Which Valvoline Synpower

[virginoil]

"We need a thread containing real experts only"

Read the owners manual if you are unsure which viscosity and grade to use. If you are still unsure use the severe OCI advice.

Not sure how the vehicle manfacturer would feel if they saw this comment as they they are prepared to backup their recommendation with 3 year 100000km warranty in Australia.

Yes, there are very well educated members that have already contibuted valuable information regarding tailoring oil grade for your particular application,use the search facility, to learn the principles then apply it.

Too much takeway mentality (off the shelf, prepackaged advice, ready to use, expert in 10 easy steps etc)in our society and its creeping in all aspects of our way of life. I thought this site was immune to it.

When I first joined the site a poster once wrote "in search of the holy oil grail" I liked that expression as it gave me a challenge to read and learn from what what already available.

 

[Oilgal]

I sure wish people please stop cherry picking, and responding with their misinterpretations of, that one post of mine.

 

[Steve S]

Originally Posted By: 7055
Originally Posted By: tackleberry625
Originally Posted By: Rock_Hudstone
Originally Posted By: Oilgal
I wish I could figure this out and be sure. It is just so hard to sort through all the opinions here!
We need a thread containing real experts only,
In the 60's the "experts" said world was facing a population explosion and widespread famine was in the future, instead we have an obesity epidemic.
After the second oil crisis of 1979 "experts" claimed the world would run out of oil by the year 2000, if not sooner.
"Experts" said housing prices never go down.

The "experts" said 2006/2007 would be very active hurricane seasons. The "experts" said Barack Obama would win the New Hamshire primary.

So much for experts, they are more often wrong than right.

I couldn’t have said it better myself. IMO, "experts" are the ones that have been turning wrenches for years and years and can listen to an engine and pretty much tell you what it wrong with it rather than plugging a computer up to it and letting the computer tell the "expert" what is wrong.


On modern cars, usually the computer is whats wrong with it lol.
Computer cars suck big time I have 3 of them.

 

[PT1]

Originally Posted By: Rock_Hudstone
Originally Posted By: tackleberry625
yea really and yw.....I guess when all else fails, stick with what the people say that build these engines. After all, who knows the engines better then the people that build them?


If manufacturers could choose a motor oil that offers better protection, free of their CAFE burdens, it's more than fair to say they wouldn''t be calling for 5w30/5w-20 weight oils!!


If you ask the guys at GM that design the engines most will tell you to use a 10w30 because of the thicker base oil. But the fuel economy will suffer 2-3%

 

[virginoil]

To wrap this up, think before you POST.

Virginoil

 

[Oilgal]

I did.

 

[LexusAussie]

Can we get this thread back on track please

 

[tackleberry625]

In your opinions, do you think Synpower is a good oil and is it a group III or is it a "true synthetic"?

 

[LexusAussie]

In Australia at least, Synpower is a blend of Groups III and IV. M1 and PP are both Group III, Shell Helix Ultra is Group III etc. It's not a 'Full Synthetic" as such but my view is that as long as you buy a quality oil from a reputable manufacturer (Valvoline is certainly that), keep your OCI and filter changes to reasonable levels it's pretty hard to go wrong.

I tend to favour oils that can handle Australia's higher temps (our Winters are very mild really - what's snow?) during our Spring/Summer period. Synpower will do that and is nmore cost effective than M1.

 

[Doug Hillary]

Hi,
LexusAussie - I believe you are in error, or can you confirm that M1 is indeed a Group 3 lubricant!

Shell Helix Ultra is one of the best lubricants of it type ever made and has used their very advanced XHVI base fluids for a nearly a decade

Regards
Doug

 

[LexusAussie]

Doug,

Confirmed personally with Mobil by phone last week. Same with Castrol for their Magnatec Professional product. Could still be wrong though as the person on the tech line didn't inspire confidence;o)

 

[Doug Hillary]

Hi,
Dave - I suggest you speak with somebody who knows what they are talking about!

If you provide me (privately) the details of the TechLine contact you made (time/date etc) I will take it up with the appropriate Management person!!

I know a little about M1 in its various forms

It actually gets down to about -5C here in the Tropical winters and we sometimes have snow on the Atherton Tablelands - such is OZ. And in the winter we typically have more land area covered in snow here in OZ than the total area of Switzerland

Regards
Doug

 

[LexusAussie]

Doug, wouldn't have a clue who I spoke with ( called in between meetings) but it was their Tech Line. Had similar issues with Castrol and Pennzoil. I've been doing a lot of research at present on Syn oils as I'm looking to change from Castrol Magnatec Professional (Group III if they can be believed) to a Group IV or V. Have used M1 in the past but was put off by the Tech Line and as they don't have the Vis I am looking for (5W-40) for my Lexus. Considering Penrite Sin 5, Motul 8100 or Elf Excellium GP (still researching this one).

