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Tom Rogers - 03 Oct 2007 17:07 GMT

Not sure if this has been discussed before, but - is there a real difference
between the high mileage oil and filters vs the regular oil and filters?
Just wondering if the extra cost is justified.

TIA,

-TRogers

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Joe Pfeiffer - 04 Oct 2007 07:17 GMT

> Not sure if this has been discussed before, but - is there a real difference
> between the high mileage oil and filters vs the regular oil and filters?
> Just wondering if the extra cost is justified.

Dunno.

My personal conclusion on oil was that when I owned a turbocharged
car, using oil with a higher temperature rating (ie Mobile 1 or
Castrol Syntec) seemed worth it, since the turbo bearing hits really,
really high temperatures right after shutdown. Everything I own now
is normally aspirated, so an oil at current API standards seems
sufficient (though my old car with conventional lifters needs
additives since the SM standard has reduced phosphates and zinc).

On filters, it's really clear from all the oil filter dissection sites
that Wix is much better constructed than anybody else, and is in a
whole 'nother league from the ubiquitous Fram. Is Fram "good enough"?
I don't have any way of knowing. But the difference in price between
them is small enough that when I'm replacing the filter every few
thousand miles, Wix seems a reasonable investment.

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Max Power - 08 Oct 2007 05:42 GMT

if you go to the oil makers websites you can find the spec sheets on the
different oils, from what I've seen there is no difference.

> Not sure if this has been discussed before, but - is there a real
> difference between the high mileage oil and filters vs the regular oil and
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> -TRogers

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Bill Putney - 08 Oct 2007 11:17 GMT

Spec. sheets or MSDS sheets. There's a big difference.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

> if you go to the oil makers websites you can find the spec sheets on the
> different oils, from what I've seen there is no difference.
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>>
>>-TRogers

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Max Power - 19 Oct 2007 22:21 GMT

why would you check the MSDS? I'm looking for the oil's specs not how many
fish its going to kill

here's some examples. I assume the only difference in a high mileage should
be zinc right?

castrol high mileage dosnt bother to report it
http://www.castrol.com/liveassets/bp_internet/castrol/castrol_usa/STAGING/local_
assets/downloads/p,q/pds_gtx_high_mileage_usa.pdf

looking at the other ones castrol dosnt report much
here's standard valvoline
http://www.valvoline.com/products/All-Climate.pdf

Max Life
http://www.valvoline.com/products/Maxlife.pdf

looks pretty similar to me but check it out and draw your own conclusions.
not sure what all the crap stands for? I dont but this guy does
http://www.unofficialbmw.com/all/misc/all_oilfaq.html

> Spec. sheets or MSDS sheets. There's a big difference.
>
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
>>>
>>>-TRogers

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Bill Putney - 19 Oct 2007 23:45 GMT

> why would you check the MSDS?

I wouldn't. I was expecting to find only the MSDS sheets due to the
proprietary nature of anything meaningful that would distinguish their
product from a competitor's.

> I'm looking for the oil's specs not how many
> fish its going to kill
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> castrol high mileage dosnt bother to report it
> http://www.castrol.com/liveassets/bp_internet/castrol/castrol_usa/STAGING/local_
assets/downloads/p,q/pds_gtx_high_mileage_usa.pdf

That is my point.

> looking at the other ones castrol dosnt report much
> here's standard valvoline
[quoted text clipped - 23 lines]
>>>>
>>>>-TRogers

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Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

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philthy - 22 Oct 2007 00:42 GMT

the msds sheets give the chemical make up of the compounds as well as the manufacturer

> why would you check the MSDS? I'm looking for the oil's specs not how many
> fish its going to kill
[quoted text clipped - 32 lines]
> >>>
> >>>-TRogers

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Steve - 22 Oct 2007 15:17 GMT

> why would you check the MSDS? I'm looking for the oil's specs not how many
> fish its going to kill
>
> here's some examples. I assume the only difference in a high mileage should
> be zinc right?

If it really were intended for older cars with slider lifters, then zinc
would be key. But what those "high mileage" oils are really aimed at are
5-year-old econo-beaters that leak oil like sieves, so they have
seal-swelling additives. You can look at the API ringlet to see if its a
low-zinc oil. IF its anything higher than SJ rated (SL, SM, etc.) then
its a low-zinc oil. Diesel engine oils rated higher than CI (CJ, for
example) are also reduced zinc compared to older diesel engine oils, but
still higher in anti-scuff additives than current gasoline engine oils.

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