The other day I asked Valvoline about using oil that is intended for use in diesel engines and here are their responses (including the follow-up Q/A):
A - "Most Valvoline diesel oils are also rated for gasoline applications, but we are not sure why you would want to use diesel oils, as these oils are formulated with other additives to assist diesel engine operations. What is your purpose
of wanting to use diesel oils?"
Q - My main interest is the additional zinc and detergents that I believe are in diesel oils.
A - "Here is some more insight on the Zinc and Phosphorus spectrum for your reading. Diesel oils are not the answer. With ever increasing limits on emissions, automobile manufacturers have tightened emission control systems on newer vehicles. This is one of several factors considered when the American Petroleum Institute (API) sets standards for engine oil. The current API standard is “SM,” which replaced the previous “SL” classification. Because phosphorus can poison a vehicle’s emission system, the level of zinc is lower for current engine oil. Because of this, many hands-on car enthusiasts and engine experts believe the lower levels of zinc in “SM” engine oil is causing excessive wear in older style push-rod and flat tappet engines. This is despite the fact that all new engine oil classifications are intended to be backward compatible, which in turn has resulted in the widely accepted belief that modern engine oil is not adequate to protect older engines.
Valvoline uses an advanced zinc/phosphorus additive that keeps higher levels of phosphorus in the engine oil where it protects the engine, instead of poisoning the catalytic converter. Valvoline is the only brand offering this unique additive across its entire line of passenger car engine oils, including SynPower which is the only synthetic offering this additive.
The only exclusion to this would be if you are operating a high performance or aggressive cam application, where high Zinc levels may be required. Because of these requirements, there are high-zinc engine oils available to meet this need, such as our Valvoline VR1 Racing Oil. The VR1 Racing Oil establishes a 75% higher zinc content than SM engine oil with a balanced additive package designed to work in both racing and street-legal applications. This product will protect older style push-rod and flat tappet engines and carries an oil change interval recommendation of 3 month/3,000 miles.
It is important to note, however, that the entire additive package still needs to be balanced for best performance. For example, engine oil with a high zinc level but low detergent may not perform over a drain interval of 3,000 miles or longer."
So...what does everybody think about this?
A - "Most Valvoline diesel oils are also rated for gasoline applications, but we are not sure why you would want to use diesel oils, as these oils are formulated with other additives to assist diesel engine operations. What is your purpose
of wanting to use diesel oils?"
Q - My main interest is the additional zinc and detergents that I believe are in diesel oils.
A - "Here is some more insight on the Zinc and Phosphorus spectrum for your reading. Diesel oils are not the answer. With ever increasing limits on emissions, automobile manufacturers have tightened emission control systems on newer vehicles. This is one of several factors considered when the American Petroleum Institute (API) sets standards for engine oil. The current API standard is “SM,” which replaced the previous “SL” classification. Because phosphorus can poison a vehicle’s emission system, the level of zinc is lower for current engine oil. Because of this, many hands-on car enthusiasts and engine experts believe the lower levels of zinc in “SM” engine oil is causing excessive wear in older style push-rod and flat tappet engines. This is despite the fact that all new engine oil classifications are intended to be backward compatible, which in turn has resulted in the widely accepted belief that modern engine oil is not adequate to protect older engines.
Valvoline uses an advanced zinc/phosphorus additive that keeps higher levels of phosphorus in the engine oil where it protects the engine, instead of poisoning the catalytic converter. Valvoline is the only brand offering this unique additive across its entire line of passenger car engine oils, including SynPower which is the only synthetic offering this additive.
The only exclusion to this would be if you are operating a high performance or aggressive cam application, where high Zinc levels may be required. Because of these requirements, there are high-zinc engine oils available to meet this need, such as our Valvoline VR1 Racing Oil. The VR1 Racing Oil establishes a 75% higher zinc content than SM engine oil with a balanced additive package designed to work in both racing and street-legal applications. This product will protect older style push-rod and flat tappet engines and carries an oil change interval recommendation of 3 month/3,000 miles.
It is important to note, however, that the entire additive package still needs to be balanced for best performance. For example, engine oil with a high zinc level but low detergent may not perform over a drain interval of 3,000 miles or longer."
So...what does everybody think about this?
