I think Mobil 1 is better

[Mystic]

I think the new Mobil 1 is much better then even the Mobil 1 of the fairly recent past. I still remember the first time I tried Mobil 1-it seemed to be too thin in my car engine and I had to use 10W-30 instead of 5W-30.

I changed oil today with Mobil 1 5W-30 and 3 oz. of Auto-RX. The engine ran very smooth. From what I can sense, from what I can feel and hear, Mobil 1 is better.

And without question the Mobil 1 5W-30 will flow in the cold. There was a night not too long ago when it reached -16. Not exactly Minnesota but cold just the same.

In the warmer months I don't know if I will stick with Mobil 1 or maybe try the new Mobil Drive Clean Plus. Mobil 1 should protect well in the heat also, especially if I add a little Schaeffer's #132.

 

[Doug C]

Why do you need to add something to the Mobil 1? Isn't it good enough?

BTW I used M1 0W30 in my Sable when I was working shift at Cheyenne Mountain and the car sat all night in very cold weather. It started up like a dream every time.

I just don't like putting "additives" in any oil. Find the oil that works for you and stay the course.

Cheers, Doug

 

[Losiho]

Auto RX is a cleaner, not an additive.

Mystic - shouldn't you be using A-RX with dino ?

 

[KW]

I don't think you should ever have to add anything to your oil unless the motor is a mess. If the oil oil is lacking then get a brand that does what it should do, lube, cool and keep the motor clean.

 

[sprintman]

If your using syn oil (the real thing) RX maint dose is a no-brainer for reasons I don't have time to extrapolate on now.

 

[Bob Woods]

If your already paying for and using one of the best synthetics that already has esters, why throw your money away on esters made from sheeps wool? By difinition ester is an additive as it is added to synthetic oils to make seals swell to offset the shrink that PAO's cause.

[ February 17, 2004, 01:57 AM: Message edited by: Bob Woods ]

 

[Doug C]

Not to be overly sensitive, but I realize that Auto Rx is a cleaner.... however is not a "little Schaeffer's #132" an additive?

I stand by my statement: Why do you need to add something to the Mobil 1? Isn't it good enough?

Cheers, Doug

 

[Mystic]

I have had very good luck with Auto-RX. I don't want to go into too much stuff here but I had a seal leak and Valvoline MaxLife and a special seal conditioner additive both failed to stop the leak. I can't prove that Auto-RX stopped the leak but it did stop after I used the Auto-RX. This is subjective but the car seemed to run better with Auto-RX.

Frank of Auto-RX says something to the effect that a maintenance doze of 3 oz. of Auto-RX should be used in synthetic oil. I figure it is a good idea to follow his advice. But for a cleaning I think I would use a conventional motor oil like Chevron Supreme. And for a cleaning I would use a full 12 oz. bottle.

I kind of like the idea of adding something like 3 oz. of Schaeffer's #132 or else 3 oz. of Valvoline MaxLife oil supplement in the SUMMERTIME to motor oil. Temperatures where I live can easily be 100 degrees in the summertime and last summer when I was here temperatures went to something like 116. In fact, I think the temperatures reached 119 but I was out of town in Arizona (where the temperatures DID reach 119 at least). I don't know if this is a good idea or not but it makes me feel more comfortable.

 

[ALS]

All I know is I have 13,300 miles on my new motor which has been filled with M1 10W30 since new. I was checking the oil level on Saturday and decided to take a look under the oil cap and was amazed how clean the rockers and camshaft were. They looked as clean as the day the motor was installed.

 

[Mystic]

ALS, I do think that a good synthetic oil like Mobil 1 certainly should keep the engine cleaner. But there have been discussions here that not all synthetic oils actually are good at cleaning a dirty engine. Apparently Torco, Amsoil, and Delvac 1, and probably others, DO clean an engine from what people have found out.

The ideal synthetic oil would be reasonable in price, stay in viscosity, flow well in the cold and protect in the heat, allow extended drains, and keep the engine very clean. There would be no point using a cleaner in an engine oil if the oil could keep the engine acceptably clean. A cleaner would be a waste of money in such a situation unless there were other benefits like stopping seal leaks.

