Bought SM Oil; Waiting out others to try SN first

[JasonBraswell]

Call me crazy, but I just picked up a bottle of M1 EP 5w30 "SM" because I am nervous about switching to SN. I know it's been tested on various platforms by the "oil companies" but I wanted to see some 12 month+ results and opinions on this site before changing over. Anyone else this conservative?

 

[JHZR2]

Conservative??!? About what? When has a newer API spec been worse than an older one? Was any of the hype moving out of SL to SM substantiated? Nope. ZDDP is obsolete technology and is only necessary in huge amounts in a few obsolete engine designs.

Seems like youve caught a hype bug. Im surprised youre using M1 given that it might have some group III in it

 

[unixguru]

Originally Posted By: JasonBraswell
Call me crazy, but I just picked up a bottle of M1 EP 5w30 "SM" because I am nervous about switching to SN. I know it's been tested on various platforms by the "oil companies" but I wanted to see some 12 month+ results and opinions on this site before changing over. Anyone else this conservative?


I'm in the same boat as you're. I've waited 6 months before trying Pennzoil Ultra just to see feedback/reviews/UOAs. Honestly speaking though, I don't think synthetic SM vs. synthetic SN would be any different in terms of performance. Mineral based SN vs. SM might be different, but I don't think synthetic would be.

 

[HTSS_TR]

I don't have any SN oil in my stash now because I only buy when it is dirt cheap. There is no good deals, 99 cents or less for dino or $2 or less for syn, the last 5-6 months. I still have some Mobil 1 SL in my stash, even if I am going to buy SN tomorrow I need to use the old SL and SM first before using SN, not because I don't trust the new formula but first on first out.

 

[Indydriver]

My daughter just bought a new 2011 V6 Accord for which I will be performing the maintenance. So, I bought some OE oil and filters to get her through the warranty period. The oil, part# -9037, "Honda Genuine Fully Synthetic" 0W-20 is SN, GF-5, reportedly made by CP. Another knowledgeable BITOG member reports that the SN cold-cranking viscosity spec is much higher for this weight oil in SN than SM.

So I guess we can let her be the guinea pig. Anybody want to see UOAs? [Note: After reading some of the disasterous UOAs from the Honda V6 FF, I'm thinking about a relatively early first OCI.]

One more comment: Are all the great syn sales out there now just a normal selling rotation or are the manufacturer's blowing out their SM inventories?

 

[ARB1977]

The Jetta will get SM and SN once oil change time comes. The Tacoma will get SM till next spring. Hopefully Mobil One will have a full synthetic HM by then.

 

[Virtuoso]

6,000 miles so far on a fill of 5w30 QuakerState "Green Bottle".. runs, sounds, and feels just like every fill of SM it ever had.

 

[demarpaint]

I have a pretty good stash or SM oil at the moment. I'm waiting on Castrol to publish the Edge PDS to see how it changed. Call it curiosity and the fact that I'm sitting on a stash of oil at the moment. I have the luxury to wait for a good deal and then add to my stash. Most feel the change from SM to SN was an improvement. It seems some of the oil companies sure do take their sweet time updating their PDS sheets.

 

[tig1]

No need to wait to use SN oil. The SM M1 oil you bought may be the same as SN. If not the same then there would be little differance.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Indydriver
My daughter just bought a new 2011 V6 Accord for which I will be performing the maintenance. So, I bought some OE oil and filters to get her through the warranty period. The oil, part# -9037, "Honda Genuine Fully Synthetic" 0W-20 is SN, GF-5, reportedly made by CP. Another knowledgeable BITOG member reports that the SN cold-cranking viscosity spec is much higher for this weight oil in SN than SM.

So I guess we can let her be the guinea pig. Anybody want to see UOAs? [Note: After reading some of the disasterous UOAs from the Honda V6 FF, I'm thinking about a relatively early first OCI.]

One more comment: Are all the great syn sales out there now just a normal selling rotation or are the manufacturer's blowing out their SM inventories?


I highly doubt the API has changed the "spec" for xw-y0 oils... The product may be slightly thicker, bit if the car is not going to operate at the ragged edge, I doubt there is an issue of any sort. This change may have been necessitated by the need to be more robust at temperature, which is what I'd be more interested in... We won't see a big difference during the few cold starts, but we may over the next many tens of thousands of miles of running at temperature...

 

[Nickdfresh]

Originally Posted By: JasonBraswell
Call me crazy, but I just picked up a bottle of M1 EP 5w30 "SM" because I am nervous about switching to SN....


Have you not paid attention to the threads comparing spec's and how much SN exceeds SM in everything from wear protection to seal compatibility?

 

[mechtech2]

I see the new oil specs as an upgrade in all respects.
There are pie graphs and charts of what it does better on this site.

 

[RegDunlop]

Originally Posted By: Nickdfresh
Originally Posted By: JasonBraswell
Call me crazy, but I just picked up a bottle of M1 EP 5w30 "SM" because I am nervous about switching to SN....


Have you not paid attention to the threads comparing spec's and how much SN exceeds SM in everything from wear protection to seal compatibility?


Can somebody post a link to such a thread with graphs and charts etc, I can't seem to find such a thread.

 

[3311]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
I see the new oil specs as an upgrade in all respects.


I believe wear ratings stayed the same as SM.

 

[fdcg27]

Originally Posted By: JasonBraswell
Call me crazy, but I just picked up a bottle of M1 EP 5w30 "SM" because I am nervous about switching to SN. I know it's been tested on various platforms by the "oil companies" but I wanted to see some 12 month+ results and opinions on this site before changing over. Anyone else this conservative?


I've stuck with SJ.
Don't want to fix what ain't broken.
Just kidding.
I'd use SN in any engine of the past twenty years without hesitation, and it would likley be fine in any OHC engine of any vintage.
Might be a few old non-roller OHV engines that wouldn't do well with SN, but those who still have these beasts know what they have and what they need.

 

[JasonBraswell]

Originally Posted By: ARB1977
The Jetta will get SM and SN once oil change time comes. The Tacoma will get SM till next spring. Hopefully Mobil One will have a full synthetic HM by then.


Confused by this statement... why do you think Mobil 1 HM oil is not a "full synthetic"?

 

[JasonBraswell]

Any data to back up this statement? Do you think M1 kept the same additives and they did not switch to the Ti ingredient like Mobil did on the new Super? There is a VOA posted showing where they changed the oil add packs up from the previous Mobil Clean.
Originally Posted By: tig1
No need to wait to use SN oil. The SM M1 oil you bought may be the same as SN. If not the same then there would be little differance.