I tend to go with evidence, science, facts, data, you know...reality, and I realize that emotion, and bias don't often serve anyone well. If you feel this way about a motor oil brand, what other parts of your life are you irrational about?
Does anyone else not like Mobil 1 for no real reason?
- Thread starter Johnny248
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Patman
Staff member
There are a lot of people on here who are fans of many different high quality oil brands. Mobil 1 just happens to be one of them.
4wd
$50 site donor 2026
And even earlier Dr Phil Landis
https://www.shopownermag.com/obituary-dr-phillip-landis-lubeguard-mobil-1-scientist/
Their upper tier products are worth looking into. Right now the Mobil 1 ESP 0wXX oils for $28/5 quart at Walmart are an incredible value for what you're getting. I've been eyeing Pennzoil euro L 5w30 as well so can't really call me a "fan boy". I plan to stay with Mobil 1 ESP 0w30 but I am keeping an eye on competing oils with similar performance.
It really is amazing Mobil 1 ESP 0W-30 is GTL/PAO/Ester for $27. SQ right on the back of the bottle now! WOWZA!!!
Never bought Mobil One oils for any of my car/truck engines up until 2 years ago. Not that I disliked or hated Mobil One -- just purchased SOPUS products 90% of the time. Since then, I have used multiple flavors of Mobil One products -- Mobil 1 Truck and SUV, Mobil 1 Hybrid, Mobil 1 ESP X2 and Mobil 1 Extended Performance High Mileage. I feel in all those past years -- I was missing out on some great off the shelf oil products.
I used it back in the late 90's and early 2000s but was not happy how it performed in two newer GM vehicles we had at the time. My 98 Chevy truck with the 5.7L and my ex-wife's 98 Grand Prix GT with the 3800 V6. Both of these vehicles were bought brand new.
My truck developed a tick in the engine after switching and the engine overall was noisier and the Grand Prix's engine was noisier as well but no tick. I had been using a conventional oil in both vehicles prior to switching to Mobil 1. I also noticed increased oil consumption in both vehicles. I had switched both vehicles to Mobil 1 when they had around 1,500-2,000 miles on them.
I eventually quit using Mobil 1 and went back to a conventional oil in both vehicles and the noisy engine noises went away and oil consumption went away. I have never used Mobil 1 since then. I still have the 98 truck and it still runs great with 147,000 miles on it and I've used many different brands in it over the years. I'm currently using Motorcraft blend in it now since I can no longer get the Trop Artic that I used to run that I really liked and they were made by the same company.
My truck developed a tick in the engine after switching and the engine overall was noisier and the Grand Prix's engine was noisier as well but no tick. I had been using a conventional oil in both vehicles prior to switching to Mobil 1. I also noticed increased oil consumption in both vehicles. I had switched both vehicles to Mobil 1 when they had around 1,500-2,000 miles on them.
I eventually quit using Mobil 1 and went back to a conventional oil in both vehicles and the noisy engine noises went away and oil consumption went away. I have never used Mobil 1 since then. I still have the 98 truck and it still runs great with 147,000 miles on it and I've used many different brands in it over the years. I'm currently using Motorcraft blend in it now since I can no longer get the Trop Artic that I used to run that I really liked and they were made by the same company.
That’s me with Castrol. Won’t touch it.
Interesting topic, had to think about it. Have used Mobil 1 off and on for 40+ years. Dad used it in the 70s in his Pacer. If the word “fanboi” existed in 1975 it would have described his love of Mobil 1 perfectly. Popular Science had many articles about it so Dad was a True Believer.
Some applications have been good for me, others not. Overall I stay away, since multiple engines have been noisy and have leaked/consumed more than other brands. Used it for 100k miles in an LS400 that began to develop oil consumption issues that never were present before. That one I blamed on the oil, but still used 0w40 in a turbo converted 92 535 that began to leak from every gasket. But also the 4t mcy oil sits in one of my bikes and will go into another soon.
If I sum it up, my expectations are probably higher because of all the fans/hype/data. Sometimes it doesn’t do anything special though, or is noisy/leaky so then disappointment sets in.
But also I have given it a try repeatedly, more than with others. Advertising works, so does the BITOG table pounding, now that I consider it. Hmm.
Some applications have been good for me, others not. Overall I stay away, since multiple engines have been noisy and have leaked/consumed more than other brands. Used it for 100k miles in an LS400 that began to develop oil consumption issues that never were present before. That one I blamed on the oil, but still used 0w40 in a turbo converted 92 535 that began to leak from every gasket. But also the 4t mcy oil sits in one of my bikes and will go into another soon.
If I sum it up, my expectations are probably higher because of all the fans/hype/data. Sometimes it doesn’t do anything special though, or is noisy/leaky so then disappointment sets in.
But also I have given it a try repeatedly, more than with others. Advertising works, so does the BITOG table pounding, now that I consider it. Hmm.
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I’ve settled on Mobil products within the past year and a half or so. Why? Because like others have said here, you can’t go wrong. I don’t think vanilla Mobil 1 is anything special, but EP, ESP, and their motorcycle oils are fantastic products, especially for the money.
Also, consistency. A couple years ago we were seeing Pennzoil Platinum VOAs with phosphorus under API limit. Now, BP has sold a controlling stake of Castrol so we don’t know what their future necessarily holds in terms of quality. It seems that other oils sometimes wane in terms of stability, but Mobil 1 is always just something you can trust, imo. If anything, their products tend to over-achieve for the money instead of cutting corners.
Also, consistency. A couple years ago we were seeing Pennzoil Platinum VOAs with phosphorus under API limit. Now, BP has sold a controlling stake of Castrol so we don’t know what their future necessarily holds in terms of quality. It seems that other oils sometimes wane in terms of stability, but Mobil 1 is always just something you can trust, imo. If anything, their products tend to over-achieve for the money instead of cutting corners.
I think this is a major bias on what track break pads people think is the best
I’ve used it plenty, and it’s generally not my first pick, but the only real “evidence” I have against it is this- used to have a 2004 Camry with a 2AZ-FE. For whatever reason, there was always a significant amount of valvetrain noise with Mobil 1 in it, more than with any other oil. Completely anecdotal and I’ve used it in other vehicles without issue, but that one experience has steered me away from it somewhat.
I’m not brand loyal and I regularly switch between brands, but Pennzoil Ultra Platinum is my current favorite and has been for a while.
The only brand I truly hate without any logical reason is Royal Purple. I hate their name, their logo, their marketing, their purple oil…
I’m not brand loyal and I regularly switch between brands, but Pennzoil Ultra Platinum is my current favorite and has been for a while.
The only brand I truly hate without any logical reason is Royal Purple. I hate their name, their logo, their marketing, their purple oil…
SammyChevelleTypeS3
$50 site donor 2023
My only reaction to it like a few others was that my engines always seemed too loud for me right after switching to Mobil 1 oils. I know that proves not a thing. Matter of fact one of my brothers who I used to do all of his auto maintenance for used it religiously and always had a little bottle of used Mobil 1 in his garage he kept after oil changes specifically to show it off to me. His point was how much it stayed close to the way it looked when he put it in his engine before that oci. Our Walmart has all Mobil 1 flavors on sale today.