Why is using HPL for short drain intervals a waste?

Glenda W. said:
Here’s my experience. I’ve run 5k mile intervals from day one with mostly Mobil 1 and Valvoline bought at Walmart. My engine internals are spotless. My pistons are not. Oil consumption started at 60k and has steadily gotten worse. I’m now at 120k and testing Valvoline R&P for the four intervals. It’s hard to blame the oil because of the low tension oil rings but I have to wonder if a boutique would have prevented this problem.
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How do you know that? I am not saying they are or not dirty but some engines with low tension rings seem to be prone to higher oil consumption regardless of oil used or OCI.
I am sure most of the boutique oils are high quality lubes but IMO it has been a long time since they offered any significant advantage over the major players when regular OCI are observed. I never did extended OCI and never will and never had any issues on engines I have owned since day 1 that required or would even benefit from "cleaning" unless there was a design flaw of some sort like the early Honda VCM engines. JMHO
 
Trav said:
How do you know that? I am not saying they are or not dirty but some engines with low tension rings seem to be prone to higher oil consumption regardless of oil used or OCI.
I am sure most of the boutique oils are high quality lubes but IMO it has been a long time since they offered any significant advantage over the major players when regular OCI are observed. I never did extended OCI and never will and never had any issues on engines I have owned since day 1 that required or would even benefit from "cleaning" unless there was a design flaw of some sort like the early Honda VCM engines. JMHO
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It’s certainly engine dependent. Problem is you don’t know if your engine needs it until it’s to late. My daughter’s Acura gets the same 5k intervals and doesn’t burn a drop(mobil 1 esp). I’ve resealed my cam covers on my Subaru due to seepage and the engine looks new inside. I used a borescope to look at the cylinder walls and piston tops. I could see the carbon build up around the pistons from oil use and oil wash on the perimeter of the pistons where the rings are stuck(common signs). I feel the solvency of a boutique would have kept the rings free. Not many ots oils claim to actually clean and only one now claims to clean piston deposits(R&P).
 
Mobil 1 0w40 has claimed to actually clean and still does. The boutique companies buy their base stock from one of the big producers and from one of four additive package vendors and while the major players may blend to a price point for much of their lines I am sure their top sauce is pretty darn good if not equal to for less money simply because they are huge and can produce and distribute many times the amount.
The Subaru condition you speak of is very common. Subaru runs a very rich tune for cold start, in some engine way too rich, so much so on the old ones that used side feed injectors it would drive the oil level half way up the dipstick over a full winter of short trip driving.
The solution is to tweak the fuel maps using a tuning tool (I use ROM Raider and EcuFlash with a Tactrix cable), there are plenty of forums and files to guide you.

This is Mobil 1 0w40, for $27 at Wallys it is hard to beat, you use what you see fit, your money and your car. I am a hard sell I guess.

https://www.mobil.com/en/lubricants/for-personal-vehicles/our-products/products/mobil-1-fs-0w-40
 
Trav said:
Mobil 1 0w40 has claimed to actually clean and still does. The boutique companies buy their base stock from one of the big producers and from one of four additive package vendors and while the major players may blend to a price point for much of their lines I am sure their top sauce is pretty darn good if not equal to for less money simply because they are huge and can produce and distribute many times the amount.
The Subaru condition you speak of is very common. Subaru runs a very rich tune for cold start, in some engine way too rich, so much so on the old ones that used side feed injectors it would drive the oil level half way up the dipstick over a full winter of short trip driving.
The solution is to tweak the fuel maps using a tuning tool (I use ROM Raider and EcuFlash with a Tactrix cable), there are plenty of forums and files to guide you.

This is Mobil 1 0w40, for $27 at Wallys it is hard to beat, you use what you see fit, your money and your car. I am a hard sell I guess.

https://www.mobil.com/en/lubricants/for-personal-vehicles/our-products/products/mobil-1-fs-0w-40
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Funny, that’s exactly what I used…still have stuck rings, still burning oil.
 
