Shell Helix Ultra is fully synthetic engine oil that is best suited for modern high-performance, low emission engines. Modern vehicles need an engine oil that can keep up with their changing appeals, and Shell uses an advanced formulation in the Helix Ultra to match the requirements of high-performance engines. It is approved by many high-performance vehicle manufacturers and is also the only engine oil endorsed by Ferrari.
Its Active cleaning technology keeps the engine clean and offers noise reduction and sustained power performance even at the longest manufacturer-recommended oil change intervals. It keeps the high-performance engine quiet, agile, and responsive while also providing exceptional protection.
Total Quartz 9000 is another fully synthetic engine oil that can be used in all modern petrol engines. It can be used in engines with multi-valve technology with or without catalytic converters. It also is suitable for turbocharged engines. BMW, Mercedes, and Audi are the three notable vehicle manufacturers that have approved this engine oil.
The small turbocharged engines are very sensitive to rough driving conditions like extreme temperatures, stop-and-go driving, etc. To help protect them, the Total Quartz 9000 offers maximum fluidity at low temperatures and a very resistant thin film of oil at high temperatures to protect the engine from wearing off.
Table of Contents
Shell Helix Ultra vs Total Quartz
The Shell Helix Ultra is top-tier engine oil. It is developed from natural gas using Shell’s PurePlus technology. Its detergent additive technology can actively clean your engine’s pistons and promises to keep the engine closer to factory clean. It also provides strong resistance to oil degradation over very long periods between oil change intervals.
As a result of unmatched engine cleanliness and exceptional protection against oil breakdowns, the Shell Helix Ultra can provide oil change intervals as long as 25000 kilometers.
On the other side, the Total Quartz 9000 is made to provide improved fuel economy and improved engine oil robustness. It can give cold-start protection by maintaining engine oil fluidity. It also has extended resistance against oxidation and protection against ring sticking. Whatever the season is, you can count on the Total Quartz 9000 to provide you thermal stability.
Compared to other engine oils, the Total Quartz offers a 3.1% decrease in fuel consumption. Also, it provides the best engine wear-off protection in its category in both cold and hot environments.
| Shell Helix Ultra | Total Quartz 9000 | |
| Oil Type | Full Synthetic | Full Synthetic |
| Engine Type | Gasoline/Diesel | Gasoline/Diesel |
| Viscosity Grade | SAE 0W-30 0W-40 5W-20 5W-30 5W-40 10W-60 | SAE 0W-20 0W-16 5W-20 5W-30 5W-40 10W-40 |
| API | SN/CF | SN/CF |
| ACEA | A3/B3, A3/B4 | A3/B4 |
| ILSAC | GF-5 | GF-5 |
| Oil Change Frequency | Up to 25000 kilometers (15000 miles) | Up to 7000 kilometers (4500 miles) |
| Additives Used | Anti-wear additives, Active cleansing detergent additive, Dispersants, anti-oxidants. | Anti-wear additives, Dispersants, Detergents, Anti-oxidants. |
Viscosity Comparison
The Shell helix ultra comes in four viscosity grades: SAE 0W-30, 0W-40, 5W-20, 5W-30, 5W-40 and 10W-60 whereas Total Quartz 9000 comes in three viscosity grades: SAE 0W-20, 0W-16, 5W-20, 5W-30, 5W-40 and 10W-40.
Take a look at your vehicle’s owner manual to determine the best viscosity grade according to your engine and environment.
Oil Type Comparison
The Shell Helix Ultra is fully synthetic engine oil. It is made from natural oil using a unique technology by Shell called PurePlus and is 99.5% pure with minimal impurities. Its anti-wear additives can neutralize corrosive combustion acids and protect the engine from wearing better than industry standards.
Motor oils can lose 20 percent of their volume due to evaporation. But the Shell Helix is designed with an excellent low evaporation formula that provides an evaporation loss of less than 10 percent. Less evaporation loss means less oil consumption and longer oil change intervals.
Total Quartz 9000 full synthetic provides a combination of low-temperature fluidity and high-temperature load protection. Its remarkable maintenance of fluidity protects the engine at cold starts and protects the mechanical parts at extremely high temperatures.
It also provides 35 percent higher resistance to lubricant aging compared to other engine oils.
