Synthetic Blend Motor oil....

[jcountry]

Opinions on Valvoline High Mileage??

I am not very familiar with synthetic blend.

Is it worth fooling with?

(I have a very high mileage car-but I've never tried synthetic blend.)

 

[sparked1]

Yes. Use the Penzoil stuff.

 

[Gent]

I believe the high mileage oils have additives to swell seals. Once you use it you will need to continue to do so. As far as synthetic oil goes I use it in my bikes and it does make a difference. Better oil pressure when hot. Check out Bob is the oil guy website for more information than you need on oil.

 

[sparked1]

Started using Penzoil Platinum full synthetic high mileage stuff in my wife's suv and mpg went from 18 to 20.6 per the trip computer. Same 5w30, same driving pattern. Was not expecting that. The oil keeps its amber color much longer. I change it between 7.5k and 10k. Great stuff.

 

[Colossus]

High milage is not good. I read somewhere that it messes with gaskets, as been posted earlier.
If the car POS. Cheap will work.

Synthetic got different grades now. I think it's like 4 or 5 grades.
Most synthetics are 3 or 4.

 

[Jeddak]

Oy vey. Lots of misinformation in this thread. I am a BITOG junky.
To OP: Valvoline High mileage is excellent HM oil. It has a higher percentage of syn oil than many other blends. 75%, IIRC. I use HM Synpower and QS Defy (Defy has higher zinc content, same as in SL class . Zinc was really knocked down in SN classification)
Synthetic oil does NOT swell seals. It does, however, clean out crud better than regular dino oil, so it will unmask a plugged up leak. Especially tru about ester based oils (group 5). Esters are natural cleaners.
Engine oils are grouped in 5 groups:
Group 1 basically non-detergent oils. Stay away.
Group 2 dino or conventional oil. Run it for 5K miles.
Group 3 Synthetic (Motul 8100, Valvoline Synpower, reg Penzoil Platinum). Highly refined dino oil, maybe with some hydro cracking. Use for 7.5K miles.
Group 4 Synthetic, PAO oils, such Royal Purple, better Mobil oils. 10K+ miles
Group 5 Synthetic, esther based and all other man-made, G-Oil (made from beef tallow), Amsoil, IIRC, etc.10K+ miles.
Longer oil runs need an oil filter designed to last longer: more robust media, more dirt holding capacity.

Color of the oil is not indicative of its effectivness. Additive package as well as the amount of pollutants dissolved in the oil determine how quickly the color changes. Used Oil Analysis is really the only unbiased way to compare one oil with another in a particular engine.
HM oil does not swell the gaskets either. It has additives that try to restore elasticity to an old seal, but they will not swell up a seal, or fix a physically damaged seal..

PS to comment on color. I added half a bottle of Lubromoly to my minivan's oil this weekend. It had Group 3 Motul8100 in it now. 8100 is a low SAP diesel/gasoline oil. Color changed immediately to darker brown/gray. That's moly in the mix.
I added a shot of Moly to help with with some of the cylinder issues that 3.6 Pentastar has been having. My engine is fine, but I am not an average car owner. I add MMO to the gasoline with every fill-up as UCL and to lube the fuel pump as well as add Moly to boost additives in oil and prolong engine life.

 

[bigt61]

Mobil 1 synthetic is running a $12 or $15 rebate special right now

You can view the rebates on the Mobil 1 website And fill it out electronically

 

[Jeddak]

Mobil 1 makes both Group 3 and group 4 Synthetics. Long life are Group 4.

Also, oil does not go bad. Every year Autozone clears a lot of oil to make room for new brands and weights. I have 3-4 years worth of synthetic and semi-syn ouil that I had picked up for $2 a quart, such as M1 Advanced Fuel Economy 0w30 and QS Defy 5w30.
You can use 0w-30 oil in ANY place where 5w-30 is recommended. All it does is give you better start up protection. To make 0w manufacturers have to use much more synthetic base oil and better additive packages (more stable viscosity modifiers in particular), so, all things being equal, a 0w30 oil is more robust than 5w30 oil of the same brand and type.

PS OP, this the only other additive I recommend adding to oil, beside Lubromoly and MMO (under certain circumstances)
https://www.amazon.com/Liqui-Moly-2...UTF8&qid=1492608126&sr=8-2&keywords=oil+saver

I have used it when I had no High Mileage oil on hand, and it worked great. If you were closer, I would give you a bottle or two, I had stocked up on the cheap.

Oil Saver had to pass German governemnt test (as all of Liqui Moly products) to prove that it does what it says it does.

 

[jcountry]

Great advice, guys!

Thanks!

 

[DADI03]

Jeddak Once you use a full synthetic do you have to keep using it?