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Lee Willis -> RE: Oil Extreme Better Than Synthetic in my Vette (6/29/2007 1:42:48 PM)
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If you are pleased with the result, go ahead and use it, but I wouldn't extend the oil change internal at all beyond the factory recommendations. I can't find out much real detail about it (Oil Extreme's website gives no details - mostly marketing hype and ordering options. A bit or research and googling gathered info that indicates it is a hydrocracked natural oil (basically, I guess you could call it a 'very premium' type natural oil ) and I did find some research results in peer-reviewed journals that indicate its major additive (calcium carbonate) does reduce wear on valve trains and in certain friction lab tests (Falex test, etc.).
But I would not extend the oil change intervals -- in fact I would shorten them by about 35% if I were using it my car because:
a) this is a non-synthetic oil and thus it will deteriorate somewhat faster than synthetics as a function of operating temperature. You say the car runs cooler but the oil still gets hot inside the engine, etc., particularly in a car driven hard, and organic compounds simply deteriorate faster than synthetics and there is nothing anyone can do about that. The recommended oil change intervals for your vette are based on synthetics, remember.
b) even with al its additives, and asusming they work well, this lubricant will sdtill slowly gather dirt and moisture and turn acidic(the calcium carbonate will certainly help there but it will still do so):oil change intervals are largely about the oil getting moisture and particles it it, not the oil's wearing out,
c) Improving the oil does not improve the filter, and the reocmmended factory interval is about as long as you should go without changing the filter: you can remove the filter without replacing all the oil (tends to get a bit messy sometimes, though: but why do that?
d) Finally, Oil Extreme's website says " 8 to 10 thousand miles between oil changes." That is hardly two to three times the normal 'vette interval.
In addition, the Oil Extreme website does not mention that their products meet industry standards, and particularly GM's standards, for oil and additives: I think it if meet the various requirements of GM, Prosche, Ford, etc, they'd mention that in their website. So, you're taking a small risk, first with the car (there might be something that isn't in Oil Extreme that your car needs, and second, with the warranty: if you have engine problems I would drain the oil out and replace it with factory-recommended before taking it in for a warranty claim- Oil Extreme looks sufficiently different (it's a bit clearer) that a mechanic might notice, and then a simple test would give you away. One thing that will trash your warranty is getting caught using non-approved lubricants.
Finally, as to the claims of additional HP and mileage, you can pick up a bit of HP and mileage on just about any car by switching to a low viscousity oil but you have to ask, "compared to what?" and in claims like this its perfectly legit for someone like Oil Extreme to compare their 5W20 to a 15W55 natural (and cheap) oil and claim a big improvement: what you have to realize is that changing to any 5W20 would do that: but I would never use a lubricant that thin unless it was a synthetic.
Also, you may not get the improvement anyway Many newer cars already come with the thinest oil the manufactuers can put in, for example, this year, just about all Fords come with a new, Ford-approved 0W20 synethic oil (made my Mobile 1) that gives better fuel economy: Oil extreme probably cannot do better than that.
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