Can different brand oils affect power or mileage?

[Brianv6]

Hello,
I used the search function and I didn't come up with anything.

For the past 22,000 miles I have been using havoline 5w30 in my 3.8 Camaro. A co-worker of mine said he switched from regular valvoline to maxlife and noticed about 25 miles extra per tank (same viscocity). He drives close to 100 miles to and from work so the driving conditions should be the same. I already get good feul economy but another .6 mile per gallon pays off over 7000 miles.

You also see magazine articles about switching to synthetic motor oil will increase your horsepower over dino oil. I am sure there are many factory that go into this MONEY being a large factor. Will a synthetic oil produce more power over dino oil?

Cliffnotes-
Is there an oil that should provide better feul economy over most dino oils? If so what is it? (dino and synthetic if possible)

Will syntetic oil increase your horsepower/torque?

 

[Pablo]

Most folks will say no. I personally cannot say about brand, but viscosity alone can only "rob" power, never add power.

I did get this just today:

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I Just wanted to let you know that I have become an AmsOil PC under your sponsorship and have done a drain and fill with AmsOil Universal ATF and changed out the transfer case & differential with 75w90 FGR as well as replaced the engine oil with 5w30 ASL I have also replaced the oil filter with a EAO12 and air filter with a EAA74 and have been very pleased with the results. I was getting 26mpg driving back and forth to work each day 7 miles rural / 5 miles city and now I’m getting 28.5mpg. It took about 150 – 200 miles to start seeing the difference but the engine has more power runs smother and is quieter than before. The transmission shifts smoother although there is only 1/3 Amsoil and 2/3 factory fill. What really surprised me was that my wife and I took a 90 mile trip from Roanoke, VA to Union, WV over state route 311 and back which encompasses crossing 3 large mountains and got 29.3mpg after 180 miles. I would usually get 26.6mpg on that trip.

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[rpn453]

Don't expect a noticeable difference in power or mileage between oils of the same grade that meet the same energy conserving specs.

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I would usually get 26.6mpg on that trip.

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He usually gets the same mileage to within 0.1 mpg on the same 180 mile trip? Usually wind, weather, and where the gas pump clicks off have far more dramatic effects on my mileage records that that!

That said, the gear oil probably did help his mileage.

 

[06VtecV6]

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Hello,
I used the search function and I didn't come up with anything.

For the past 22,000 miles I have been using havoline 5w30 in my 3.8 Camaro. A co-worker of mine said he switched from regular valvoline to maxlife and noticed about 25 miles extra per tank (same viscocity). He drives close to 100 miles to and from work so the driving conditions should be the same. I already get good feul economy but another .6 mile per gallon pays off over 7000 miles.

You also see magazine articles about switching to synthetic motor oil will increase your horsepower over dino oil. I am sure there are many factory that go into this MONEY being a large factor. Will a synthetic oil produce more power over dino oil?

Cliffnotes-
Is there an oil that should provide better feul economy over most dino oils? If so what is it? (dino and synthetic if possible)

Will syntetic oil increase your horsepower/torque?

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Well yeah, if you know the right oil for your application but I think it's more complex then merely, "I want the oil that's best for performance" or fuel economy etc at al. Reason being is that there exists numerous inverse relationships between fuel economy, protection and performance so it's very complex. i.e power/gas mileage. For example, I got the most gas mileage using Motorcraft 5w-20 as well as performance but I fretted over the protection(i.e saw some pics of varnish in Mustang engines right here)

This is why, at times, I have been unwilling to sacrifice protection merely just for gas mileage or performance but at other times, I prefer a little more performance + protection over fuel mileage like I am doing now with the M1 over the MC and finally there is PP which is a one trick pony in protection (Atleast for me with a slightly over-sized filter.

