Valvoline Synpower

[HondaRD]

I've looked around for any oil analysis results for Valvoline SynPower, but can't find anything on them. I know it is a group III oil,I was just curious on how it would do on extended drain interval (~5k miles). I think I may switch to this oil, since after very much contemplating, I've decided that I can't afford oils by Amsoil, schaeffers, or Redline. (College makes me poor).

Yes, I do know that I get free shipping when I order $250 worth from Schaeffers, but I don't have the $$ right now. So, I was thinking of either using Valvoline synthetic and changing it every 5-6k miles or use Castrol GTX and change it every 3k miles. I've gathered that Castrol GTX shows pretty good results on anyalysis sheets, but I have not seen much of anything for Valvoline's Synpower. Are the benefits of Valvolines synthetic that much better over Catrol GTX?

 

[RTexasF]

Why not use Mobil 1? It's proven and little more money than what you're considering.

 

[HondaRD]

That's true, and I've been using it, but unfortunately my car likes to snack on it to where I must add about a quart every 2-2.5k miles. I've used other oils before like Valvoline synpower and Maxlife and never had to add oil between changes. So, I'm trying to go to the next best thing I guess. I hope this is logical thinking, but if not, I know this is the best place to find out.

 

[WeyounDS9]

I am currently running Valvoline SynPower 5w-40,
meets MB229.3, ACEA A3.

I do admit I was deeply disapointed (Grrr) when they switched to group III (w/ letting anyone know).
but it does appear they still use some ,IV and V.

I have experimented a little bit and it seems to me its detergent package is a bit better then M1.
This is important for me as I have a higher mile engine.
( when swithcing from M1 to SynP its evident the SynP pulls out some deposists that the M1 left behind but not vice versa)..

My engine has gotten pretty clean, so I may switch to M1 0w-40 soon.
Once I feel my engine is getting dirty again I my may go back to SynPower 5w-40.

Fred...

PS:I dont do extended drain intervals tho. 3k every time+premium filters.

[ December 08, 2002, 01:25 PM: Message edited by: palmerwmd ]

 

[Bror Jace]

HondaRD, use the search feature in the used oil analysis section. A while back someone posted their results from using this oil. It wasn't a high-performance application but the results were fairly good if memory serves.

Still, I wouldn't pay over $3 for this stuff. It's a fairly stable Group III oil with an indifferent additive package. Good, but not great.

--- Bror Jace

 

[jjbula]

quote:

---

Valvoline Synpower 10w30 SJ

First oil fill and drain after AutoRx and Castrol 5w30 for 600 miles

mixed highway and city driving over 4 months
in hot Montgomery AL weather

Towed a trailer for 200 miles

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Customer Name: John Bula
>2001 Camry V6 Miles/Hours on Oil: 5990
>Total Miles/Hours: 16440
>Results Comment
>(ppm/%) (blank = normal)
>Wear
>Copper 2
>Iron 5
>Chromium 0
>Lead 11
>Aluminum 2
>Silicon 8 very low for being new Toyota
>Tin 0
>
>Additives
>Molybdenum 7
>Sodium 2
>Magnesium 302
>Zinc 822
>Potassium 0
>Phosphorus 612
>Calcium 1740
>
>Physical Properties
>Water negative
>Fuel negative
>Antifreeze negative
>Soot 15 7% solids
>Oxidation 27 13.5% low
>Nitration 99 50%,slight elevation,may need fuel treat
>Sulfur 0
>TBN 7
>vis@100 C 10.7 30w
>
>Final Comments: Normal results, great wear values for this oil. Toyota
>engine is working fine
>no sign of sludge issues aside from elevated Nox. 6000 miles on this oil if
>it is all climate SL oil
>shows very good results. Could extend to 7000 miles safely. Any questions ,
>comments, fire away.
>Terry

---

 

[jjbula]

quote:

---

Originally posted by HondaRD:
I've looked around for any oil analysis results for Valvoline SynPower, but can't find anything on them. I've gathered that Castrol GTX shows pretty good results on anyalysis sheets, but I have not seen much of anything for Valvoline's Synpower. Are the benefits of Valvolines synthetic that much better over Catrol GTX?

---

Try the search function with "synpower" as the entry.

Also--Synpower does not have moly. That would be the advantage of some other oils. Synpower does flow well at cold temps and did well for me on the above oil analysis. I'm now working on how to get the nitration lower. I won't extend the interval past 7.5K until I can get it better.

Hope this helps.

 

[Idrinkmotoroil]

personally I don't see the advantage of using synpower over any other oil. I think your car would use oil with either synpower or Mobi1, all of my Hondas did so with any synthetic oil. I think you can get good results with Castrol GTX or Penzoil for 4000 miles what more do you need for a daily driver. I believe there are some synpower analysis' at the oil analysis spreadsheet, do a search on billgxe there should be a link to the oil analyss spreadsheet which he has linked to maxima.org.

 

[Neonmike22]

My oil pressure was a lot less consistent using synpower than with Mobil 1 SS. It tended to thin out a whole lot on the high speed autox that i used the valvoline on. After a 3 lap practice session my oil pressure was down to about 10psi at idle, which hints that it thinned out a whole lot.

For regular driving though, you might not notice a difference.

 

[dagmando]

PS:I dont do extended drain intervals tho. 3k every time+premium filters.[/QB][/QUOTE]

Why do you use synthetic oil if you do 3K change intervals. The Synpower 5w-40 is a good oil that most VW racers use in their VR6 on the track and still run 5K+ intervals. Just use a 10w-40 and 3K changes and save some money.

