Will High Mileage Oil Really Help My High-Mileage Engine?

[TheBoogieman]

Change your oil regularly and don't worry about the brand or additives. I drive over 700 miles (stop and go) a week for my job and use whatever oil is cheapest. I've never had an engine problem. People make problems where there aren't any.

 

[mxz800]

I've seen a fram filter taken off the shelf then cut open, I didn't like what I saw.

 

[KingCarGuyZ]

I can understand that frame of mind, I was right there with you for more years than I care to admit to.

Pennzoil did used to use a base that caused sludge in motors but that hasn't been the case in over 20 years since they switched to a new non-paraffin base called PureBase for their conventionals. Their synthetics have never had that issue.

I used to believe the same thing on Fram, some obviously still do. What turned me around was a 2 day trip to Fram's R&D and testing labs in Dayton Ohio. This is what I wrote about it after coming home, please read it.

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads...it-to-frams-r-d-facility-in-dayton-ohio.9042/
I learned a lot on that trip, that is for sure... mainly that there's so much bullshit being spread on the internet that you have to take the negatives with a grain of salt. And that Fram's Tough Guard filter is such a good filter that I switched to that filter for all of my cars and Jeeps. It actually outperforms many filters costing 2-3X as much. For example, its filtration efficiency tests at 99%, many of the high-zoot filters only have a 95% filtration efficiency.

I still have a photo in my collection of photos that I kept labeled as-is to remind me of what I used to think about Fram lol.

View attachment 206517

Good read, I had used the fram tough guards for years, (probably before they fixed the afore mentioned problems) and never had trouble, so I guess I got lucky there.

it makes sense that penzoil would have fixed there oil problems, but tbh I just don’t feel like I can trust them now, kinda like how my mom will never buy an Audi cause if that a scandle with the engine overpowering the brakes and running over people.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

... I also use a quart of Lucas oil stabilizer.

Lucas Oil Stabilizer was found to be an absolutely TERRIBLE oil additive. The problem it causes is aeration of the oil causing oil foaming. There was a video of the issue posted on Bob is the Oil Guy's forum that was so damning that after a lawsuit by Lucas was tossed out, Lucas ended up buying that forum and they removed the video. Lucas squashes that video whenever a copy of it pops up. The link I had to the original video no longer works, Lucas got to that one too.

The best advice anyone who knows anything about oils will offer, like what the oil manufacturers constantly preach, is to not add ANY additives to modern engine oils. They are careful blends of various ingredients and that any one product could help all of the various engine oils is complete bullshit. What additives do to engine oils is actually degrade their carefully created lubrication qualities. No single one-product-fits-all engine oil additive like from Lucas is going to improve what good quality oils like from Mobil, Valvoline, Castrol, etc. do.

The video is hard to find but someone at least got a screenshot of the video that caused Lucas to end up having to buy Bob is the Oil Guy's website to take the video down.

http://web.archive.org/web/20080408023428/http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/images/lucas/lucas.htm

I've seen a fram filter taken off the shelf then cut open, I didn't like what I saw.

What did you see that you didn't like?

 

[Zorba]

@Jerry Bransford - I will confess my knowledge is "ancient", pre-dates the WWW for sure! Interesting write-up on the Frams. I'd really like to see a modern "Pennzoil motor" because seeing is believing, but I'll take your word for it as I figure you've probably forgotten more about this stuff than I'll ever know!

I've always leaned towards Wix/Napa for filters, and DELO oil for my Diesels. I've never been too religious about gas motor oil (other than no Pennzoil), but tend to like Valvoline for whatever non-reason... I seem to recall some ancient bit of obsolete lore about "east coast" vs. "west coast" or somesuch regarding motor oils.

 

[Zorba]

...I just don’t feel like I can trust them now, kinda like how my mom will never buy an Audi cause if that a scandal with the engine overpowering the brakes and running over people.

There's certainly this. Penzoil and Fram might be better off renaming themselves!

 

[1515art]

I’ve been using wix oil filters in my new engine simply because it’s recommended by Golen, for years I’ve used Fram off and on as well as mobil with no issues from any of then. I even remember using as a kid an oil filter system that used a roll of toilet paper gimmick also without issues although I’d not do that now.

out of curiosity I google the wix to see what was inside and this comparison is on wix, fram and k&n, there was another comparison of 13 different filters that I simply could not sit through, but the 3 filter one is short enough.

