Valvoline All Climate

[SFCP]

Following is a quote from another member "farrarfan1" :

Not too long ago on one of the "Valvoline has a weak add pack" discussions someone posted an msds from Valvoline that "proved" that their 10W30 contained group1. Someone then pointed out that the msds was 5 years old.To the original posters he credit he acknowledged the mistake.I made the point that UOA's on Valvoline conventional and Castrol GTX APPEAR very similar. I know that not every element shows in a cheap UOA/VOA but both generally show very little or no moly,magnesium or boron.Has anyone ever accused GTX of having a weak add pack? I'm going to go out on a limb and say no.GTX is usually spoken about in hushed tones of reverance as being one of the best.A quick scan of a Valvoline UOA showing none of the sacred moly results in an immediate verdict of weak add pack.GTX shuld be placed in the same category. At most Walmarts the 5 qt jug of Valvoline is around $10, exactly the same as Pennzoil and Castrol and cheaper than the new Havoline which is over $11.

********************************************************
I totally agree with him. Castrol GTX is considered top tier on this forum yet appears the same and equal to Castrol on many UOA/VOA's. Also, Valvoline can be purchase JUST as cheaply as any other 5 qt jug. Most W-Marts have it for 9.98 per/jug, or thereabout. So I'm still sitting here scratching my head trying to figure out why many of you think it is "weak"??

 

[Blue99]

If you are a Valvoline fan, you'd better develop a thick skin, as every oil expert on the internet is going to wander in here & repeat the Valvoline myth of the "weak add pack"!

 

[RacerE7773]

The only reason I stopped using Valvoline is because of the politics involved in racing sponsorships. It seemed more important to leave the consumer in the dust and focus on a team already having more money than brains.

 

[Blue99]

Also, a statement was made, just recently, about Valvoline conventional oils having group I content per their website.

Valvoline/Ashland still has MSDS sheets in their data base, dated 2002, for their GF-3 engine oils. Ashland was in partnership with Marathon at that time and operated a Grp I+ base oil plant in Kentucky. It is only natural that this Grp I+ product would be included in Valvoline GF-3 formulations.

I think anyone, who is used to viewing the MSDS information, will realize the importance of the date & anything 2-3 yrs & older may not contain the current information.

Here's the most current MSDS that I can locate, courtesy of Walmart.

Valvoline AC 5W-30 MSDS
Valvoline AC 10W-30 MSDS
Valvoline AC 10W-40 MSDS

Note that all 3 list 64742-54-7, which is the common CAS for Grp II, GrpII+, and Grp III base oils.

No, Walmart does not list a MSDS for 5W-20, but I don't think anyone will make a serious claim that AC 5W-20 has Grp I content.

 

[Rob Taggs]

Seen plenty of autos and trucks go many miles on Valvoline All Climate.

 

[wgtoys]

Indeed this forum often behaves like an echo chamber with the same nostrums repeated over and over again as if they come from a sacred text.

Up until recently, Mobil-1 was considered a sacred cow until the whole Group III question took on a life of it's own.

The few Castrol Syntec (US type) UOAs I have found on here show it giving equal or better performance compared to classic Mobil-1, yet there is still a great deal of angst and hatred of Castrol for being a leader in getting Group III defined as a synthetic. Now that Emperor Mobil has no clothes the Group III religious warriors are left in a quandry.

In practical terms there are minimal real world performance differences between comparable oils from the major names. They spend many millions of dollars trying to get us to think otherwise, but at the end of the day there are but tea leaves of differences for the vast majority of applications.

Valvoline makes an excellent line of products and I don't hesitate to use them or the products of other major makers.

 

[farrarfan1]

Quote:

---

Indeed this forum often behaves like an echo chamber with the same nostrums repeated over and over again as if they come from a sacred text.

Up until recently, Mobil-1 was considered a sacred cow until the whole Group III question took on a life of it's own.

The few Castrol Syntec (US type) UOAs I have found on here show it giving equal or better performance compared to classic Mobil-1, yet there is still a great deal of angst and hatred of Castrol for being a leader in getting Group III defined as a synthetic. Now that Emperor Mobil has no clothes the Group III religious warriors are left in a quandry.

In practical terms there are minimal real world performance differences between comparable oils from the major names. They spend many millions of dollars trying to get us to think otherwise, but at the end of the day there are but tea leaves of differences for the vast majority of applications.

Valvoline makes an excellent line of products and I don't hesitate to use them or the products of other major makers.

---

Nice post newbie. Was that a breath of fresh air with a hint of common sense that just blew through?

 

[TallPaul]

Thanks Blue99. All these years I thought AC and Maxlife used Group I and was amazed at the performance of Maxlife for it. Surely if AC is Group II, so then would be Maxlife. Great thread, thanks all. Valvoline does not have a weak add pack any more than most SM oils out there.

 

[KBFXDLI]

I have been using Valvoline 5w30 AC for years. Never a problem. But like any dino oil I won't past a 5000 OCI no matter what.

 

[Bror Jace]

I haven't been as active as I used to be here but ... "the Valvoline myth of the 'weak add pack'"

Um, a 'myth'? Do I hear Kari Byron warming up in the background?

Maybe Valvoline has recently brought their formula up to industry additive standards but historically they've had light amounts of zinc, phosphorous, moly & boron. This goes back to the info Ed Hackett put together a dozen or so years ago and has been pretty consistent since this board was started in 2002.

Yes, there are minimal differences between most oils ... and a great deal of 'technical info' is merely high-priced marketing fluff (Valvoline participates in this almost as much as Castrol does). That's why I often use Havoline and its budget cousin Chevron.

And for the record, I don't rave about Castrol GTX which seems generally similar to Valv All-Climate in UOAs 'cept the Castrol has historically had more moly.

