Valvoline 5W-20 VOA

mzj56j · May 19, 2003

Just a bit of background. I'm looking at changing the oil on my new V6 Mazda6 and am going to follow Mazda's recommendation to use 5W-20. Having lurked for a while I've seen a couple of other 5W-20 VOAs and hadn't seen one on Valvoline's 5W-20.

The testing was done by Blackstone Labs

Aluminum 1
Lead 1
Boron 1
Silicon 2
Sodium 1
Calcium 1939
Magnesium 5
Phosphorus 798
Zinc 936
Barium 1

All other values are zero.

TBN 10.0
Flashpoint 435F
SUS Viscosity @210F 52.8

What is the viscosity conversion to cst?

Now I'm left with the dilema of which of the easily available oils to use: Motorcraft/Conoco, Pennzoil, Castrol, and Valvoline. I'd consider Mobil DriveClean if I can find it in one of the nearby cities.

Patman · May 19, 2003

A 5w20 with no boron and no moly?

No thanks!

Jay · May 19, 2003

These VOAs can be very misleading because more doesn't necessarily mean better and we can't see all the anti-wear components.

Whichever oil you choose, make sure it has Ford approval. That approval is worth looking for because it includes a tough double-length sequence IIIF test with tighter viscosity limits than API SL's single-length test. Honda has a similar requirement for their approval. Of the oils you mentioned, I know the Motorcraft, Pennzoil, and Mobil DC have it.

slickracer · May 19, 2003

I wouldn't even consider it with Pennzoil and Castrol available for the same $$$.

Schmoe · May 19, 2003

I'm with Patman on that, no moly??? Whasssup wit' dat???? Also note that Ford went to Pennz. to help them develope the 5W-20 oil for there engines. When they were done, Pennz. wanted to put there logo on their oil and Ford said no. Long story. Anyway, the Motorcraft 5W-20 is synthetic mix. Good stuff for the price. I'd put that in the Mazda. Plus, Ford OWNS Mazada anyway.

MNgopher · May 20, 2003

Lets see if I've got this right - Valvoline makes a 5w20 with no moly, and no one has used it or provided a UOA, yet we are already trashing it.

Motorcraft 5w20 gets rave reviews on its results and it has NO moly in it either.

Am I missing something here?

I'll reserve judgement until I see a 5w20 UOA on Valvoline.

Bror Jace · May 20, 2003

Sorry MNGopher, but I'm with Patman on this one. Based on what we know, this would be the last of the 5W20s I would pick ... but then again, All-Climate is the last of the major brand dino oils I would pick in general based on VOA/UOA. I guess the story here (for me) is "no story." I'm not saying it's trash, but I challenge anyone to show me a major brand of oil which has a spottier or less impressive track record.

Jay, wasn't Honda's 5W20 specs even tougher than Ford's? I forgot where I read that ...

I'd go with Honda brand oil or Pennzoil in 5W20. Both have moly ... maybe even a LOT of moly. I'd also like to see what's in Chevron Supreme 5W20 but unless I were to seek out a Chevron distributor, I doubt I'll ever see that stuff in this neck of the woods.

--- Bror Jace

segfault · May 21, 2003

I didn't realize that Mazda had started recommending 5w20 on their vehicles. At 20 city, 27 highway EPA rating on the Mazda 6s with a manual transmission, I don't see that it is doing much for mileage.

MNgopher · May 21, 2003

Yes, I realize the Valvoline track record has been spotty. That being said, I still find it funny how in a cheap analysis it shows as being pretty similar to another oil (motorcraft 5w20) that is thoroughly praised, yet this one gets trashed on the same merits, without seeing how it holds up in a UOA. If you look at the MSDS, you will also see that this oil does not run the same mix of base oils as all the other All Climate oils - to compare the performance of this oil to the others in the line would be foolhardy without testing, IMHO.

G-MAN · May 21, 2003

quote:

Originally posted by Schmoe:
I'm with Patman on that, no moly??? Whasssup wit' dat???? Also note that Ford went to Pennz. to help them develope the 5W-20 oil for there engines. When they were done, Pennz. wanted to put there logo on their oil and Ford said no. Long story. Anyway, the Motorcraft 5W-20 is synthetic mix.

You are totally mistaken about this. Conoco has been the maker of Motorcraft oil for over 12 years, and they are the one who developed the Motorcraft 5w20. There were numerous press releases from both Conoco and Ford at the time detailing the research and development that went into that oil. It's a blend of Group II and Group III. Because of the Group III component, Ford decided to market it as a "synthetic blend," though Conoco doesn't market their 5w20 as a blend.

Jay · May 21, 2003

quote:

Originally posted by Bror Jace:

Jay, wasn't Honda's 5W20 specs even tougher than Ford's? I forgot where I read that ...

The Ford spec has somewhat tighter viscosity increase limits and high temperature deposit limits than Honda. See the details on page 7:

http://www.union76.com/cmc_upload/EDITORIAL/0/000/017/869/tn3_4.pdf

[ May 22, 2003, 12:51 AM: Message edited by: Jay ]

Jay · May 21, 2003

Both the DuraBlend and MaxLife 5w-20s meet Ford's WSS-M2C153H spec and Honda's spec. Which Valvoline 5w-20 was this?

(mzj56j, this oil's viscosity is about 8.12cSt. Next time, ask Blackstone to do the conversion for you. They think you prefer SUS viscosity if you don't ask.)

[ May 22, 2003, 01:46 AM: Message edited by: Jay ]

YZF150 · May 22, 2003

And if I recall correctly from the Honda VOA, it was actually a 30 weight to boot, no?

drm7 · May 22, 2003

segfault: I believe the Mazda 6 is the same engine as the MPV and Tribute. My wife just bought an 03 MPV. These all have the Ford Duratec (sp?) engine from the Ford Contour line. The MPV specs 5w20 too. I bought an 03 Mazda B4000 and it still specs 5w30. I thought this was strange so I asked around and from what I found people believe the 4.0l V6 to be harder on oil so Ford still requires 5w30 for this engine. It also has a severe duty oil chg of 3000 miles where the severe duty cycle on the MPV is 5000 miles. Maybe this engine is 'easier' on oil and the 5w20 being a good oil allows the 5000 mile change. I'll admit I'm 'old school' so I'll probably stick w/5w20 Motorcraft oil and 4000 mile change interval during the warranty. I may go to the new German Syntec or Mobil 1 after the warranty. I'll keep reading and researching to decide. Of course I have 50k miles to decide.

thrace · May 23, 2003

Some trivia. The 5W20 's available at one So Calif. Autozone include Havoline (ChevronTexaco), Exxon, Castrol, Pennzoil, Coastal. All except Coastal and Pennzoil have writing on the bottle that they meet Ford WSS-M2C153H and Honda specs. Pennzoil says it meets WSS-M2C153H in their data sheet at http://www.pzlqs.com/Tech/Pdsheet/DomesticMarketing/EngineOils/pdf/Multigrade.PDF

Exxon is the cheapest of the ones that meet Ford specs at $1.29.
Have never seen Chevron 5W-20 anywhere.

mzj56j · May 23, 2003

The Valvoline tested is of the 'All Climate' variety.

5W-20 is recommended in both the I4 and V6 equipped Mazda6s. Of some note is that the I4 is a new Mazda engineered engine that we will probably see a lot more of as Ford has given Mazda lead engineering on their I4 engines.

FWIW, I'll probably end up avoiding the Valvoline in favor of oils that have shown good UOAs (mscales' motorcraft numbers look pretty good) or one with molly.

Valvoline 5W-20 VOA

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