Valvoline compared to others

[SR5]

Because you never really know how the oil is made, what is advertising and what is real, or when they change the formula, your best choice is to look for the Euro OEM specs. Especially ones where the car company or a third party is required to test the oil, and they publish the oils that pass on an independent web site. Mercedes Benz (MB) is good for this.

Depending on if it’s high-SAPS/low-SAPS I look for MB 229.5/.51/.52, BMW LL01/04, Porsche A40/C30, VW…., etc.

If it has 2 or 3 good specs that I can trust, then I just buy on price.

Yes I have used Valvoline SynPower 0W40 before. It carried MB229 and was at a good price. It ran like any other name brand oil.

 

[dubber09]

V has this oil that is interesting to me - Valvoline 5W-30 XL-III, but here in Canada we don't have too many places selling Valvoline in general and that particular oil is about 2X as expensive as Mobil 1 ESP or Pennzoil Platinum Euro LX.

 

[SR5]

V has this oil that is interesting to me - Valvoline 5W-30 XL-III, but here in Canada we don't have too many places selling Valvoline in general and that particular oil is about 2X as expensive as Mobil 1 ESP or Pennzoil Platinum Euro LX.

Yes that XL-III is a great oil, from the Valvoline website:

“SAE 5W-30, API SP, API SN Plus, API SN, API SM, ACEA C3, BMW LL-04 Approved, MB 229.51 Approved, MB 229.52, MB 229.31, VW 504.00 Approved, VW 507.00 Approved, Porsche C30.“

 

[dubber09]

I'd try it out but not for more that 2X the price over Mobil 1 ESP or Pennzoil Platinum Euro LX.

 

[CleanSump]

I'd try the V XL-III, but Mobil 1 ESP is everywhere for less. Why spend an extra $10 per oil change when Mobil 1 is known, good, less expensive, and always in front of me?

 

[OM617YOTA]

Valvoline has always been more expensive than other oils around here. Anyone who doesn't geek out on this stuff just buys whatever is less $$. Anyone who does geek out on this stuff knows there's every bit equivalent(Valvoline Restore and Protect excepted) or better oils for less $$.

 

[tired]

sorry if this has been discussed before but, is it thought on here that valvoline euro oils are a “tier” below oils such as the Mobil 1 esp line and similar Pennzoil euro oils? I don’t really see any postings on here about the valvoline euro oils, just wondering if you all think of valvoline as a whole as lesser quality than some other brands. Thanks.

They are good, but they cost more and are less available than Mobil 1 ESP. Mobil 1 ESP is like $28 a jug at Walmart and widely available.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Back in the conventional days I ran more Valvoline than anything else. Back then it was bottom shelf walmart - budget friendly brand. It never had the splash of the bigger names - no Mobil 1 being first, or PUP GTL "made from gas", or whatever castrol gimmick they were running at the time.

Would seem there using their shelf space / advertising budget on Valvoline Restore and Protect and again budget friendly Maxlife high mileage.

 

[SR5]

I'd try the V XL-III, but Mobil 1 ESP is everywhere for less. Why spend an extra $10 per oil change when Mobil 1 is known, good, less expensive, and always in front of me?

Yes I get you. Over here, Mobil 1 is the most expensive oil, with Castrol, Shell (Pennzoil) and Valvoline being a lot less. So for the exact same reason I use Castrol & Shell & Valvoline but not Mobil. It’s simply a price reason.

BTW in Australia, Valvoline optimises their products for the local market. Hence we get Valvoline Restore and Protect as a 10W40 synthetic, since we tend to run thicker oils here. I’m running Valvoline Restore and Protect 10W40 myself right now.

 

[skippermatt]

Not a big market, but VR1 is quite popular amon classic owners

vr1 is really the only valvolone product I actively use lol.

 

[altaylar]

vr1 is really the only valvolone product I actively use lol.

Exactly my point!

I did look into castrol/motul/Mobil 1 offerings for classics, and VR1 seems to be the best choice to me

 

[skippermatt]

One last question, I’ve heard vr1 conventional is just the white bottle with more zinc and phosphorus, can the same be said for the synthetic version?

 

[Mr.GTRSpecV]

If they offered them in the 5L jugs at CT or WM (Euro spec oil) I would buy it over M1, Cas and PP.