Differences between M1 Regular and EP?

[hotoil]

Once we get past the marketing hype, it seems that Mobil 1 5w30 EP has more and/or different additives than the regular 5w30 M1. Using the search function, I didn't find any actual analysis to tell us what the differences are- did I miss a good post?
Also, presuming that someone has done the analysis and knows the chemical differences between the two types; would the additives in EP provide any advantage if the oil is changed at "normal" intervals? Or would their benefit only arise if the oil is kept in service for extended mileage?

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Main difference is the longetivty of the OCI.

 

[Lonnie]

As far as we know in fleet service, the bottle is different, the price is different, but lab results show no difference in general results. Granted we only have info on a dozen or so vehicles over just two years but as far as the oil effecting a difference, we can't tell. Some extra testing was done because we were in the process of switching from Mobil 1 (regular) to Chevron Supreme Synthetic. We had about 12 cars on EP along side about 20 vehicles on regular Mobil 1 and the same on Chevron Supreme Synthetic. The results, across the board were generally the same, except the EP cars were run 10k vs 5k for the other oils. We did run a couple of cars on M1 and CSS to 10k with the same results as the EP cars at 10k. All these oils performed very well. CSS won because it cost much less. We know that EP has different stuff inside, but can not tell you if or why it might perform differently. We were pushing extending the M1 5k changes to 10k changes. We determined that it is worth while to look under the hood and check tires every 5k, so we looked for a cheaper oil that would still do the job. And we found it.

 

[Steelhead]

Lonnie,
what type of fleet? low in town speeds or high speed freeway?
veh's and engines?

 

[Al]

You inadvertently stepped into a firestorm. There has been evidence on this board that the EP formula (at least) is not a True Synthetic (Fully Synthetic) as defined by Mobil several years ago.

 

[ARB1977]

Ones a synthetic and the other isnt, duh.

 

[daman]

Quote:

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Ones a synthetic and the other isnt, duh.

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I'm shure when he said regular he's talking about the supersyn.

 

[forcedtalon]

So is the regular M1 a group V full synthetic??

 

[buster]

M1 and M1 EP are Group III/V and V.

 

[Lonnie]

What kind of fleet? The vehicles I referred to were sedans like the Camry and Accord and to a lesser degree some domestic brands (the drivers just don't want the domestic cars), with mixed driving, few in cold weather areas, but the same driver all the time, not rental. Vehicles are kept 100k miles usually and well serviced. The are then passed to another company and many of the drivers buy them for their own use. Some have bought them for other family members or friends. Because of this cared for pass on we might have better results in this part of the fleet. I don't want to cause any trouble but in acutal use we could not tell the difference between Mobil 1 and Mobil 1 EP. As a matter of fact you can include the Chevron Synthetic in the group. Same results. The difference is in the price.

There are a group of cars in some cold weather areas and they are using Motorcraft 5w-20 with very good results. In many cases with the weather is cold the intervals are 3k instead of 5k miles. It appears that in our lab work it is better to keep mositure out of the oil. We have never been able to get rid of it, after the fact, very well. That long hot drive is not as effective as you would think.

 

[hotoil]

Quote:

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You inadvertently stepped into a firestorm. There has been evidence on this board that the EP formula (at least) is not a True Synthetic (Fully Synthetic) as defined by Mobil several years ago.

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Yes, I should have mentioned that I've been following that issue for a while and this thread is NOT about how fullysynthetic/semisynthetic/nonsynthetic M1 is. I'm just trying to find out the difference in additives between the regular and EP. Of course, it's a bonus when we get actual fleet comparisons from someone like Lonnie.

 

[Steelhead]

thank you Lonnie,

interesting and very pertinent information from someone doing extended drains in a fleet enviroment...
the Chev. Supreme Syn. 10k oci info is appreciated by me...going to make the jump from Mobil 1 and it's unjustifiable GrpIII price

 

[hotoil]

Doesn't someone have used oil analysis reports from similar engines on regular and EP? My Blackstone reports list some chemicals that are additives, not products of wear. That would tell part of the story.

 

[427Z06]

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Doesn't someone have used oil analysis reports from similar engines on regular and EP? My Blackstone reports list some chemicals that are additives, not products of wear. That would tell part of the story.

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Look in the VOA and the UOA sections.

IIRC, when M1 EP first came out, we saw what appeared to be a drop in additive levels in the M1 formulation. So in essense it looked like M1 was cheapened while the new M1 EP commanded a price premium for the old M1 additive levels, with the addition, EOM claimed, that there was 50% more SuperSyn in M1 EP.

Note: One has to be careful using UOAs to determine additive levels because of sample-to-sample and lab-to-lab variations likely due to calibration differences.

Because very few people used the old M1 for very extended drain intervals, it looked like it wouldn't present a problem. Note that most new cars that spec M1 don't have extended drain intervals unless supplemented by OLM and large sumps and filters.