Valvoline 500,000mi Synthetic vs. Traditional 2.3L Teardown Analysis Video

[RMaybeth]

Pretty impressive to get "500,000 miles" out of an engine and "10k mi" on a change.

I'm guessing the testing didn't include many short trips and cold starts so that would make things a lot easier on the oil.

Enjoy

Thanks for posting this gem, I found it very interesting ! Also educational. I concur on the presumably low number of cold starts during their tests. We all know during cold start is when 90% of engine wear happens, one cold start = 600 miles of highway driving or something like that. So for a true test, they should have shut the engines down and let them cool to ambient before starting them again. And they should have done it at least once per engine hour. But that would have taken too much time, I guess.
Probably they started the engines in the morning to run them and then never shut them off for 8 or 10 hours (after which they were obligated to shut them off just to check the oil levels).
So this told us what we already know, "synthetic oil > convenional", duh. But regardless of their dubious testing, I still can't bring myself to go 10,000 miles on one oil change! I think 5,000 is the limit, for me anyway. If nothing else, trusting a paper oil filter to last that many miles, is practically forcing it to clog up. After which the engine oil just bypasses the filter, for however many more miles you go until you finally change it!

 

[lawrencerd]

I feel we need to know exactly what the OCI was before we can draw many conclusions. But, I'm not that impressed by the cleanliness of either of these engines.

 

[Patman]

So this told us what we already know, "synthetic oil > convenional", duh. But regardless of their dubious testing, I still can't bring myself to go 10,000 miles on one oil change! I think 5,000 is the limit, for me anyway. If nothing else, trusting a paper oil filter to last that many miles, is practically forcing it to clog up. After which the engine oil just bypasses the filter, for however many more miles you go until you finally change it!

So then why don’t you use a better oil filter with a synthetic media then?

 

[Method]

You countered anecdotal examples that you didn't agree with with ones that you do agree with. You posted the first counter anecdotal video as far as I can tell. What is your personal experience having worked in this area?

Second time now.....I didn't introduce anecdotal examples until someone else insisted up on them. THEN I introduced one as a counter and I went out of my way to explain why I did that. Your really need to work on your reading comprehension.

But it has been amusing to read; I'll give you that one!

 

[Leo99]

Second time now.....I didn't introduce anecdotal examples until someone else insisted up on them. THEN I introduced one as a counter and I went out of my way to explain why I did that. Your really need to work on your reading comprehension.

But it has been amusing to read; I'll give you that one!

Can you point me to the first anecdotal post that you're referring to? Are you referring to post #37?

 

[Ayrton]

I love this type of video! A shame it takes so much time and money, or we might see more! I always loved the Mobil 1 BMW and Mercedes ones. However, the Mercedes one in particularly is only ever available in approximately 160p resolution! haha Looks awful.

This was absolutely fascinating. I'll probably watch it again tonight! haha

I wonder if Valvoline wishes they hadn't started the test until Restore and Protect had been developed? haha

 

[Glenda W.]

Great vid. Thanks!! Good example of engines running fine at high mileage yet a different story internally due to the type of oil being used.

 

[kschachn]

Thanks for posting this gem, I found it very interesting ! Also educational. I concur on the presumably low number of cold starts during their tests. We all know during cold start is when 90% of engine wear happens, one cold start = 600 miles of highway driving or something like that. So for a true test, they should have shut the engines down and let them cool to ambient before starting them again. And they should have done it at least once per engine hour. But that would have taken too much time, I guess.
Probably they started the engines in the morning to run them and then never shut them off for 8 or 10 hours (after which they were obligated to shut them off just to check the oil levels).
So this told us what we already know, "synthetic oil > convenional", duh. But regardless of their dubious testing, I still can't bring myself to go 10,000 miles on one oil change! I think 5,000 is the limit, for me anyway. If nothing else, trusting a paper oil filter to last that many miles, is practically forcing it to clog up. After which the engine oil just bypasses the filter, for however many more miles you go until you finally change it!

No we all don’t know that. Besides, wear isn’t one of the benefits of a synthetic base stock.

 

[RMaybeth]

...that's not a bad idea, but which one? I bought a K & N cartridge type for my Lexus (not sure why) and it does seem to be made of more quality material. But maybe I'm a dinosaur stuck in the past and I admit it's all my fault... because, I still wouldn't trust even that filter to last 10,000 miles, even if it were tested and proven for it.
I started wrenching in 1977, and worked for a large government fleet for 30 years. I had occasion to tear apart plenty of engines, some of them from the fleet and maintained by the book, no more, no less. And also my own engines, (that were over-maintained according to current standards). Most of the engines maintained "by the book", when torn apart, had obvious signs of wear. Gear teeth were worn, timing chains were bowed, varnish and sludge were common. By contrast, my engines all showed little/no wear and had accumulated little or no sludge. It was impossible not to notice the difference inside the engines, caused by longer oil change intervals.

 

[macarose]

1) As others have mentioned, Restore & Protect would be a great candidate for a follow-up test.

2) They don't mention how many cycles these vehicles went through from cold to fully warmed up, and back to cold. Without that data the findings are not really a good barometer for longevity.

3) This study reflects one interesting reality. If you're dealing with a low compression engine that isn't typically stressed, a conventional oil will usually be a great fit. High compression small engines with turbos will usually do better in the long run with a Level III or higher full synthetic.

 

[Alex38]

Being that these engines are GDI, I would have liked to see the intake valves and if there was any difference in carbon buildup between the oils.

 

[OilUzer]

Overall, it doesn't seem too bad for 500K miles and 10K miles OCIs ...

However, they should've used a thicker oil and shorter OCIs in general and specifically when dealing with DI engines.

Dino (if you have to) in a DI (if you have to. lol), 3K max OCIs.

"Full Synthetic" and DI, 5K max OCIs.

I use Valvoline EP 5W-30 in my v8 Tundra which is not DI and iirc, last oil change was at about 4600 miles. She likes moly and I don't need any stuck rings!

 

[Joeescape63]

Pretty impressive to get "500,000 miles" out of an engine and "10k mi" on a change.

I'm guessing the testing didn't include many short trips and cold starts so that would make things a lot easier on the oil.

Enjoy

I would go 6K tops with oil change than inspect after 500K

 

[CharlieJ]

Being that these engines are GDI, I would have liked to see the intake valves and if there was any difference in carbon buildup between the oils.

Go to 12:50 in the video and look at the turbine compressor blades. There is much more varnish built up on the wheel that used conventional oil. I know this isn't the same as intake valves, but if there is that much difference in cleanliness in that area of the intake tract, then the intake valves probably reflect the same.

 

[Alex38]

Go to 12:50 in the video and look at the turbine compressor blades. There is much more varnish built up on the wheel that used conventional oil. I know this isn't the same as intake valves, but if there is that much difference in cleanliness in that area of the intake tract, then the intake valves probably reflect the same.

Good point. Thank you!

 

[Jpc1623]

They seem to do these test with larger engines I would like to see it done on a small 1.* TGDI engine.

 

[RAVL]

Great internet fodder for discussion but largely irrelevant in the real world. Moreover, if you have a car where the engine can make it to 500k, what kind of shape is the rest of the vehicle in, and if it is still sound and reliable, what did you spend in time and money to keep it that way?

Never a fan of trading cars frequently but 200k-250k miles is the outer limits for cars that are treated in a normal manner and driven on a normal cycle. Yes there are always outliers but we are talking about the average or the curve.

Have a good day.