I have been wondering about all the new purpose oils? ex: the 4x4 oils, high mileage oils, high hp oils, truck/suv oils, etc. Do they offer any benefits over conventional multipurpose motor oil?

Also another ? . We run Supertech 2000 (Wal-Mart) brand oil exclusively since my dad bought a case and the bow was a havoline box that was turned inside out with the st 2000 printed on the reverse side. The boxes were like that for a year and then st 2000 got their own box I guess. My ? is does anyone else run this oil and is it a good oil to use, we have never had any problem when we ran it so are we just lucky or what?

 

I started using Valvoline Maxlife 7 years ago in one of my cars, and recently quit using it. The car has 120k on it, but runs like new, no oil leaks or anything.
The reason I quit is because my mechanic advised me that those high mileage oils are for tired worn out engines, and my egine was neither tired or worn out at 120k. I've recently began using Mobils new conventional oil (Mobil 5000).
I suppose it may have a place in some cars, but for every person who vouches for it, there is somene using regular old oil and getting over 200k out of their engine...

 

The oils that you have mentioned are in fact, advertizing ploys to get folks to buy this specific product. There is nothing remarkable about 4x4 oil except that it is on the thick end of its respective range. The same for the high mileage oils. They are on the thick end of their viscosity range and usually have an additive for additional seal swell. Otherwise, they are money makers for the oil companies.

 

I use a lot of Maxlife high mileage oil, but I never bought it for the purpose of a high mileage engine. I bought it because it is a good oil, regardless if it were labeled high mileage or blend (it does have about 15% PAO per MSDS) or just plain old motor oil. In fact, before I knew much about oil, I saw the stuff and rejected it outright based on the high mileage marketing and kept using Durablend. Frankly I think Maxlife is what All Climate should have been and that Maxlife may well be better than Durablend. That said, some will be perfectly happy with Chevron Supreme or Havoline at about half the price.

 

i belive that if you keep your oil changed every 3,000 miles you will be fine. i have heard plenty of bad and good about many motor oils. i even have my own opinions about a couple of them which i dont care for, but i really belive that 3,000 mile oil and filter change will keep your engine happy. i dont buy into any of the high mileage or 4x4 oils. i agree with flash on that one, its only for marketing purposes.

 

But 3000 miles is a one-size-fits-all recommendation. Many vehicles, partly based on driving pattern and miles driven, can go 5000 miles. And with synthetic, OCIs can be much longer than that. And there are engines with consistent 3000-mile changes that are loaded up with sludge.

 

TallPaul,
You mention you've seen engines w/consistant 3000 mile changes with sludge.
Is there any one brand over another that does a better job at preventing this?
I change my every 3000 miles and use Castrol in one car, Mobil 5000 in my other. Both get extemely short trips of 2-5 miles, two to three times in any given day. Ocasionally, they get highway trips, but more in-town driving.

 

I can only say I have seen the crud through the oil filler hole, but have heard about many 3000-mile OCI engines being sludged, primarily from short trip abuse, which seems like what you have. A lot of crap deposits from blowby into the oil and does not get burned off unless you drive a log trip and get the oil good and hot for awhile.

Generally (though this would apply more to hard use than short trips) synthetic runs clean and conventional can leave deposits. Another factor is viscosity index improvers--the more VIIs, the more they can break down and gunk up an engine. Synthetics have less VIIs than conventional. Likewise, tighter viscosity spreads like 10w30 have less VIIs than say a 10w40 or 5w30.

Of course, todays VIIs are much better than the olden days. Some blenders use PAO (Group IV synthetic) or ester (Group V synthetic) for VII. These are much better than the cheap plasticy VIIs, which don't lubricate.

As for a particular brand, I can't tell you which would be the best. I like Maxlife. It seems to perform well for me. I have heard a lot of good things about Mobil Clean 7500; the Clean 5000 is probably pretty decent too. I went synthetic (Group III though) on wife's Aerostar because it takes a fair amount of short trips. Seems to be working out well so far.

Actually, I believe HDMO oils are built for abuse because the environment in a diesel is pretty harsh. A good HDMO may very well be your best bet. Note, only run an HDMO that has the gasoline engine rating (like SL) on it along with the CF-4 (or whatever it is) for diesels. Problem is these oils typically are only found in 15w40, though most make them in 10w30 also.

 

I think rotella would be a good all around oil if it were'nt so expensive

 

TallPaul,
Actually, Mobile clean 5000/7500 and of course the syn are SM-CF rated.
Yep, even their conventional is SM-CF. So what you are saying is that this API rating is better for short trips?

 

I am not extremely familar with diesel ratings, but I believe CF is an old rating and only suitable for light diesels, whereas CF-4 can be used in heavier duty diesels. I take it as a good sign when a passenger car oil also has CF, so maybe you are in great shape with the Mobil 5000 or 7500. I would guess any higher detergent oil would be a good short tripper oil, including high mileage oils. One with a lot of calcium would absorb a lot of the acidic fallout.

 

TallPaul
Well there you have it...it seems this forum can now validate the best conventional oil available on the market (Mobil 5000) which is SM-CF rated.
Althought, it won't happen.