Castrol EDGE EP 0W-20 vs. Mobil 1 EP 0W-20 - Which one is the best?

[Deleted member 89374]

I know that Mobil 1 EP 0W-20 is pretty popular on BITOG. I am looking around for the best 0W-20 motor oil for our 2020 Sonata. Castrol EDGE EP 0W-20 also carries an MB 229.71 approval and claims ACEA A1/B1 and ACEA C5. That in itself seems to make it a "better" motor, at least on paper. As I understand it, all that matters are the approvals and certifications that a specific motor oil carries because it's all we really have to go by. Not that this particular vehicle needs MB 229.71 approved oil, but it's nice to know that something in the crankcase went through a more stringent vetting process and has to adhere to higher and better standards. Plus, it's readily available at Walmart, unlike Mobil 1 ESP X2 0W-20. What do you guys think?

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[PimTac]

Oh brother.

 

[tolian21]

Mobil1 EP 0w-20

 

[kschachn]

Yes, the best. Best is the best, no doubt about it.

Which one gives you that little tingle when you look at the label?

 

[nascarnation]

What are your criteria for defining best?
Longest engine life? (could cost several millions to find out and likely the answer would be muddled).
Most fuel econ? (you can run your own trials, but be sure to correct for seasonality).
Engine noise? (soundmeter app on your smartphone).
Affinity? RedBull uses Mobil... Renault/Alpine with Castrol

 

[Deleted member 89374]

What are your criteria for defining best?
Longest engine life? (could cost several millions to find out and likely the answer would be muddled).
Most fuel econ? (you can run your own trials, but be sure to correct for seasonality).
Engine noise? (soundmeter app on your smartphone).
Affinity? RedBull uses Mobil... Renault/Alpine with Castrol

I was talking strictly about approvals. MB 229.71 oils seem to have good anti-wear qualities. Motor oil related engine noise is a "bitogism," as we all know.

 

[DGXR]

They both have dexos approval so that's all you need to know HAHAAAHAA
... ... flip a coin.

 

[tolian21]

I was talking strictly about approvals. MB 229.71 oils seem to have good anti-wear qualities. Motor oil related engine noise is a "bitogism," as we all know.

Yes, we all know that MB engines are built to outlast Honda/Toyota engines….

 

[Deleted member 89374]

Yes, we all know that MB engines are built to outlast Honda/Toyota engines….

Some of them are built by Renault/Nissan, another staple of reliability and durability...

Oh brother.

Why no love for Castrol?

 

[ad244]

Mobil 1 Annual Performance

 

[Deleted member 89374]

Mobil 1 Annual Performance

I can see how the marketing on that one failed, as it was called Annul Protection. Anyway, it's a dead product.

 

[ad244]

I can see how the marketing on that one failed, as it was called Annul Protection. Anyway, it's a dead product.

Anyways, Chill.

 

[4WD]

Better ? Amalie is better than it has to be … ?

 

[Ignatius]

I would give Castrol the edge

MB 229.71 certified

 

[tolian21]

What % of base stock is PAO in Castrol Extended?

 

[Deleted member 89374]

What % of base stock is PAO in Castrol Extended?

Who cares? Aren't we supposed to go by approvals and certifications? Except for a very few on this forum, such as @MolaKule, none of us are chemical engineers, formulators, or tribologists. I stopped obsessing about the base stock written in an MSDS document a long time ago. There is no way to verify it or ensure that you will always get the same composition, because in the end, all that matters, is that the finished product meets certain specifications and is within specified parameters. And as we all know, the MSDS is not a recipe for motor oil manufacturing.

 

[tolian21]

Who cares? Aren't we supposed to go by approvals and certifications? Except for a very few on this forum, such as @MolaKule, none of us are chemical engineers, formulators, or tribologists. I stopped obsessing about the base stock written in an MSDS document a long time ago. There is no way to verify it or ensure that you will always get the same composition, because in the end, all that matters, is that the finished product meets certain specifications and is within specified parameters. And as we all know, the MSDS is not a recipe for motor oil manufacturing.

For me base stock matters. Sometimes you can tell from SDS. Yes, I heard this a lot on this forum “finished what matters”. It sounds like a broken record.
PAO base has a better potential to be a better product if appropriate additive pack is used. Its my opinion.

 

[Shel_B]

I've tried them both, and although I'm essentially a Mobil 1 guy, I found the Castrol to be equal in every way that I can judge. But I don't know what goes on inside the engine, and neither do most people ... do my piston rings have a preference? Do the rod bearings scream in terror at the thought of one or the other?

Anything you read here will be opinion, some fact-based, some fantasy-fueled. Go to your coin jar, grab a nice, shiny quarter, and flip it. Technically, it should be heads for Castrol and tails for M1, but some believe it should be the other way around.

 

[Deleted member 89374]

For me base stock matters. Sometimes you can tell from SDS. Yes, I heard this a lot on this forum “finished what matters”. It sounds like a broken record.
PAO base has a better potential to be a better product if appropriate additive pack is used. Its my opinion.

Unfortunately, every lubricant manufacturer hides certain parameters on the PDS and everything else they can on the SDS. Red Line Oil, for example, doesn't disclose the flashpoint and density (maybe they did in the past). Others hide NOACK or HTHS. That's why approvals and certificates are the only things we have to go by because those tell us if a certain oil fits certain parameters that we're looking for. For example, MB 229.71 offers better wear protection than D1G2 and API SP alone. M1 EP 0W-20 is around 60% PAO according to the MSDS, however, that alone is not a guarantee for anything. M1 ESP X2 0W-20 is 20%~30% PAO, and the rest Group III+ (probably), and it's MB 229.71 approved. So, can I go by the MSDS? Nope.

 

[tolian21]

Why would MB229.71 approval make me feel better about oil when my engine is Honda? M1 ESP has a lot of european approvals. Does it make it better than m1 EP? Could it be just expensive getting approvals and Mobil1 only did it for their ESP ? Getting approvals is expensive, maybe thats why we dont see it, but otherwise it could already be meeting the specs.