Rogers 07

Just for fun, the last couple of oil changes I have done, I have been doing a sort of experiment, Not very scientific to be sure but interesting none the less, My car is an 07 A6 LS2 with over 106000 miles on it, so warrenty concerns are a non issue for me. The car has had mostly Mobile 1 5w-30, and I have no real issues with it, except the occasional lifter tapping when the car was cold and I could hear some minor piston slap (not very loud but I noticed it since the car was new.)

So here are the conditions and results, Each oil was subjected to 7500 miles of daily commuting (about 95 miles a day) The oil filters were all M1s. All the oils meet or exceed GMs oil standards (including dexos) and the DIC showed around 15% oil life at each change consistantly.

1) Mobile 1. It has protected the engine for almost all of its milage. The engine is spotless under the valve covers. The only issue is the above mentioned noises and after 7500 miles 1.5 quarts had been consumed.

2) Royal Purple 5-30. Same results as M1 above except it only used 1 qt in 7500 miles, It does cost about a $1.50 a quart more than M1 however the car did show slightly lower oil temps and at times did improve MPG by about .2 MPG, but to many variables exist to attribute this to the oil alone.

3) Pennzoil Platinum 5-30 Cost about the same as M1 and performed about the same, This oil seemed thin compared to RP and the car used a little bit more of it than the others, 2 quarts in 7500 miles. I also think the engine tapping noises were a little louder than with M1 and RP. (Again, thats hard to quantify but it sure sounded a bit louder in the mornings)

4) Valvoline Syn Power 5-30. This was the lowest cost oil of the bunch and is made in the USA (I have no idea where the others are made and it's not really an issue, but I like made in USA stuff). Any way, the Syn Power quieted the engines slight piston slap the most, and no cold start lifter tapping was noticed. I felt the car ran the best with the Syn Power (again I have no conclusive proof, but I swear the engine feels like it's running smoother !) The engine used 1 qt of Valvoline during its run.

So My conclusions based of this admittedly not very scientific test is that

1 All the oils will protect the engine well and keep it clean.

2 RP was the most expensive. Valvoline was the least.

3 Pennzoil seems the thinnest and did use a little bit more.

4 The engine seems quieter with Valvoline

5 None provided a significant improvement in performance or fuel economy from one to another.

So I am going to refill the engine with Valvoline again, just because it has a slight cost advantage, its Made in the USA and my engine seems to like it !!! Again this is just my .02 worth, You cannot go wrong with any of them and I would not hesitate to purchase any of them If needed in a pinch!!

Snowwolfe

Be interesting if you tried a good quality 10-40 weight and reported your findings. Maybe the Valvoline is thicker and thats why your engine seems to be quieted the most.

MikeERWNC

My Bio-Dad is a Corvette collector, his comment to me was to use the 10w-40 high milage.
He says it takes up the slack of worn parts which may be loose in the engine.
I will start with 10w-40 at 99,000 miles. 29K to go.

I hear my valves when I start her up.

mcandrew67

would have been good if you had sent the oil sample of each oil change to the lab for analysis, is it blackstone that does it?
Would have been good to see how each one wore and what was in the oil. Still interesting though.

doubledime

Good write up 07. Thanks for the info.

Wah

Nice experiment. Next time, take a sample from each batch and send it to Blackstone to be analyzed. The results will tell you when to change the oil. Side-to-side comparison will also tell you which one is most economical, which one protects the most, and which one has the highest TBN.

truckplay

good info.

I have added a qt of Lucas with every oil change. oil consumption has been cut to @ 1 qt every 5k oil change interval. no noises even after heavy use outside of normal valve train sounds. 35k on car (20k with heads and cam)

boraxman

MikeERWNC

Do you guys have oil use?

I have replaced my oil twice and the same amount came out as the amount I originally put in.
I am actually impressed. Though I do 3K oil changes, I like the peice of mind... 5K would give me an ulcer from my preventative maitance OCD...
My Nissan 3.5 motors both seemed to burn 1 to 1.5 quarts every 3K miles.

EVRose

Of course the same amount comes out that you put in because your not leaving it in long enough. Changing at 3k is wasting perfectly good oil. IMO.

rcooper

have an 09 with 50,000 and have no oil usage on M1, good info though, will keep it in mind if valve noise gets worse. Thanks.

dvilin

Interesting read.

EyeMaster

10w40 is pointless, go with 0w40.

EyeMaster

Wayne O

Like you say, certainly not scientific by any stretch but interesting observations none-the-less. Thanks for sharing.

I'll stick with Mobil 1.

MikeERWNC

Be that as it may...
I will not change my habbits in this lifetime.

Changing my oil every 3K is about once a month for me.
At around 30.00, it is affordable piece of mind.

I am guessing you guys frown on replacing all fluids every 50K as well...

Personally I don't care what others think of my maintance regiment.
Knock on wood, I have never had a car leave me stranded.
So with that in mind, I PM all of my vehicles the same.
My work car always gets a litte more TLC... The Vette is my work car.

Also, I document the majority of my maintance and all of my high milage cars have always sold quickly.


And to add, the oil is pretty thin when I drain it at 3K.
So I can only imagine why at 5K you are burning oil... It must come out of the engine like water.

jimmie jam

The days of 3K oil changes are long gone. The "peace of mind" theory is also a waste of time, in my opinion of course. And yes, having driven my car less than 700 miles in the last 15 months i'm not draining perfectly good oil out of it just yet. But hey, i'm crazy like that.........OP - great post!

mundo

OP very informative. I might try the Valvoline next time.

Turbo6TA

Thank's for the info the OP provided.


I use 5w-30 Mobil 1 in my 2011 GS (A6) and the oil level pretty much remains right at the full mark between 5,000 mile oil changes.

However, once this car gets alot of miles and does start using a little oil between oil changes, I will certainly consider using 10w-40 in it.

KX

'06 and I have never added oil between changes, which happen no more frequently than 6,000 to 7,000 miles or once per year! For peace of mind, the key is changing the filter at every oil change and not changing oil at 3,000 or 4,000 miles! Today's modern oils can and will go far longer than 3,000 miles and changing sooner than 3 or 4,000 miles is peeing away $$, no matter what your mind set! This is not 1966....! Your post is interesting but why not list Amzoil and Redline. I mean, if you are going to be **** about oil changes, list the best..Why change out Mobil 1 at 3,000 miles? That is foolish. Dino oil maybe, but not full on synthetic. I know little about that purple crap, but I tell you what it does not do is improve your et's.....in the quarter!! Are you also suggesting that some of the oils you have used are not made in the USA!? Where did you get that idea from...??? I have never bothered to look it up, but I would venture that all prime lubricating oils are indeed refined in the USA!