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Anybody using Valvoline SynPower Fork Oil on a Boxxer?

Verskis

Verskis

Monkey
May 14, 2010
458
8
Tampere, Finland
Has anybody used Valvoline SynPower Fork Oil (http://www.valvolineeurope.com/uploadedFiles/2959.pdf) on a Rock Shox Boxxer? Does it work well?

The reason I'm asking is since the Boxxer bushings seem to be incompatible with a couple of synthetic oils that have a very high viscosity index, like Silkolene RSF and Red Line Fork oil (see http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=246938), I'm curious if the Valvoline oil causes similar bushing swelling and stiction.
The Valvoline oil is cheap, made in a good viscosity grade and has high viscosity index, so I would be tempted to use that oil in my fork if it does not cause problems with the bushings.
 
RedOne

RedOne

Monkey
May 27, 2007
172
0
Nuremberg, Germany
Modified Boxxer with open bath damper (Avalanche)?

I'm asking, because on a stock Boxxer the damper oil is not in contact with the bushings at all. For lubrication on a stock fork use some cheap mineral non-synthetic ATF.
 
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Verskis

Verskis

Monkey
May 14, 2010
458
8
Tampere, Finland
Yep, Boxxer with Avalanche, so I need oil that is good for both lubrication and damping.
So far I've been using Motul Factory Line fork oil, but this Valvoline stuff would be almost half the price and twice the viscosity index.

And the viscosity index matters to me also on a fork (where the temperature will not rise like in a rear shock) because I ride also in winter, and I'd like the fork to work in cold conditions too (like -10 Celsius).
 
Verskis

Verskis

Monkey
May 14, 2010
458
8
Tampere, Finland
Udi said:
I probably wouldn't use motor oil as damping oil, but you could try it if you must.
Click to expand...
Motor oil? We're talking about the SynPower fork oil.


Can you really notice a difference in the VI of the oil in a high volume open bath damper? I would imagine some resistance might just come from the sliding parts being tighter in weather that cold, which may just require warm up rather than a change in fluid VI. You could perhaps just try a lower viscosity oil to compensate for the increased resistance.
Click to expand...
It's not that I need the high viscosity index to keep the fork consistent during the ride in cold conditions, it's just that I don't want to change oils depending on the weather. Last winter I was riding in -12 Celsius on one weekend and +2C on another, and trust me, the fork behaves quite a different in these temperatures with the Motul oil.
 
Udi

Udi

RM Chief Ornithologist
Mar 14, 2005
4,915
1,200
Sorry I realised I was retarded! Obviously missed the fork oil part.
It looks like a good product to me. Try it and see.

I agree that suspension feels very different in the cold, on a cold morning in Europe I could feel things were noticeably slower especially at the top of the chairlift.. just not sure if it was due to increased oil viscosity or the sliding parts being tighter in the cold - probably some mix of both.
 
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