Is high mileage oil worth it?

Answer 1

Worth it depends on what you are trying to accomplish. Current High Mileage oils (as of 2011) now have a proven track record of success for slowing oil consumption, reducing sludge, allowing for extended life on engines that are showing signs of wear.

Will it..

Stop oil from leaking on the floor? Unlikely, could slow some.

Slow oil consumption? Yes. Be patient, takes a while, up to 3 oil changes depending on sludge buildup

Clean engine sludge? Yes

Which ones best? Each car is different. I suggest anything synthetic over conventional. Suggest you start with Valvoline maxlife synthetic blend, (cheaper) then go to Mobil 1 High Mileage Full synthetic if you see any success with oil consumption maxlife. Why? Maxlife syn blend is a migration step to full synthetic. The 1 in Mobil 1 means all synthetic, oil lasts longer, which helps additives do their thing. Both can be found at Walmart. Modern synthetics are different than the oil days where there was a fear of leaks worsening. Not true with modern synthetics.

Try the recommended viscosity first, always better than starving off oil consumption with thick artery clogging oil...

the "w" stands for winter, cold temps. where majority of wear happens. that rapping cold start. why its bad to use thicker oil than recommended, why high mileage oils are sol valuable. additives over thickness.

Other things to remember...

The first few Oil changes with high mileage oil are going to go dirty black fast. Change early the first 2 (using the cheap valvoline) . During that time use the extended drain filters like the Fram xtended Guard. This Fram is NOT the regular Fram. Its gold and has extra capacity for sludge loosened by initial high mileage treatments.

Also another trick...run the good Mobil 1 high mileage...at 3k when its real dirty, drain, but don't swap the filter. Put some cheap walmart synthetic supertec in, drive for a week, drain that, then go back to the high mileage with an extended drain filter like Fram xtended Guard. Ultimately you should be able to go six months/7500 on Mobil 1 High mileage full synthetic and the Fram or Mobil xtended drain filters.