VOA of MaxLife Engine protector

Moly 489
Boron 40
Phos. 567
Potasium 11
Zinc 625
Calcium 240
Mg. 57

15.3cst@100*C

This is a really nice formula. It has about the ideal percentage of phos to zinc (.8:1.00) and a very high moly count. Added to an SL-rated oil, the combined zinc and phos levels will be equivalent to the best and most expensive syn and minoils out there, closer to the SH API spec. It is about a 40w by my estimation. The calcium and magnesium act as detergents and pH buffers, raising the TBN for longer service life. The boron contributes to the MPZ anti-wear / friction modfication addtives. The boron fills the valleys between asperities and helps metal parts slide over each other more easily, and also reduces friction on the piston skirt.

MLEP is only 15 ozs, so 5 quarts of oil + MLEP should be just about right.

At $3-5, this is a significant enhancement of your regular oil fill at not a lot more money.

RR,

So you would suggest adding this on every oil change? With every type of oil? And just to clarify this is the Valvoline product, correct? I as well as many other people thank you for your insight and willingness to share your expertise.

Road Rage (Glenn?),

Just changed out my break-in oil at 1395 miles with 10w30 Pennzoil and Valvoline Max Life Engine Protector. Plan to do the same again in another 2-3k (consistent with your comments about short break-in OCIs http://forums.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.p...threadid=193726 ) and repeat until the mileage clock hits the point where LE 8130 synblend should be okay. (Already have a case of 24 qts of LE 8130 on hand here.)

From the moly counts above it does appear that adding a half can of Mr. Moly Break-In to the VMLEP/dino oil combo for break in purposes really isn't necessary.

Couple questions:
1. Do you concur with the 10k mileage threshold for switching to synthetics? And with LE 8130 synblend is that still an applicable transition point for switching from the dino oil / VMLEP combo?
2. Have you had a chance to finish your analysis of LE 8130 (thread here is where you indicated you were in the process of doing an analysis http://forums.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.p...&highlight=8130 )? You consider adding VMLEP to this synblend a smart move too or does the Monolec additive formulation make adding VMLEP redundant?

BTW as soon as the LE 607 shows up here it's going into the differential -

Again, mucho thanks for all the great work and willingness to share it with everyone!

Best!

--Bob

Excellent questions! You get an A for paying attention in Lube 101 class (sounds of cackling as the Ol' Professor mounts the lecturne, to the titters of the young bucks and buckettes in the audience).

1) No, I do not. The reason is that today's mineral oils are Group III in most cases, and rival synthetics in the area of lubricity (friction-reduction) - see my post on 10w30's in the stickies.

Honda made the 10K recommendation at least 5 years ago. Oils were SE or SF-rated, and Group II. If this were still a big deal, Honda would have to supply us with old oil so we could "break-in the rings" as was apparently needed in the past. They do not, and we have many miles of history where people have been using the GIII oils since MY2002, with no apparent issues. I think honda made its recommendation because it wasn't sure how the engines would break-in in the real world, and have not bothered to change it.

Your next question would likely be: So when should I switch?
I will switch over to 10w30 8130 Monolec at 5000 miles. You should do what your heart tells you.

2) Yes, I have.

TBN: 11.1
Boron: 158
Calcium: 480
Magnesium: 1256
Phosphorous: 958
Zinc: 1200
Silicon: 5
Flashpoint: 425
210 SUS: 64.2

This is a mineral/synblend. High TBN and the AW additive levels will never earn an SL rating from API. Some will carp about the zero moly, but I am not a molyphile, as there is more than one way to skin a cat, and LE has historically excellent wear rates. The high detergency and TBN indicate it should stand up to extended drain intervals. The boron i believe is the material that plates to fill the gaps between the asperities, on the cylinder and piston skirts. Calcium is atypically low, but LE goes its own way on additives, and its unknown "Monolec" material may be happy with lower calcium. Magnesium is comfortably high, which acts as a pH buffer and detergent, offsetting the reduced amt of Ca.

Note that I have mentioned that the phos/zinc ratio should ideally be around 80%. Well, 958/1200 is as close as you can get and indicates amazing Quality Control, and excellent tribology (cause it agrees with me - ha ha).

I would not add MLEP with this oil - it is fine as it is.

Glenn,

As always your tribologist's views are most appreciated. I had wondered about the switchover point to synthetics and you've given a cogent and succinct explanation here.

And, if I managed to miss it elsewhere, your analysis of LE 8130 10w30 is also very very welcome. Looks like there is much to be said for Valvoline MaxLife Engine protector, LE 8130 10w30 synblend, and LE 607 90w GL5 for their intended applications. I intend to try Redline MT-90 in the tranny but am prepared to switch back to Honda's MTF if that proves better for me. I do wonder, and I know the question has been asked of the reps now posting here, if LE has a suitable transmission product they could make available in quarts.

Again my thanks and all the best!

--Bob

Any reasons why Maxlife EP should or should not be used in an autocrossed / tracked '02 with 41K miles and Mobil1 10W-30 with an OCI of 3K miles?

Possibly not reason. Excessive blowby with high amounts of zinc can foul your spark plugs - whether that will happen I cannot of course say - but since you VTEC a lot, you can determine if you have to add oil ferquently between changes, and can yank your plugs to fdetermine of fouling is occurring.

I don't see any real need to add anything to what you are using - M1 10w30 is pretty shear stable, and your short OCI will make it very unlikely that addtives will be depleted. However, since M1 went to an SL-rated oil, it has dropped the levels of phos/zinc (ZDDP), and it is anyone's guess whether M1's new formulation has resulted in higher wear. Since I do not use M1, I have not studied the UOA's, but if you are interested, go to bobistheoilguy.com and join and look at what others have posted on M1 10w30 - but look for a high revving engine, or a Camry V6 for a good idea of how M1 does in a demanding engine.

... Interesting ... Maybe I should do a UOA one of these days ...

What the heck is a UOA? I thought the Gov't was the only one big on acronyms.

If I'm not mistaken UOA stands for "used oil analysis."

And OCI = oil change interval

-Bob

Thanks Bob.

A bit off topic, from my post above.

Road Rage (Glenn),

I asked this knowing you've asked the LE folks if they have something suitable for our trannys. Other than Honda MTF having been described as "a special blend of purified mineral base oil and chemical additives to provide smooth, consistent shifting performance under all driving conditions, over a wide temperature range", and referred to as having a viscosity comparable to 10w30 engine oil, I have no real data for comparisons.

The Redline booklet describes their MTL as a 70w80 GL-4 gear oil with SAE 5w30/10w30 engine oil viscosity, and MT-90 as a 75w90 GL-4 gear oil. The LE Lubrication Reference Guide my area rep sent me gives some basic specs on their products.

Just guessing but I wonder if any of these might be a possibility:

LE 703 Monolec EP gear lube
SAE 80w90
Viscosity, SUS @ 210 F 79.69
......................@ 100 F 814.
......................... VI 95.
Flash Point 390 F
Pour Point -17 F
Timken OK Load 70 lbs

LE 606 Almasol EP gear lube
SAE 80w ISO 100
Viscosity, SUS @ 210 F 68.77
......................@ 100 F 554.6
......................... VI 95.
Flash Point 410 F
Pour Point -17 F
Timken OK Load 65 lbs

LE 300 Monolec EP industrial lube
SAE 80w ISO 68
Viscosity, SUS @ 210 F 57.31
......................@ 100 F 340.4
......................... VI 95.
Flash Point 405 F
Pour Point -22 F
Timken OK load 65 lbs

--Bob