Valvoline Maxlife - Differences in specifications

[Delphi]

Gentlemen,
Firstly I would like to thank you all about all the stuff I have learned in the last five months, since I am reading BITOG.

I own a 1997 Honda Civic 1.5 liters, with 108 k miles on it, which I bought more one and a half years ago. After buying it, I have immediately changed the oil, using Mobil 5W40 EP synthetic, which I regularly used on my other cars. Did not know which kind of oil was used before, but it seems that some sort of Castrol. I have had OCI at less than 3k, or 6 months. I have done that simply because the climate is quite extreme here. I mean it is very hot in the summer (this summer we had several weeks of 100 F or more, and in the winter it is very cold -20 or so). Moreover, I use the car in severe conditions making mostly very short trips, with long idling times, mostly in the city, with an average speed of 6-8 miles per hour

.

After a short period of time, I noticed that my car starts to consume oil. The last measurement was 0.88 qt. / 1000 miles. Possibly, using synthetic, I cleaned all the deposits, and got a very clean, yet oil consuming engine. I have considered going on thicker oil, perhaps a HM one. After reading on BITOG about Maxlife, I decided to go with Valvoline Maxlife 10W40 (which is 9 $ per liter) this spring. After the first 1,000 miles, the consumption dropped to about 0.60 qt., which was a good sign for me, as I did not expect something to improve so fast.

I have never changed the PCV valve, because the stupid Honda mechanics here seems having no idea that this may exist on the car

. After two hours spent in the Honda service, we eventually found its location, and I will hopefully have it replaced within a couple of weeks.

Now, I am planning to continue with Maxlife, in the winter using 5W30 or 5W40 (18 $ per liter), which one will be available here. I would prefer the 5W30, but it is not sure I can get it. Still, I have noticed a difference in specifications between the Maxlife in US and Maxlife in Europe. I did not know if the European one is worst or better, so I have asked Valvoline Europe the following: “I have noticed some differences in the specifications of Valvoline Maxlife oils of the same API grade between the oils distributed in Europe and in USA. I have noticed that the European version does not contain Molly or Zinc in it, which I find very disappointing. Could you please explain the reasons for this in more detail? Thank you in advance.”

Maybe my English is not very good, or the guy was very tired, as his answer was a little bit astonishing: “I am sorry, but we cannot discuss our formulations with you. It is a company trade secret.”

Now, coming to the questions I have to you guys:
1. Having much more experience than me, could you please tell me which Maxlife is better? The specifications for the European Maxlife can be found here: ValvolineEurope I imagine that you know the specifications for Maxlife in NA.
It is obviously not a matter of life and death, as the European specification is solely available here, but I am simply very curious. I guess that the US specification is better, but I wait for your more qualified opinion.
2. Could a defective PCV valve affect the oil consumption, or the mileage? The car is running fine, the only annoying thing are a rattling noise on left side of the engine (where the PCV valve is located), and the oil consumption that I did not have on my previous 1988 Honda Civic.
3. May I safely mix next winter 3 quarts of Maxlife 5W30 or 5W40 with 0.5 quarts of Maxlife 10W40, which will possibly remain from this summer?

Thank you in advance.

 

[pbm]

Delphi: Welcome
To answer your questions;
1) I don't know whether the European version is better than the American but I would think it is at least as good because of the high standards that European oils must meet.

2) DEFINITELY. A clogged PCV valve can cause oil consumption. About a year ago I noticed that my wifes Accord was about 1/2 a quart low. This was the first time it had ever used oil in its 60K life. I checked the PCV valve and it was plugged (no rattling sound). I changed it out and haven't used a drop of oil since.

3)Mixing the 10/40 with another grade of the same oil shouldn't be a problem. If it hits -20F* during the winter I'd stick with the 5w30 synthetic.

PS: I don't know about your spoken English but your written English is excellent and easy to understand. I can't say the same thing for all BITOGer's.

 

[Delphi]

Thanks pbm.
In fact, I would like the Honda service people to tell me about the PCV valve, to inspect it, and eventually to tell me it should be replaced. Instead, they asked: “How did you find out about this valve?” I bet that nobody checked it through the entire history of the car.
Regarding the European Maxlife, I do not expect it to be bad quality oil, but only a little bit inferior to the American Maxlife. I am also a little disappointed for the zinc and moly content missing in specifications, although being a SL rated oil, I would expect it to have some zinc.

 

[glenncof]

I have been studying lots of European based specifications looking for better oils in U.S., I look for ACEA A3 even for _W30 oils, also Porsche, BMW LL-xx, MB 229.3/.5, VW 502/503-01.

http://www.valvoline.com/products/Maxlife.pdf
(regular, the full synthetic I could not find quickly).

I don't see much value to study foriegn oil spec since it's unlikely you can get them locally.

In the US Maxlife regular is now being called a blend since it appears to be 12-12% GrpIV base oil (see MSDS).

Maxlife Synthetic is only 5W30 and 10W30 but meets many of the above spec's so it is very robust. (ACEA A3,B3,B4,C3)

Finally, find a users forum on your vehicle and study the particular issues when planning maintanence.

 

[TallPaul]

Interesting offerings in Europe:

Quote:

---

MaxLife 10W-40, MaxLife 15w40

MaxLife Diesel 10W-40
Improved soot control for diesel engines

MaxLife FE 5w30
Improved fuel efficiency

MaxLife Synthetic 5W-40
- Full synthetic formulation
- Enhanced cold start protection

---

Maxlife at Valvoline Europe Website

USA has no diesel version, but

Synthetic in 5w30, 10w30
Blend in 5w20, 5w30, 10w30, SAE 30, 10w40, and 20w50.

I can make my own 15w40 if I mix 10w30 with 20w50.

Would be great if they would bring the European Synthetic 5w40 out over here.

 

[Delphi]

TallPaul, here the Maxlife 15W40 is widely available. I preferred to buy 10W40 considering that 15W40 might be too thick for my engine. But yes, I suppose you could mix your own 10W40.

 

[TallPaul]

Well, the 10w40 performs quite well, so no pressing reason to mix up a thicker brew. I more likely will mix 10w30 and 10w40 to thicken up for another vehicle.