The Castrol smells better.
Castrol EDGE EP 0W-20 vs. Mobil 1 EP 0W-20 - Which one is the best?
- Thread starter Rod Knock
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So Castrol has one product that does what Mobil1 ESP X2 0W-20 and Mobil 1 EP 0W-20 do combined? It's less expensive to have one oil with a bunch of approvals than two of them. Then again, I'm not here to dissect Mobil's marketing strategy, because they already have so many products that it's confusing.
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The Castrol smells better.
In the API SP / ILSAC GF6A variety, they all smell the same.
Good point. We really dont know which one is better, there is a lot of marketing even when it comes to approvals.
Whatever is cheapest... It’s a Sonata.
There is? Like what?
I know some blenders like to obfuscate which ones an oil has or are merely recommended, but are you claiming some that state they have approvals they do not?
No, I am sure approvals are accurate. But what I suspect happens is that builders and oil manufactures have certain relationships and also money is involved. And when money is involved, they don't necessarily pick the best oil that will meet their approval. I am sure dozens of oils are capable of the approval, but the ones they pick are not necessarily the best.
That's pretty twisted logic, but it's what happens when one tries to substantiate something that does not exist.
Just
similarly, can not be proven that this kind of a thing does not exist. Yes, its a pragmatic view of oil manufactures and builders that do not always act in the best interest of the consumer.
similarly, can not be proven that this kind of a thing does not exist. Yes, its a pragmatic view of oil manufactures and builders that do not always act in the best interest of the consumer.
🤣🤣🤣🤣
The approvals, licenses and certifications are the proof that the oil passes the real-world performance requirements of the test. The problem comes in with those blenders and formulators that sell products that either cannot pass the requirements or choose not to do so for whatever reason. Sometimes the reason is that it is part of the mystique to not have approvals and licenses since it allows them to make claims of it being "more better" or somehow superior to those products which do. Of course proving it is better is difficult since they rarely if ever publish the specific portions of the approval or license in which they exceed the allowed requirement. So we're left with people making vague and unsupported claims that some products "out there" that are "better" and as a consumer I'm left to guess which one those are or rely on typical values from a PDS to infer quality.
I'll take a stringent approval any time as my indication of being my best interest over something that's intangible and unknown, but maybe that's just me. Perhaps I just like to follow the science a little too much.
Here is a hypothetical example. Suppose oil manufacture has many products that are capable of meeting particular builder approval. It will cost them a lot of money to do all the testing and get approval for each one of their oils, so they pick one of their oils to get the approval. Will they pick oil that is already a popular seller, or will they pick oil that is less popular to increase its sales? After all, people with cars that require such approval will have to buy it, so sales should improve. Again, not trying to start a conspiracy, but its definitely possible, and technically they are allowed to do it without any recourse.
Are we saying that best mobil1 oil is the one that has most number of approvals? Dont think so….
Are we saying that best mobil1 oil is the one that has most number of approvals? Dont think so….
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Yes that’s definitely hypothetical and based on “suppose”. So if I were to buy into your theory how am I as a consumer able to tell which one of those other oils is the better one? PDS? VOA/UOA? Website testimonials? SDS? Happy users? If it’s one of those the problem is none of those represent or document the quality of the oil. What else is there?
Even though I said this I just bought a 5 quart jug of Mobil 1 EP 0w-20 at Meijer because that store not only has a $15 in store credit to be used in your next store visit purchase, there is also the $15 Mobil rebate. So I purchased the jug for $24.99 which is $26.36 after tax and will be effectively be receiving $30 back for my purchase.
I dont think we can tell. All we can tell that it has the approval.
Also, if your engine does not require any of the mentioned builder approvals, does it even matter if it has more number approvals vs less number of approvals?
I've been a Mobil 1 fan boy for like 20 years but to be honest the Castrol Edge sure did quiet down the Mustang with its 4 cams and cam mounted high pressure fuel pump.
Yes it does matter to me. My old Sienna with the 1MZ-FE engine is pretty hard on oil in terms of mechanical shear and heat so I look for an oil with proven stay-in-grade requirements and oxidation resistance. That’s typically something such as Mercedes-Benz 229.5 or Porsche A40 approval. And in my new Tiguan I want an oil with a higher HT/HS than the 508 00 oil listed in the owner’s manual, but I still want the benefits of the other stringent requirements of the approval. For that car I have been using a 504 00 oil such as Mobil 1 ESP or more lately Castrol Edge LL.
For the rest it doesn’t matter I just use whatever API licensed synthetic that happens to be on sale. Lately it’s been Supertech. When I still had my old BMW I ran either a Longlife-01 oil or something with A40 approval.
Well...A guitar player once said... "The best is your favorite". go with whats on sale. Both are fine products.
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