Oil types

[dirtautoguy]

to start with I don’t want this to
Become a which oil
Is best I know it’s been beat to death and a million different people will give you a million different answers.

I have always ran Valvoline conventional in my truck since I bought it. I like Valvoline and have no plans to change brands. However what I’m wondering is if there durablend, conventional or synthetic oil is better than each other?

Iv always changed the oil and filter at 3-4000 miles and I generally drive about 7500 miles a year so im not interested in extending oil change intervals because I would just change it yearly anyway.

What I am interested in is better performance in the cold. In the winter here it’s often well into the negative temperatures. The truck has a rebuilt jasper motor in that has been in for about 30000 miles. I believe that the killer of the old motor was oil not reaching the top end in the winter because you could hear it untill it warmed up. Roughly a year before it died I ran max life high mileage and I think it did help with cold weather oil flow.

Also since we got a camp trailer last summer the truck will be used more heavily in the summer time.

Obviously from numerous videos and documents that are everywhere some sort of synthetic always seems to be better. But would “synthetic blend (Valvoline durablend)” be as effective for me as “Valvoline. full synthetic”

I’m also going to ask Valvoline and see what they say but I wanted to throw this out to you guys too.

 

[98chevy2500SS]

My family uses Valvoline Synthetic Blend. Some people have said running full synthetic might cause it to break down worn out seals on the engine causing it start leaking oil. But, since you have a rebuilt engine, I would definitely use fully synthetic oil regardless.

 

[Schurkey]

https://540ratblog.wordpress.com/

Unbeliveably long text, with rankings of a zillion different brands and weights of oil.

Note what he rates as #10, (and #15) for wear protection:

10. 5W30 Valvoline Full Synthetic High Mileage with MaxLife Technology, API SN, GM dexos 1 approved (silver bottle) = 123,470 psi
Valvoline had a chart on their Website showing that this is their best oil for fuel economy and Horsepower. They also said this oil provided more anti-wear film strength than 5W30 Mobil 1, which is what I also found in my testing.
High Mileage oils are formulated for older engines with over 75,000 miles on them. And High Mileage oils include “Seal Swell” chemicals to help reduce oil leakage in those older engines.
zinc = TBD
phos = TBD
moly = TBD
This oil was tested in Spring 2017.
The psi value of this oil, which came from testing it at the normal operating test temperature of 230*F, put it in the FANTASTIC Wear Protection Category.

However, I also went on to also test this oil at the much higher temperature of 275*F. At that elevated temperature, any hotter and thinner oil is expected to experience a drop in Wear Protection Capability. And this oil did have a significant 27% drop in capability. At that reduced value down to 89,862 psi, this much hotter and thinner oil dropped down to the top of the GOOD Wear Protection Category range. You can avoid such a drop in capability by keeping the oil at a more reasonable cooler temperature.
I also tested this oil to find out its onset of thermal breakdown, which was 285*F.

540 Rat doesn't mention cold-flow; but synthetic oil tends to do better in this regard than conventional; although I'm sure there's exceptions. #15, being thinner-rated, MIGHT cold-flow better than #10. Hard to say without testing, as they're both "5W".

Or just search for "Valvoline" on his blog, and you'll discover several other oils he's tested from them--including the NAPA-branded versions..

 

[Crookedaxle]

This is better for cold oil flow than any oil is. Trust me, I'm from Minnesoder.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[dirtautoguy]

That’s some impressive info! Thanks!

It’s interesting the high mileage oils look like they did a lot better than the regular Valvoline oils synthetic or conventional.

It looks like either way I go Valvoline is a decent choice. I looked at the data sheets and compared the pour points of their oils and they all are very similar to each other -36 c

I do plug it in the block heater when it’s cold. When I bought the truck 9 years ago I was in high school and my mom wouldn’t let me leave it plugged in haha

I think I’m going to go ahead and get Valvoline full synthetic and see if I notice anything because it’s on sale at napa right now for cheaper than conventional.