It might have been a bottle/batch that was on the fill line when they did a change in batch to higher or lower viscosity ... Obviously some of that will always get through. It could be a reaction with M-1, but we'd need some more data points to make any conclusion there ...

It sounds like oxidation thickening, but that will come back in the analysis report ...
 
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Originally Posted By: BrocLuno


It might have been a bottle/batch that was on the fill line when they did a change in batch to higher or lower viscosity ... Obviously some of that will always get through.



When bottles are being filled by any of the oil companies they never mix runs, ever. Random samples are taken and tested on every run. Samples are tagged, indexed and archived. Not one bottle or one half bottle. When a "run" is completed the machinery is cleaned before the next run. Modern bottling is very precise and clean. It's nothing like the hose at the local gas station. Try walking into the area without the proper protective clothing on and permission and see what happens.
 
Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
You might consider that Red Line it a very good oil for daily drivers if you ever used it for a while. It does cost a bit more but since oil changes are such a small part of the cost of maintaining a car if you do it yourself the difference is no big deal. I run into people that are experts on Red Line oil that have never used it, ever. They must be very smart people because they have very strong opinions about Red Line products and can even tell you exactly what oil you should use without even knowing where you live or what you drive. Amazing.


Let's see - I've used their engine oils, their gear oils and their ATF products over the years. I know how good they are. I guess this is the wrong thread to offer up a crummy joke, so I'll stop.
 
Why would there be a problem mixing M1 & Redline? Why would an engine care? I've used Redline now for 20 years. Its the best.
Be aware Redline 40 weight is pretty thick oil. If the car specs 40 weight oil you should use there 30 weight oil as Redline touts 40 weight oil film of operating temp 30 here:

http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?pid=4&pcid=21

I specifically use Redline oil because it makes the top end of my motors much quieter. I have a Prius that uses solid lifters and has an Atkinson cycle motor and its one clackity motor. Redline really helps that. Blaming more engine noise on Redline may mean your using an incorrect viscosity for your engine.
 
Originally Posted By: AcuraTL
The car is usually driven 3 miles round trip per day, 1.4 miles each way


I would be using dino oil changed every 6 months for this severe service.
I would also charge the battery overnight every 3 months.
 
Originally Posted By: Raybo
Why would there be a problem mixing M1 & Redline? Why would an engine care? I've used Redline now for 20 years. Its the best.
Be aware Redline 40 weight is pretty thick oil. If the car specs 40 weight oil you should use there 30 weight oil as Redline touts 40 weight oil film of operating temp 30 here:

http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?pid=4&pcid=21

I specifically use Redline oil because it makes the top end of my motors much quieter. I have a Prius that uses solid lifters and has an Atkinson cycle motor and its one clackity motor. Redline really helps that. Blaming more engine noise on Redline may mean your using an incorrect viscosity for your engine.


I'll reiterate what was originally said in the first post.

The oil thickened considerably for some reason. My question was regarding a cause of the thickening. I did not blame anything on Redline.

I have used Redline for many years. I have used Redline for quite a few years in this car. I have used the 0-40 in particular in this car and never had a problem. I know it has a high HTHS relative to its kinematic viscosity. I know this car specs a 20wt.

The question was, is there anything in the chemistry of the two oils that could have caused this thickening while I'm waiting on the results of my UOA.

The extra top end engine noise went away and has stayed away since the oil change from Redline 0-40 to Redline 0-40.
 
Originally Posted By: circuitsmith
Originally Posted By: AcuraTL
The car is usually driven 3 miles round trip per day, 1.4 miles each way


I would be using dino oil changed every 6 months for this severe service.
I would also charge the battery overnight every 3 months.


The battery is charged every night in the winter (seat heaters, rear defogger, etc). It also sits on a block heater year round even though it rarely hits freezing and it is garaged. It's on the charger most of the time in the summer.

I like the ester based oils and a good dose of ZDDP doesn't hurt. Im on the original 02 sensors and cats as well at 135,000 miles even though I've run a high ZDDP oil since it had 3,000 miles on it. The 40wt works well, especially since it's rarely under 120F on startup and on the other end it's well protected when climbing long hills for 45 minutes loaded down on occasion.

I try to go a year between changes but sometimes I can't help myself. I never should have gotten a stash of Redline.
 
You are doing fine. Keep up your program. It's way overkill for me. That car is babied and never has to work to get up to temp
smile.gif


As far as the oil never being mixed on the bottling line. You may be right. But I pulled truck loads of base oils and finished oils for these guys many times. Sometimes I'd load motor oil on top of just hauling a gear oil. There would obviously be some film left and they'd mix.

Some of the loaders were really careful/picky, others were reading a book. If you knew who and when you could shorten your day by not doing a gas load wash in between... Common practice for years - until I got out of the business...

The mix would not be much, a few gallons residual in 4,500 load. But it was always there. I'm sure finite analysis could find it. But batch sampling - it would be in the noise ...
 
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Originally Posted By: BrocLuno
The mix would not be much, a few gallons residual in 4,500 load. But it was always there. I'm sure finite analysis could find it. But batch sampling - it would be in the noise ...


I'm absolutely sure finite analysis would not.
 
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