 

[77GrandPrix]

All I have to add to all of your comments is--Amen!!

 

[SFCP]

Does anyone know what levels of Zink and Boron and phosporus are in Valvoline All Climate 5w 30 and what the levels of the new Havoline 5w 30 are at in comparison?

 

[SFCP]

Quote:

---

Does anyone know what levels of Zink and Boron and phosporus are in Valvoline All Climate 5w 30 and what the levels of the new Havoline 5w 30 are at in comparison?

---

 

[Mokanic]

Quote:

---

If you are a Valvoline fan, you'd better develop a thick skin, as every oil expert on the internet is going to wander in here & repeat the Valvoline myth of the "weak add pack"!

---

It's never really been an issue of having a weak additive package with me. It's been more of an issue of being able to buy as good or better dino oils for less money in this erea. Valvoline has always been at least fifty cents or more a qt. higher than oils like Havoline plus maybe it's me but it's rarely put on sale as some other oils are.
It's just an average oil at an above average price in my erea so it gets passed over for other oils. No real compelling reason to buy it.

 

[Bryanccfshr]

The latest PDS from Written in November '06 is Here (caution it's a PDF.

It appears that these are the numbers for major adds in the Valvoline formulation for 5w20, 5w30 and 10w30 energy conserving motor oils.

Zinc 830 ppm
Phosphorus 760 ppm (it's in the PDS

)
Calcium 2060 ppm

Seems like decent numbers to me and we don't know what kind of additional inorganic and organic additives they are utilizing that does not show up (friction modifiers etc.)

I never understood the dislike for this product. If I find it on sale( I say this for all brands) I would use it. For those stuck on price I would suggest you consider the new price of Havoline.

 

[TallPaul]

Quote:

---

It appears that these are the numbers for major adds in the Valvoline formulation for 5w20, 5w30 and 10w30 energy conserving motor oils.

Zinc 830 ppm
Phosphorus 760 ppm (it's in the PDS

)
Calcium 2060 ppm

---

If you step up to Maxlife you get about 300 ppm moly too, and maybe a bit more calcium (as well as 12-22% PAO per MSDS). I just got Maxlife at Home Depot for only $2.24 a quart! All 10w30. I did not see 5w30. They had some 10w40 for same price with one HD having the 10w40 marked $1.88!

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Quote:

---

It's never really been an issue of having a weak additive package with me. It's been more of an issue of being able to buy as good or better dino oils for less money in this erea. Valvoline has always been at least fifty cents or more a qt. higher than oils like Havoline plus maybe it's me but it's rarely put on sale as some other oils are.
It's just an average oil at an above average price in my erea so it gets passed over for other oils. No real compelling reason to buy it.

---

Well said!

I respect the Maxlife oils & the prioce associated with both labels. But the rest of the Valvoline lineup is overpriced.

 

[bretfraz]

When I first started changing my own oil, I used Valvoline because of their involvement in auto racing. I'd rather support a company that supports something I'm interested in than a company that's not involved at all.

Later I moved on to other brands as I realized all the popular oils had to meet the current API specs. I went many years having my oil changed at quick lube places as my employer(s) paid for it. As long as they used a name brand oil in the correct viscosity, I was fine with it. Valvoline and Castrol were common fills in my cars for almost 10 years.

When I went back to changing my own oil, I discovered BITOG and read the criticism of Valvoline for having a weak add pack. After shopping for oil I found that Valvoline was priced higher than other name brands, some of them held in higher regard with the oil nerds here. So I switched to GC, PP and Chevron Supreme, feeling I am getting either better performance for my dollar or at least a better value in the case of Chevron.

My next OCI will be using Valvoline Durablend, as I found a good deal on it at O'Reillys. That's where I'm at now with Valvoline; a good oil that's priced above comparable products but is worth buying if the price is right.

I've bought over 20 5-pack cases of Valvoline All-Climate and Maxlife on closeout from local Walmart's. They're used in service vehicles and when I can no longer find cheap Valvoline, I'll switch to something else. Eventhough I've used the stuff since before I could drive, I have no undying loyalty to the brand, regardless of add pack or MSDS info.

 

[SFCP]

Quote:

---

When I first started changing my own oil, I used Valvoline because of their involvement in auto racing. I'd rather support a company that supports something I'm interested in than a company that's not involved at all.

Later I moved on to other brands as I realized all the popular oils had to meet the current API specs. I went many years having my oil changed at quick lube places as my employer(s) paid for it. As long as they used a name brand oil in the correct viscosity, I was fine with it. Valvoline and Castrol were common fills in my cars for almost 10 years.

When I went back to changing my own oil, I discovered BITOG and read the criticism of Valvoline for having a weak add pack. After shopping for oil I found that Valvoline was priced higher than other name brands, some of them held in higher regard with the oil nerds here. So I switched to GC, PP and Chevron Supreme, feeling I am getting either better performance for my dollar or at least a better value in the case of Chevron.

My next OCI will be using Valvoline Durablend, as I found a good deal on it at O'Reillys. That's where I'm at now with Valvoline; a good oil that's priced above comparable products but is worth buying if the price is right.

I've bought over 20 5-pack cases of Valvoline All-Climate and Maxlife on closeout from local Walmart's. They're used in service vehicles and when I can no longer find cheap Valvoline, I'll switch to something else. Eventhough I've used the stuff since before I could drive, I have no undying loyalty to the brand, regardless of add pack or MSDS info.

---

What are you talking about? 5 qt jugs of Val a/c can be bought for 10 bucks...same price as every other 5 qt jug.

 

[farrarfan1]

Save your breath SFCP. It's overpriced and contains a weak additive package.It's embedded in the collective mindset which makes it a "fact".