Guys, this is a very good report ... but would we expect anything else from merely 3,000 miles in moderate weather? Sorry, but
real cold for us northerners begins at 0F.
Really, this report says more about the engine than the oil. No filtration or glycol issues ... and no component ready to give up the ghost. That's good news!
Max-Life having PAO is news to me. I don't trust MSDS sheets regardless of brand and the techs at Valvoline lied to me and others repeatedly in years past so I don't trust them either. What's left?
Johnny told us just over a year ago that MaxLife is Group II ... and I'm sticking with that until I hear a really credible source say otherwise.
The chemists can correct me if I'm out of bounds, but "Hydrotreated Heavy Paraffinic Distillate" can be Group II. It's the degree of hydrotreating/hydrofinishing which makes oil a Group II or II+. I believe hydrocracking (Group III) is another process entirely.
Anyone know if the Mobil High Mileage oil, mentioned earlier, has any ester in it? Given Mobil's direction
away from esters coupled with the above comment suggests the "high-mileage" comment is merely marketing language, probably having to due with the 10W30 weight, and not really describing the technical make-up of the oil like other brands.
Like some of the others above, my main "issue" with Valvoline was basically that their oils have historically had fewer additives in them than the competition. I used to be a fan now it's my least favorite of the major brands.
"... if this was a Red Line Oil analysis it seems that there would be many people saying it was a great result from a great oil, but since it is a Valvoline product there is the usual chorus of bad mouthing."
I don't really think that's fair. At 3,000 miles, nearly any oil would/should look good ... unless it shows excessive thinning and then it gets panned regardless of brand ... as it should.
" ... and just how many Chevron UOA's are out there compared to GC and M1?"
For intervals 4,000 miles and less, there are plenty of great Chevron UOAs on this site!
TallPaul:
"look at the recent virgin sample of the Chevron Supreme 10w30, a brand highly regarded at BIOTG ... Zinc is only 879 and Phosphorus is only 732. My Valvoline has about that much after 3000 miles. Guess the Valvo stands up pretty good next to Chevron and that's saying a lot. Yeah the Chev has moly but it does not look like much ..."
The Chevron has similar levels of zinc, phosphorous PLUS moly, boron-based additives AND the UOAs to show the combo they have settled on works really well.
"I do like Valvoline. So does NAPA. Hey I was just at the NAPA store and they have high mileage for $1.79 and the guy said it is the same as Maxlife. I wonder. Also they had a new NAPA (Ashland) oil: 15w50 Full Synthetic. Wow! That sounds like a great oil. About $3.50 a quart is a deal too."
Ashland has bottled oil for NAPA for over a decade. I'd guess that it's the same as All Climate because I can't seem them formulating a white-label oil with even
fewer additives and passing SL. No idea what their 15W50 synthetic is ... but I'd guess it's a Group III and so $3.50 per quart is a bit high.
Anyway, MaxLife is serving you well. If you want to add something to it to address its light additive package (and there's no indication you really need to do anything to it at all) I'd add some Schaeffer #132.
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Bror Jace