I do believe that if a person is using a conventional motor oil, it makes sense to do at least an occasional Auto-RX cleaning or else use Neutra.

 

[Blue636]

I was due for an oil change today so I used Mobil 1 (again) but changed viscosity. I used 10w-30 last time, which ain't bad, but this time I used 5w-30. Why? Well, for one it's what's recommended by the manufacturer (Toyota) and I hear that the 5w-30 has great cold starting capabilities. I figure since my car gets started in fairly cold weather nowadays that it could probably be a little bit beneficial. Also, the bottle says that the oil will protect up to 400 degree Fahrenheit oil temps. Anyway, I'm sure it's not a terrible choice and hopefully I'll see a tiny little bit of fuel economy savings, too - but I doubt it. Anyway, it's usually in the mid to high 60's here recently but once summer hits where it'll regularly be in the high 80's and low to mid 90's I'll switch to 10w-40.

 

[ALS]

Mystic I guess what I should have added was, I used Pennzoil 10W30 when the car was new. There was always some varnish coloring on rockers and camshaft. That motor got 3000 mile oil changes through out it's life of 282,000 miles. There was always varnish in the valve train area from the earliest days. The Mobil 1 has produced almost zero residue on the visible metal. To me that is important. The M1 also is flowing very well at start up at sub-zero temps this winter. When starting the old motor with conventional oil it would push the oil pressure to 100 plus PSI at idle. With the M1 I never see more than 60 psi at idle. With the synthetic my operating oil temps are at least 20 degrees cooler than with the conventional oil.
As for a cleaner I don't use M1 as a cleaner I use it to keep from having to use a cleaner in the future. BTW it was the posters on this board that convinced me to use a synthetic over a conventional oil. As far as oil use goes there is almost no usage between the 4,500 mile changes.

 

[Eddie]

I happen to favor Mobil 1 because; availiable, priced ok at Walmart and many major manufactures recomend it and it meets Ford,Crystler and GM spects. Most name brand oils do not if you read the bottle. In addition; there are only two?, refining companies ( mobil is one) that produce the Synthic base stock. Other speciallty companies buy their base stock from those companies, add there stuff and try to sell the gullable for twice the price. Mobil 1 is a true synthic and some highly advertised are not. eddie

 

[Mystic]

Eddie, I agree with you. Some people who sell synthetic oil are getting their PAO from Exxon/Mobil. And I have a problem with an oil that does not have the API symbol on it. Maybe that symbol is worthless but if you ever had a problem with an oil failing what kind of support would you receive if the oil did not have that API symbol? Maybe the brand advertising extremely low wear is using an awful lot of Zinc. Might be okay if your vehicle does not have a cat. converter. Maybe the API symbol is worthless but I personally want it on my oil container.

Mobil 1 is also readily available. You don't have to have it shipped to you. I am not a chemist and I don't know if Mobil 1 is truly 100% synthetic or not-maybe there is some conventional motor oil in there. But it is synthetic enough to get the job done. And it reduces wear enough to get the job done. I think it has been improved a lot recently. It will certainly work in most cars and trucks and SUVs-even in the Corvette where Mobil 1 goes in at the factory.

Now, special situations may require something different. If you are racing a Corvette at the track maybe Redline would be better. Maybe Amsoil would be great for very long drains. But I don't think the average person can go far wrong with Mobil 1, unless that person has a very old vehicle with seals that might not be compatible with synthetic oil, or a vehicle that leaks oil.

Of course, an argument can be made that conventional motor oil is good enough. I just don't have an answer to the conventional versus synthetic debate. It may go on forever, or at least until synthetic oil is required in all vehicles, or until we are all driving hydrogen fuel cell vehicles or electric vehicles.

A lot of people say that Mobil 1 will keep an engine much cleaner then using a conventional motor oil. It will flow it extreme cold. It will protect at least somewhat better at high temperatures. The use of Mobil 1 could probably cut your oil changes in half. Seems like a pretty good deal.