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
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.
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.
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')
Max Power wrote:
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
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.
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.MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.