Comparing Additives
Shell Helix uses anti-wear additives for engine protection. Its ultimate active cleansing detergent additive seeks out. It gets rid of any deposits, thus providing unmatched protection against sludge build-up. Dispersant and anti-oxidant additives further aid in reducing sludge built-up.
The Total Quartz 9000 has phenomenal detergent and dispersant additives that preserve the engine’s power and efficiency by keeping it clean, resulting in increased fuel economy.
The anti-oxidant additives increase the oxidation resistance of the base oil whereas Anti-wear additives keep your engine running like new.
Effect on Engine Performance
Catalytic Converter Performance
Shell helix ultra has high amounts of the phosphorous present in it. The phosphorous can cause phosphate deposits to settle on the surface of the catalytic converter and damage it by reducing its efficiency of conversion.
Hence the Shell helix can be harmful to a vehicle with a catalytic converter.
The Total Quartz 9000 has low phosphorous content. It enhances the way catalytic converters operate by preventing them from getting damaged through poisoning. It helps reduce the emission of NOx, HC, and CO from the catalytic converter.
Engine Wear-Off Protection
The Shell helix ultra uses zinc and phosphorus in balanced proportions to protect the engine from wearing off. This combination of zinc and phosphorous is called zinc dialkyl dithiophosphate (ZDDP).
It has 850 zinc and 800 phosphorous ppm (parts per million) that work together to provide superior engine wear-off protection. Boron is also present in a notable amount to reduce the friction coefficient in the machine to further protect it from wearing.
Total Quartz 9000 also uses ZDDP additive for wear protection. The amounts of zinc and phosphorous presents are 713 and 623 ppm (parts per million), respectively. It offers a long engine life by protecting the most sensitive interests of the engine against wear.
Engine Seals Protection
Shell helix ultra uses Shell’s active conditioning agent to protect the engine seals from leakage and seal any broken seals, so no oil loss occurs.
On the other hand, Total quartz does not have any conditioning agent. It has good lubrication properties to not cause any leaks in the engine seals, but it is not capable enough to heal already broken seals in an engine.
Reduction Of Sludge Build-up
Shell helix uses Active cleaning technology and provides extraordinary protection against sludge build-up in the engine. High amounts of calcium and magnesium present as detergent additives promise to keep the engine clean as new.
Total Quartz has 1120 calcium and 711 magnesium ppm (parts per million) that provide the best possible protection against sludge build-up in both low and high temperatures.
Oil Change Frequency
In terms of oil change frequency, we concluded that Shell Helix provides better performance as compared to Total Quartz. The Shell helix ultra provides an oil change interval up to 25000 kilometers (15000 miles) whereas Total Quartz 9000 provides an oil change interval up to 7000 kilometers (4500 miles).
Oil burn-off Protection
Evaporation of motor oil can cause quicker oil burn-offs because when the light elements of motor oil evaporate, the oil’s viscosity becomes thick. Thicker engine oil forces the engine to work harder and causes several problems like performance loss, oil breakdowns, etc.
The Shell helix ultra provides excellent oil burn-off protection. It uses a low evaporation loss formula to reduce the amount of oil loss due to evaporation to less than 10 percent.
Total Quartz 9000 does not have any formula to prevent oil loss due to evaporation. However, it has good lubricating properties to maintain friction between the piston rings and prevent them from wearing off in high and low temperatures because worn-out piston rings can result in rapid oil burn-off.
Fuel Economy
Shell helix keeps the engine clean and defends against sludge build-up. A clean engine works much more efficiently compared to a dirty one. Increased engine efficiency leads to an increased fuel economy.
The Total Quartz cleans the engine effectively and offers good lubrication, thus reducing friction between engine parts. The lesser the friction between parts of a machine, the lesser is the energy wasted, leading to an increased fuel economy. The Total Quartz offers a 3.1 percent decrease in fuel consumption compared to the industry standards.
Conclusion
The Shell helix ultra provides phenomenal engine cleaning and excellent oil burn-off resistance. It offers very long oil change intervals.
The Total Quartz 9000 offers better engine protection in extreme temperatures and protects the vehicle’s catalytic converter. It provides excellent fuel economy.
Choose the Shell helix ultra if your vehicle has a high-performance engine, for example, a sports car.
Pick the Total Quartz 9000 if your car has a modern multi-valve or turbocharged engine with a catalytic converter and would be used in extreme environments.