 

[MolaKule]

Honda,

I's stick with GTX and add 1/2 pint of Schaeffer's #132 and see if oil consumption goes down.

 

[Roger]

Here is an analysis of 5W30 Synpower I had done last summer for your interest.

Blackstone oil report is as follows:

Elements My Car Univ. Ave.

Aluminum 4 6
Chromium 1 4
Iron 13 18
Copper 18 7
Lead 5 13
Tin 2 1
Molybdenum 2 62
Nickel 0 0
Manganese 1 1
Silver 0 0
Titanium 0 0
Potassium 2 0
Boron 8 26
Silicon 19 15
Sodium 3 11
Calcium 2570 1427
Magnesium 258 585
Phosphorus 749 750
Zinc 986 884
Barium 0 0

PropertiesTest Values Were Values Should Be

SUS Visc. @210 F57.3 54-63
Flashpoint F 410 >365
Fuel % Antifreeze % 0.0 0
Water % 0.0 Insolubles % 0.3
Comments: Universal averages show typical wear metals for an oil from this type of engine about 5,500 miles. We found all wear except copper to be around average levels in this engine. Copper read high, but could be a residual oil additive from the last oil you used. Val. 5W30 Syn. does not use it. If copper is from a poorly wearing bronze/brass part, it will increase. If it’s residual, it will decrease as time goes on. Try resampling in another 5,000-6,000 miles. We’ll know more then. The TBN read 4.5, quite a low reading. We would not run this oil any longer than this.

 

[Roger]

Forgot to say. There were 5,780 miles on the oil when analysized.

 

[Patman]

Not a very impressive showing for Valvoline's supposedly best oil (according to the price of it)

It thinned out to 9.5cst, almost a 20wt, and that TBN is too low. Not exactly a shining example of an oil meant for longer intervals.

Shame on Valvoline for charging so much for this inferior oil.

 

[satterfi]

For future reference, oil analysis results are easier to find in UOA, not in 'Car, truck, Lubrication'.

Just my opinion.

 

[jason07-1zzfe]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Patman:
... Not exactly a shining example of an oil meant for longer intervals...

---

Actually I think Valvoline still says to change this oil at 3k intervals.

 

[red2rebel]

Clarification Please.
I have read almost all of the Valvoline posts on this site.

Am I correct in my understanding that they make NO Group IV, Group IV TRUE Synthetic?

Their website would lead one to believe they make a 100% synthetic. Thanks.

 

[Bror Jace]

Yes, Valvoline still says to change your oil every 3,000 miles, even with their Synpower. Same for Mobil 1 … unless they’ve changed their tune in the past several months. In both cases I think it’s a shameless ploy for consumers to use more of their product even it is (or should be) overkill.

I agree with Patman, this oil is OK … but just OK. It is not worth what they are charging for it. That’s the only problem.

I used this stuff for a while in my ‘95 Civic and my car had not burned any oil up to that point. The level was still right on the upper fill mark after 5-6,000 mile intervals all its life with Mobil 1.

Switched to Valvoline Synpower and the oil level began dropping after about 4,000 miles. By the time I changed my oil at 5,000-6,000 miles, the car had consumed about ½ a quart. Switching to Red Line returned the oil to zero consumption but it took about a year to get there.

So why did my car begin to consume this stuff? Was it the lack of ester which both Mobil 1 and Red Line have? Even though it was (mostly) 10W30, was there any VII which began to shear down and boil off? Did my small, over-worked 16V 1.5L engine tax the Group III oil too much and cause it (the base oil) to boil off after a few thousand miles?

Obviously, the oil consumption was never great or troubling … but it did go up with the switch of oil brands.

Reb, Valvoline is well within their rights to call a Group III oil a “100% synthetic” thanks to the court decision in Mobil vs. Castrol.

--- Bror Jace

 

[VaderSS]

quote:

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I think Mobil 1's recommendation for oil drain interval is to follow the engine maker's recommended ODI.

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This is the case.

quote:

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While Mobil 1 has given excellent results in extended oil drain tests, ExxonMobil prefers to remain conservative with oil drain recommendations. ExxonMobil engineers recommend that you can go all the way to the maximum mileage or time frame shown in your owner's manual for oil changes when using Mobil 1 with SuperSyn™. This allows the reserve protection capabilities of Mobil 1 with SuperSyn™ to cover unusual or unexpected driving conditions.


Oil change intervals can be as short as 3,000 miles or as long as 15,000 miles on some new cars. Mobil 1 with SuperSyn™'s high-performance reserves can give you the confidence to go the full mileage or time frame recommended by the vehicle manufacturer. Mobil 1 with SuperSyn™ is especially suitable for the latest vehicles with extended drain intervals or vehicles with oil monitoring systems that vary oil drain intervals.

---

 

[MNgopher]

I didn't see anything that said change this oil every 3000 miles on the Valvoline Web site. It also gave the spiel like
Mobil 1 about following your manufacturer recommended guidlines. Nothing too crazy about that...

They did neatly sidestep the issue of being a group III vs. a PAO/Ester oil.

I will say that while I do use Valvoline products, I won't buy the Synpower because the price doesn't match the product. Around here, it seems to run $4-$4.50 a qt. Mobil 1 can be had for the same or less.

[ February 11, 2003, 04:15 PM: Message edited by: MNgopher ]