15-50 Mobil 1 ?

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1969 Volkswagen Camper/Van--You know, the "Bus" with the little air-cooled flat 4 cylinder. It works really good in that.
 
Originally Posted By: tig1
FrankN uses it in everthing.


That would be FrankN4. I will notify him about this post so he can give some feedback.
 
Originally Posted By: callbay
If anyone is using 15-50 Mobil 1 oil what are you using it in?


I used to have a '66 Dodge 383 with a lot of miles on it (over 210,000 at the time I tried 15w50). It still ran great so I used Mobil 1 synthetics, but consumption was rather high (1 quart per 1000 miles) with M1 10w30. I tried 15w50 for the better part of a year to see if it would reduce the oil consumption, but it was a disaster. Oil consumption *increased* to a quart per 600 miles or so, and it pinged and rattled like crazy due to all the extra oil consumption and the extra ash deposits.

I went back to 10w30 and the consumption dropped back down a bit. I ran that engine out to 270,000 miles before retiring it for a freshly built 440 about 4 years ago. I suspect that if I picked it up off the engine stand and put it back in a car, it would fire right up... but boy is it ever tired. Gotta remember its first 150,000 miles were on really primitive oils.

The only thing I have to say is that this convinced me that thick oils don't always do exactly what you expect. In this case the oil consumption was due to worn rings with very little tension left, and my theory is that the worn rings skated over the thick oil and failed to scrape it off the walls as thoroughly as the thinner oil. In a healthy engine, I doubt the results would have been so bad, but then I'd see no need to use such a heavy synthetic oil in any healthy liquid cooled engine. An air cooler would be a different story altogether and would probably do great with 15w50.
 
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I've chatted via PM with a few members who noticed contrary to what people think that thinner oil actually reduced consumption in certain vehicles. A few people I've chatted with who own Fords back spec'd to 5W20 tried it and are using less oil than with 5W30 or 5W40. It makes for interesting discussions. I also have a study conducted by Shell oil company showing a chart that backs up that theory. It could also have something to do with what faulty component is causing the oil use.

AD
 
Lets see, in the garage or driveway now is a 2008 Silverado with 6400 miles, a 1999 Cavalier with 211,000 miles, a 1986 Toyota with 301,000 miles. In the past, going back to 1990, a Dodge van, a Ford van, a Saturn I4, a DaeWoo I4, A KIA I4, a Mitsubishi I4, a Pontiac van, a Sunfire I4, a Neon I4, a Corsica V6, a Baretta I4, a Pontiac Grand AM I4, a VW Fox I4, a Camaro v8. Seems like there were some others but at 10:30 I don't remember so well and I am to lazy to look up records. These are for me, my wife, oldest daughter and husband, youngest daughter and husband. If we go after nephews, nieces, brother in laws, sister in laws, and converted neighbors, it is even more.

I have an average figure somewhere, even on a thread here. Again, to lazy/tired/old/late to look it up but the average mileage at trade in was in the 180,000 mile range. every vehicle got better than EPA mileage estimates but that is no big deal. After reading the API site more carefully, the average driver may not notice any difference between a 0W-20 and a 20W-50, so I wouldn't be impressed with mileage. What impresses me is never a leak, never a seep, no consumption, no engine noises, never an engine problem, and an engine with 301,000 miles that reads compression values with speck of a new engine in all 4 cyls, and with a total spread of 8 pounds.

I have no brand loyalty, none. If I find something tomorrow that I honestly believe is better, I will convert at next OCI. I am confident of the ad pack, the base oils, the 100c cSt(low at 18.1) the HTHS(again, not so thick at 4.5) the all around oil.

Understand that this is a personal opinion, but, a personal opinion based upon over 2,000,000 miles of use on many different vehicles, drivers, and geography.
 
Originally Posted By: ADFD1
I've chatted via PM with a few members who noticed contrary to what people think that thinner oil actually reduced consumption in certain vehicles. A few people I've chatted with who own Fords back spec'd to 5W20 tried it and are using less oil than with 5W30 or 5W40. It makes for interesting discussions. I also have a study conducted by Shell oil company showing a chart that backs up that theory. It could also have something to do with what faulty component is causing the oil use.

AD

I would suspect that using a high viscosity oil could increase oil pressure, thus increasing the likelihood of leaks or blow-by.
 
