You may find this thread of interest. A lot of discussion on what makes HPL different. Simply - best bases, best additives, blended for best performance vs. blended to a price point, all done by a great team, and advised by an industry expert.
So what is the deal with HPL Oil?
As the title says... what is the deal with HPL oil? I am seeing it heavily talked about on the forum but nowhere else. What's special about it? How do you buy it?
bobistheoilguy.com
A lot of discussion, and some useful links to further discussion. Please take some time and read through the discussion. Since your car is no longer in warranty - the actual approvals matter less.
I’m a big fan (clearly) of HPL. For example, this post:
Post in thread 'So what is the deal with HPL Oil?'
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/so-what-is-the-deal-with-hpl-oil.367630/post-6456304
All that said, HPL’s owner, David has said that the Mobil 1 0W40 is better than it should be at that price point, based on his lab analysis, and he would use it if he couldn’t get HPL. This post:
Post in thread 'M1 FS 0W40 vs. Castrol Edge 0W40'
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/m1-fs-0w40-vs-castrol-edge-0w40.360264/post-6248210
So, back to my recommendation above, HPL or the Mobil 1 FS 0W40. Here is a look inside my wife’s V12 (yep, his and hers V-12s in the driveway) after years of 10,000 mile oil changes on the Mobil 1.
Under the valve covers, 2005 Mercedes SL600
While changing the sparkplugs on my wife’s roadster, I discovered a minor valve cover leak. Mercedes books about 8 hours* for a sparkplug change on the car, which has the M275 V-12 engine with 2 plugs per cylinder. Yes, that’s a total of 24 iridium plugs. since the coils have to come out to get...
bobistheoilguy.com
Here is a shot looking up into the engine - the drain plug had been buggered by some moron in the car’s past. I removed the pan to fix it correctly.
Clearly, the engine is spotless inside running on the Mobil 1. I prefer to support a small business and indulge in a better oil, so, HPL in just about everything, but that is me. Either choice would be great for your car.
