Canadians - caution on M1 " High Mileage Formula"

[va3ux]

A recent post on Mobil 1 High Mileage oil got me interested in this oil : higher viscosity, supposedly a ton of extra cleaning agents and TBN, extra AW additives, higher HTHS, etc, etc.

About 5 weeks ago I was in Canadian Tire and they had a big display of M1 oil on sale. The 10W-30 M1 says "Higher Mileage Formula" so I think - ' there it is !'. A 4.4 liter jug with an extra 1 Liter bottle shrink wrapped to it - all for just $29 plus tax. A real "deal" here in Canada since this stuff normally sells for $38 a jug plus 14% tax. I grabbed a couple of these "deals", and proceed to change over to M1, because I do have somewhat of a high miler.

A couple of weeks ago I went back to the M1 website to refresh my memory of the specs on the High Mileage oil, and it strikes me that they're talking about an SL/SJ oil with no Energy Conserving rating, but my M1 10w-30 with the "Higher Mileage Vehicle Formula" printed on the label is SM/GF-4 rated WITH the Energy Conserving rating in the donut. Clearly, the Canadian stuff isn't the same as the US stuff. What I bought, is not what I thought it was.

Yesterday I went across the border to Niagara Falls, NY to pick up a nice Felpro oil pan gasket (that I can't get in Canada for who knows what reason) and I stopped in at the local Walmart. Sure enough, they had the real M1 High Mileage 10W-30 - SL with no Energy Conserving rating - for a measly $19 bucks for a 4.73 Liter jug (5 US quarts). So I grabbed a couple of jugs plus a couple of 1 quart bottles, and the real M1 High Mileage oil is now in the crankcase (I had 7000 km on the Canadian M1 10W-30, so no tears shed while dumping that. But it looked pretty damm good coming out).

So for the Canucks reading this : The M1 10W-30 in Canada that says "Higher Mileage Vehicle Formula" on the label - it isn't the same product as the M1 High Mileage oil that our US brothers can get. Just beware.

 

[Dr_No]

Careful out there troops keep your head down and dont get shot. Another caution, be careful when buying Mobil 1 HM.. its not the same here in Canada as in the U.S.
Thanks General.

Joking aside,
Whats the big deal? When you posted I thought this was going to be some defect that caused some serious engine damage.

 

[va3ux]

Nah, nothing like that. My engine is designed with it's own built-in defects and it will damage itself all on it's own.

I just felt that the Canadian labelling is a bit misleading. I don't think that's the intention. It was too easy to get 'tricked' into thinking you are buying something that you really aren't.

 

[Max_Wander]

when the canadian grey bottle M1 10w-30 says "higher mileage vehicle formula", they are referring to the viscosity. the 5w30 says "new car formula" and the 15w50 says "performance formula" or something... old school label design that needs a replacement

 

[Merkava_4]

How far is the stateside Wal-Mart from your house anyway?

 

[va3ux]

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when the canadian grey bottle M1 10w-30 says "higher mileage vehicle formula", they are referring to the viscosity. the 5w30 says "new car formula" and the 15w50 says "performance formula" or something... old school label design that needs a replacement

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I realized that too after thinking about it. But it still really doesn't make sense because M1 5W-30 has a 100 deg cst of 11.3 while the 10W-30 is 10.0 !! At least that's what the M1 website says. You'd think the one they were going to say was the Higher Mileage Vehicle formula would be the one with the higher viscosity. May they got the specs crossed-up on the website.

 

[Merkava_4]

How many jugs will the Canadian customs allow you to cross over with?

 

[va3ux]

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How many jugs will the Canadian customs allow you to cross over with?

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It isn't the number of jugs - it's the value of the goods you're bringing back and how long you've been away.

For a day trip I think we're allowed $40 or $50. They don't seem to be too sticky with that number; as long as you're not too far over.

For a one week visit I think we're allowed $750. So in that case I could bring back 35 to 40 jugs at 19 bucks a jug.

 

[Quest]

LOL! Wallymart Tech2K to da rescue (or Esso Superflo, or Crrrapy Tire's MotoMeister full syn).

Q.

 

[pidster]

Pure marketing [censored] - I used to use M1, and yes, the 10w30 was always labelled "older vehicle formula" and the 5w30 "newer vehicle formula". Purely because older vehicles (like mine) generally have 10w30 on the oil cap and newer ones 5w30. It's not a "high mileage" oil at all.

 

[Seth]

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LOL! Wallymart Tech2K to da rescue (or Esso Superflo, or Crrrapy Tire's MotoMeister full syn).

Q.

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Yesterday, I got two 4.4 ltr motomaster formula1 5w20 jugs for 10 bucks each. They are dino with "synthetic wearguard". Looked em up and turns out they are nothing but forumulashell oils. How is this oil from shell canada?

BTW, speaking of tech2000 I can vouch for their synthetic 0w30. My mitsu seems to like it. Will do a UOA when time comes. However, I still havent figured out who makes this.. Safety-Kleen or PetroCan?

 

[addyguy]

Safety-Kleen.

 

[1999nick]

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when the canadian grey bottle M1 10w-30 says "higher mileage vehicle formula", they are referring to the viscosity. the 5w30 says "new car formula" and the 15w50 says "performance formula" or something... old school label design that needs a replacement

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I realized that too after thinking about it. But it still really doesn't make sense because M1 5W-30 has a 100 deg cst of 11.3 while the 10W-30 is 10.0 !! At least that's what the M1 website says. You'd think the one they were going to say was the Higher Mileage Vehicle formula would be the one with the higher viscosity. May they got the specs crossed-up on the website.

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Your figures are correct for REGULAR M1. I am looking at a bottle of M1 High Mileage oil, and the numbers for it, in 10W30 weight, are: 100C - 11.79, and at 40C,it is 78.2.

It is a little strange the regular 5W30 M1 is thicker at both 40C and 100C than regular M1 10W30. A very nice pour point on the High Mileage version, also. Someone suggested that the HM probably has more PAO in it.

 

[Dr. T]

I believe the value of goods you are able to transport while visiting for less than 24hrs. is a whopping $0. Therefore, you probably didn't declare the oil product purchased...nor the gas fillup while visiting

 

[BennyL]

man, it sucks so much how badly we get screwed over here in canada compared to the US. its nonsense. our walmart stores don't even stock nearly as much as US stores do. and the prices are so uneven!

 

[va3ux]

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How far is the stateside Wal-Mart from your house anyway?

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Maybe 20 - 25 miles or so. I normally don't go across the border just to pick up something like this. I end up burning up the savings in gas consumption and border tolls. But if I'm already there because of work, or if I have several things to pick-up, then I'll go.

 

[va3ux]

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man, it sucks so much how badly we get screwed over here in canada compared to the US. its nonsense. our walmart stores don't even stock nearly as much as US stores do. and the prices are so uneven!

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Yea, our Canadian Walmart oil shelf space has been reduced to about 10 feet. And there's about 1/4 the oil selection in Canada compared to the US.

 

[va3ux]

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I believe the value of goods you are able to transport while visiting for less than 24hrs. is a whopping $0.

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Correct.
$50 after 24 hours

$400 after 48 hours

$750 after 7 days

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Therefore, you probably didn't declare the oil product purchased...nor the gas fillup while visiting

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Incorrect ! I told them I had 40 bucks worth of oil and I filled up with gas. They just waved me on my way - they couldn't care less. It's like that everytime.

But when I declared that I had 300 bucks in engine parts 3 weeks ago, they of course wanted to collect their sales tax. That didn't matter to me because even with the extra sales tax I paid the thieves, I still saved nearly $300 compared to buying the parts in Canada.