Should I change?

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I'm currently using Maxlife in my car. After reading all the posts on Maxlife before registering, am I wasting my money on Maxlife? Am I better off just using normal Valvoline All Climate?
 
Why are you using Maxlife in a 1999? I use regular Valvoline and am very happy with it.
 
Despite not having Moly as I had hoped, Maxlife is still a very good oil, it's got more antiwear additives than your average oil. Try doing an oil analysis on it after say 6 or 7000km and see how it turns out.
 
quote:

Originally posted by JonS:
Why are you using Maxlife in a 1999? I use regular Valvoline and am very happy with it.

I don't see a bad in using HM oils in a new engine. If the oil does help condition seals and reduce oil consumption then more power to new car owners. Better to start early when the problems are not present.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Patman:
Despite not having Moly as I had hoped, Maxlife is still a very good oil, it's got more antiwear additives than your average oil. Try doing an oil analysis on it after say 6 or 7000km and see how it turns out.

I didn't even know Maxlife had Moly in the formulation when I first used it. I didn't even know till I visited this good site. I've used Moly before in the form of Molyslip and did notice a slight increase in gas mileage. I don't know if I want to use Molyslip again. I really don't like how Molyslip colours the oil dark black. I'll keep using Maxlife. Canadian Tire has Maxlife on sale every three months which is the best time for me to change my oil.
smile.gif
 
Actually I see HM oils as the true semi-synths. They actually have some synthetic in them, as opposed to most "semi-synths". II+
 
quote:

Originally posted by VaderSS:
Actually I see HM oils as the true semi-synths. They actually have some synthetic in them, as opposed to most "semi-synths". II+

VaderSS, never really thought about that. Can we state that HM oils have more synthetics compared to the marketed "semi-synthetics" from various companies?
 
Valvoline told me if you use Maxlife then quit, you have swelled the seals (he said it has stop leak and a seal sweller in it) And that the seals will shrink back to where they were before Maxlife was used. But they will have been worn from being swelled. I am just relaying what he told me. I would not use it in a new egine . I would think you will have leaks when you quit using it.
 
quote:

Originally posted by JonS:
Valvoline told me if you use Maxlife then quit, you have swelled the seals (he said it has stop leak and a seal sweller in it) And that the seals will shrink back to where they were before Maxlife was used. But they will have been worn from being swelled. I am just relaying what he told me. I would not use it in a new egine . I would think you will have leaks when you quit using it.

JonS, is what you stated true? I hoped Valvoline stated that on the bottle. They said the oil could be used in new cars and would not void the warranty as stated on the back of the bottle. Then Patman would have problems with leaking since he is switching to Schaeffer's. Anyone else know if using Maxlife then switching to another oil would cause leaking?
 
When you consider that most "synthetic" oils are actually Group III oils and that there are no standards as to what a "semi-synth" actually is, then it stands to reason, that most "semi-synths" are nowhere near synthetic in their properties. A semi-synth could be called such with the addition of 5% Group III to a Group I oil. But a 100% group II base would be a better oil(with the proper additives.)
 
Bob's most recent tests showed that Maxlife did not in fact swell the seals at all, so Valvoline's claims are false. You can easily switch to any other oil after Maxlife and it won't create a problem.

I think the main reason Maxlife stops some cars from burning oil is simply because it's on the thicker end of the 30wt scale. For instance, my Maxlife sample came back with a viscosity of 11.4cst at 100c, where a 10w30 like Mobil 1 starts out at only 9.8cst at 100c. The range for a 30wt is 9.3 to 12.5cst at 100c.
 
Patman,

The vis of 9.8 vs. 11.5 is at 212 degrees. I used to watch this also and figured, my oil is not going tobe at 212 all the time. It might be at 180 one day then 250 the next , depending on how you drive ect. Plus, this is just an average from a sample taken. One guy at a refinery i talked to went thru some of a batch he was testing. Some was at 10.2, some was at 11.7. These numbers on the spec sheets are averages and change (i've heard) dramatically with a few degrees either way. So, your Max- Life at 250 might be "thinner" than Mobil1 at 250 because of the viscosity index is higher.

[ July 12, 2002, 11:21 AM: Message edited by: JonS ]
 
But generally speaking Jon, an oil that is thicker at 212F compared to another one, would still be thicker at 190F, or at 230F for that matter. 212F is pretty close to normal oil temperature for most cars, so it's a pretty valid technical specification I believe. So even if the production samples vary slightly, on the whole I would expect an oil with a higher advertised number to be thicker than the oil with the lower advertised number.

[ July 12, 2002, 11:23 AM: Message edited by: Patman ]
 
quote:

So, your Max- Life at 250 might be "thinner" than Mobil1 at 250 because of the viscosity index is higher.

Good point.

How is the VI calculated? What effect does it have on the viscosity at different temps.
 
Scared me there for a bit.
grin.gif
Guess we can't believe what the oil companies say when we phone or e-mail them. Why don't they tell the truth?!! I'll keep on using Maxlife.
smile.gif
 
Quote:
"Guess we can't believe what the oil companies say when we phone or e-mail them."

Sadly there is some truth in that. Mobil for example gave me a seal compatability on a 1-4 scale,,,it was opposite of the company that produced the scale/compatability chart for them.

To clear that mixed message up,they told me a silicone seal rated 1 which is the best,,actually is opposite and a 4 which is the worse.Could have been human error as well.
 
VaderSS,
You are asking about the Viscosity Index?
I can't remember the particular low and high temps that are compared, but the VI is the comparison of how viscous the oil is at the lower temp and then how viscous it is at the higher temp. The VI improver is long chain polymers that expand with heat and behave like larger molecules at higher temps, then coil back up as they cool.
A 10w/40 will have a higher VI than a 10w/30 would, because the oil thins out supposedly the same as a 40 wt oil would at the higher temp. The 10w/30 would thin out supposedly like a 30 wt would at the high temp and consequently would be thinner at the high temp than the 10w/40 would.
The VI is kind of a bogus value (in my opinion) to use as much of a comparison between oils. It really only matters if you are comparing oils of a given weight, it is meaningless if you are comparing 10w/40 and 10w/30 in other words. If all someone wanted was a high VI then 5w/50 would be good for them, but any high spread oil like that needs more VI improvers than lower spreads do. Those VI improvers are not very stable under high heat/stress for very long, they are the weak point in the oil mix pretty much, the less the better. Really a weak point for someone trying to do extended drains.
And keep in mind that the coolant is trying to keep the operating temp of the engine at about 210F or less, but the oil gets alot hotter than that in some "hot spots" and then flows away to cooler areas, and then starts over again. Those hot spots are where the oil is really tested.
Wow, I just re-read this, sorry bout the novel!
see ya
Rando
 
I'm assuming that heat acts on oil in a logarithmic way. What I wonder, is would oil that is thicker between 40 and 100C, but with a lower VI be thinner at say 125. What effect does VI have on this curve?

Here is a chart illustrating the effect I mean. It is purely hypothetical.
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[ July 12, 2002, 03:09 PM: Message edited by: VaderSS ]
 
VaderSS, cool chart!
Last night I actually looked back at one of my old Chemical Engineering books, "Chemical Engineers' Handbook" by Perry & Chilton.
The shape of the curve you drew is correct (but with a little less curve to it), the vertical scale should be a logarithmic scale, not linear. The horizontal is linear. Viscosity calculations use a lot of experimental data, you may be able to find some charts at a local college library, good luck, is your head starting to hurt yet, cause it's gonna hurt soon.
Maybe your particular brand tech dept will send you some data? Worth a phone call probably, good luck!
Rando
 
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