I'm a Queenslander myself and my statements were general ones intended for the predominantly US audience who (on balance) don't know much about Australia (no flames please - my best friend is American and lives in Missouri!). Australia has the full range of climates however extremes of cold are generally restricted to Alpine areas (the Tablelands can get cold but I've experienced worse in Central Qld (Tambo), the Maranoa (Roma/St George)and the NT) or are fairly short term at extreme lows (Below 0C). On balance, oils that can handle high temperatures are probably a better focus in Australia particularly for long distances in our Summer (40C is a [censored]!)

Hope that explains where I'm coming from.

Cheers

 

[Shannow]

Dave,
that's Magnatec SP (5W-40) you are talking about ?

Looking at pour point, I'd surmise it's GRIII also. But it has to have some GRV in it to have the magnatec name.

Castrol techs have always told me "fully synthetic", which in Castrol speak means GrIII as well as the rest.

I've seen no evidence down here of Mobil dropping their specs on M1. There's some anecdotal evidence on BITOG of weasel words and some analysis that shows some of the U,S, products may not be "fully synthetic" in a traditional understanding of the word.

My father in law is using Delvac 1 (fully synthetic 5W-40) in his Honda at present. Cheaper than the M1 range, more expensive than Magnatec SP.

BTW, it snowed less than 120km from Sydney last year (and every year before it), included a "white Christmas" 30 years ago.

 

[Doug Hillary]

Hi,
Dave - Shannow is correct (as usual)

If you look at my signature line you will see that I am a prime user of an ExxonMobil product called Delvac 1 5w-40 that Shannow's FIL is using. I have used it for nearly a decade

It is suitable for use in your Lexus. It is a Group4/5 HDEO product with around 20% ester content

M1 has not been "de-specced" but a number of Group 3 products are now sold by by Mobil under various names. Some have both Porsche, VW and MB Approvals

I lived in NSW at Tahmoor (near Picton) for 17 years. It snowed there almost every year

Oh and sorry - Valvoline do make some great products!

Regards
Doug

 

[LexusAussie]

Doug,

Castrol Magnatec SLX Professional is basically a "Synthetic' Magnatec and is only available to Dealers. I managed to get the Castrol Techline to send me an email and an extract is "The base oil is Grp 111 (hydrocraked, high Viscosity Index).
Most oils whether mineral, semi or full synthetic would be compatible to mix."

The recommended OCI for my Lexus is 15K however I qualify for "severe" service and have always changed my oil every 5K.

Haven't any experience with Delvac 1 but will look into it. The Mobil 1 Group III issue seems to be widespread with some interesting posts on various forums such as:

http://www.my350z.com/forum/showthread.php?t=253651&highlight=mobil+1

Shell's XHVI base oil also appears to be a Group III from what I can find out by Google search.

http://books.google.com/books?id=vkYCvwx...L3bWM#PPA409,M1

The "conspiracy theorists" seem to favour that when Castrol won a court case about what is classified as "Synthetic" then Mobil started to use Group III stocks also.

All I can say is that it would save a heap of aggro if manufacturers would simply state on the packaging whether the product complies with Group 1, II etc

It snows pretty much every year in the Blue Mountains (1 or 2 days at best)!

Cheers

 

[LexusAussie]

Thanks Doug

 

[Doug Hillary]

Hi,
Dave - I have undertaken development work for both Mobil and Castrol over many years and worked for Caltex-Chevron for some years

Group 3 products from Castrol are excellent and there are a number sold under a range of "Branding". Many have Approvals from Euro engine makers like BMW, VW and etc

As mentioned earlier Shell developed and commenced using their advanced Group 3 base (XHVI) before some others. Havoline also makes a Group 3 5w-40 synthetic and it is also available in OZ I believe. Their base is "similar" to Shell's XHVI

Some modern Group 3 lubricants as described above outperform many old type "full" synthetic lubricants

I can assure you the Shell Helix Ultra 5w-40 is a real bargain on the OZ market. It is an excellent product that I have used in many engines (I still do) with excellent results. I used a previous 15w-50 version too for many years in Porsche engines

Regards
Doug

 

[LexusAussie]

I'm starting to think I can't see the wood for the trees!

Might try Valvoline Synpower as a good balance (have never been fussed on Castrol products for some reason)

 

[MKZman]

I picked up some SynPower at a BOGO at Advance and want to a longer OCI on 97 Dakota (only 80K). I have been running 10w30 GTX (no issues with oil usage, etc) and changing it about every 6 months. Oil still looks good in my visual UOA ()

I do not drive it more than 5 to 7k per year so I would like to go to an annual OCI. Is 1 yr OCI ok with a synthetic like SynPower?