Valvoline Conventional

[buster]

Quote:
About a year ago Valvoline conducted a survey of various 5W-30 conventional products on shear stability and stay-in-grade performance. We went to our local Advance Auto Parts and purchased quarts of the products listed below. We noted that each product was currently labeled with the API SM donut and carried the ILSAC GF-4 starburst. I have included the results of the ASTM D6278 Kurt Orbahn (Bosch diesel injector) test which is typically used to evaluate stay-in-grade shear performance for engine oils. The current API requirement for BOI or VGRA (baseoil interchange or viscosity grade readacross) purposes for a 5W-30 stay-in-grade limit is 8.5cSt. Any 5W-30 that shears below this viscosity does not meet this API requirement for BOI or VGRA. The 8.5cSt viscosity limit is actually below the SAE J300 lower viscosity limit of 9.3cSt. for a SAE 30 grade because the Kurt Orbahn test is more severe than the Seq VIII engine test used to evaluate shear stability when running an API oil licensing program. European ACEA requirements are more severe requiring a higher performance level and a stay-in-grade pass uses the SAE J300 viscosity lower limits. So a 5W-30 must retain a minimum of 9.3cSt after the test. Out of all the oils tested, only the Valvoline oil showed the ACEA level of stay-in-grade performance.

Product Name Valvoline Premium Conv, Castrol GTX, Havoline,Mobil Clean 5000, Quaker State, Pennzoil
SAE Grade all 5W-30
Kinematic Viscosity @40C,cSt: 60.17, 60.59, 54.90, 60.16, 62.46, 61.07
Kinematic Viscosity @100C,cSt: 10.66, 10.59, 9.71, 10.55, 10.43, 10.49

ASTM D6278 Kurt Orbahn Shear (30 pass)
Kin Vis @ 100C, cSt after Shear: 9.42, 9.04, 8.89, 8.8, 8.68, 8.63


From Valvman. 2008.

 

[defektes]

Good thing I use valvoline over the competetion!

well when chevron supreme is not on sale

heheh.

 

[gfh77665]

Val. has worked great for me! MaxLife rocks!

 

[heypete]

Orig: Original (pre-test) viscoscity.
AT: After test viscoscity.
%Diff: Percent difference.

Results are sorted by percent difference.

Code:


Brand Orig AT %Diff

Havoline 9.71 8.89 8.82

Valvoline 10.66 9.42 12.35

Castrol GTX 10.59 9.04 15.79

Mobil 5000 10.55 8.8 18.09

Quaker State 10.43 8.68 18.32

Pennzoil 10.49 8.63 19.46


Looks like Havoline seems to shear less than the others, in this particular test.

 

[river_rat]

Havoline is great oil, IMO.
Valvoline, Castrol, and Havoline are my favorites.

Although, for some strange reason, Kendall GT-1 conventional 10W-40 and 20W-50 burns less than about anything in my air-cooled VW engine.

 

[ThirdeYe]

Gotta love Havoline, sheared the least.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Valvoline has always been my fave oil. I experiment alot,but in the end I always go back to Valvoline.

 

[gfh77665]

Originally Posted By: heypete
Orig: Original (pre-test) viscoscity.
AT: After test viscoscity.
%Diff: Percent difference.

Results are sorted by percent difference.

Code:


Brand Orig AT %Diff

Havoline 9.71 8.89 8.82

Valvoline 10.66 9.42 12.35

Castrol GTX 10.59 9.04 15.79

Mobil 5000 10.55 8.8 18.09

Quaker State 10.43 8.68 18.32

Pennzoil 10.49 8.63 19.46


Looks like Havoline seems to shear less than the others, in this particular test.



Excellent info! By chance do you have more, regarding 5-20 and/or 10-30? Thanks!

 

[heypete]

Originally Posted By: gfh77665
Excellent info! By chance do you have more, regarding 5-20 and/or 10-30? Thanks!


It's just the information in the original post. I just tossed it into a spreadsheet, crunched the numbers on the percent difference, and posted it.

I'd be happy to crunch any numbers you throw at me.

 

[gfh77665]

Maybe Buster has 5-20 & 10-30 numbers, too?

 

[killagt]

I though PYB is best choice for dino oil ? dint we all love PYB ? lol

 

[defektes]

Originally Posted By: killagt
I though PYB is best choice for dino oil ? dint we all love PYB ? lol


I kinda chuckled to myself seeing penzoil products at the bottom of the list.

 

[doitmyself]

I know nothing about oil chemistry, so take this for what it's worth.

A few years ago I had communications about HDEO with the late Stinky Peterson (RIP) of Butler Labs and, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, he told me that the Orbahn shear test had "issues" when using it to compare oil shearing in the real world. In my case, JD Plus 50 ranked worst for shearing in a Schaeffer's Orbahn report, but in Mark's data of over a dozen HDEO's, it was in the middle for shearing (and better than some respected names).

I don't have those e-mails any more and I hope someone more knowledgeable will chime in. Mark "almost" implied that using that test alone was almost like using the 4 ball wear test.

Again, I confess no knowledge of this stuff, I don't report this as proven fact, and hope someone else will educate us.I offer this info to encourage debate and learning.

Here is one web report that questions the test:
ftp://ftp.astmtmc.cmu.edu/docs/diesel/hdeocp/minutes/2001/hdeocp.2001-06/0601ATT18.PDF
"Field data from multiple tests indicates:
– Kurt Orbahn will rank oils differently than the field
» OK within a VII chemistry but not across chemistries
– Degree of protection assumed from KO test may be less than
in the real world"

 

[asamek]

Ruh Roh.

In my last trip into the sixth ring of Hades (Wal Mart), they were out of my standard Motorcraft 5W-20, so I picked up a jug of PYB instead for the next 5k OCI.

I'd go back and swap it out for some of the Valvoline, which was $2 a jug more, but that would mean another trip across the River Styx into the realm of darkness.

So the question is, will my little 3.3 be OK over the next 5,000 miles with the YB, or do I risk my eternal soul by again entering the gates of {edited for cuss word} to save it from certain destruction?

 

[river_rat]

You'll be fine.

 

[PT1]

Originally Posted By: killagt
I though PYB is best choice for dino oil ? dint we all love PYB ? lol


This test is not fair...you need to scrape the solidified wax off the PYB sample before testing...NOT FAIR!!!

 

[asamek]

LOL - I know, river_rat - I just wanted to talk mean about Wal Mart!

 

[mechtech2]

So we can count on dino oils shearing 10-20%.

That's a very nice chart.
I'm surprised after all this time no one else has made tests/comparisons like this.

 

[river_rat]

Originally Posted By: asamek
LOL - I know, river_rat - I just wanted to talk mean about Wal Mart!

That's cool

 

[heypete]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
So we can count on dino oils shearing 10-20%.

That's a very nice chart.
I'm surprised after all this time no one else has made tests/comparisons like this.


In this particular test, yes.

I have no idea how this test reflects real-world operation using these oils.

I suppose I could go through all the VOA/UOAs and see how the oils shear in different engines, but I'm far too lazy to do that. :-D