maxlife synthetic

[spande]

I recently picked up some Maxlife Syn 5/30. 3 bottles were the older designation of SL in the donut, while 2 bottles had the SM/CF designation.

The older bottles w/ the SL designation did indicate it execeeds SM and was GF-4, just not in the donut. Actually, I was a bit confused about this a few months ago, and this board helped me understand what was happening.

However, this time on the new bottles, I did notice the BMW LL-04 spec whereas the old bottle is BMW LL01/98. It also seems to have the recent MB sepcs as well. I called Valvo to see if it is the same oil, with a more up to date label. The tech told me they were different, with a little better base oil and better add pack. When i asked if it was a Group III, he stated they do not provide that info, but the maxlife syn "was a higher group" than group III. I will likely just get three of the newer bottles, but was curious if anyone had any comments or concerns?

In case anyone is wondering, the motor is a VQ35 in an Pathfinder with about 70k on it. Did use GC (only once at about 60k, after ARX rinse was complete), but noticed a drop in MPG (although motor was very smooth). Replaced GC w/Maxlife Syn at 65k did make a difference in MPG. Have not done a UOA, want to get a few oil changes after the ARX before I do one.

 

[TallPaul]

Not really answering your question, but I picked up a botle of 10w30 Synthtic Maxlife the other day and saw it was SM/CF ACEA A3, whereas the 10w30 Synpower was only SM/CF ACEA A1. I think the Maxlife is the better synthetic of the two. the SL has more zddp.

 

[spande]

TallPall, I also understand the maxlife to be the better of the two, and in general to be a very good oil. Will likely do a UOA on the next run to see how it performs.

 

[Clyde65]

^^
Both you guys are extremely lucky. No Maxlife full synthetic in my area unless I go through the trouble of ordering it through a distributor.

 

[Drew99GT]

geez Clyde, that's like a crack addict not being able to find a rock

hehe, just kiddin.

 

[Rand]

Wow.. every store around me has the syn..
heck one of the walmarts even has 5qt bottles of it.

 

[Clyde65]

quote:

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Originally posted by Rand:
Wow.. every store around me has the syn..
heck one of the walmarts even has 5qt bottles of it.

---

Alright alright do you have to rub it in? Why don't you just get a pitch fork and poke me with it while you at it?

 

[bighead]

*jumps up and down waving hands*

OH, OH, ME ME ME!!! Can I do it!!??

 

[TallPaul]

I have some 20 or so quarts Maxlife Synthetic, most at $2 each from the AutoZone clearance 1.5 years ago, and 6 SM from the FAR offer a couple months ago. Haven't used it yet, but as soon as the Redline OCI is finished in the Aerostar 3.0, it will get Maxlife Synthetic for the rest of its life.

 

[Tim]

quote:

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Originally posted by TallPaul:
I have some 20 or so quarts Maxlife Synthetic, most at $2 each from the AutoZone clearance

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I am down to about 75 quarts of the $2 MaxLife Synthetic left...

Time to start looking for the next deal.

 

[Rand]

I have a mere 25qts of maxlife syn it seems
my grandma, dad, friend and girlfriend all wanted to
"TRY" maxlife... with the rebate deal.

 

[KieferS]

You guys are slowwwly turning me into an oil junky. I was at K-Mart yesterday- and i stood there looking at oil for 45 minutes. my mom is like "you OK" salesman: you need some help? well- to answer, mom- i think so. The sales man- he doesn't know the difference between sm and sa. Now- if i were to buy '25' quarts of oil, and stack it in my room- i think my mom would take me to a psychologist

 

[texasproud]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Rand:
I have a mere 25qts of maxlife syn it seems
my grandma, dad, friend and girlfriend all wanted to
"TRY" maxlife... with the rebate deal.

---

I don't have as many grandmothers as you do ...I only scored 20 qts.

 

[spande]

I asked the Val tech people the following question via email:

"I recently purchased Maxlife Syn 5W-30. Some bottles indicate SL in the
API donut, but state in the text of the label Exceeds SM/SL. The other
bottles (I assume newer) indicates SM in the API donut. Is this the same
oil with a new label, since the older bottle also stated it exceeded SM
cert, or is there a real difference between the formulations (base stock or add pack)? Also, is there a difference in viscosity? The MSDS you have on your site seems to be outdated, is there a newer MSDS or spec sheetavaialble?"

This is the answer I received back this morning:

"Yes that is the same oil just with a new label."

This is the answer I sort of expected, seems as if the phone tech did not know what he was talking about, or did not care.

 

[TallPaul]

Call back later. Some of the techs are much better than others.

 

[BrianWC]

quote:

---

Originally posted by texasproud:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Rand:
I have a mere 25qts of maxlife syn it seems
my grandma, dad, friend and girlfriend all wanted to
"TRY" maxlife... with the rebate deal.

---

I don't have as many grandmothers as you do ...I only scored 20 qts.

---

I can't give mine away to my family! Whenever my parents visit, I try to change their oil but they say "No, we'll let the Honda place do it."

My Maxlife Synth 10W30 will be my winter brew...

 

[NissanMD]

I have a 04 Accord (bought 1/04) with 83K now. It's had synthetics from 30K with 7.5K OCIs. Since I have 5 quarts of the free Maxlife, I was thinking about putting that in for 3-4K to possibly "clean" the engine or getting rid of some varnish that might be present since I've read that it might have some cleaning action. Would I be actually putting in more gunk in the engine my putting in a blend as oppose to staying with synthetics? It seemed like a good idea but now I'm not quite sure. If it's a bad idea, I'll use it on a 02 Oddyssey with 100K that I think I'll switch back to dino since it's driven only 5 miles a day roudtrip and doing frequent OCIs. Any input would be appreciated.

 

[beanoil]

quote:

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Originally posted by KieferS:
Now- if i were to buy '25' quarts of oil, and stack it in my room- i think my mom would take me to a psychologist

---

Nah, but if Mom saw you stack 25 quarts of oil in your room, light candles, chant, and do an Indian dance to entice crude to bubble up in your basement, she may want to see what BITOG is all about. Keep on looking for those deals, and check back in when you hit 400 quarts or so.

 

[surfstar]

quote:

---

Originally posted by NissanMD:
I have a 04 Accord (bought 1/04) with 83K now. It's had synthetics from 30K with 7.5K OCIs. Since I have 5 quarts of the free Maxlife, I was thinking about putting that in for 3-4K to possibly "clean" the engine or getting rid of some varnish that might be present since I've read that it might have some cleaning action. Would I be actually putting in more gunk in the engine my putting in a blend as oppose to staying with synthetics?

---

No harm in that. I've run full syn (M1 almost exclusively, then PenzPlat) in my Mazda for over 100k miles and went with the free Maxlife Syn this last OCI and probably the next one too. I've stuck to 5k OCIs the whole time, though.

 

[va3ux]

You guys are lucky. I have never ever seen MaxLife Synthetic anywhere in Ontario Canada. Maxlife Dino - plenty. But no Synth.