Valvoline 5W-30 SJ/SL Retail (1 Qt. Bottle)
- Thread starter Greg Bohn
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Talk about an oil not worth putting on the shelves of walmart... This has got to be one of them. There's virtualy nothing in this oil for additives.
Oops... Forgot to mention what type of Valvoline this was. This is conventional oil, part number VV177.
It says 'New formula' on the front. On the back it looks like it says it's the 'All-Climate' variety.
It is Type SL, with a note about 'Exceeds API services SL/SJ and all preceding gasoline categories. ILSAC GF1, GF2, and GF3'.
What is it that indicates that there's little additive? (I see that it has no Molybdenum type additives.
Not to take their claims at face value, but the bottle makes it sound like they put something in there to reduce wear and oxidation. There data sheet says it has 'High detergency' and 'anti-wear additives'.
The bottle claims it helps:
- 'Keep the engine clean (Minimize deposit formation)'
- 'Reduce Oil Consumption (Lower Volatility & evaporation)'
- 'Resists oil thickening (Advanced Oxidation control)'
- 'Provide tough anti-wear protection exceeding current U.S., Japanese and European wear tests for gasoline and turbocharged engines where 5W-30 is recommended'
The Zinc and Phos numbers are pretty low. The Calcium number isn't great either.
Many people think Valvoline is the "best" dino available, from the numbers I see it's only average at best. And, even below average in the additives department. But, to it's credit the TBN of 10.5 is good.
For $1.08/quart I will stick with my Chevron thank you.
Many people think Valvoline is the "best" dino available, from the numbers I see it's only average at best. And, even below average in the additives department. But, to it's credit the TBN of 10.5 is good.
For $1.08/quart I will stick with my Chevron thank you.
I'm sure Bob can explain this better, but wouldn't such a high TBN indicate a strong basestock and yet maybe not the need for a strong additive package?
Other than that bit of B.S. above, I don't comprehend why the TBN is so high and why the calcium, phosphorous, and zinc levels are so low.......
Empirically, this doesn't look like a good oil as the additives seem 10 to 20 percent below other mainstream dino oils such as Mobil 1, Pennzoil, Kendall, etc.....
Other than that bit of B.S. above, I don't comprehend why the TBN is so high and why the calcium, phosphorous, and zinc levels are so low.......
Empirically, this doesn't look like a good oil as the additives seem 10 to 20 percent below other mainstream dino oils such as Mobil 1, Pennzoil, Kendall, etc.....
MolaKule
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BTW, Mobil 1 is not a dino.
The anti-wear additivies appear to be a MINUTE amount of Barium Titanate and a little ZDDP, but like Bob said, not even the detergent/Dispersant package is of much use. This oil might go 2k.
Not worth pouring in a lawn mower for sure. Maybe good as a weed killer though at the price!
[ September 12, 2002, 02:12 PM: Message edited by: MolaKule ]
The anti-wear additivies appear to be a MINUTE amount of Barium Titanate and a little ZDDP, but like Bob said, not even the detergent/Dispersant package is of much use. This oil might go 2k.
[ September 12, 2002, 02:12 PM: Message edited by: MolaKule ]
I also had a sample of (conventional) 5W-30 bulk oil used by my local Toyota dealer analyzed (by a different lab- Herguth Labs).quote:
Originally posted by MolaKule:
BTW, Mobil 1 is not a dino.
The anti-wear additivies appear to be a MINUTE amount of Barium Titanate and a little ZDDP, but like Bob said, not even the detergent/Dispersant package is of much use. This oil might go 2k.Not worth pouring in a lawn mower for sure. Maybe good as a weed killer though at the price!
Where does this fit on the 'additive package' scale?
The second sample was also unused oil. I got it from the dealer when I asked for a sample of the same type bulk 5W-30 they used for an oil change about 2 weeks earlier.
When I asked whose oil it was all they said was that it was a Pennsylvania bulk oil 'like Quakerstate or Pennzoil'. I took this to mean 'similar to' Quakerstate and Pennzoil, rather than being one of those brands, but who knows.
From the results I've gotten from their lab, I think that's just their way of saying that the level is lower than they can accurately measure with the tests they perform. Either that or how much they are willing to report.
I also noticed they don't report 0 PPM for metal, but return '
So, I assume this means they don't detect less than 2.0 % fuel in the first place, which I grant seems higher than you would probably like.
They have a 5% 'maximum' for Fuel, and a 0.10% maximum for Glycol.
By contrast, Blackstone has a limit of 2% for fuel and I've never seen them report fuel level as anything other than '
I think the test package I got uses IR analysis for the Glycol and Fuel dilution measurements. Maybe it has to do with what the minimum fuel/glycol you can measure using IR absorption is.
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