First Royal Purple Oil change...

[kmckis1029]

I just ran Mobil One 10w-30 synthetic for ~3400 miles. The mobile one had a great heat up time compared to regular dino oil, and the penzoil full synthetic i ran before it. the engine reved nicely and consistently through all ~3400 miles... the engine sound didnt change much towards the ~3400 miles... the dino oil and the penzoil had a coarse sound towards the end of the ~3400 miles. (i ride with no radio and just me and the engine 40% of the time)

i have no complaints about mobile 1.

so i wanted to try RP on this oil change... i go to my local auto parts store and pick up 5 bottles of RP and a K&N performance oil filter for 61 bucks after tax. i go to a local auto shop to get a labor only oil change for 16 bucks.

ok now the interesting part... the guy goes to pull my car in and sets off the alarm... takes him about 2 minutes to figure out how to turn it off... then he finally pulls the car in the bay... looks at my mileage (30k miles) and begins to try to up sale me... with an engine flush? i decline. after about 15 mins he comes back and immediately saids to me

tech -"Dont run that oil in your car any more!" me - "why i hear good things?"tech- "my avalanche ran RP and blew a piston, i go mudding and my truck sees more wear that that car ever will, RP is a bad oil"me - tech - "Mobil 1 is the best you can get, i build race cars, i didnt blow a piston until i ran RP"tech - "you can run Mobil 1 for 5k with a good filter"tech - he spit some facts/specs about Mobil 1me - " i would never go much past 3k"me- "well i'll take my chances, ill let you know what happens"tech - "oh by the way that k&n filter is great though"

ok i have only heard great things bout RP here on this forum and other websites that tested and confirmed its claim to give a HP gain. My thinking is that he ran the **** out of his chevy and happen to have RP in his truck. he needed something to blame... and even if it was the RP... he is talking about two different engines... v8 vs v6... jap vs american... apples to oranges in my opinion... oh he even mentioned that he ran RP in his water crafts with the same negative effects...

What do yall think of the techs negative review of RP in a chevy avalanche?

ok my initial review of RP:

noticed a smooth rev... but im not sure if that is just because i have new oil in the car after about 3400 miles... the car does feel different past 5k like jacko3 always talks about... im really looking forward to see the warm up time in the morning when i go to work...

[BrandAidDesignG35]

Good ol' techs...

So, what do you think now? I have never had the chance to go with RP yet, but I do use Mobile 1 syn.

It seems to work pretty good, but I've been curious about amsoil and Royal Purple lately... I know they will be better, just don't have the $ these days

[joe603]

LOL! "techs".

Here's a few things. The difference between Royal Purple and Mobil 1 is that RP is a true synthetic (Amsoil is the other). With that being said, both oils will more than protect your engine 10x better than regular dino oil. The fact that the tech is basing his decision on an event that would have happened on any oil should tell you something. Additionally, he could have been running a race oil, or a lightweight oil that his engine wasn't designed to handle.

The other thing I'd like to mention is a word on oil filters. If an oil filter is too restrictive in it's filtering, at higher RPMs the oil will go through the bypass valve. K&N filters have been known for this. I recommend you use the OEM Nissan filter for your G.

Finally, since you live in the south (I was stationed at Warner Robins AFB for 3 years) I recommend you go with a higher weight oil. Use RP 10w-40. The VQ35 seems to prefer heaver oil and your temps won't be that low.

[kmckis1029]

ok this morning it was 29 degress out side... if you have your heat on auto and just set a temp (in my case 80 degress) it will not even run the fan until the car heats up... so i got a chance to compare heat up times between mobile 1 and RP...

I usually let my car ilde for 2-5 mins depending on how late i am for work I wait til the temperature needle moves before i move my car if im not late.

Ok what i did notice was my car almost imediatly settled at 1100 rpms with RP... while the Mobile 1 would fluxuate up and down between 1300 and 1100 and eventually settle at 1100... this is all before the car is taken out of Park... I idled for about 2-3 minutes before the temp needle started to move... the was only a liitle bit faster than Mobile 1... nothing to brag about...

