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Advertising can sometimes be misleading, and from what I've seen, both Exxon-Mobil and Valvoline play the game very well. I looked at Valvoline's wear comparison and it's a joke. The first test show the percentage of phosphorous remaining in their oil versus that of two unnamed competitors, after subjecting the test oils to some 20-hr test I've never heard of. Then they drew the scale on the illustration to begin at 68 and end at 86, making their product appear to be at the top of the scale and their competitors products appear significantly lower. The Table which shows their product providing 4-times better wear protection than Mobil-1 refers to some 100-hour test, but doesn't identify it. The illustration is also absent of any scale which allows the consumer to compare actual numbers. So the bottom line is that while I'm sure Valvoline has some basis for their claims (or they'd get into a legal bind), I believe the ad is misleading.
Reviewing this data gave me the opportunity to do what I have not done in a while, and that is to compare performance data from these two products to AMSOIL synthetic lubricants. Neither Valvoline nor Mobil publish the wear performance data on their oils using industry-standard ASTM protocols, and my guess is that if you were to contact the company and ask for the test results, they would claim ignorance...I've actually done this in the past when comparing oils, and AMSOIL is the only company which freely publishes this data. From what information is available on Syn-Power and M-1, AMSOIL clearly beats them in Viscosity Index, Total Base Number and very importantly in Volatility performance. In fact, AMSOIL 5w-30 performs about twice as well as Syn-Power does in NOACK volatility testing, meaning that Syn Power will lose about twice the volume when subjected to high temperature engine operation, which in turn will contribute to chemical break-down, engine deposits, increased emissions and the need to change the oil more frequently. AMSOIL's TBN is also about 50% higher than Valvoline's, making it much more resistant to the destructive effects of acids, and capable of longer service intervals. Speaking of wear protection, AMSOIL's Signature Series oil will provide over twice the wear protection of Mobil-1 EP (and the EP oil contains significantly more additives than regular M-1) when subjected to a standardized wear test. AMSOIL openly publishes their performance data, much of which is contained on their packaging, without advertising hype.
Companies like Valvoline and Mobil spend huge money on advertising...you have to be wary.
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