How different are signature oils nowadays versus their inception?

[sloinker]

I'm thinking original Mobil1, Royal Purple, Amsoil etc. Seems that the initial offering had to have major changes right off the bat for the then, current breed of vehicles in service. Kind of thinking about the new restore and protect from Valvoline and possible ramifications if it actually does what is advertised and the trash that may be released.

 

[kschachn]

In general oils have gotten better over time. API license requirements have gotten more stringent as have manufacturer approvals. The oils today are overall highly improved over yesteryear. I'll put up any oil from Walmart with Longlife-04 or Porsche A40 approval against anything from 30+ years ago. Bring it on.

The idea that everyone has "cheapened" their oil (whatever that means) is just silly and isn't backed up by any facts, big pharma notwithstanding.

 

[buster]

Mobil 1 was PAO/POE in the 70's and 80's. Tri-Synthetic was PAO/POE/AN developed by Dr. Rudnick. As they started to reduce ZDP and SA levels, moly came into the picture as well as boron. Around 2012 Mobil went to Ca/Mg to reduce LSPI. Prior to that Ca levels were well over 3k ppm. Formulations have been pretty similar and cookie cutter for quite some time. There was a recent video about this from Lubrication Explained on Youtube.

 

[sloinker]

I was thinking of leaks from seal damage due to the synthetics and old sealing techniques. With the recent string of shoddy filter reviews I am concerned that the new restore product may clog filters and bypass hard carbon into the engine. I guess the formulation needs to be gradual but time will tell if it works without collateral damage unlike ARCO graphite.

 

[Astro14]

I was thinking of leaks from seal damage due to the synthetics and old sealing techniques. With the recent string of shoddy filter reviews I am concerned that the new restore product may clog filters and bypass hard carbon into the engine. I guess the formulation needs to be gradual but time will tell if it works without collateral damage unlike ARCO graphite.

I think I would use an OEM filter and not worry about it.

I've got a couple of cars running on oil that has liberated carbon - and it's all been caught by a good filter, and even a 6,000 mile (or greater) run, hasn't come close to plugging anything up.

They are old enough that they would qualify for "old seals" and there just aren't any issues.

 

[kschachn]

I think I would use an OEM filter and not worry about it.

I've got a couple of cars running on oil that has liberated carbon - and it's all been caught by a good filter, and even a 6,000 mile (or greater) run, hasn't come close to plugging anything up.

They are old enough that they would qualify for "old seals" and there just aren't any issues.

Agreed. Even my old 1MZ-FE “sludge monster” engine with nearly 470K doesn’t put a lot into the filter.

 

[cheesepuffs2]

I was thinking of leaks from seal damage due to the synthetics and old sealing techniques. With the recent string of shoddy filter reviews I am concerned that the new restore product may clog filters and bypass hard carbon into the engine. I guess the formulation needs to be gradual but time will tell if it works without collateral damage unlike ARCO graphite.

It won't. Restore and Protect is a marketing gimmick. It is not going to clog a filter.

 

[busdriver]

When I first ran Mobil 1 in 1989, I could definitely tell the difference, especially with the power at highway speeds...