Best sys oil

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tdi jerry

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I am a long time Mobil 1 user but is there any oil on the market now that is better ? I have a 2012 Ford Fusion 3.0 engine and a 2003 VW beetle 2.0 gas engine. The beetle has been on Mobile 1 0w40 since first oil change. If any oil is better I would like to know even if it cost a little more.
 
"Better" is a very tough term to reconcile with promotional info about modern oils.

Pennzoil YB conventional is an outstanding oil. M1 is also, with the 0w-40 being one of the most certified oils on the planet.

How long do you run it? What filter? What's your driving like?

There's a ton of variables...
 
The best for oil is redline;
Best for your pocket is the no-name SAE30 from the mom n pop store
Best all-rounder is any name brand OTC at Walmart, AZ etc etc

The vw beetle definitely definitely definitely needs redline in the gearbox, 50/50 of MTL & MT90 and it'll change more smoothly than ever before! Trust me, I dont know much about your domestic stuff over there because I never see it over here, but I know VW inside out. An MT90/MTL mix works better than rebuilding the box
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You'll get lots of opinions and no facts. I'd stick to Mobil 1 0W40. It worked for you in the past there's no reason it isn't going to work for you now.
 
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
You'll get lots of opinions and no facts. I'd stick to Mobil 1 0W40. It worked for you in the past there's no reason it isn't going to work for you now.


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Most name brand oils are generally regarded mostly the same thing (for lack of better words) this brand might flow marginally better, while this brand might have marginally better anti wear/gasket sealer additives, while the next brand might have marginally better cleaning additive.

One you get into the name brand popular type most differences are "marginal" improvements and disadvantages over the others.
 
I wouldn't limit myself to one brand of oil. Experiment with other oils(syn or dino) that are held in high regard here at Bob's. Then, see/feel what you and your vehicles like and go by that. Mostly seat of the pants of course
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Originally Posted By: demarpaint
You'll get lots of opinions and no facts. I'd stick to Mobil 1 0W40. It worked for you in the past there's no reason it isn't going to work for you now.


Agreed.

Prime example:

Originally Posted By: Olas
The best for oil is redline;
Best for your pocket is the no-name SAE30 from the mom n pop store
Best all-rounder is any name brand OTC at Walmart, AZ etc etc


Not to pick on Olas, but why???
 
I don't claim to be the expert, far from it, but I stated the best for oil is redline because I believe that, aside from price or availability or any othe factor, redline is the best oil because of its base stock, VI, high levels of AW additives, resistance to shear, temp, fuel etc, and from reading UOAs on here it seems to hold its TBN and KV very very well.
Plus, we European people have different expectations of a 'synthetic' to Americans (enormous generalisation but you know what I mean)

But I accept that there are different 'bests'...for example the best for the environment has been recycled and is biodegradable, but if your definition of best involves spending as little as possible, the no name, non certified stuff at the corner store is probably cheapest, and therefore 'best'
 
I haven't tried a lot of different oils, but have used Quaker State Horsepower, Rotella T6, and lots of PP and Ultra (haven't tried the new formulas). Using Mobil 1 now in our SUV, brother's Honda Civic, and Dad's Tundra. All the vehicles are running better, smoother and quieter. It's more noticeable now, with the Artic blast we are having. I started our Dad's truck yesterday morning and the thermometer said 10 degress. So, yes, it was cold, but it fired right up and didn't take long to quiet down and run smoothly. The same thing with my brother's Civic. He talked about taking our Mom shopping yesterday, and I was surprised because he usually doesn't like driving his car in the really cold weather, and when I asked him why, he said the cold doesn't really seem to be affecting the engine that much for some reason, and he wasn't sure why. I reminded him we switched to Mobil 1 this fall, the last few winters have been Pennzoil Ultra. With the Ultra, the engine had a whine to it after starting in the really cold weather, almost like a power steering kind of whine, but it was coming from the engine. He would let it run for a few minutes, and the noise gradually went away as the engine warmed up.

With the Mobil 1, even with the weather being this cold, the engine is quieter on start up, and it doesn't take long for the engine to smooth out and quiet down as it is running.

I really didn't think there could be that much of a difference between the two oils, but there is. We have not done any tune ups to the vehicles recently, no spark plug changes, just changed the oil.

I know it was a long story, but my point is that since you are already using a really good oil (feel free to try a different oil, that's part of the fun) the difference may not be that noticeable.
 
Use whatever works for you. For non modified daily driven type vehicles, there really isn't a better oil, and any brand name syn oil will work just fine. My oil stash consists of old Penz platinum because I got them for $3 a quart. If I did not have a stash, I would use Supertech syn, it's cheap and it works great.
 
For the price and availability hard to beat the 0w40. Does NAPA have FUCHS or Pentosyn or ELF on sale sometimes? Maybe stay with mobil so you can have the warranty. That engine will run fine on Valvoline VR1 racing Synthetic 10w30 I bet where and when you can find it on sale.
 
I miss the $9.95 oil and filter change back in the day, the 70s when Kmart did oil changes, never a problem,,,wow,,9.95,,,,lets turn back the clock.

Now I use pzoil, 5w30 regular, no different in engine sounds at 20 degrees or 10 degrees,,use the plain jane Pennzoil. 36 bucks now for the oil change,
 
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I have used Mobil I since it became available in the US in about 1976/78 and have experienced no problems across both domestic and foreign vehicles. I doubt there has ever been or ever will be a conclusive test for engine wear. The variable are just too many. To even get close to measuring wear, you would have to weigh each engine part before and after the test runs to get an accurate measure of engine wear. I think most modern engines with scheduled maintenance will outlast their owners.
 
The Warren Oil synthetic Wally World sells as "Supertech" is pretty good stuff for normal driving. If you have one of those German hotrods, though, it does not meet their specs. I use T6 in everything incuding a German bike and the lawn mower.
 
I dont use superstech oil, but some of existing expediters friends do and many have 500 to 700 thousand miles and working great, what can I say.
 
Today, it's difficult to pick a "bad" oil. If you would like help avoiding a "bad" oil you should check here.

The most important thing is to follow your owner's manual.

As far as the comment on Red Line MTL, I have over 400K miles on my Honda. I was previously using 10w-30 engine oil as suggested by the manual and the dealer for the transaxle. I used Mobil 1 10w-30. At 200K miles the bearings started making noise and I rebuilt the unit replacing only bearings, seals, washers and clips. I was changing the oil every 25K miles. The oil analysis was a shock. The M1 engine oil had sheared badly. I switched to RL MTL and at 400K everything looks good and the MTL does not shear like the engine oil did. I change it every 60K miles and the next interval will be 100K.
 
Better? depends upon whose marketing you believe. Try some different oils and see what the seat of the pants dino tells you.
 
Originally Posted By: CourierDriver
I miss the $9.95 oil and filter change back in the day, the 70s when Kmart did oil changes, never a problem,,,wow,,9.95,,,,lets turn back the clock.

Yup. Around 1976-78, I used to buy 5 qts. of QS Deluxe, $2.50-3.00, and a Fram or Purolator oil filter, $1.00-1.50, at K-Mart and do my changes on the Ford Maverick. Five bucks for an oil change!
 
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