Synpower- Not much talk about this oil.

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JGmazda

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Vavoline Synpower. I know there are a few here who are Valvoline supporters. I rarely read anything about the Synpower lineup.

Most talk about All Climate or Max life syth. Isn't this the top-o-the line Synthetic from Valvoline?

Not many UOA's either. Just wondering why this oil hasn't made the news?
 
It's because "people who know use valvoline"...

They don't need to do a UOA because they already "know". Geez...
tongue.gif
 
Because most people just follow the bandwagon rather than seek out data. I used to use API SL Synpower oils: 10w30 and 5W-40 but haven't used the latest versions. Much to the disappointment for some to hear, my tests (repeated many times) showed that these Synpower oils had very similar volatility to M1 10w30 and 0W-40, respectively. So much for the cheap basestocks theory. The battle then boils down to the additive packages and in latest versions, I don't know how the Synpower additive packages stack up other than the 5W-40 which is very robust and has to be to meet the specs it does...MB 229.3 is one example.
 
I am a Valvoline fan, but will use other brands to some extent for good reason (big clearance for one). I would use Maxlife over All climate and over Durablend, though the SL 10w40 Durablend looked very good on paper. I would not use All climate except as a rinse if it were on sale really cheap.

I think Maxlife Synthetic is better than Synpower, but the 5w40 and 20w50 Synpower look pretty good. If I want a better synthetic than Valvoline, I would go straight to Redline.

Now if I didn't have a huge stash of zddp additives, I would probably stock up on many cases of the Motorcraft HDEO 10w30, mainly because it is the only HDEO I can get in quart bottles in 10w30 (for that matter, it is the only 10w30 HDEO I can get in any bottle). At $2.39 a quart it is a great deal.
 
I like the Maxlife synth b/c I can actually FIND it every now and then. Many places don't carry synpower. When I got my first car, an '82 BMW, I religiously used Valvoline synth 10W40. Then my autozone stopped carrying it and I switched to plain old All-Climate. Desiring a synth, I went to Mobil 1 eventually and never came back. Now, since developing a serious stash (233 quarts), I have 10 qts of Maxlife Synth due to it meeting ACEA A3 and all the Euro specs.
 
I bought a couple of cases of Synpower last spring when it was $4/qt at Advance Auto. I used M1 in my daily driver '96 Cavalier 2.2L up until last summer, but switched to Trop Artic because it had consumption problems with M1 and I was tired of the makeup oil expense. WalMart has since quit selling Trop Artic around here and Motorcraft availability is also spotty, so I was going to have to switch oil brands again this fall anyway. Since running some VSOT through the engine the oil consumption is under control, so I decided to try synthetic again. The car was always very noisy on M1, so I'm going to try Synpower this time. It's much cheaper than M1 when I get it on sale. I've never seen anything bad about it other than the old Group III vs Group IV argument.
 
I used SP 5w-40 before coming to BitOG, almost 5 years ago. It was an easily available 5w-40 (NAPA) and iirc, no consumption. I recently got 3q of that grade for $.50c/q and gave it to my nephew for our old/his current Audi Coupe GT as a winter oil. I will snag him a q of 5w30 to top it off. Overall, I think MaxLife is a very-very good product and more desirable.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Mach5:

quote:
Originally posted by G-Man II:
Click here to see what Terry Dyson, one of our resident oil experts, says about Synpower.
Click to expand...
Yep, one of the reasons I decided to try Synpower.
Click to expand...
Yes, and here he verifies my own conclusions about Valvoline's standard fare oils, and why I would not consider using them as long as something else--anything else--was available.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Auto-Union:
Overall, I think MaxLife is a very-very good product and more desirable.
Click to expand...
Maxlife Synthetic, I assume? Just curious, but why? Maxlife Synthetic is hard to find around here anyway...

I considered Maxlife for the Cavalier, but my personal preference is to not use an oil with extra seal swellers in it if they aren't needed. I used regular Maxlife in an old truck I had, and after I fixed the worst oil leaks the rest of them disappeared with time. That truck was very happy on Maxlife.
 
My cars were super-smooth on MaxLife Synth and it carries all the latest specs, inc Euro specs. Few oils offer that in a 30 weight and no synths offer seal conditing. Truely a fully-formulated product.
 
I've run maxlife in my car for quite a while at 3000mi OCIs and now I've switched to longer drains an Synpower 5w30. Everything seems A-OK and I'll be posting a UOA soon.

I'm with TallPaul on this one, if I needed more than what Synpower can provide I would go straight to Redline. Castrol/M1/Pennz is no better than the synpower in terms of TBN or wear from what I can tell, and the UOAs on this board with synpower are perfectly fine even when extended to 8000-10000mi.

I dont run M1 for a variety or reasons, the main one being I don't like EOM's business practices. #2 on the list would be that their UOAs really aren't stellar considering the cost of the product. I can buy Synpower on sale for $4-4.50/qt when I need it, and that works well enough for me
smile.gif
 
Thanks for your thoughts guys. I've read the specs on Synpower 5w-40 and they are pretty good. I have used M1 in my 94' Miata and have not been overly pleased with their marketing or performance. Sure... It's a nice synthetic. It's available just about everywhere you go. But? I don't see it as the "king" of oils.

Maxlife better than Synpower? It's cheaper. Plus it has seal conditioners. Maybe from a price-point? Checker Auto has Synpower oil. I believe Advanced Auto does too. Maxlife is a bit harder to find.

I would like to see a comparison between Synpower, Syntec, and Mobil 1. I think these oils are so close these days that it's whatever floats your boat. Or what's on sale.

Synpower 5w-40:

ACEA A3/B3/B4 - Mercedes Benz 229.3 - VW 502.00, & 505.00 - BMW Long Life 01
 
I think I'd use GC over Synpower 5W40. But both should be thick enough to keep those Miata HLA's happy.
Any other A3/B4 or A5/B5 OTC oils out there? M1 15W50EP. whatelse?
 
gtx510- You sure know us Miata guys... HLA's are always a concern. I had a bad "Hot tick" case with Mobil 1 5w30. I've searched for another alternative. GC was an option but I chose 5w-40 because of the Hot Phoenix summers.

I also like Terry's comments. For some reason though... I just can't get into Mobil products...
 
http://www.valvoline.com/products/Synpower.pdf

I've used the 5w20 and 5w40. The cars ran great with no power, noise, or MPG issues, when compared to other OTC synthetics. Cost and supply is an issue. It doesn't cost any less then my preferred Mobil1 and RotellaT. But, I am a rebate, sale, coupon, and closeout oil shopper and will use Valvoline again when priced right. Synpower isn't well enough stocked in the stores, nor was the Maxlife synthetic.

The only thing I question is the 505.01 spec in the above data.
 
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