Now it could be my engine is so fine and tightly tuned that it offers wildly fluctuating attributes with even the slightest differences in the various brands I mentioned (b/c the 'thicker'? PP giving less performance as well as the bigger filter affecting oil pressure adversely?) .. MC, PP and M1. It's almost like the car has various 'modes' based on the differences(all good, just pick which ones are more important for you) with all the bugs ironed out with the engine having been in use now for over 11 years now and current gen on its way out in it's fifth and final year now in 2007(2008s coming next month, Sept. 2007)) that there is just no margin for error in this thing..it's all a give and take system with one thing seeing the other go by on its way up (and down), make sense?

 

[Camu Mahubah]

Hey Brian, I once read an article in one of the import tuner mags...said article stated that HP improved 3% when Redline oil was added to crankcase...I think on a Dyno a top quality racing syn such as aforementioned Redline might show an increase but in daily driving I have doubts...

 

[eddyzima]

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Hello,
I used the search function and I didn't come up with anything.

For the past 22,000 miles I have been using havoline 5w30 in my 3.8 Camaro. A co-worker of mine said he switched from regular valvoline to maxlife and noticed about 25 miles extra per tank (same viscocity). He drives close to 100 miles to and from work so the driving conditions should be the same. I already get good feul economy but another .6 mile per gallon pays off over 7000 miles.

You also see magazine articles about switching to synthetic motor oil will increase your horsepower over dino oil. I am sure there are many factory that go into this MONEY being a large factor. Will a synthetic oil produce more power over dino oil?

Cliffnotes-
Is there an oil that should provide better feul economy over most dino oils? If so what is it? (dino and synthetic if possible)

Will syntetic oil increase your horsepower/torque?

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Brian, I started using hm oils in my 2000 silverado. The first one i tried was the maxlife 5w30 blend. To my shock i started get the best gas mileage I have ever gotten with that truck. I know that the oil should be thicker and cause mileage loss, but for some reason it gives better mileage. I think it has to do with the oils high moly numbers? I now have the maxlife in three cars

maybe we should call the oil "maxlife high GAS mileage"

 

[Wombat97]

ER, I do believe that 26.6 from 29.3 = 2.7
Not 0.1

 

[rpn453]

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ER, I do believe that 26.6 from 29.3 = 2.7
Not 0.1

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You better re-read that. I was talking about significant figures there!

Dyno tests showing power differences between different motor oils of the same weight almost always use poorly conceived procedures and the results are statistically insignificant because of that. They certainly wouldn't hold much weight in an academic setting.

 

[hooperswish1]

Don't forget that a winter blend of gasoline (10% etanol) affects mileage in a negative way. In the Spring when 100% gasoline in my area can be had, I often see up to a 10% increase in mileage. Just a thought...but I do believe that syns sure can't hurt.

 

[salvageyardteen]

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Don't forget that a winter blend of gasoline (10% etanol) affects mileage in a negative way. In the Spring when 100% gasoline in my area can be had, I often see up to a 10% increase in mileage. Just a thought...but I do believe that syns sure can't hurt.

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Its all 10% blend where I live, all year.

 

[daman]

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I used the search function and I didn't come up with anything.

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I believe that....

 

[Steelhead]

will I get better gas mileage using synthetic rubber tires?

 

[Wombat97]

Ahh I understand now

 

[teven7492]

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will I get better gas mileage using synthetic rubber tires?

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Only if AMSOIL makes those synthetic tires.

 

[mechtech2]

The viscosity [thickness] of the oil is the most important part in HP/mileage. Brand names or if it is synth/dino don't mean much.
Oil that is old and worn out will have less additives, and can perform sub-par.

 

[blackdiamond]

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Reason being is that there exists numerous inverse relationships between fuel economy, protection and performance so it's very complex. i.e power/gas mileage.

