Cleanliness: M1 vs. All Comers

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Volvohead
Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL

There are CERTAIN grades of M1 where people have claimed they have a GIII base.


I won't reopen history here. But it was more than a claim. And the person making it (who was an industry lab tech) was unfortunately hounded from here (among other places) by a few XOM boosters.

Terry has also made some side comments about M1 in the past that were less than inspiring.

Still, M1 is a very fine oil and will do what most synthetics do.


I've read the threads. I've also seen the excellent UOA's posted by the 0w40, TDT 5w40 and the 5w50. The 10w30's and 0w20's are also very good as well.

 

[BuickGN]

Originally Posted By: ericthepig
Several factors likely play into the "keep it clean" mentality - first, once you get an engine that's perfectly clean, you might find that you get a bit neurotic on the issue (kind've like the kid that has a 4.0 avg in college - he freaks if he ever loses it). Also, I'm one of those who doesn't transact cars - if history is a guide, I'll likely have this Mazda6 till the electronics dry rot - having a clean engine when that happens will be a sense of accomplishment (plus, at that age those "harmless" soft deposits can take their toll - my 323 requires HM oil to control start up smoke).


Agreed. My TL is the first new car I've bought and the first chance I have to see how far I can go with no varnish. So far so good at 65K. I know it won't hurt a thing but it will keep me up at night if it ever happens. Every other car I've had was already sludged up.

 

[JDD]

Rule of thumb---the higher the number (group I-V) the cleaner the engine. I suspect that because M1 has more IV than other syns (supposedly), it keeps engines cleaner. Just an opinion.

 

[MatchboxCar]

Originally Posted By: ARB1977
Before learning about BITOG i ran Mobil One 5W30 SS for my Tacoma's first synthetic change (9K) at the 500 mile mark the oil started turing fairly dark...alittle to fast for my liking. So i stoped using it and went with Redline instead. Coming to find out even at 9K on the ODO it was cleaning out what every crud was left behind from the dino oil that was used before. Im sure any synthetic oil would of done this. It goes to show even with low miles any synthetic will clean things.


One thought... a darkening oil like you describe would mean that the oil is DOING ITS JOB!

Originally Posted By: fnbrowning
.....and it is no longer a true synthetic.


That's mule marbles.

 

[Bulli]

i just got a car , ford escort zx2, 2.0
It was either changed at the dealer or at jiffy lube and its an o2.
The insides are really clean.

 

[Drivebelt]

These pictures link show a impressively clean valvetrain using Group II+ 5W-20's (Havoline or Chevron Supreme) at 7500 mile intervals (109k miles on vehicle). I think a good example of how well modern conventional GII oils can perform.

 

[GMFan]

My sister's Nissan Sentra gets Pennzoil or Valvoline 5w30. She does short trip driving to the extreme. OCIs are around 2k miles...sometimes 3k miles. It usually takes a year to reach that mileage.

The car currently has 23,000 miles on it, and looking into her engine through the oil filler cap, all I see is clean metal.

 

[tsmay51]

Good to see others get just as good of results with other oils than just Mobil 1. I ran whatever 5W30 I could buy on sale for our Malibu when we had it. At 100k it looked very clean inside.

 

[ericthepig]

No doubt these various grp II/SM oils are giving nice results at OEM OCIs. I should've been more clear in the original post - the results I seek is cleanliness at minimum 8-10k mile OCIs.

 

[glennc]

Yeah that would change things. The appropriate OCI for the oil used is a prerequisite for good performance in any regard.

 

[ARB1977]

Originally Posted By: MatchboxCar
One thought... a darkening oil like you describe would mean that the oil is DOING ITS JOB!

I learned that after becoming a BITOG member.