There is an ad on tv for quaker state oil. It suggests that they make synthetic for high mileage engines, like a synthetic valvoline max life. I am using vlavoline max life now and it has greatly improved the oil consumption problem. Went from maybe two quarts in three months to almost nothing. No puff of smoke on start up. I have always wanted to try synthetic, but thought the consumption bit made it a bad idea.
So question one is: Has anyone used quaker state synthetic oil?
The other thing is their web site. It says they have four kinds of oil. Regular, SUV, Luxury, and super fancy something or other. :rolleyes: Is it just me or is that really stupid? I am assuming that the 'old engine synthetic' they talk about is listed as the 'super fancy suv' oil on their web site?
Question two:
Can anyone shed any light on why they did that?
Thanks,
Jim

 

As far as SUV and Luxury and what not, it sounds like marketing to me. But if you charge more, people will buy it.

Synthetic is great stuff. I run it in my daily drivers. The greatest benefits come when the climates are as cold as they've been. On cold start ups, the oil viscosity is high. And that's good for cold starts. I want to keep my vehicles for a long time, and I think this will help. Plus, I run the synthetic stuff longer (5-7K) than I would conventional oil (3-5K).

I'm glad to see the feedback on the high mileage oil. That's great information. I'm going to give it a shot. I hope I have the same success. :yesnod:

 

marketing is a big key to all of this. i run 1 qt of synthetic in everything i own, with the balance being regular motor oil and i change it every 3000 miles. a lot of our driving is in town, so the motors never really heat up and burn off the small amounts of gas that get in your oil on warm-up. i change my oil myself and adding 1 qt of synthetic ups my cost by only a couple of $$$$. a mechanic friend of mine said if i change my oil every 3k miles there was no need to run synthetic,because the additives were basically the same, the difference was in the base.

 

I would be reluctant to change oil brands or type. You noticed a great improvement with Max Life and I would stick with it.

 

Jim,
I am certainly not an oil expert.Am happy to hear this oil fixed your problem.This tells me though that your valve seals are in reasonable conditon and that your rings were gunked up and that the higher viscosity oil and it's detergents together was what has done the trick for you.Probably a quart of Rislone and a 15w40 or a 20w50 will work as well.

Just some rambling stuff next.
Was not too long ago Valvoline made a oil specifically for turbo cars.Now it is only a memory.Most oils are up to the task.

Oil is a fun topic for me.Near 29 years ago while a VW mechanic part time during High School I observed while pouring Pennzoil into a car during oil change the additives came out of the can last!

I guess they have all had quality problems at one time or another. .While a Service Manager at a large Toyota/AMC Jeep Dealer we were sent a letter from AMC Jeep Corporation stating that any motor failures while under warranty the customer must be screened to see if they had used Quaker State motor oil.This was in 1981

My mother bought a new Mercury with a 302 in 1985. The poor old car never got a chance.She would drive it two blocks to see friends and the likes of Wal Mart ect.She took it here and there to get the oil changed never specifying brand or weight.Oil change was forgotten for 13 months one time!The dipstick is rusted..She bought a new one in 1999 and I have a calender that keeps her up to schedule now.I bought the old Mercury from her with 55k on it and put it on the road as my work car.65 hiway miles a day.Was burning a quart every 1k.I then put it on a diet of Rislone and 10/40 Mobil .Now is still full of oil at 3k when I change it.The injection system is overly rich when cold or I would run it longer between changes.The car now has 115k and is still going great.



[Modified by mountainmotor, 10:20 AM 3/15/2002]

 

 

Thank you all for your input! My verdict is: I'm gonna stick with valvoline. If it ain't broke, don't fix it :D
But here's the full story of my success with valvoline:
I switched to valvoline max life and at the same time lightened up with my right foot. Not driving so hard and new oil were simultanious efforts to keep my car running! So I can not tell everyone that this stuff is magic, but I am gonna stick with it. I do think it helped :yesnod:
Jim

 

Joeveto, that is a great picture!