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Could you explain one of the "inverse relationships" that you speak of? If you are saying that thinner oil yields higher fuel mileage but means lower protection then you are generalizing a bit too much. Synthetic oils have been shown in some cases to improve MPG, but the change isn't drastic. I think RP has some documentation on their website, but ALL fluids were changed. I doubt the fuel savings would offset the oil cost, but it is possible. The bottom line is that "thin" oil have successful UOAs just like thicker oils.

 

[lindermant]

I've run Havoline 5w20 in my 2005 Civic for ~36,000 miles, and recently switched to RLI 0w20 BIOSYN.

I've tracked tank fillup data since purchasing the car two years ago; and so far no real jump since the switch to syn. I have a consistent commute, and my driving style leans toward maximizing MPG so it'll be intersting to see how the numbers end up at the end of this 5k OCI.

 

[gedcruise]

A very interesting question.
I have used a variety of oils in my cars over the years, and it is remarkable that they all seem to yield about the same fuel economy.
For example, Q-SYN 5W-50 in the Aerostar should show inferior mileage compared to M1 0W-30. It doesn't.
Q-Syn 10W-30 should not be as economial as PP 5W-30 in either of the Accords, but you can't see any difference in actual use.
In an extreme case, the old MB 201 should have shown higher fuel consumption on 20W-50 than on 10W-40, but it didn't.
I keep track of my cars' consumption with every tank, and I get a true fill every time, avoiding the click off of the dispenser.
I really don't think any oil of any weight will have any measurable impact on fuel consumption.

 

[cfromc]

Re: Can different brand oils affect power or mileage?

My guess is yes, but probably only slightly. Weight may be more of a factor. In my 5.3L GM and 3.8L GM I seem to get better mileage with thicker oils. In the 5.3L the worst seemed to be Amsoil ASL with XL 5W-30 and TSO a little better. Now with the M1 HM 10W-30 mileage is up slightly over TSO. I expected to lose mileage with the M1 and am pleasantly surprised.

I believe engines just like certain brands (i.e. formulations) slightly better than others and certain weights as well. I put a mix of about 50/50 5W-20 and 5W-30 in my 3.8L SC engine and noticed a reduction in MPG of .8 in a comparison with 100% 5W-30. This is not an apples-to-apples comparison because I've only run 6,000+ miles with the mix vs. 8,000+ miles of the 100% 5W-30 fill, and the brands were different, but still, I expected an increase in MPG if anything, not a decrease. My thoughts on the matter are that the higher viscosity may be allowing a better ring seal and thus more MPG, however, it could just be statistical noise. Regardless, I will not be using thin(ner) oils in those two vehicles. If anything, I will further test my theory with thicker oils to see if MPG stays the same or increases.

I am also running another "experiment" with my Harley and running 50/50 20W-50 and 20W-60 this year. It is way too early to come to any conclusions due to the low mileage since the switch, but around town I've noticed a loss in mileage while on the highway I've noticed a slight increase. This would seem to make since because the 20W-60 may cause more pumping losses when cold yet may provide better ring seal when hot vs. a 20W-50. Next year I'm trying 100% 20W-60.

I know the above will go against "common sense" or scientific studies, but it is what I've noticed this past year. I'm all for better fuel mileage but the thinner oils just haven't given it to me, even though I've tried. My "testing" is not exhaustive or scientific but my further tests will probably involve thicker oils instead of thinner oils.

In regards to different brands of oil affecting power, I'd have to say that there probably is a slight difference between brands, but to find out for sure would take a lot of resources. A couple of dyno runs is not going to tell you. Maybe 20-30 runs on each oil would be enough to make the call. A test showing a couple runs on each oil is not a test at all since the variance run-to-run on even the same oil can be large.

As far as mileage, if the oils were the same viscosity throughout the temperature range (not the weight i.e. 5W-30, but rather the real viscosity) then I doubt there would be much difference in MPG. Maybe some slight difference, but I just can't see that much, especially between oils of the same group. If the oils are all SM and the same group, I can't see there being much difference. A group V might be better than a group IV, which may be better than group III.