Valvoline MaxLife versus Castrol High Mileage

[Techniker]

Just wondering, what's the general opinion on Valvoline MaxLife versus Castrol High Mileage?

I've done a few searches on the topic here, but I have turned up empty. There are tons of topics on it, but none of them seem to have any real facts or supporting evidence- merely product bashing or some sort of glittery generality.

The closest I have turned up with is one anecdote of Castrol High Mileage stopping an oil leak with Valvoline MaxLife failing to do so (however it was uncontrolled as almost all anecdotes are and the Castrol was pushed only after having used MaxLife twice, which could be nothing more than an adding effect). Furthermore, the only other information I have gained is that the Castrol High Mileage tends to be on the outer extreme of viscosity at 30 which could also explain why that particular leak stopped. I'm a thin oil guy myself.

So what're your thoughts (and please provide reasoning).

Thank you,
Techniker

 

[addyguy]

Castrol GTX HM 10W-30 advertises it has the lowest volatility of any 10W-30, I think. GTX HM is the thickest HM oil you will find, their 30-weights are right on 12.1 cst.

Valvoline ML, in my opinion, has a better add-pack - lots of 'goodies' in there - lots of moly, lots of detergents. GTX HM, by comparison, has pretty well the same add-pack as GTX, so it is just a thicker GTX, whereas VML is a completely differently formulated oil.

Just some thoughts.......

 

[Sayjac]

My thoughts mainly from a practical standpoint. Currently Maxlife $13.50 a jug, Castrol HM $18.50 a jug at Wally. No way IMO, CHM is worth that price premium difference.

That plus, quite frankly when I think HM oils I think Maxlife Syn Blend first. Well respected oil here. JMO

 

[chubbs1]

Originally Posted By: sayjac
My thoughts mainly from a practical standpoint. Currently Maxlife $13.50 a jug, Castrol HM $18.50 a jug at Wally. No way IMO, CHM is worth that price premium difference.

That plus, quite frankly when I think HM oils I think Maxlife Syn Blend first. Well respected oil here. JMO


+1 That is the science of good economics and would be my choice also.

 

[pavelow]

I'm partial to Valvoline products so you know which one I would go with. lol

 

[Audi Junkie]

They are both good, but I liked the results I had w/Castrol HM.

 

[Junior96Stang]

Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
They are both good, but I liked the results I had w/Castrol HM.


Same here. I like how clean my engine been.

 

[Beagle2000]

I've used them both and really can't say there is any difference between the two. For me, it all comes down to which one is on sale when I need to do an OC.
I am a big fan of that "science of economics" theory thing??

 

[glum]

ICYDK, Valvoline offers a full syn MaxLife and a syn blend MaxLife.

 

[SuperFast]

Originally Posted By: glum
ICYDK, Valvoline offers a full syn MaxLife and a syn blend MaxLife.


Yes they do, but that FS Maxlife only comes in 5W-30 and 10W-30 and it seems redundant

regular maxlife is 30% syn too

Maxlife gets better reviews and is deemed to have better addy pack than Castrol Hi-mi

i hav the maxlife regular in my sludgemonster and maybe next OC ill take it up to 10W-40 i have 10W-30 in it now.

 

[glum]

I was just saying... Since no differentiation between the two had been made.

Does anyone here really know if syn blend MaxLife is actually 30%? I've asked them before about MaxLife and DuraBlend, and of course they won't answer, b/c it's proprietary.

 

[SuperFast]

Originally Posted By: glum
I was just saying... Since no differentiation between the two had been made.

Does anyone here really know if syn blend MaxLife is actually 30%? I've asked them before about MaxLife and DuraBlend, and of course they won't answer, b/c it's proprietary.


they used to say it was 30%, not sure why they backed off saying that

http://www.valvoline.com/pdf/Maxlife.pdf

KV100 cSt is 11.5 for 10W-30 and 5W-30

 

[FowVay]

Based on discussions I've held with the technical services division of Valvoline in Ashland, Kentucky, I'd choose the Castrol oil over the Valvoline 100% of the time.

A very unprofessional operation with questionable practices can not be good for the end user.

 

[glum]

And I'm sure if we hung around enough, someone would same the same of Castrol. And Pennzoil. And every other manufacturer.

Maybe they need to start including "Professionalism" metrics in UOAs.

 

[Finklejag]

For the 10W-40 crowd. Castol has a cst @ 40C of 16.0 compared to 15.0 that the Valvoline has. The Castrol oils are thicker, but only dino.

 

[Mark72]

Originally Posted By: FowVay
Based on discussions I've held with the technical services division of Valvoline in Ashland, Kentucky, I'd choose the Castrol oil over the Valvoline 100% of the time.

A very unprofessional operation with questionable practices can not be good for the end user.


I like Valvoline products but I have to agree with you. They are very rude, and answer questions in such a way that you are taking up their time. If someone is taking up their time, then they should not offer the technical hotline number.

 

[Merkava_4]

Originally Posted By: Techniker
Just wondering, what's the general opinion on Valvoline MaxLife versus Castrol High Mileage?


My general opinion is that I prefer MaxLife.

 

[iunderpressure]

I've never tried maxlife, but I know castrol hm 10w30 will completely stop leaks 100% in my vehicle. It also acted very quickly within a few trips around town. All this said I'm not a big castrol fan.

 

[wander2039]

Castrol HM does look like the thickest HM. I tried Maxlife for my leaker and it did nothing. Almost could use 5w30 instead of the 10w30.

 

[Mark72]

Do you think that Castrol being one of the, if not THE thickest conventional oil is on to something? Maybe they found that thicker provides better protection while in theory, thinner would in some ways. I don't know. Any thoughts on why? They conceal date from what a read on here.