I recently had Oil Extreme Better Than Synthetic motor oil put in my Vette. The mobile oil change guy told me I could extend my drain interval two or three times safely. I haven't reached that mileage yet but the car ran faster, cooler and quieter right away. My gas mileage even went up. I don't know exactly how much yet but I think it will be about an extra 50 miles on a tank. Is there any problem with extending my drain interval this much?

I'm going to take it to the drag strip and see if my quarter mile speed went up. If anyone has had experience with this product I would like to hear your comments. Bill

 

If you are pleased with the result, go ahead and useit, but Iwouldn'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 findsome 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)il 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'sa 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 tothe 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 thisits 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 improvementanyway 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-approved0W20 synethic oil (made my Mobile 1) that gives better fuel economy: Oil extreme probably cannot do better than that.

 

An additional note to all my friends on this forum. I try always to be charitable and give others the benefit of the doubt, but I am always a bit suspicious of any new member whose first and only contribution is basically a product sales pitch.

To be a bit more blunt that I was above, I wouldn't use Oil Extreme in my lawnmower (which, by the way, I really like, but it gets used oil nonetheless -- as I've said before I drain the Mobil 1 in the Porsche at half the recommended interval andtwo quarts of itgo straight into the lawnmower). Reasons: it is a natural oil -- fine for cars designed for it years ago but not in a car designed for synthetics, and its got a lot of unknowns.

Anyone who wants something like Oil Extreme (an "exotic" high-additive lubricant from a small nice player) might want to look at Royal Purple. It's got a good reputation and some proven results at providing those HP additions and fuel economy increases. Don't take my word for it. Compare Oil Extreme's and Royal Purple's websites: OE gives you nothing conclusive except "hype," but RP's websiteprovides technical data, results of independent tests and lab studies that backup their claims, etc. (Note also they are a sponsor of this site, which counts in my book, too).

 

Dear Lee:

Thanks so much for your very thorough reply to my post. Your suggestions are appreciated, but they differ so greatly from what Oil Extreme told me, it made me do some study to find out the truth.

On their website at www.oilextreme.com there is a section on the left side of the home page that has a technical paper on the oil extreme (extreme pressure technology.) it is very interesting, and one of the most complete discussions on the importance of extreme pressure I've found.

1. It seems that the hydro cracked oil is the same thing used by many of the synthetic oils. I understand from other sources that Castrol Syntec is 100% hydro cracked based oil. It is considered a synthetic oil and does not deteriate like regular petroleum based oil.

2. I understand about gains using thinner oil. I used the same viscosity as always.

3. Oil Extreme also uses a standard additive package just like everyone else, so it meets all api standards, but when
they add their calcium carbonate package on top of it, it gives them the right to claim it is better than synthetic.

4. They also have a TBN of 18 to 20, where reguloar oil has a TBN of only 8 or 9. That seems to be why they can
claim to extend the drain interval two or three times. I'm thinking of doing oil analysis to verify the wear and
condition of the oil.

Lee, thanks again for your input. I'll post again if I have any problems. But now I'm very happy.

 

Well, good luck.

 

Lee,
You have any thoughts on AMSOIL? I use it for everything in my Tahoe and Vette (tranny, diffs, oil, oil filter). 4 or 5 years ago I did some research on the best oil to use for my then less than 1 year old Tahoe...and my conclusion was AMSOIL. I guess I'll see how it holds up in the long run.....been using it since the Tahoe had maybe 7,000 miles (only 44K now).....and the Vette got some when she had less than 4,000 miles (only 6,030 now)...so we'll see how they hold up in the long term....the vette gets extra special treatment even with the tranny and rear diff...since she spends some time on the race track....figure it is cheap preventative maintenance....comparatively.

 

It is good stuff, from what I hear and observe. Don't use it myself but people I do know have had no problems and they push their cars hard and long.

 

Nobody is ever going to agree on oil. I use Mobil one in every gas engine I have and have for 20 years.
All I will say about quality is that, how much money does mobil have for research compared to a no name working out of the garage company?