Is Mobil Delvac a Group III oil?

[dnewton3]

Is Delvac 1300 a high end group III? Probably not. But is it close by design and performance? Possibly so. The same has been mentioned about Rotella 10w-30 quite some time ago by Terry; I believe his comment was that the new forumation was "near synthetic". Just what does that mean? Is that in reference to the composition, or the performance? Well, we truly don't know. But, do we really have to?

JHZR2 made some good points, and here's another we should consider. I'm fairly confident in the information we all share, but it's fair to say that I do not know everything, so feel free to correct me.

PAO lubes are great in some circustances; they certainly flow and pump "better" than group II or III (to a lesser degree), and offer perhaps some small tangible evidence of less "resistance". However, everything I've researched about PAO and POE also show that they are not as capable in carrying the other desired additives that are necesary, in suspension. To aid in this endeavor, some portion of II or III is added to a IV or V to assist in the overall lubricant package.

Here's where JHZR2 hits the nail on the head. All lubes that are mass marketed (even boutique ones) are designed as a compromise between proffit margin, target marketability, and resources. No one I know of has any real use for a 100% "pure" PAO lube in daily operation of their vehicle. Some of the base stock advantages of a grp IV might make for less need of additives (for example VIIs), but on the other hand, you'll still need anti-agglomerates (dispersants) and detergents. Lower base group oils actually hold those in suspension better. So your Mobil 1, Amsoil, etc all have a bit of "other stuff" mixed in via some assitance from non-high-end products.

What makes each product different is the design intent of the fluid, the cost thresh-holds, etc. I doubt there is any 100% pure PAO that any of us use. Some are biased towards one end more than another. Face it; all lubricants are manipulated to varying degrees to meet the market needs. No one pumps pure crude from the ground and puts it straight into an engine. And since GTL and other high end synthetics do not exist in a "natural" state without being formulated by man, you can't say they are "pure" either, because they only become what we "blend" them to be!

I realize that it makes for interesting and lively debate, but in the end, it is the actual performance that matters most; not the composition. We should be most concerned with wear protection, contaminant control, and longevity. Then match up your operating environment to the lube that fits your individual situation.

"Best" only described one fluid choice for one particualar application. PAOs are not the "best" at everything, but they can be "better" choices over some alternatives, if you find your needs in certain ways.

However, "needs" are much different than "wants" ...

 

[bullwinkle]

I think everyone's a little gun-shy from the so-called synthetic hydrocracked oils (such as Syntec) being marketed as "just as good as" Delvac 1, RP, Amsoil, & others. It's hard to make sure you're getting your $$$ worth when the oil companies LIE or are very ambiguous with any information.

 

[Familyguy]

All this Group III vs Group IV stuff is rather meaningless to me. I don't care what base stock is used or which particular additive packages are used. I care about results....does the oil do its job or not? This notion that people are being "ripped off" by "lower quality" hydrocracked oil vs PAO Group IV oil....I just don't get it. The manufacturers will charge what the market will bear. If a particular product garners a good reputation for "doing its job," consumers will pay a premium for it...regardless of what chemistry is used to formulate the mystery goo in the bottle. That doesn't make the manufacturers bad or the consumer stupid.

 

[gregharrison]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
He also is new and could very easily get caught up in the stupid group III vs. group IV/V arguments which truly are worthless for the most part.

Perhaps something can be learned, beyond just perpetuating some misconceptions.


Not everyone is as obviously well versed on motor oils as yourself. Give him a break. He may not even understand enough to search for it. No need to be a JERK!!!!
Greg Harrison

 

[Doug Hillary]

Hi
Greg - You are new to this Forum so here is a "welcome aboard"

That said I like others no doubt would expect that you respect others on here. Especially those that have lived here an long time and contributed much!

Calling somebody a "JERK" shows disrespect!

And I agree with JHZR2's comments too!

 

[1999nick]

As a user of Mobil 1 since it first came out back in the 1970's and advertised itself as being a 25,000 mile or one year OCI oil, I object to these group III oils advertising themselves as "full synthetic" oils. I used M1 as it was meant to be used back in the day, and changed it once a year, which happened to be 18,000 to 20,000 miles, and never had a problem.

Now, I see various people on this board using M1 and changing their oil at OCI's of 5,000 miles or less. Now that I am retired and driving less, I used regular oil for a few years, but my yearly mileage has now increased to about 10,000. I have gone back to M1, using their 10W30 High Mileage oil, which is still an SL formulation, in my 2005 Nissan Pathfinder. My current fill now has 8400 miles on it and should reach 10,000 in about two months. It has burned off about one third of a quart so far. I'll change it and send it in for a UOA.

These group III oils are undoubtedly excellent oils, but they are not synthetic, by my definition. I might use them if they wouldn't label themselves as "full synthetic".

 

[vxcalais]

People are mentioning synth as its the only stuff used in high performance oils, who go to the track for a day. GRoup 1's are still commonly used, minerals are still used in Australias V8 Supercars series. Shells XHVI fantastic base stock (by definition is a real synthetic as its derived from something other than base oil, no different to how PAO is made) is used in their high performance stuff especially the Formula series, as well as what Mobil supplies.

This is where me as a learner gets confused. I will see a combo of both Synthetic and mineral high performance oils especially for high output cars, racing etc. Then you will read base oil is not an issue and its the additives that counts, then you read no base oil is of the utmost importance.

There is a common triboligy book that comes up immediately when typing PAO vs group 3 that shows how similar the two are as base stocks. This clearly highlights to me its more than just base stock that will show the difference between to oils. This was even stated earlier in the thread when someone mentioned a poorly made group 4 can be worse than a group 3.

So far too much conflicting info. Peoples personal biase comes into it too much. I used to be hooked on the Castrol is [censored] cause its thier fault Group 3 is called Synth and all this, even when the others did the same, despite the fact they have excellent oils to their name. People will bag Castrol, but when the word GC comes up, its like it fell from heaven. Too confusing for me.