Valvoline Maxlife Synthetic change, comments?

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I notice they put up a new product spec on 9-12-07.
The "new" Maxlife Synthetic no longer meet LL-04, 502.00, 505.00, 505.01, 229.5, 229.51.
For comparison:
5W30 old new
100cSt 11.8 11.7
40cSt 74.0 70
VI 154 162
TBN 7 8.5
Flash Point 225 225
Pour Point -42 -42
CCS cP@-30C 6000 6000
MRV cP@-35C 18700 20000
Noack 10 10
Sulfated Ash 0.8 1.1

Is it still decent stuff?
 
Higher sulfated ash and higher TBN would indicate more anti-wear chemistry and detergency possibly? My guess is that they want people to use their 5W-40 Synpower for Euro cars.
 
I believe Maxlife 5w-30 synthetic is the same oil as Synpower 5w-30 MST which does meet those specs, but with a few additives added for higher mileage cars. I think they just removed the specs from the label so folks would by the Synpower instead of the Maxlife. Check out MST's specs -

Test
5W-30 MST
Vis @ 100°C (cSt) 11.7
Vis @ 40°C (cSt) 69.9
Viscosity Index 163
Spec Gravity @ 60°F 0.850
Density(lbs/gal) 7.1
Total Base No. 7
Flash COC (°C) 227
Pour Point (°C) -45
CCS cP (°C) 6200(-30C)
MRV TP-1 cP (°C) 20,000(-35C)
NOACK, wt. % loss 10
Sulfated Ash 0.78
 
glxpassat, nice insight into the similarities. A while back a valvoline tech had alluded to something like this although he danced around enough for me to not trust his answer. But as I compare the specs you posted, it makes sense. I still have about 20 gallons of the ML synthetic with the Euro labels on them. As long as my dealer doesn't give me grief, I'll continue to run this.
 
Yeah, I suppose the HTHS is different between the old red bottle and new white bottle Maxlife synthetic 5W-30, too, in that the old meets ACEA A3 specs but the new does not.
 
bmwtechguy,

I just looked at the 9-12-07 spec sheet, which says the new white bottle Maxlife Synthetic is indeed ACEA A3 rated. My mistake. I saw a bottle a few days ago at Checker and did not notice the A3 marking, although I was looking for it. Sorry for the misinformation.
 
Does this include the semi-synthetic Max-Life or just the full synthetic version? Although I have noticed the semi-synthetic Max Life versions to have limited ratings. I too concur, and believe the flash point to be extremely low for 225.

Regards
 
They probably DO use a similar 'basic construction'; but, the additive levels in the Maxlife Syn are much higher than the Synpower MST, so it would naturally seems to be a better buy between the two.....
 
I talked to the Valvoline tech line, and they confirmed that the Maxlife full synthetic 5w-30 uses the same additive package as the Synpower MST and still meets all of the same specs for MB, VW, and BMW. I asked why they don't list the specs any longer on the label or on their website, and he said they want to keep selling the MST, which is only in 55g barrels in the US.

I also mentioned that MST was on the VW approved oil list, but Maxlife was not, and he stated that they would stand behind the oil if VW had a problem with anyone using it to meet the VW specs. Bottom line is this is a real bargin, I paid around $18 for a 5 quart container at WM.
 
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I emailed Valvoline today asking why this oil changed formulation. First they said the oil didn't change, just the bottle did. Then when presented with the evidence to the contrary, they said it changed due to recent mandatory regulations by Environmental Agencies, making the oils more energy conserving.

I don't believe that. Such changes are not made mandatory within any given API motor oil specification. Bummer, it sucks to not get good information.
 
Well, I think they don't want it known that Maxlife synthetic 5w30 is MST with some extra additives. When the tech told me that, I could tell he was a little reluctant. But it was so obvious, when the Maxlife meet all the European specs as the MST, that he couldn't deny it. They messed up printing all those high level specs on the label and then realized it and then removed them.
 
The MST data above is close to the old version 5W-30 Maxlife Syn. but not so much with the new version....especially Sulfated Ash and TBN. So, I don't know what to think. How recent is that MST data?
 
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