Valvoline All Climate

[Doug Hillary]

Hi,
certain Valvoline products are fully Approved and Listed by some Euro Manufacturers. This tends to indicate that they are good products (field performance) and are sold in some volume

Two are SynPower 0w-40 and Synpro 5w-40 and there may be others

Doug

 

[hadboosttroy]

i love valvoline dino, use it ALMOST religiously

 

[mossad]

If Valvoline has minimal add pack and no moly, does Castrol GTX use moly? Is their add pack better. It says on the front of their bottle "Unique Anti Sludge Formla", so that must be true then right?

 

[mossad]

I've heard that Valvoline does not use moly any longer. What do they use in place of this? and is it as good?

 

[Big O Dave]

Here's another Valvoline All-Climate UOA, on my wife's Explorer. With the exception of the coolant trace found, it was a pretty good report. Of course, the oil has nothing to do with the coolant, and we're still trying to determine if it is an actual leak or a contaminated funnel used to put the oil in the truck... it was also used with coolant in the past.

Anyway, have at it!

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Valvoline 5/10Ws hold up well for 3K OCIs.

 

[Drew99GT]

quote:

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Originally posted by mossad:
Said he just got finished wiht automotive school (who knows why he's only working at Advanced?) and said all that HM crap is sales gimmick. He did say the say thing as drums57 did, that the Val and Havoilne are great products, and to stick with those. I didn't even ask him for any of this advice.

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Automotive school must teach people to be retarded. The HM oils do have a benefit as they are blended on the thick side of each grade, which is what you want for an engine that is elderly.

 

[hominid7]

quote:

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Originally posted by mossad:
Funny, just got back from Advance and yes, Havoline is insanely cheap. The sales clerk came up and asked if I need help as I was glancing at the back of the HM oil bottle of Valvoline and he told me to put it away. Said he just got finished wiht automotive school (who knows why he's only working at Advanced?) and said all that HM crap is sales gimmick. He did say the say thing as drums57 did, that the Val and Havoilne are great products, and to stick with those. I didn't even ask him for any of this advice.

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Yes it is good marketing, but the VOA tell us that they are indeed different formulations. In addition, the HM oils do not typically carry the energy conserving starburst.

 

[BigOil]

Actually, HMs do not add to longevity of vehicles with high mileage.

They may have *visible benfits* from added seal swell (less leaks), or the grade might be at the higher end of viscosity limits as mentioned(not sure if that is consistently true)---poorer gas milage but less consumption .

It is the reduction in leaks and consumption that some folks notice it seems. Of course, you can add some seal swell aftermarket additive and move to a higher vis conventional, essentially ending up at the same point for less money.

Ashland did an absolutely fantastic job Marketing and estbalishing this category of "need"...the thing that sticks more than some other marketing innovations (BP's Start-Up oil for example) is the lessened oil use for some consumers...a *visible* benefit, albeit one that can be achieved with the conventional oils and an inexpensive additive. The other key to marketing success is that these HMs are only API certified, and NOT ILSAC as a result of the changed formulations;this means they do not meet warranty requirements established by the OEM -- no biggie for an older car. Otherwise the conventional oil marketers might go ahead and add these "benefits", except doing so would require a violation of ILSAC performance parameters.

I personally think the perception that OEMS don't care about older cars (wanting to sell new ones) helps market them too..."I need to something for my ride more than the OEM says because they are not looking out for cars out of warranty" line of logic. I think this is not quite accurate portrayal of their philosophy, but some folks dislike big companies...

 

[mossad]

Bigoil,
I agree with that. I mean really, think about it. How could HM oil really add more life to your car? If a guy using a good conventional oil with a 3mo/3k OIC and is religoius about it, what good is a HM going to do other than stop or slow a leak? Yes, the HM may have more fricion modefiers which could be good for older engines, but here lies yet another problem. Just because an engine is old and has over 75k, does in "really" need HM? Correct, NO. My Lumina is 10 years old and has 120989k on this engine and my mechanic told me that this engine is neither tired or worn out, and HM oil is a waste as this motor LITERALLY runs like the day I bought it, just as quiet, same pick up, smooth idle, it's perfect. Yet it has some very slight oil seapage which saturates the bottom of the motor around the oil pan over time. Does this mean I better start using HM?

 

[Camu Mahubah]

Valvoline is a very good oil. I have used it almost exclusively before joining this site. Now I like to experiment with other brands. But I always return to Valvoline. It might be brand loyalty because my father used it but I always sleep good after a fresh oil change with the ashland product.

If you like the Valvoline use it and anaylyze it to back yourself up.

 

[CharBaby]

I know of many people that use Valvoline All Climate faithly and have for years with great success. I don't use it myself ONLY due to the price. Even on sale,(in my neck of the woods) it cost more or as much as some of the other popular oils metioned on this site. I usually purchace oil by price and it's typically Havoline or Pennziol,(have for better than 20 yrs). My dad use to own an ESSO/EXXON gas station from 1954-79 and of course UNIFLO was all we used. If I could get Valvoline for the prices that I pay for Hav.& Penz., I would buy it in a minute. Purchaced some SHELL oil recently for .49 cents a qt. If I could buy name brand oil for that price, you better beleive thats all I would use. I've used some store brands over the years,(SuperTech,ADV.AUTO etc.) but I just try not to exceed 3mo/3000mi OCI. With the better known oils, I'll do 4-5000 mile OCI especially since discovering BITOG.

 

[DOC]

I have used the valvoline for many years without a problem. The oil has been changed for the better. I have noticed in the last year that oil changes are lasting 4,000 miles before having to add a quart where before it was 3,000 and oil pressure stays up well. I usually change at 5,000 miles and sometimes longer. Most of my driving is at highway speeds with over 100 miles a day. And my vehicles have lasted well over 200,000 miles without any kind of engine problem. know if I can keep all the plastic interior parts together as well as I can an engine i would be in great shape.

 

[mossad]

I'm curios to know how the all-climate will hold up with my severe driving conditions. Mostly short trips in both extremes of hot and cold