 

[Mr. Bills]

. . . There was a video of the issue posted on Bob is the Oil Guy's forum that was so damning that after a lawsuit by Lucas was tossed out, Lucas ended up buying that forum and they removed the video. Lucas squashes that video whenever a copy of it pops up. The link I had to the original video no longer works, Lucas got to that one too.

The video is hard to find but someone at least got a screenshot of the video that caused Lucas to end up having to buy Bob is the Oil Guy's website to take the video down.

http://web.archive.org/web/20080408023428/http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/images/lucas/lucas.htm

What did you see that you didn't like?

The part about Lucas buying "Bob is the Oil Guy" to quash negative press is fake news as our outgoing President would say. It has been repeated so many times in so many places without any fact checking whatsoever that it has become part of Internet folklore.

Lucas Oil does not list BITOG, Inc. as a subsidiary or affiliate, nor is BITOG, Inc. referenced anywhere in the corporate annual report or SEC filings.

"Bob is the Oil Guy" was started in 2002 by Bob Winters, an independent sales rep for Schaeffer Oil. [Note the references to Schaeffer in the linked screen shot.] It was Schaeffer Oil, not Lucas, that later put pressure on Mr. Winters to disassociate from the forum because operating such a forum violated express language in Mr. Winter's contract with Schaeffer Oil. Also, it was the references to Schaeffer Oil products that were subsequently removed from BITOG, not references to Lucas products.

From "Bob is the Oil Guy:"

https://web.archive.org/web/20030214023118/http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/

BTW, the post on BITOG explaining the change in command contains the link to the original article critiquing Lucas Oil Stabilizer re-posted by Jerry above.

https://web.archive.org/web/20030408232856/http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/images/lucas/lucas.htm

 

[bromel]

The only additive I'd consider using is Marvel Mystery Oil, which has been around forever and does have a loyal following.

 

[TheBoogieman]

The best advice anyone who knows anything about oils will offer, like what the oil manufacturers constantly preach, is to not add ANY additives to modern engine oils. They are careful blends of various ingredients and that any one product could help all of the various engine oils is complete bullshit.

Damn you Jerry B. You just ruined my side business. I had a new shipment of my snake oil on order to sell here.

 

[JDS123]

I use Valvoline high mileage synthetic and a mopar filter in my 233k engine without any issues. 10W - 30 in the summer and 5W - 30 in the winter (when I don't drive the Jeep and pretty much just start it and drive around my parking garage every once in a while to give it something to do). I change my oil once every 6 months (April-ish and October-ish). I doubt any oil you put in the 4.0 makes much of a difference as long as it is the right weight.

I would only use an additive like Lucas Honey if I was trying to limp a few more months out of a worn out engine. I wouldn't ever run additive normally. I tried marvel mystery oil, but quickly took it out since I mistook a new tick from an exhaust leak as a lifter issue caused by the marvel I had just put in. I put the marvel in for no real reason as an experiment, so I probably won't use it again. Maybe if you have some noisy lifters it would be helpful.

 

[jeepguy03]

The Pennzoil of today is much different than back in the 1960s. Pennzoil is now owned by Shell (same parent company as Rotella), and even their conventional oil is very good.

 

[5632]

If you want oil not a bread name Costco has 2 five quart bottles of synthetic for about $22. None synthetic for less.

 

[TheBoogieman]

If you want oil not a bread name Costco has 2 five quart bottles of synthetic for about $22. None synthetic for less.

I prefer my expensive Walmart SuperTech oil at $2.88 a quart.

From "Boogie Is The Oil Guy".
It's produced by Warren Oil Company, Inc. which is one of America’s largest independent lubricant manufacturers. Supertech Motor Oil is a licensed dexos 1 brand, your new vehicle warranty will not be void if you use the brand.
A lot of people have a misconception that more famous brands have better quality motor oil and they usually pay a lot just for the brand name. This may not be true and a recent analysis performed by Blackstone Laboratories indicates that all motor oils are interchangeable.
This means that as long as you choose the oil which meets the weight and technical requirements from your vehicle, it does not matter which brand you choose. Choosing a discounted or low price oil will not harm your engine.

