Valv_line: why are so many Suckered by it?

[Flimflam]

Reading through the posts in BITOG, I wonder: why are so many people suckered by this Cr*p oil? I was just in my local auto parts store the other day, and I saw these 2 young women loading up in V_line cr*p oil. What is it that makes it so appealing? Is it the color of the package? Red, white, and blue? For me, color and looks of the package don't matter worth a d*mn. If it works, it could come in a red bottle and have the Hammer and Sickle on it for all I care.

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

Lots of money is spent on evaluating that packaging and marketing the product. I guess those guys know what they are doing.

 

[mrhonda]

Just speaking from my own personal experience... I used to run 5W-30 Valvoline in my Integra, as it was the only oil I could find that wouldn't turn black under 5000km; tried Castrol GTX, Pennzoil, & Acura bar stock (Petro Canada). I was under the impression that it was a very good oil, which could stand up to my severe abuse. Since then, I've been hanging around on BITOG; learning about UOA's & the general irrelevance of 'oil colour'.

 

[MNgopher]

The reality is that despite its spotty record and general unfavorable opinions found on this board, it meets the minimum specs set forth and does its job. In a typical oil changed every 3000 mile car, nobody would ever be able to tell the difference between Valvoline and any other oil by a seat of the pants meter. A case of "it worked fine before, so I'll keep on using it."

 

[rpn453]

If you don't do any research then you don't know if any oil is better than another, provided it meets the specification for your application. Most people know very little about the products they use. Valvoline has been around for quite awhile and is fairly popular, so people are comfortable using it. I wouldn't pay the extra money for it over the cheapest house brand available, but it'll work fine for the average person. Even if they use Valvoline with a Fram filter, at least they're changing their oil!

 

[Dr. T]

I was almost suckered by the "it's the only oil used by top mechanics in their cars" ad.

 

[RavenTai]

before the Internet all I had was marketing info friends/coworkers opinions and what I could observe with my own eyes, and those who have not done a lot of research and looked at this site and done some UOA's that is still all they have. before I bought my truck and switched to M1 (first and last new vehicle) I used Castrol GTX, why? because it is "Engineered to provide maximum protection against viscosity and thermal breakdown" I grew up in Florida and resistance to thermal breakdown sounded good to me, I worked in a auto parts store wile I was in college Castol had the only bottle that never leaked, all the others averaged one per case that would leak, valvoline was my second choice becasue it has a good reputation many people I talked to thought pennzoil was crap, and therefore until I found this board so did I marketing, bottle leakage and the opinions of people that know about as much about oil as you do are not the best ways to choose oil but at the time it was all I had to work with.

 

[turbochem]

quote:

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and I saw these 2 young women loading up in V_line cr*p oil.

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Crap?? Why crap?? Will Valvoline work just fine in these 2 young womens' cars.......yes. Are there better oils out there.....yes. What's the problem??

 

[Starbreaker666]

Why is it crap. My truck says its not crap. This is crap? Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it doesn't work. [ November 04, 2003, 09:20 PM: Message edited by: Patman ]

 

[Ken2]

A friend was telling me last week about his turbo Saab that he drove for 368,000 miles in Montana, Wyoming, and North Dakota, winter and summer, for a sales job, and the only brand of oil he used was Valvoline. He had no engine work the whole time. The fellow he sold the car to had to replace the turbocharger at 410,000 miles. That ain't bad. Ken

 

[dickwells]

I don't recall who owns it now, but 30=40 years ago it was a superior oil. One of my buddies chevelles stopped burning oil completely on it. Now it is probably being cash cowed on it reputation and marketing. It will catch up.

 

[VaderSS]

Way I feel is that any name brand SL spec oil will let an engine outlast the body 9 times out of 10, barring mechanical defect or neglect. Keeping with the "3000 miles" marketing, any of them will do just fine.

 

[VeeDubb]

I've never used valvoline dino, but my Valvoline synpower results have been steller in both of my turbocharged cars. I still don't get where the valvoline bashing on this board comes from. It may not be the best oil in the world, but there aren't enough UoA's on it either to call it "crap".

 

[Jim]

I don't understand the bad opinion. The UOAs on the stuff look OK from what I can tell. Is it the additive package that is lame or what?

 

[VeeDubb]

quote:

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Originally posted by Jim: I don't understand the bad opinion. The UOAs on the stuff look OK from what I can tell. Is it the additive package that is lame or what?

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That's what I've heard some people say. But TooSlick also pointed out in my synpower results that the additive package looked really strong. He even referred to it as one of the best group III oils out there.

 

[harper]

The first 150,000 miles of my current 200,000 miles Civic used mostly Valvoline. This is with dino and 4-5k oil change interval. Motor runs perfectly fine and mechanic said after last t-belt replacement that it looked clean under the valve cover. My own experience with it obvioulsy not bad. I let you guys know of my first oil problem.

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

How could Valvoline be good, it's not a group IV or V synthetic? It must be ruining engines.

 

[userfriendly]

Groucho; Now don't go starting fights, we all know that engines will not run on anything less than a group 4. And with Flimflam pushing mono-grades.... I feel left out. I guess my work here is (jest)'bout finished.

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

Some conventional oil users are coming out from under rocks.

 

[hmeyer]

Until recently, I was never too interested in oil. I used to be pretty lax about oil changes, probably averaging 5,000 to 7,500 OCI. I always used Valvoline because it was what my shop used, was one of the most popular brands with the general public, and, hey, they're about all alike anyway, I figured. My vehicles have been: '81 Cadillac, 115,000 miles, '94 F150, 176,000 mi, '90 Merc Topaz, 275,000 mi, '86 Olds Firenza, 150,000 mi, and '83 Dodge D150, 100,000+ mi. Never an oil related failure. I hope I continue to have as good luck with other brands now that I have been reading BITOG and found out there are "better oils" out there.