Been using the Tri-Action for about two months nothing has jumped up and got my attention that there is any difference.
New Quaker State Ultimate Protection
- Thread starter Mathew_Boss
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That's good, Im actually changing the Lexus oil later this week, so Ill get to watch out for it too.
Car needs 6.something quarts, I have about 2 quarts of the non-Tri-Action version left, Ill make up the rest with the Tri-Action.
Once I move to 6 month changes Ill just get whatever 0W-20 happens to be on sale/rebate.
Question for you. Own a 2013 Acura TL since new, it’s now my commuter after my wife got a new car. It uses 0w20 and has been exchanged every 5,000 miles. I now only drive 3,000 miles every 6 months in this car and it’ll be 6 months in a few weeks. What would you do? Would you change it at 6 months or run it for another 6 months + 3000 more miles?
2 of my 3 vehicles run similar to that: my 2017 RAM 1500 (with 5.7L Hemi) and 2011 G37. The G is known to be hard on oil, so I change it every 6 months regardless of mileage. The RAM has a history of possible cam/lifter issues (depending on part quality), so Ive resorted to changing that every 6 months regardless of mileage. Both of those vehicles get about 6K miles per year, mostly stop and go and year-round driving.
Our 3rd vehicle, the 2015 Lexus, is what is spec-ed for 0W-20. We put about 9K miles/year on it, mostly highway. That's what I will be moving to 6 month changes as well, that way I can not have to rely on oil lasting that long *and* it lines up with the other changes. Note: we're in CT, so our weather ranges from hot-ish in the summer to below freezing in the winter. I prefer to have fresh oil in place for the extremes.
In your case, CA, Honda engine, etc...Id be more apt to try to run the 6K in a year. Maybe get a sample analyzed right now?
OTOH, even the cheapest synth should be able to handle 3K-4K miles per year, so you could change it out just to be safe. Especially in CA where its nice all year
I hate changing oil in the cold. Id say even dino oil would work, but 0W-20 dont exist from the dinosaurs. Im not sure Id jump to 5W-20 in the Honda engine, though (though we used to have a 2003 Acura TL and that spec-ed 5W-20)
I have a vehicle which is only driven for short trips about once every 2 weeks, so it only does less than 1k miles a year.
I change oil every 6 months on that vehicle, as from what I've read moisture will accumulate in the oil and not be burnt off due to the short trips and can cause sludge. I also do an engine flush in all vehicles every 3 years, just to clean out any sludge that my frequent OCI's still leave there, as my engine type is prone to sludge due to high heat in the front 3 cylinder heads. The cost for this is very minimal, as the engine flush only costs me $10 per car once every 3 years.
I change oil every 6 months on that vehicle, as from what I've read moisture will accumulate in the oil and not be burnt off due to the short trips and can cause sludge. I also do an engine flush in all vehicles every 3 years, just to clean out any sludge that my frequent OCI's still leave there, as my engine type is prone to sludge due to high heat in the front 3 cylinder heads. The cost for this is very minimal, as the engine flush only costs me $10 per car once every 3 years.
Is your engine tough on the oil:
Direct injection (fuel dilution), turbos (high heat), etc.
If it's not tough on the oil, a regular full synthetic of your choice should be fine for 6k/12 month OCI.
If it's tough on the oil, there are 2 approaches, both of them fine.
[1] Use a regular full synthetic and change more frequently.
[2] Use a PAO/Esther based expensive oil and change less often.
The choice is yours.
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Any results from the voa?
I’m considering running this in a 0w-20 for my next oil change, ether that or valvoline extended protection with maxlife 0w-20
I’ve been running valvoline extended protection 0w-20 for the last 20k miles.
And it’s been doing well at 5/6k Mile oci’s
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I am using it currently and it has been burning a bit...none of the oils I have used thus far have done that.
If you were running a 5,000 to 7,500 mile OCI you could try a 10,000 mile OCI with the new QS and get a UOA done to check wear metrics - order the TBN test as well to see how much life (TBN) left in the oil .
Personally, I would not change a thing with the Acura TL. You are far out of warranty and 5000 miles on a name brand 0W20 is not a problem -- whatsoever with that Honda engine.
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Everybody is waiting on the QSUP VOA sample
This Russian oil sample is not it
I’ll post the 5W-30 sample as soon as I get an email .
Thanks !!
I find it interesting that Pennzoil specifically does not recommend extending drain intervals in their "Know Your Oil" series of videos. And yet, here's Quaker State, their sister company, both owned by SOPUS, claiming their Ultimate Protection oil is good for 20,000 miles. 540Rat, who is a big believer of Quaker State quality, went off on them calling them greedy and sell outs for marketing an oil with the claim of extended drain.
I just put this stuff in all 3 of my cars but I always change it out about 5,000 miles regardless.
It's almost like SOPUS is using their red headed step child brand to experiment how the 20k mile marketed oil sells. At the end of the day, their get out of jail free card is the fine print to follow the owner's manual. Still - this 20k mile oil is simply marketing IMHO. What car manufacturer recommends 20k mile drain intervals? The 5k, 10k and 20k mile marketing intervals on oil bottles is just dumb. Just remember to follow the proper API or other specs and follow the manual. Unless you're out of warranty - go ahead and run it 20k miles. But when your engine blows, customer support will blame you not following your owner's manual and pushing the oil too far.
That all being said, I wouldn't hesitate to use this QS oil in my personal vehicle - but I'd still perform an OCI at 7,500-10,000 miles as I've done with any other oil I've used in this vehicle.
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I don't blindly trust that any of Shell's GTL based oils are formulated for 20k mile drain intervals. Unlike Mobil, that has put out dozens of videos of testing done on their end to ensure the oils are capable, Shell has done nothing at all. They're fine oils for most intervals but to all of a sudden recommend 20k miles I need a bit more.
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Well, that’s the thing...just because shell hasn’t released extensive test videos, does that mean they don’t do them? Or, worse - do them and the results aren’t consistent? We don’t know.
Truthfully when I buy an extended rated oil I only run it for 10,000 miles anyway (and that’s a lot for me because 5,000 miles has always been my norm). With the 20,000 mile oil I’m hoping I’m getting something more, or “better”...and then taking it to 10,000 miles to justify some of the extra cost.
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Personally I don’t trust any of these oil companies anyway. A lot is marketing, and a lot is what you’re comfortable with actually doing with your vehicle. For me, yeah historically I’ve been a 5,000 mile interval guy, but I recently have done three consecutive 10,000 mile intervals using Mobil1 EP. And now I‘m currently running Amalie synthetic for a 6,000 mile interval. I may try this Quaker State EP, but I doubt I’d go much further than 10,000 miles anyway...and most oils technical can handle that according to their labels and manufacture recommended intervals.
I still don’t feel all that comfortable doing “extended drains”, though. To me a 10,000 drain is a lot of driving. And I usually keep my vehicles to 250,000-300,000 miles.
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