High milage oils: valid or gimmick?

[skaughtz]

Today I saw Pennzoil Platinum High Mileage at Walmart. 5w30 and recommended for 75k+ miles. Just like every other high mileage oil I have ever seen. So it got me thinking, is there an actual benefit to using these oils post 75k or is it just a marketing gimmick? Does anyone know what, if anything sets them apart from their non-high mileage counterparts?

 

[demarpaint]

HM oils serve a purpose if you have car that leaks or consumes oil. In some instances a HM oil can help. Having said that if your car doesn't leak or burn oil there is no reason to use a HM oil, even if you have high miles on the car.

Typically but not always they're formulated a little more on the thicker side of the grade. Formulation is slightly different with more agents for helping with older seals that might be leaking, and they might clean a bit better.

 

[horse123]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
HM oils serve a purpose if you have car that leaks or consumes oil. In some instances a HM oil can help. Having said that if your car doesn't leak or burn oil there is no reason to use a HM oil, even if you have high miles on the car.

Typically but not always they're formulated a little more on the thicker side of the grade. Formulation is slightly different with more agents for helping with older seals that might be leaking, and they might clean a bit better.


I'm pretty sure high mileage oil means it can last something like 10,000 miles or whatever they claim... not that you use it on vehicles with a big number on the odometer

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: horse123
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
HM oils serve a purpose if you have car that leaks or consumes oil. In some instances a HM oil can help. Having said that if your car doesn't leak or burn oil there is no reason to use a HM oil, even if you have high miles on the car.

Typically but not always they're formulated a little more on the thicker side of the grade. Formulation is slightly different with more agents for helping with older seals that might be leaking, and they might clean a bit better.


I'm pretty sure high mileage oil means it can last something like 10,000 miles or whatever they claim... not that you use it on vehicles with a big number on the odometer


No, they are geared toward vehicles with high mileage on them.

 

[Gasbuggy]

MaxLife was the only HM oil I thought behaved differently in an engine, regarding consumption reduction.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Originally Posted By: horse123
I'm pretty sure high mileage oil means it can last something like 10,000 miles or whatever they claim... not that you use it on vehicles with a big number on the odometer


You would be wrong.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: horse123
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
HM oils serve a purpose if you have car that leaks or consumes oil. In some instances a HM oil can help. Having said that if your car doesn't leak or burn oil there is no reason to use a HM oil, even if you have high miles on the car.

Typically but not always they're formulated a little more on the thicker side of the grade. Formulation is slightly different with more agents for helping with older seals that might be leaking, and they might clean a bit better.


I'm pretty sure high mileage oil means it can last something like 10,000 miles or whatever they claim... not that you use it on vehicles with a big number on the odometer


Not really. An oil like Mobil 1 EP which isn't a HM oil was formulated for longer OCI's, like 1 year or 15K miles. HM oils were formulated for what I mentioned.

 

[901Memphis]

Yes there is a benefit because they tweak the additive package over regular conventional to have extra seal conditioners and detergents sometimes even extra AW Additives, so for a small price increase you get a more premium product.

 

[SavagePatch]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Typically but not always they're formulated a little more on the thicker side of the grade.


PPHM is thinner than PP and PUP of the same grades.

 

[Chris142]

Originally Posted By: Gasbuggy
MaxLife was the only HM oil I thought behaved differently in an engine, regarding consumption reduction.
super-s worked well in our Tahoe. Went from a qt in1200 to 4000

 

[Diego3336]

My car is with around 50.000 miles on the clock and I used Valvoline MaxLife on my last change because the VML was on sale for cheaper than the same weight DuraBlend I was planning to buy, so I bought the VML to give it a try as I never had used HM oils before.

So far so good. The engine is still without any leak, but as this car is 18yo, it's nice to know I am at least using an oil with seal conditioners. There's too many seals and gaskets in that engine ready to get dry, so any help to delay it even more is welcome.

 

[DrRoughneck]

People who keep their cars through high miles save significant sums of money by not buying new vehicles.

High mileage oils were specially designed for this market, to scrub the accumulated excess cash from these people's clenched fists.

 

[bvance554]

I've had a lot of high mileage vehicles (200k +), and never used one. I'm sure they may have some benefits, but the 75k part is marketing. I put 75k on a car in 2-3 years so I don't consider that high mileage.

 

[Gasbuggy]

Originally Posted By: DrRoughneck
People who keep their cars through high miles save significant sums of money by not buying new vehicles.

High mileage oils were specially designed for this market, to scrub the accumulated excess cash from these people's clenched fists.


One or two dollars at a time.

 

[Gasbuggy]

Originally Posted By: horse123


I'm pretty sure high mileage oil means it can last something like 10,000 miles or whatever they claim... not that you use it on vehicles with a big number on the odometer

Wonder how many people have thought this before and went way past a reasonable interval.

 

[SR5]

The EP (extended performance) oils tend to have a higher TBN for longer OCI.

The High Milage oils, refers to older cars with more miles on them. They tend to have more zinc, seal conditioners and be thicker (but not always all three).

M1_Product_specs

Plain M1 5w30 has 900 ppm zinc and a HTHS of 3.1
HM M1 5w30 has 1100ppm zinc and a HTHS of 3.3
(Zinc is from the link above, HTHS is from the M1 web page)

We don't get them here, but I think the USA has some very nice HM oils.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: SavagePatch
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Typically but not always they're formulated a little more on the thicker side of the grade.


PPHM is thinner than PP and PUP of the same grades.


That's exactly why I said "typically."

If you look at Mobil 1 it is the opposite, and their HM oils are thicker than their regular oils.

That PPHM oil looks like a real nice oil.

 

[mctmatt]

I am just amazed that someone actually saw Pennzoil Platinum High Mileage in their local store and was able to purchase it! Just like PPU and the Lochness Monster...only seen by a few!

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: mctmatt
I am just amazed that someone actually saw Pennzoil Platinum High Mileage in their local store and was able to purchase it! Just like PPU and the Lochness Monster...only seen by a few!


I've seen it in Auto Zone and Walmart believe it or not. PUP OTOH is never on the shelves around here though. I buy it online from WMT.

 

[rocketJeff]

I'm interested in this too. There's a $2/qt rebate right now on Pennzoil Platinum, Ultra, and Plat HM

http://www.pennzoil.com/promotions-national-rebate/

Walmart has them online for $25/jug before the rebate. I have a 2006 Mazda 3 that's consuming a little bit of oil right now. I wonder if it's going to help.