But! once i pull out my parking spot the car rapidly heated up... my heat (in auto mode) was blowing full blast before i travelled about 100-150 yards... it caught me off guard... with the mobile 1 heating up under load is definitly slower... the G didnt even feel like it had been sitting over night in 20 degree weather... i was tempted to flog the car after just driving a total of about 6 mins from cold start up... i guess this is were RP's metal sticking Synerlec additive shines... so far so good with RP

[kmckis1029]

yeah ima civillian engineer at the base... it been cold lately... in the 20s most morings...

local parts stores only sell the 10w-30... i guess cause thats what most cars use...

[marlin29311]

Tech advice blah blah blah...

Someone just has a chip on his shoulder and needed someone to blame after he destroyed his engine. You shouldn't run oil past the 3750 mark recommended by Nissan, because as with any oil out there, it gets contaminated! Moron probably ran his for like 7,000 miles and blew the crap out of his engine.

No worries - use your RP with pride! I'm thinking about using RP on my next change or so - I've been using Quaker State Q power and like it a lot, and I'm interested to see any changes.

[joe603]

You can buy RP from Summit Racing online ...or drive about 40 miles north on I75 to Exit 216. They have a Summit Racing warehouse with a showroom!

[tollboothwilley]

^^ thats exensive

I bought it from a local checker and it cost me like $7.50/qt

[Jacko3]

kmckis1029:

The Tech you talked to, is a scam artist. His engine was already in terrible shape to begin with, until RP probably brought the sickness in his engine, to light. You know, its like an old engine that suddenly gets a shot of real synthetic oil----it almost always fails, or starts to behave abnormally, or shows signs of weakness, which becomes very pronounced when using the real quality stuff.

That Mobil 1 kept his engine together for so long, is testament to the lower quality of Mobil 1, because Mobil 1 may actually be behaving more like a high end dino oil than it does behave like a real synthetic oil, and thus, the reason his engine held up with Mobil 1 and not with RP. RP is meant for a healthy, well tuned, and sound engine that needs to rev up and be driven hard. On the RP bottle, they clearly state that RP should not be used in engines designed prior to 2003. This means most engines that use RP are still fairly new and fairly modern and high performance, at that.

Like i have repeatedly said in the past, if a person has no need to flog their car, they need to stick with Mobil 1. I personally cannot drive my car and not wait to see the tachometer needle get to 7,000 RPM. I am always unhappy when I don't get to 7,000 RPM, in any driving session.

I have been using RP now for three months or more, and flogging my car way up to 7,000 RPM all the time, and it is great. Yes, RP will warm your car up much faster than Mobil 1. Try running your car over 5,000 RPM a couple of times and you will be amazed at the sudden torque you get from that experience. I will never let a local shop touch my car, except on a dire emergency. Its going to be either a Nissan shop or an Infiniti shop. By the way, I use Mobil M - 108 oil filter. I feel it is slightly better than OEM filter. Works excellently.


Modified by Jacko3 at 10:27 AM 1/14/2009

[pfarmer]

LOL! "techs".

Finally, since you live in the south (I was stationed at Warner Robins AFB for 3 years) I recommend you go with a higher weight oil. Use RP 10w-40. The VQ35 seems to prefer heaver oil and your temps won't be that low.

Is this really supported, that is 40? If the oil is heavier at operating temps than necessary it may actually raise the normal operating temps, especially if operated at higher speeds.

Perry

[kmckis1029]

i paid the same amount at Avance Auto...
Modified by kmckis1029 at 11:43 AM 1/14/2009

[smockers83]

I personally cannot drive my car and not wait to see the tachometer needle get to 7,000 RPM. I am always unhappy when I don't get to 7,000 RPM, in any driving session.

Dude, I know we all know this, but you're nuts. But that's why we like you.

[kmckis1029]

exactly what i thought... i have a newer high rev engine that will benifit from this type of oil...

oh and the nissian shop we have here is always booked though the week... i figured a local shop can handle an oil change... i will be doing a customized 30k service at the dealership... basicly all the stuff i cant do/dont have the tools for/ or time to do... so that should bring infiniti's quoted $460 30k service price well down...

i havnt really got to run it past 5k but twice for a short period since the oil change... but the G enjoyed it a little more with RP

if these initial effects last though my about ~3500 oil change interval... RP will have a permanentt customer


Modified by kmckis1029 at 11:54 AM 1/14/2009

[joe603]

Is this really supported, that is 40? If the oil is heavier at operating temps than necessary it may actually raise the normal operating temps, especially if operated at higher speeds.

