Where Does Valvoline Get Their Base Oils

[OilReport99]

Originally Posted by Gokhan
SK's 4.16 cSt Yubase 4 Plus Group III+ base stock has Noack = 13.0% and VI = 134.

SK's 6.52 cSt Yubase 6 Group III base stock has Noack = 7% and VI = 131.

With Group III/III+ base stocks of such high quality, Valvoline or any other oil blender can formulate excellent oils without resorting to GTL or PAO.

http://www.yubase.com/eng/product/pr_technical_01typical.asp

There are many other suppliers:

https://www.neste.com/companies/solutions/base-oils/products
https://www.phillips66.com/customers/base-oil
https://lubricants.petro-canada.com/en-us/brand/purity-vhvi-specialty-base-fluids
https://www.saudiaramco.com/en/creating-value/products/base-oils
https://www.repsol.com/en/products-...ge/oils/lubricant-base-oils/index.cshtml
https://www.motiva.com/Customers/Motiva-Lubes/Buy-Base-Oils

At the end of the day, it's more the formulator's expertise and skill than where the base stocks come from that determines the quality of the oil outcome. Valvoline is one of the more knowledgeable companies out there, with active scientists/researchers. The specs of Valvoline Advanced Synthetic motor oil are very impressive. I religiously used their DEXRON® ATF in my old Corolla, and the transmission ran like clockwork.


Same with wine making. It all comes down to human action. Always.
For centuries, it was widely accepted good wines only came from Bordeaux. Now we know Napa, Spain, South Oz, etc. are capable of making similar quality elixirs.

As far as I'm concerned, and within my limited knowledge of motor oils, Valvoline is second to none. Base oils be [censored].

 

[Gokhan]

In fact there is a study for that.

Better base oil (PAO) not necessarily better performance: A study of 5W-40 oils

 

[OilReport99]

Thanks for the link.

 

[john_pifer]

Originally Posted by Gokhan
SK's 4.16 cSt Yubase 4 Plus Group III+ base stock has Noack = 13.0% and VI = 134.

SK's 6.52 cSt Yubase 6 Group III base stock has Noack = 7% and VI = 131.

With Group III/III+ base stocks of such high quality, Valvoline or any other oil blender can formulate excellent oils without resorting to GTL or PAO.

http://www.yubase.com/eng/product/pr_technical_01typical.asp

There are many other suppliers:

https://www.neste.com/companies/solutions/base-oils/products
https://www.phillips66.com/customers/base-oil
https://lubricants.petro-canada.com/en-us/brand/purity-vhvi-specialty-base-fluids
https://www.saudiaramco.com/en/creating-value/products/base-oils
https://www.repsol.com/en/products-...ge/oils/lubricant-base-oils/index.cshtml
https://www.motiva.com/Customers/Motiva-Lubes/Buy-Base-Oils

At the end of the day, it's more the formulator's expertise and skill than where the base stocks come from that determines the quality of the oil outcome. Valvoline is one of the more knowledgeable companies out there, with active scientists/researchers. The specs of Valvoline Advanced Synthetic motor oil are very impressive. I religiously used their DEXRON® ATF in my old Corolla, and the transmission ran like clockwork.


So, do you think that Valvoline's small size, compared with Mobil, Castrol, and Shell allows their chemists/engineers more carte Blanche to make better oils? Because, from following some of these recent threads that you've been involved in (very interesting, BTW), Valvoline's oils seem to be superior to those from the Big 3 I just mentioned, in terms of their much more limited need for VM/VII, and low volatility.

In fact, these threads have had me considering switching my truck to Valvoline, and it's never had anything but M1 of some flavor in the crankcase since I did its first oil change at 3000 miles.

I am very interested in oils with low volatility and very limited VM/VII, particularly for the fiancée's Civic 1.5T.

 

[Gokhan]

Originally Posted by john_pifer
So, do you think that Valvoline's small size, compared with Mobil, Castrol, and Shell allows their chemists/engineers more carte Blanche to make better oils? Because, from following some of these recent threads that you've been involved in (very interesting, BTW), Valvoline's oils seem to be superior to those from the Big 3 I just mentioned, in terms of their much more limited need for VM/VII, and low volatility.

In fact, these threads have had me considering switching my truck to Valvoline, and it's never had anything but M1 of some flavor in the crankcase since I did its first oil change at 3000 miles.

I am very interested in oils with low volatility and very limited VM/VII, particularly for the fiancée's Civic 1.5T.

I don't know if the overall performance of Valvoline Advanced Synthetic is superior to competitors' oils such as Pennzoil Platinum or Mobil 1. Nevertheless, its VII content (less is better) and base-oil viscosity (higher is better) are superior. However, other Valvoline oils such as Modern Engine don't necessarily share these superior properties.

Valvoline claims they are different from competitors because they have an in-house engine-testing laboratory, and they don't outsource their research, which allows them to develop their motor oils more efficiently.

http://investors.valvoline.com/news...ghts-Unique-State-of-the-Art-Engine-Lab/

"While most other lubricant companies outsource test capabilities, Valvoline keeps research in-house, providing consumers with an added level of assurance, setting us apart from our competitors and providing consumers with an unparalleled level of product security."

The first and only dedicated engine lab -- Team Valvoline

 

[nlife]

I've been interested in Valvoline Full Synthetic for a while now. From what I can see in VOA's, Valvoline FS 5w30 has a VERY similar add pack to Castrol Magnatec (which is hard to find around here) and is usually priced $10 cheaper than the other name brand synthetics.

 

[Gokhan]

My take on Valvoline Advanced Synthetic vs. Valvoline Modern Engine:

From what I can see, Valvoline Advanced Synthetic and Valvoline Modern Engine are of similar quality.

The difference is that Valvoline Advanced Synthetic has a somewhat high ash content at 0.97%. While it's not stated for Valvoline Modern Engine, I expect it to be around 0.8%.

Therefore, Valvoline Modern Engine could be better at its marketing claim, which is reducing the intake-valve deposits (IVD) in GDI engines, because of its lower ash content.

However, I like the lower VII content and thicker base oil of Valvoline Advanced Synthetic better, and it would definitely be my choice for a non-GDI engine, especially with a turbocharger.

 

[4WD]

In reality several of them can afford engine labs … but might prefer an independent lab … and can catalog and analyze parts in house no matter where the tear down took place.

 

[Mad_Hatter]

Originally Posted by 4WD
In reality several of them can afford engine labs … but might prefer an independent lab … and can catalog and analyze parts in house no matter where the tear down took place.

It's nice (to their credit) that Valvoline has their own in house testing capabilities and that separates them apart from most "blenders" but they're hardly the only one that do. Most of the majors have in house capabilities (Chevron for example has a whole division and it's joint venture w/ConocoPhillips, so does XOM and Shell) and the money to fund very expensive, ong term field test programs. That's where the rubber meets the road, so to speak...

 

[Gebo]

Originally Posted by oldhp
OP asks a legitimate question and gets slammed. Why? If you don't have anything nice to say.......just skip it and let it go. Geeez.................



Sad, ain't it? Some people are frustrated with their lives and being mean to others helps relieve their frustration.

 

[Gebo]

oops