Silver

Anybody used it? This appears to me as a sortof psuedo-snake oil product, but my car leaks oil ever so slightly out of (I think) the front seal and I saw someone comment that it stopped their leak once.

I autocross the car and it gets pretty hot here in GA during the summer. I don't drag race.

revtime

I use Max life 10W40 all the time since about 90k. I have seen a significant reduction in my oil leaks, I have a couple I just get a little spot here and there where as with the full synthetic I was seeing puddles. I really need to go through the motor but until then the Valvoline stuff is working great for me. I am assuming the Castrol and Pennzoil stuff would work the same but I hate Pennzoil

steelheart

been using it in my turbo eclipse for about a year now, i like it, i dont have oil leaks but i was burning about 1/2 quart between changes and that has dropped to burning about 1/4 of a quart, and it seems to run a bit quiet, as i had a few loud lifters...ill stick with it seems to to a good job...and it has 110,000 on the clock

Silver

Nice to hear. I just wonder how it holds up under extreme use.

chevyboy_z28

yea like making my car snap the whole speedometer (well most of it atleast ), everytime i get on the freeway. im running mobil1 10w30 full synthetic right now but that **** is expensive, i used to run max life but switched for that extra self comfort, but does max life hold up to extreme, EXTREME use or should i stick with mobil1 just to be safe?

treyZ28

just my 2 cents-

any reputable (ie mobil, valvoline) sythetic oil is MORE than enough for 5,000 miles or so. Its the filter.

Id worry more about the filter than the brand of sythetic oil. Just use snytec and the best filter

again, just my 2 cents

chevyboy_z28

valvoline max life is a synthetic ?

Z28Nut

Max life has additives that swell the gaskets to make them seal but I've heard its just a bandaid as the gasket material will deteriorate faster. I quit using it and had my intake oil leaks (surprisingly) fixed under warranty -- it listed oil seals as a covered repair.

I think they make mineral based and synthetic based versions now. Not sure, though -- I skip past it to the good stuff .

Patman

Maxlife is actually a semi synthetic, since it's base oil has 10% esters in it. That's what gives it a little bit of a swelling effect, plus it helps keep things clean.

I ran Maxlife last summer and had oil analysis done on it and the results weren't too bad. Wear numbers were not spectacular, however the viscosity of the oil stayed nice and solid and it's TBN didn't drop at all. It proved itself to be a good 5 or 6000 mile oil in a sound engine.

KCFormula

However from my understanding they stopped using Moly in it a while ago. I hear good things about the Pennzoil high milage stuff.

Patman

Yes, it's true, they stopped using moly in it, which is why I switched. Pennzoil and GTX High mileage both contain moly in it.

Silver

Does either the Pennzoil or Castrol (shrug) swell the seals to help leaking?

I'd rather keep leaking than shorten the life of an engine with 90k already on it.

Patman

Yes, both of those oils contain esters in them to slightly swell the seals too. It's a very slight swelling, not a harmful amount.

I don't know what you mean by shortening the life of your engine though.