Perry

By temps, I meant outside temp. You can go with the 10W-X if you don't live in the north. Otherwise a 5W-X is recommended.

[pfarmer]

By temps, I meant outside temp. You can go with the 10W-X if you don't live in the north. Otherwise a 5W-X is recommended.

It is not the 5w or the 10w I was mentioning as that corresponds to the outside temperature. The 40 however is the issue which corresponds to the viscosity of the oil at operating temperatures of something like ~ 210 degrees f (~100 C).

Unless you have a worn engine you may get better lubrication and cooling with a lower viscosity oil such as 5w - 30 than you will with 5w - 40 due to better oil flow. Too thick of oil can cause higher operating temperatures due to restricted oil flow and in severe cases oil whip with various bearings due to wedge formation.

There is little to be gained and often a lot to be lost due to too high of viscosity oil for the application. Infiniti, at least for 2008 recommends 5w - 30. Recommendations by many other sources typically state to use the most narrow range based on outside temperatures, engine operating temperature, engine wear, and operating speed of the engine.

Perry

[Jacko3]

Smockers:

You need to see me my sad face on my way back from work, if I haven't revved up the engine up to 7,000rpm---my face is filled with rage. This condition is usually caused by slow and annoying drivers on the road. So, the solution is for me to continue driving around on the highway until i get to a strip where I can open up the car up to 7,000rpm for a few seconds. Once I get that satisfaction, then I am on my way home. Its like sex---you know how mad a guy can get when he has a hard-on and then she says no.

[C-Kwik]

I wouldn't worry too much about what one tech says. His perception is based on what appears to be a very limited observation. I think if there was a problem with RP causing engine failures, it would be all over the internet. Even cheap oils don't inherently cause oil changes. Especially after one change. My question to the tech would be how does he know that the RP oil caused the failure? What eveidence does he have? Since engines can fail due to a number of reasons, what conclusive or at least strong evidence can he provide that would point to the RP oil being a cause or even a contributor to his engine failure. My guess is he has none. Frankly, if he had more knowledge and the capability to make such an analysis, he wouldn't be a oil change tech...

I personally can't say anything good or bad about RP oils, but I'd speculate its a pretty good product. Unfortunately, the article I've been posting recently (http://www.sportrider.com/tech/146_0308_oil/index.html) didn't include any Royal Purple products in the tests. A quick search online found me this article:

http://www.animegame.com/cars/Oil%20Tests.pdf

Royal Purple performed very well in the specific test they performed, but it has no info that would help us to consider what kind of other characteristics the oil will have throughout the motor and over time. This test only shows how well the tested oils rate in one aspect only. The problem with this particular test is that it does not replicate conditions that exist in a motor. Typical wear surfaces in a motor do not typically include a cylinder rotating at high speed coming into contact under heavy pressure (since the contact area is small, the PSI will be high despite the small amount of weight used). Wear areas of a motor will typically have broader areas of contact where even high loads will be pretty well spread out. I wouldn't doubt that every oil used would have sufficient capability to prevent metal to metal contact in just about any mainstream motor. But the results in the article might suggest that there is likely a pretty high degree of R&D having gone into RP. But it does say nothing of its ability to neutralize acids, what base stocks are used, and what additives are in it. These would give much more clues as to how they will perform overall. One great thing that can be said about RP is it appears that it may have great ability to resist damage when parts of an engine might be starved for oil and such. But it probably won't add any significant improvements for a healthy motor.

Also be aware that the article appears to be an Australian publication. Oils there may differ from oils we find here. Not to mention, even oils of differing viscosities may have different properties.

Sorry if this post seems a bit scattered. I have no time to go back and clean it up. The GF's is watching over my shoulder trying to get me to do stuff...

[kmckis1029]

thanks for the info yeah scattered but i followed you...

The GF's is watching over my shoulder trying to get me to do stuff...

mines was doing the same thing when i wrote this post... she even got slightly jealous... "how come you didn't tell me this story?"

