Originally Posted By: FrankN4
Well...If you are asking about VOA, I will assume you know what each element that shows up on the VOA means. I will also assume you have something very specific you expect from/of an oil you may choose. I will also assume you have a specific purpose. I will also assume 5W-30 or 10W-30 are the only possible choices. What, exactly, do you expect from the oil?
Are you going to use the oil in a new car/pickup you just picked up from the dealer today? Are you going to use it in a car/pickup with 15,000. 50,000, 75,000, 100,000, 200,000, 300,000 miles? Do you drive 25 miles a week or 360+ miles a week?
As said, VOA's don't give you any indication of amines or organic FM. These are extremely important to me. To find out about these(short of a gas/liquid chromo) you have to look for manufacturer text that talks/brags about FM.
How often are you going to change oil? Are you content with adequate protection up to the 175,000-225,000 mile mark? Do you keep vehicles until the rest of the vehicle falls apart around the engine? Do you expect, fully expect 300,000+ miles because, like my son in law you average 1,420 miles a week?
IF I HAD to use conventional oil, and IF it HAD TO BE A 30 GRADE, and if it is a new vehicle, Valvoline conventional, 10W-30 WB, has what I would want in a VOA. If it was a vehicle with in excess of 50,000 miles, depending upon how those miles were put on the vehicle, I would use Valvoline MaxLife 10W-30(I know it is a blend but it is a GP II/GP III blend) technically a conventional.
I have several vehicles in mind...but for the sake of ease in this discussion, lets say I am interested in ZDDP in an SM rated oil for a '01 4.0L Jeep SUV flat-tappet w/ 83k on it...5k OCI, 16.5k per year driven and I want 300k out of it.
I have tried Max-life...I truly wish that someone else made a syn-blend HM oil besides Valvoline...I know it has lots of moly, but the vehicle ran better on Pennzoil HM than it did on Max-life 10w30. Hope this helps...