Road Rage

MaxLife Synthetic is safe for new and rebuilt engines and will not void new car warranties. Recommended for engines specifying API SL/SJ, ACEA A3/B3/B4, BMW LL01/98, VW502.00/505.00, MB229.3/229.1. See owners manual for appropriate viscosity.

Sizes and Grades


Name 5W-30 Motor Oil
Size Quart
Part VV179
UPC 0-74130-00179-4

Name 10W-30 Motor Oil
Size Quart
Part VV180
UPC 0-74130-00180-0


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Yet another outstanding product from Valvoline's MaxLife line. This is a full synthetic with extra wear and anti-friction agents, seal conditioners, reduced volatility, and detergents compared to their regular synthetics - everything you wanted from a synthetic, and more.

Note that it meets the European mfr's long-Life specs in a 10w30 vis for the S2000.

Bob A (SD)

Glenn,

Do you plan on doing an analysis? I'd be curious as to your thoughts comparing this product to LE 8130 synblend. I'm sure both are great choices for our S2000s with extended OCIs. But between the differences in additive chemisty alone there ought to be some minor comparative pluses and minus, right? Or are are we talking diminishing returns in examining the little niggles here?

Best!

--Bob

tron1

Great info... the oil would be good in my beater Lexus SC300....I was using Shell Rotella T 5w-40...
Thanks for the info.

Road Rage

Why would it be useful in a beater as opposed to regular MaxLife? - this looks like a premium product, and is not available in 5w40.

Bob: I do thoink it comes down to niggles, unless we are talking about extended drain intervals. Then things change and detailed study is in order. I simply do not have the time to test everything out there, although i usually get to most of them.

I think people have forgotten an old mechanic's adage - find a quality product, and try to stick with it. There is some truth that because of viscosity, volatility, and additive chemistry, any oil and the ring/cylinder/piston skirt areas do kind of get "friendly" - that is, the wear/honing settles in based on the lubricity, longevity, viscosity integrity, and additives. UOA's can demonstrate that, and switching around a lot changes things, makes it impossible to baseline your OCI's. For example, if LE's Monolec does leave a protective film on the rings and piston skirts, switching to something else might remove it, increase wear for a bit, or give a false reading as one oil's chemistry cleans anothers.

I am not saying it is unwise or harmful to change as technology changes, but I would find a top niche oil you like and which supports your OCI strategy, and stick with it until a real breakthrough occurs. Even then, mechanicals and engine materials may have to adjust to make safe, enhanced use of those products. Seals and ring/bore materials come to mind immediately.

There is research going on now that will result in amazing new lubricants - as I have posted before, we will see a new class of lubes that require new standards of measurement and labelling, since a -10w5 would be prohibitively confusing to old-timers, and poison in the marketing of those products.

I suggest moderation in many things in life, and not to obsess over the latest greatest. I weak khakis and jeans most of the the time, and they serve me well - if I am not a fashion maven, so be it. With oil, I know what works and what does not, and have tried to pass along a way of thinking as much as specific recommendations to this Board - become a member of bobistheoilguy.com and read and try to learn from some of those guys as well - many there know their stuff, and over time, you will learn to examine and UNDERSTAND what a UOA can tell you.

Results vary from car to car, climate to climate, driver to driver, yet you will see certain consistencies from which you can extrapolate a lot. Mobil products tend to thin out, Amsoil has been showing some thickening trends, Royal Purple has not been shown to do well in extended drain situations, and the much criticized "too thin" Motorcraft 5w20 synblend has demonstrated remarkable results, amazing me as well (this may be a harbinger of those new concoctions i mentioned - the product is made by Conoco).

Hope this helps.

Bob A (SD)

Glenn,

Your response does help. And frankly with just 2k miles on my sled, a recent dump of break-in oil for a Pennzoil 10w30 + Valvoline MaxLife engine protector refill, and a full case of 24 qts of LE 8130 sitting in my garage ready for insertion at 5k miles, I already have my course set. I also switched to Valvoline Maxlife 10w30 in my '99 Subie Forester. The reason for my post was to head off questions from other forumites if this oil was going to become your new gold standard -

For those that do take the time to read all your posts they'll find that you have opined a number of oils for different scenerios based on objective analyses. The aforementioned Pennzoil multi-grade or Valvoline All Climate are dubbed excellent dino oils which with either Valvoline Maxlife Engine protector additive or Mr. Moly Break-In additive are excellent replacements for Honda's high moly count S2K break in oil. On their own these dino oils will serve well for folks who plan to change their oil every 3k miles or so after break in.