I gave several quarts of M1 15W-50 for my dad to use in his Kawasaki KL250 motorcycle. It completely stopped smoking.

Still doesn't mean I like Mobil 1
wink.gif
 
Originally Posted By: FrankN4
Lets see, in the garage or driveway now is a 2008 Silverado with 6400 miles, a 1999 Cavalier with 211,000 miles, a 1986 Toyota with 301,000 miles. In the past, going back to 1990, a Dodge van, a Ford van, a Saturn I4, a DaeWoo I4, A KIA I4, a Mitsubishi I4, a Pontiac van, a Sunfire I4, a Neon I4, a Corsica V6, a Baretta I4, a Pontiac Grand AM I4, a VW Fox I4, a Camaro v8. Seems like there were some others but at 10:30 I don't remember so well and I am to lazy to look up records. These are for me, my wife, oldest daughter and husband, youngest daughter and husband. If we go after nephews, nieces, brother in laws, sister in laws, and converted neighbors, it is even more.

I have an average figure somewhere, even on a thread here. Again, to lazy/tired/old/late to look it up but the average mileage at trade in was in the 180,000 mile range. every vehicle got better than EPA mileage estimates but that is no big deal. After reading the API site more carefully, the average driver may not notice any difference between a 0W-20 and a 20W-50, so I wouldn't be impressed with mileage. What impresses me is never a leak, never a seep, no consumption, no engine noises, never an engine problem, and an engine with 301,000 miles that reads compression values with speck of a new engine in all 4 cyls, and with a total spread of 8 pounds.

I have no brand loyalty, none. If I find something tomorrow that I honestly believe is better, I will convert at next OCI. I am confident of the ad pack, the base oils, the 100c cSt(low at 18.1) the HTHS(again, not so thick at 4.5) the all around oil.

Understand that this is a personal opinion, but, a personal opinion based upon over 2,000,000 miles of use on many different vehicles, drivers, and geography.


Certainly impressive results! I also think it could be that FrankN4 lives in a warmer climate and the oil could be a better match for him than some of our friends in Canada, or other cold places in the USA, especially during the winter months.

My father had several quarts of the red cap version of Mobil 1 15W-50. He would use it during the summer adding a quart to 4 qts of 5W-30 and used it up that way. JMO

AD
 
Originally Posted By: ADFD1

....
Certainly impressive results! I also think it could be that FrankN4 lives in a warmer climate and the oil could be a better match for him than some of our friends in Canada, or other cold places in the USA, especially during the winter months.....\

JMO

AD



My cars get 0w20/5w20/5w30 or 0w30 (whatever's on sale) due to frequent short trips. If someone ran mostly highway milage trips with few start and stops, the 15w50 probably would be fine in the winter too.
 
Temperature is everything, I lived on L.I. and went to school Upstate NY. I visited the Adirondack Mountains a lot especially in the winter. You would not want to be on top of White Face Mountain in January with 15W50 in the sump for that first cold start in the morning.
 
I ran it in a BMW R1100RT bike. I currently blend it 50/50 with Delvac in a Suzuki SV650. Did a couple of changes in my sis's truck (5.7 SBC) when she towed a horse trailer with a couple of her beasts in it. I like it, never an issue. Have maybe 20 quarts of red cap in my stash for the right situation.
 
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Originally Posted By: Mark888
Originally Posted By: ADFD1
I've chatted via PM with a few members who noticed contrary to what people think that thinner oil actually reduced consumption in certain vehicles. A few people I've chatted with who own Fords back spec'd to 5W20 tried it and are using less oil than with 5W30 or 5W40. It makes for interesting discussions. I also have a study conducted by Shell oil company showing a chart that backs up that theory. It could also have something to do with what faulty component is causing the oil use.

AD

I would suspect that using a high viscosity oil could increase oil pressure, thus increasing the likelihood of leaks or blow-by.



No, it doesn't work that way. The oil pressure generated by the oil pump acts to force oil through internal galleries and into bearings and other wear areas... it does NOT apply pressure directly to any seal that leads outside the engine (except the oil filter gasket), nor does it apply pressure to any sealing junction that leads to the combustion chamber.

So higher oil PRESSURE has no way of causing higher oil consumption directly.
 
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