VOA Valvoline VR1 20W50

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A bit lacking as regards Moly and Boron. If an oil has a real good synthetic base it might not need the Moly, but for an oil to lack both is interesting.
 
Originally Posted By: UltrafanUK
A bit lacking as regards Moly and Boron. If an oil has a real good synthetic base it might not need the Moly, but for an oil to lack both is interesting.
It doesn't need M and B
 
Originally Posted By: CT8
Originally Posted By: UltrafanUK
A bit lacking as regards Moly and Boron. If an oil has a real good synthetic base it might not need the Moly, but for an oil to lack both is interesting.
It doesn't need M and B


Ya, not too long ago Mo and B were not in automotive engine oils.
 
Thanks for posting this. I have a case sitting in the garage for my next change on a flat tappet engine. The box advertises "High zinc" and I'm glad to see that the actual analysis is consistent with the data sheets I've seen.

One of the authorities on my particular engine uses only Brad Penn 20W-50 in his shop, but the VR-1 is both less expensive and more available. I'm glad to see that this looks like a solid oil to use.
 
Delo 400 SAE40 has p 1100, Z 1200 and a higher base oil viscosity than 20w50.
Delo CI-4+ 15w40 has Z 1500, which is higher than VR1 20w50.
 
Valvoline specifically says this oil is not recommended for use in wet clutches. There might be something used instead of moly
that makes this oil too slippery for safe wet clutch operation.
 
Originally Posted By: DoubleWasp
Check the UOA's if you want to see the beef. You can't shear this oil with a samurai sword.


Not many oils suffer from high temp shearing, it's fuel contamination that is the real issue and there is nothing that can be done about that in viscosity terms apart from using a thicker oil.

Apart from the lack of Moly or Boron, this oil is lowish in detergents (Similar to Castrol GTX 15w40). It looks more like a cheap truck oil, with enough Zinc and not much else.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Garak
Originally Posted By: UltrafanUK
It looks more like a cheap truck oil, with enough Zinc and not much else.

That's almost the entire point of VR1.
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High zinc, high TBN , High HTHS , Virtually does not shear, Reasonably cheap and readily available, what is there NOT to like? Other than it lacking a bit of Moly and Boron
 
Well, I wish they'd have a more reasonable viscosity. Here, it's supposed to be available in 10w-30 and 20w-50, and I can only find 20w-50. I have about as much need for a 20w-50 as I do for a two-stroke diesel oil; in other words, none. Why not a 5w-30? And, why local places don't carry the 10w-30, I'll never know.
 
The 5w30 isn't necessary for a racing (or trackday?) oil. 10w30 makes more sense in that way, as does 20w50. I suppose they're really a replacement for cars normally using a 20 or a 40, but wanting to go up a grade for the track.

Winter use in canada is not what they envisioned, but synpower would be good for that?

I've never seen the 10w30 either, think I might have seen the 20w50 though. But I've got a diesel with dpf, neither are really what I'm targeting.
 
VR1 comes in :
10w30 Dino or Full synthetic ( US Only )
10w40 Dino ( Australia Only )
15w40 Dino ( South America only, rare )
10w60 Synthetic blend ( Europe only )
5w50 Full synthetic ( Europe only afaik )
20w50 Dino ( Worldwide ) / Full synthetic ( US Only )
Straight 30,40,50 and 60 Dino ( US Only )
The NSL true racing oil is i think a 10w30 Dino and US Only

I don't think it would make sense to say make a 5w30 VR1 for moderns cars since it's clearly an oil designed for performance cars that require thicker oils
 
Originally Posted By: Jetronic
The 5w30 isn't necessary for a racing (or trackday?) oil. 10w30 makes more sense in that way, as does 20w50. I suppose they're really a replacement for cars normally using a 20 or a 40, but wanting to go up a grade for the track.

Of course, they're targeting mostly a niche, but they could go beyond that. A guy driving a garage queen 1970s muscle car will be sufficiently served with their 10w-30 or 20w-50 options. However, that's rather self-limiting. A vehicle like my old F-150 would do very well with an enhanced ZDDP 5w-30 that isn't a boutique or a costly synthetic. Some people do use older vehicles in some pretty atrocious weather.

Ironically, at our Walmarts here, their 20w-50 offering is actually cheaper per quart than other regularly priced conventionals from Valvoline, Shell, Castrol, Mobil, and so forth. Of course, Synpower or any other synthetic (or conventional) 5w-30 would do the trick, but VR1 does have a certain attractive quality, being ZDDP levels. One could choose an A3/B4, but that brings out the synthetic price tiers here. One also could get Delvac Elite 222 0w-30 here, but that would generally require one to buy some rather large quantities of oil. It works for me, but may not work for everyone.
 
Originally Posted By: Garak
Jetronic said:
Ironically, at our Walmarts here, their 20w-50 offering is actually cheaper per quart than other regularly priced conventionals from Valvoline, Shell, Castrol, Mobil, and so forth. Of course, Synpower or any other synthetic (or conventional) 5w-30 would do the trick, but VR1 does have a certain attractive quality, being ZDDP levels. One could choose an A3/B4, but that brings out the synthetic price tiers here. One also could get Delvac Elite 222 0w-30 here, but that would generally require one to buy some rather large quantities of oil. It works for me, but may not work for everyone.


Hmm, I haven't looked for it at WM-I'm going to have to do that.

I have a half case sitting in the garage waiting for my next oil change in the MG...which is going to be in a few weeks when I pull the engine to change the transmission.

That particular half case came from Rural King, which generally has pretty good oil prices. As an example, the consistently have PYB 20W-50 for $2.75 a quart. The half case of VR-1 was $30, which isn't that much better than Walmart full synthetic prices. I think the last 5qt jugs of Mobil 1(5W-20) I've bought at Wal-Mart have been $26 and some change.
 
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