[kmckis1029]

Jacko3 when ever my day looks like its going to turn bad.. I jump in my g35x, turn off the radio, and purposely get caught at red lights just so she can comfort me by singing all the way to 6600 rmps...

[Jacko3]

Thats right! Thats the way to go. I do this all the time. Well done!

[Jacko3]

C-Kwik:

Well said! make sure you hit that thing very well before coming back to the board. GF must know who the man is. Make her scream!

Oh, C-Kwik, before I forget, well, since I started using RP, I have begun to notice that my engine naturally revs less to produce more power than it used to produce before I started using RP. It seems to produce most of its power before 7,000rpm, unlike in the past when the engine required high revs to produce similar or less power. That I routinely go to 7,000rpm these days is more out of my deliberate choice than it is a matter of the engines revving characteristics.

It would appear that the glazing characteristics of RP, as seen in the link you provided, in my engine, may infact be reducing friction so much that my engine need not naturally get up to 7000rpm as it used to do in the past, in order to generate awesome power.


Modified by Jacko3 at 7:14 AM 1/15/2009

[kmckis1029]

wow that article, while it only tests one aspect, speaks volumes to me... when the other oils finally failed they scatched and dented the roller... when RP finally failed it just wore the roller down smoothly with no dents or scratches... that is amazing

so in failure RP out preformed other oils which futher shows why that tech was talking non sense..

[C-Kwik]

Oh, C-Kwik, before I forget, well, since I started using RP, I have begun to notice that my engine naturally revs less to produce more power than it used to produce before I started using RP. It seems to produce most of its power before 7,000rpm, unlike in the past when the engine required high revs to produce similar or less power. That I routinely go to 7,000rpm these days is more out of my deliberate choice than it is a matter of the engines revving characteristics.

It would appear that the glazing characteristics of RP, as seen in the link you provided, in my engine, may infact be reducing friction so much that my engine need not naturally get up to 7000rpm as it used to do in the past, in order to generate awesome power.

At best a slippery oil will reduce some frictional losses, but you're probably not going to see anything more than about 3-5 HP gains at most. Let alone offset additional power gained through revving higher. It would be fun to believe that such gains could exist, but most people tend to be affected by the psychological aspects of "modifications" than they realize.

wow that article, while it only tests one aspect, speaks volumes to me... when the other oils finally failed they scatched and dented the roller... when RP finally failed it just wore the roller down smoothly with no dents or scratches... that is amazing

so in failure RP out preformed other oils which futher shows why that tech was talking non sense..

While I wouldn't call BS on the tech based on RP's ability to handle high loads, if he could show that there was a flaw with RP, chances are, he would have elaborated.

As for RP's high loads, I speculate that chemists know of chemicals that can handle loads just as well. The problem for oil is that it has a lot of different functions and properties it needs to be designed with. The high film strength depicted by that test was probably much more than needed. I am curious about how well it handles other functions of oils though. I'm sure its adequate. But when you're paying top dollar for a product, one has to wonder how it compares to other high end products. Hell, how much more benefit are you getting over more typical products for that matter.

One shouldnote that Valvoline's Durablend was only slightly worse that RP's products. If they used the same forumla across that line of oils, one might find that it would be a more cost effective option than RP and loads better than most of the other products tested in that article. But as with RP, we don't know how well it handles the other requirements for oil...

[kmckis1029]

i have seen other articles that did a most extensive tests... they were linked from the RP web site... i dont know if you could consider it bias.. or them just saying "you dont have to take our word for it "

but RP was in the top 3 in most of the tests...

http://www.royalpurple.com/rp-articles.html

[ZeroDfx]

Has worked for me with no problems. I've used it for the last oil change after Mobil 1 for years and can't say I notice any big difference. I'm comfortable with either/both.

[Tampa G35 Sedan 6MT]

Just did an oil change today with RP + M1 Filter

I had bought a few sets of oil changes when it was on sale. 29.99 for 5 qts and a mobil 1 filter!

I have been changing it every 3-5k miles and i did this last change at 3500 miles. The oil still looked very clear for its age. Love how it gets hot fast and smooths the motor noise.

Great oil with great results.

DJ