 

[MountaineerTom]

Is there a true, 100% conventional high mileage motor oil? All I've ever come across is blends for high mileage.

I use Valvoline Maxlife in the Jeep and in my Silverado.

 

[mxz800]

What did you see that you didn't like?

We owned a Big A auto parts store, then we switched to Carquest, when Big A went out. The filter Rep came in took a Fram filter off the shelf cut it open showed us what was inside then cut open the Carquest Filter (Wix). This video pretty much shows what we saw.

The worst oil filter EVER! - YouTube

 

[Jerry Bransford]

We owned a Big A auto parts store, then we switched to Carquest, when Big A went out. The filter Rep came in took a Fram filter off the shelf cut it open showed us what was inside then cut open the Carquest Filter (Wix). This video pretty much shows what we saw.

The worst oil filter EVER! - YouTube

A good sales rep for any company is well trained so he can mislead smart people in so many ways it can make their heads spin. Just like the common claims of some who claim Fram's filters use cardboard, as I was led to believe too before I learned better. There's zero cardboard or similar cellulose based products inside a Fram. There are a lot of good oil filters out there, Fram is simply one of them. Fram is the OEM oil filter manufacturer for a lot of non-Fram brands and indeed auto manufactures too. If they were as bad as some claim there'd be a huge number of lawsuits against them since they sell millions of filters a year.

You were totally mislead by that sales rep rep who was simply doing a sales pitch on his product.

P.S. I was a corporate major accounts sales rep for a large international mainframe computer manufacturer. In competitive situations I could do boardroom presentations to make our competitor's very high quality and very expensive computers look very unworthy. It was my job to do that just like that Carquest salesman's job was.

 

[mxz800]

A good sales rep for any company is well trained so he can mislead smart people in so many ways it can make their heads spin. Just like the common claims of some who claim Fram's filters use cardboard, as I was led to believe too before I learned better. There's zero cardboard or similar cellulose based products inside a Fram. There are a lot of good oil filters out there, Fram is simply one of them. Fram is the OEM oil filter manufacturer for a lot of non-Fram brands and indeed auto manufactures too. If they were as bad as some claim there'd be a huge number of lawsuits against them since they sell millions of filters a year.

You were totally mislead by that sales rep rep who was simply doing a sales pitch on his product.

P.S. I was a corporate major accounts sales rep for a large international mainframe computer manufacturer. In competitive situations I could do boardroom presentations to make our competitor's very high quality and very expensive computers look very unworthy. It was my job to do that just like that Carquest salesman's job was.

He must've been very good at slight of hand because he grabbed a filter off our shelf and used a cutter to open it. I guess the Carquest/wix filter could've been fake since he had that with him. I tend to believe my lying eyes.

 

[jeepguy03]

A good sales rep for any company is well trained so he can mislead smart people in so many ways it can make their heads spin. Just like the common claims of some who claim Fram's filters use cardboard, as I was led to believe too before I learned better. There's zero cardboard or similar cellulose based products inside a Fram. There are a lot of good oil filters out there, Fram is simply one of them. Fram is the OEM oil filter manufacturer for a lot of non-Fram brands and indeed auto manufactures too. If they were as bad as some claim there'd be a huge number of lawsuits against them since they sell millions of filters a year.

You were totally mislead by that sales rep rep who was simply doing a sales pitch on his product.

P.S. I was a corporate major accounts sales rep for a large international mainframe computer manufacturer. In competitive situations I could do boardroom presentations to make our competitor's very high quality and very expensive computers look very unworthy. It was my job to do that just like that Carquest salesman's job was.

Yep, never believe sales reps.

Like Jerry stated Frams don't have any cardboard. The endcaps on the filter are fiber, which actually adheres very well to the filter media. While metal endcaps are stronger, it depends on the design. If it's a Wix which has very good construction, that's one thing, but I've personally cut open Motorcraft filters where the metal endcaps separated from the filter media because the glue wasn't holding.

The worst filters are currently Purolators, because there have been many, many reports of tearing media, where the media will separate at the bottom and create a hole in the filter.

 

[H_Nunez]

Valvoline high mileage helped me decrease my lifter ticking noise...
Great news about FRAM, they are constantly on sale at my local autozone... Thanks @Jerry Bransford !