Valvoline Maxlife 10w40

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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.
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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!
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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?
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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.
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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.
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"... 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!
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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.
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"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.
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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.

--- Bror Jace
 
Roger that BJ. I was refering to 5K and above. It's just about a given that M1 and GC and easily go 5K and beyond.
 
Did anybody else notice that they made comments about a different engine than what the guy has?

He has an inline 6 and he is showing wear patterns for a v6???
 
quote:

Originally posted by regalman:
Did anybody else notice that they made comments about a different engine than what the guy has?

He has an inline 6 and he is showing wear patterns for a v6???


Typo. I emailed them the next day and they sent out a corrected report.
 
It's a Ford I6! You can drain the oil out of it and have just as good wear numbers. Go ahead, try to kill that thing, it's like Dracula but immune to sunlight!
 
quote:

Originally posted by Bror Jace:
Guys, this is a very good report ... but would we expect anything else from merely 3,000 miles in moderate weather?
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I guess I could say the same for those on here that do UOA on 5k/6k miles on premium syn (redline, amsoil) "Good report but what should we expect for only a 5k interval on syn"
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TP,

That is an excellent report, considering the miles on the engine. There are not many xW-40 reports here. Valvoline is a good choice for this motor, regardless of what additive packages other oils have.

"If the shoe fits"


Dave
 
Thanks Dave. I realize the other oils have moly and other components, but maybe there are other components of the Maxlife that the lab dosen't test for. One thing that got me to stick with Maxlife 10w40 was the very high flash point, so I expect little consumption. Also it held viscosity nicely. Flashpoint is lower in the report. Not sure why. I think it is not as accurate as what the company does for their spec sheet.
 
CuteHumor: "I guess I could say the same for those on here that do UOA on 5k/6k miles on premium synthetics (Red Line, Amsoil, etc ...) 'Good report but what should we expect for only a 5k interval on syn?' "

I really don't think it's quite the same ... and I'm impressed with just about any oil which gives a really clean report with 5,000 miles of use.

--- Bror Jace
 
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