Valv_line: why are so many Suckered by it?

[csandste]

I've used it when having an oil change done where it was the standard oil. My qualms are mostly about using bulk rather than bottled oil. No problems, however-- as long as the shop manager is honest and not just putting SA rated non-detergent from his brother in law the bandit delivery driver into those tanks.

I thought the few UOA's of Valvoline looked acceptable as to wear.

 

[Al]

quote:

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Originally posted by hmeyer:
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.

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The key is that you are looking at other oils and in the meantime-nothing wrong with going with what serves you well

 

[Ken2]

quote:

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Originally posted by dickwells:
I don't recall who owns it now,...

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Ashland Inc. has owned Valvoline since 1949.
http://www.ashland.com/ashland/corp_milestones.html


Ken

 

[TC]

Valvoline's having a free trial promotion for their MaxLife oil, and several folks have made a point of trashing same on those threads with comments to the effect of, "Wonderful...but 5 qts of free junk is still 5 qts of junk..." I'd never bother PURCHASING MaxLife, but I've already signed up for some of this free oil. I have the manufacturers' spec sheets for both MaxLife and god-like Chevron Supreme in front of me, and the two oils appear comparable in most ways, with MaxLife superior in at least a couple aspects. So, as FREE oil that beats Chevron on paper, it's funny how it's supposedly "junk."

 

[TallPaul]

Right On TC. And if you look at the Maxlife Material Safety Data Sheet you will see that Maxlife even has a 12-22 percent synthetic oil component. Compare Maxlife with other brand's "high mileage" oils and you will see that the other's make theirs a lot thicker. I believe Valvoline was the first with a "high mileage" oil and the others apparently have done a poor job of following the lead. BTW, "high mileage" is merely a cover for getting an oil to the consumer that hasn't been doctored up for fuel economy to the point of possible excessive engine wear. See: http://www.machinerylubrication.com/article_detail.asp?articleid=518&relatedbookgroup=Maintenance I'd put Maxlife in a brand new car--if I had one--

.

 

[Scott P]

My father uses nothing but Napa (Valvoline) oil for all of his vehicles. He is the old-school "oil is oil" type. He's never had an engine go on him. Heck , he ran 10W-40 for the first 80,000 miles in Mom's 97 Camry four-banger. The engine is still going strong.

When he comes over to my house, he sees my bottles of Mobil 1, Amsoil, GC and never really says anything. He can't imagine paying $4-$7 for a quart of oil. He puts 25,000 miles on a one-ton Chevy cube van each year. That gets Valvoline oil with Napa Gold or Delco filter every 4,000 miles. I tried to get him to convert to Mobil 1 and even offered to supply some Amsoil 10W-30 for the truck just to see how it help up to the mileage. He has no interest. Valvoline may put up bad UOA's, but his engines are still going strong. There's not a lot I can do to convince him otherwise.

[ November 06, 2003, 09:24 AM: Message edited by: Scott P ]

 

[BlueBird]

IS the 12% to 20% synthetic oil added to Maxlife Group III or Group IV ? I cant decipher the MSDS.

 

[Patman]

quote:

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Originally posted by BlueBird:
IS the 12% to 20% synthetic oil added to Maxlife Group III or Group IV ? I cant decipher the MSDS.

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It's definitely group 5 actually, as it's esters that are mixed into Maxlife.

 

[harper]

quote:

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Originally posted by Flimflam:
Reading through the posts in BITOG, I wonder: why are so many people suckered by this Cr*p oil?

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Lots of people don't care about every product they buy in the world. We all try our best, I imagine you don't know everything about every little item you have purchased, ie toothbrush, dental floss, television, drain opener etc. There is always someone who knows more out there except in the case of oil on your part

... Give people a break if you at least change the oil using whatever as long as manufacturer recommended consitently your most likely to be fine.

 

[Flimflam]

quote:

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Originally posted by harper:

quote:

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Originally posted by Flimflam:
Reading through the posts in BITOG, I wonder: why are so many people suckered by this Cr*p oil?

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There is always someone who knows more out there except in the case of oil on your part

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Hee hee hee, Harper. Yes, me with my $6.88 a jug Castrol GTX. And my Castrol HD-30 dino.

 

[TC]

Very interesting and enlightening article, TallPaul! Not very flattering towards the thinner oils, but for those who buy such oil by the case, at least it can be used for pastas and dinner salads...

[ November 06, 2003, 01:02 PM: Message edited by: TC ]

 

[Mystic]

I switched from Pennzoil oil to Valvoline oil when I heard some negative stuff about Pennzoil. Valvoline conventional motor oil seemed to run about the same as any other motor oil in my car. Valvoline MaxLife ran great, seeming to make the engine run smoother (although it did not stop a small seal leak). Valvoline Synthetic ran terrible in my car!

Judging from my own personal experience, I think that Valvoline MaxLife is really good motor oil. I don't know if it would be the best oil for winter use, because it is supposed to be somewhat thicker. I never tried Valvoline Durablend.

When I discovered this web site, I switched to Chevron Supreme. It ran great, and I mean great, in my car. The engine seemed to run much smoother.

But I don't know if I can say that the Chevron oil made the engine run any better then Valvoline MaxLife. The engine ran good with MaxLife. The Chevron oil does cost about half what the MaxLife costs.

 

[TallPaul]

quote:

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Originally posted by TC:
Very interesting and enlightening article, TallPaul! Not very flattering towards the thinner oils, but for those who buy such oil by the case, at least it can be used for pastas and dinner salads...

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Good Idea. Ever try Rislone Engine Treatment on salad. Stuff sure smells nice. You may want to check out Noria.com All the back issues of that publication are there with a lot of good articles including a three part series on oil refining (past present and future).

Note Maxlife in Europe says Synthetic Blend on the can. Maybe the same stuff, I don't know, but in the USA it can't get labeled that way unless it is at least 20%. PS Euro also has 15w40 Maxlife.

 

[JohnnyO]

I've used Valvoline for years, changed every 3k without a problem, mostly because they have a plant in my town and I try to buy local, be it tires, beer, whatever. Like other folks said, if you change every 3 to 5k it probably doesn't matter. I use Mobil 1 in my new truck but that was before I found BITOG anyway.

 

[Starbreaker666]

quote:

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Valvoline may put up bad UOA's

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Really now?

 

[buster]

I think you'll find "hype" with any brand. The only way to sperate fact from hype is UOA. All companies have there marketing strategies. I"m sure for most people who run 3-5k mile drains in average commuter cars will see great results with almost any dino oil such as Valvoline. They came up with the clever marketing scheme and it worked. Now take a performance car and race the **** out of it and you probably don't want Valvoline in the engine.

Unfortunately marketing is something that has to be seriously taken into consideration when buying any product in a free market.

 

[Dr. T]

In my brief experience with Valvoline, it seemed like their oils were extremely thin...I mean M-1 is thin, but these were the thinnest conv. oil's I've ever seen...the 5-30 poured like water...and the consumption resembled this observation...so I switched brands. That's why I could never figure out the "the brand most used by top mechanics use in their car" statement...yeah right..whatever..