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Trav said:
Subaru runs a very rich tune for cold start, in some engine way too rich, so much so on the old ones that used side feed injectors it would drive the oil level half way up the dipstick over a full winter of short trip driving.
The solution is to tweak the fuel maps using a tuning tool (I use ROM Raider and EcuFlash with a Tactrix cable), there are plenty of forums and files to guide you.
Click to expand...
Running rich has zero to do with my 18 Outback burning oil. It’s stuck low tension oil rings.
 
You didn't say what year it was. Good luck with whatever you choose to use. Any recall on this one? I know on some of the earlier ones 2013-14 they were replacing the short block.
 
camrydriver111 said:
When the topic of HPL comes up a lot of people say you must run long drain intervals to get good value.

Why is this the case?

You are getting the best oil in the world, that protects under all conditions. Of course there will be a price premium for that.

Even when you run short OCIs it will protect better than a non-boutique oil.
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Tell us you drank the Kool-Aid without telling us you drank the Kool-Aid
 
I am low education ( HS only ) but I use it for “extended oil drains” in my GDI aka following the OLM and not changing it early without any proof it will make my engine last longer or never consume oil.

I have faith in its quality to last at least as long as what the OLM says.

🙂
 
No, there is no discernible difference, on average, when comparing UOAs for any oil (syn or not) under normal OCI lengths- this is according to blackstone.

Where these boutique oils can shine is when doing extended drains.

If you use HPL at a regular factory recommended oci it’s like taking a very high end multivitamin with 1000% of the RDA for all vitamins when you don’t need it- you end up just pissing the majority of it out (along with your $)
 
My reasoning for hpl and even Schaeffer is trusting it for the full length of my OLM which is around 10k. I’d normally use shelf oil for 5k. Nothing lab tested just more so piece of mind. Even at $70 to $80 it’s still cheaper than what my neighbor pays at the quick lube. I’m sure Mobil 1 or even supertech would last just as long but oh well.
 
OilStainedNapkin said:
No, there is no discernible difference, on average, when comparing UOAs for any oil (syn or not) under normal OCI lengths- this is according to blackstone.

Where these boutique oils can shine is when doing extended drains.

If you use HPL at a regular factory recommended oci it’s like taking a very high end multivitamin with 1000% of the RDA for all vitamins when you don’t need it- you end up just pissing the majority of it out (along with your $)
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I would not feel comfortable using a synthetic blend oil ( closest thing to non synthetic oil 0w20 since they don’t make a totally non synthetic 0w20 ) in a 3.3 litre oil sump GDI engine regardless what the OLM says unless verified by UOA.

That would be the cheapest oil I could use in my car but I wouldn’t trust it.
 
We have seen people on this very forum that have switched to HPL from top shelf oils at Wally World and the like and end up with good bits of junk in their filters, so it isn’t quite true that any OTS oil will keep motor and rings spotless. That being said, I know there are tons of variances in engines and driving conditions that influence that.

What you get with HPL is an oil formulated to a performance point, not a price point. It will maintain good protection for longer, 10k, 20k, 30k, changes etc. if you aren’t concerned about that and don’t have extreme fuel dilution issues then yeah HPL may be a waste.
 
For the guys who claim a wally OTC oil will not clean, this is after a couple of OCI with Mobil 1 0w40 over about 2 years in a badly varnished engine with a lot of depsits.
The piston at the top center is partially blocked by the pickup tube and is taking longer than the other 5 but look at the lower right, the inside of the piston is getting very clean. All the rings were free and good compression and leak down numbers on all cylinders.
Looking at the oil dripping you can see the red color of varnish in the oil.

This is not to say another oil may or may not clean better or quicker but IMO it does dispel the argument that nothing other than one of those can do a good job or show UOA's that are similar. It has nothing to do with price, being cheap, being uneducated it has to do with what my lying eyes are seeing.

SAM_1118.webp


Is Mobil 1 false advertising?

https://www.mobil.com/en/lubricants...motor-oil/mobil-1-keeps-engines-running-clean
 
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