What exactly is the difference between a "high mileage" oil and regular oil?

[Islandvic]

Max Life Syn has to be decent, it meets BMW, VW, MB and ACEA spec that most M1's dont meet.

 

[Bryanccfshr]

I gotta a helluva deal when AZ clearanced the Maxlife syns. 2 bucks a quart aint too bad. Watch the deals forum and be prepared to go on a buying frenzy when the good deals come up.

I have a used sample ready to send in but between having the house on the market and looking for a new one I didn't get around to sending it in yet.. Maybe in a couple of weeks I will be home and remember to take it to the post office. I am really curious to see how it held up in the 2.4 mitusubishi MIVEC pulling 3k+ rpms for many hours on end up and down grades and Texas heat to boot.

On the fresh fill I just did a trip to the San antonio Airport in 95°+ temps averaging closer to 4k rpms and 94 MPH! (I was running late)This was an hour and 45 minutes!! Map of Route I can't wait to see this UOA after I put 6 months or 7500 miles on it.

So yes, I trust this oil.

 

[bruce381]

exactomundo thats it to a T.

Originally posted by MolaKule:

I believe the high mileage and LL oils have a slightly higher viscosity, slightly more seal-swell additive, and a small increase in detergency/dispersancy. Otherwise, they are simply market niches carved out by Valvoline starting with their Maxlife.
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[G-MAN]

quote:

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Originally posted by Gary Allan:
I don't think that you'll ever see a 5w20 high mileage oil ..

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They could sure blend one, just on the high side of a 20 wt: 9.0 instead of 7.5 to 8.0.

 

[MN Driver]

I think part of it is marketing, the fact that they try to convince people that their engine is joining some old age club at the prime young age(IMO), of 75,000 miles. I think there are probably quite a few people who simply see the 75,000 mile number and just put it in because of that when they don't really need it. That basically pulls many people who use their good dino oils at $1.25-$1.50 and using a $2+ oil. In that case marketing pulls in more money. The benefits are still there in case whatever old age problems might eventually come up, so they serve their purpose, along with serving their purpose for those engines which could use seal conditioning and additional moly that we have seen in UOA's, among other reasons. I don't see anyone on BITOG going for using synthetic all along to jumping into a MaxLife oil at 75,000 miles though, but i'm sure it happens plenty elsewhere.

 

[railball]

So what are these "seal conditioning agents"? Are they esters? Before going the MAX Life route couldn't you use ARX as a seal swell it works on all kind of leaks. I used the Syntec for 100 K and developed a leak. Stopped it with a pan gasket and ARX treatment. So now I use ARX with all my cars using synthetic oil.If were getting less wear on a engine then synthetic oil should not find a leak till at least 150000.When Amsoil, M1,or GC are used correctly High Mileage should be extended thus leaks too.Just my view.

 

[TallPaul]

railball, I think you hit it right on. One can run a high mileage oil or one can run AutoRx maintenance doses and likely get roughly similar results.

 

[JavaMan]

If it's good for high mileage cars why not low mileage cars? You know, something like "The same oil that will extend the life of your high mileage car will make your new car run forever."

 

[Bryanccfshr]

I am running Maxlife synthetic in a newer engine.. started it on it at 10k miles..It's just a good oil.

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

quote:

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Originally posted by Bryanccfshr:
I am running Maxlife synthetic in a newer engine.. started it on it at 10k miles..It's just a good oil.

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Exactly. HM oils are great, if not better, than regular oils on newer engines.

 

[kev99sl]

quote:

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Originally posted by Islandvic:
Kev99, what type of vehicle did the oil leaks dry up on?

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'99 Saturn SL with 215,000 miles. There is still a leak somewhere around the oil pan, but it is minimal compared to what it was. The rear main seal leak has shrunk to the point that the bottom of the bellhousing is now dry: if it's still leaking, it's not enough for me to care about. (It used to leave a half-dollar-sized dribble on the floor if left for more than a day. Now, no dribbles from that side of the engine.)

 

[kev99sl]

quote:

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Originally posted by MN Driver:
I don't see anyone on BITOG going for using synthetic all along to jumping into a MaxLife oil at 75,000 miles though, but i'm sure it happens plenty elsewhere.

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See my post above. I switched from all synthetic to MaxLife dino at over 200,000 miles and am (so far) very glad that I did.

 

[kev99sl]

quote:

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Originally posted by railball:
So what are these "seal conditioning agents"? Are they esters? Before going the MAX Life route couldn't you use ARX as a seal swell it works on all kind of leaks. I used the Syntec for 100 K and developed a leak. Stopped it with a pan gasket and ARX treatment. So now I use ARX with all my cars using synthetic oil.If were getting less wear on a engine then synthetic oil should not find a leak till at least 150000.When Amsoil, M1,or GC are used correctly High Mileage should be extended thus leaks too.Just my view.

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Not sure about the maintenance dose, but I've done four separate ARX runs on my Saturn, each time with the leak diminishing for a while and then returning after several thousand miles. I haven't run the maintenance dose: don't know if it would have a similar, ongoing effect like the HM oils seem to have. All I know is, if it's ester that's supposed to keep the leaks at bay, it isn't ester that must be doing the job in MaxLife. RedLine has plenty of esters, and it was when running RedLine that my leaks were at their worst.

 

[TallPaul]

quote:

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Originally posted by kev99sl:

All I know is, if it's ester that's supposed to keep the leaks at bay, it isn't ester that must be doing the job in MaxLife. RedLine has plenty of esters, and it was when running RedLine that my leaks were at their worst.

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I just put Redline PS fluid in a car that had dino PS fluid for 108,000 miles. It was seeping but not dripping. Now with the Redline it is dripping and I have to keep cardboard under it in the garage. Dave at Redline told me their oil cleaned off the buildup from the dino which would make any seeps or leaks worse, but he thinks it may be self correcting over time. I believe ester should swell seals, yet they should have a balance to prevent excessive swell.

 

[kev99sl]

quote:

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Originally posted by TallPaul:

quote:

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Originally posted by kev99sl:

All I know is, if it's ester that's supposed to keep the leaks at bay, it isn't ester that must be doing the job in MaxLife. RedLine has plenty of esters, and it was when running RedLine that my leaks were at their worst.

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I just put Redline PS fluid in a car that had dino PS fluid for 108,000 miles. It was seeping but not dripping. Now with the Redline it is dripping and I have to keep cardboard under it in the garage. Dave at Redline told me their oil cleaned off the buildup from the dino which would make any seeps or leaks worse, but he thinks it may be self correcting over time. I believe ester should swell seals, yet they should have a balance to prevent excessive swell.

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Ah yes, the elusive "false seal" that is always to blame when leaks start. I ran the Redline oil over 5 OCIs. The "false seals" were apparently gone for exactly the amount of time I used Redline, then magically returned - instantly - the second I went back to Mobil 1 and/or Delvac 1. With the MaxLife, those false seals must be coming back in droves, because the leaks are drying up. Such a shame we have to depend on false seals like that, eh?