You've taken great pains to explain synthetics with all their attributes and have noted Amsoil 2000 for a Group IV and Redline for a Group V as being excellent with longer OCIs. Lubrication Engineer's LE-8130 is a synthetic blend that because of their quality control and additive chemistry is also an excellent choice for longer interval oil changes.

This is just for engine oil. Your work on finding a suitable GL-5 90w differential oil has lead us to LE 607. Comments have been made about transmission fluids too. And it goes on.

You, and folks like xviper, continue to do us all a great service with your informational posts. But I have seen, and I know xviper has lamented, the fact that many seem unwilling to invest the time to search, read, and digest the data available. Certainly the sticky for consolidated data on oils in the UTH forum should expedite things for those seeking information, but as witnessed by recent posts about what LE 607 was and where to get it, some still need gentle rudder corrections.

So I think I've accomplished my aim here in eliciting your succinct reply above. No one should be asking if Valvoline Maxlife oil is now "the" oil. It simply joins a list of other excellent oils which will collectively offer owners and their cars great choices from which to find a best fit over a wide range of maintainence scenarios / preferences. One size does not fit all. Get to know the best options and their optimal applications and then make a choice.

Again Glenn, your efforts are much appreciated.

Best!

--Bob

tron1

I had previously assumed that automotive oils labeled as: "Max Life" "SUV Oil" "High Rev" oil, "Oil for Small Engines" "High Mileage Oil" "Oil for cars with pistons" (couldnt resist that one) etc. etc., was nothing more than an advertising gimmick. At least the oil you identified really does have unique properties and are not purely marketing driven.

Road Rage

Bob: You amaze me with your thoughtful and considered responses - you "get it". I think others have as well - the Internet encourages a "sound bite" mentality - you and others have gone deeper, and now know more than 99% of the mechanics out there about issues related to options and choices. I commend you.

Tron: In some other companies than Valvoline, MaxLife-type products for older cars, and LL oils in general have been merely marketing copy, not rooted in substance. MaxLife is. I think Valvoline should earn respect for that - they have always been a stanbup company.

Oh, I found this quote on their site: it speaks for itself. It is from a section on "changing ATF":

"Changing ATF is one of those messy jobs that someone has to do. Doing the deed yourself will save money and possibly time. Just as Keith Richards allegedly gets his blood changed in Switzerland at regular intervals, fresh ATF can make your gearbox perform young beyond its years."

INDYMAC

RR,
I appreciate all of your analysis (literary talents included) and evaluation of lubrication products. From the information you have provided I chose to switch to LE-607 for the gear box at 3K miles and plan to replace it soon (after 12K miles/approx 1 year). I also chose to use Valvoline MAXLife synthetic 10-30W at 7.5K miles, changed it at 11K, and plan to change it out again in a week or so at 15K. All of the oil changes have included a Honda oil filter change as well.

Operator's Analysis of MAXLife Synthetic:
-In general, this 2.2L Honda engine likes this stuff. Valve train noise completely disappeared after about 1000 miles of use, even at cold start-up.
-Oil consumption has been zero throughout entire oil change cycles...even after a FATT at Summit Point Raceway (at the end of the day there were dried, dark oil residue blotches on the lower lip of the exhaust tips).
-Engine runs smoothly and effortlessly in all power bands/RPM's. Initial dyno with break-in oil at 3K resulted in 208-210 RWHP (3 runs). I'll be doing another dyno soon to determine if there has been any dropoff/gain.
-Concerns...This oil runs way too clean. Even after 3-4K miles it appears only a little darker amber colored than when fresh. Although it provides superior lubrication, I wonder if it has enough detergent in it. I have a K&N air filter installed which theoretically and historically should allow more silicon (dirt) than the OEM filter to enter the engine.

Scientific Analysis:
-When I reach 15K (soon), I will have a UOA done on MAXLife Synthetic and LE-607 and report the results here for the library. Is there any particular company that you can recommend that meets your research needs? Also, I usually run a bottle of Chevron fuel injector cleaner through before an oil change. Should I forego that procedure for UOA purposes?

Thanks,
Jack

jyeung528

any other feedback/observations from using valvos maxlife synthetic?

jyeung528

Indymac,

you mention zero oil consumption....but what was your oil consumption prior to using valvo's maxlife synth?

04's usually don't consumer oil anyway.