Someone asked Mobil (on their website) if they can use a case of M-1 5-20 they found that's about 25 years old. Did they make a 5-20 in 1977? What happened to it? They answer by not suggesting the person use it as "It will not meet the latest API requirements and it is not the correct SAE grade." What do they mean by the second part of this statement???
M-1 5-20 is 25 years old?
- Thread starter Dr. T
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I think what they meant was that 5w20 is not the correct grade for the vehicle this guy was talking about using it in.
The first Mobil 1 was indeed 5w20. It came out in the 70s, but I don't remember when exactly. By the time I started using it in the early 80s, it was 5w30.
MolaKule
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My information shows Mobil marketed the first PAO synthetic in Europe in 1971. After some seal hardening problems, they reformulated to a 5W30 PAO/di-ester in late 1972. They started marketing the full synthetic (irrespective of "carrier oils") in North America in 1973 as a 5W30.
I still have a 1976 issue of Popular Science magazine that has one of the original Mobil 1 ads. It was still advertised as a 5w-20 back then ....I think the reason why it was a 5w-20 is that they didn't have a suitable VI modifier to blend with the stuff, so the 5w-20 was just from the baseoil.
TooSlick
TooSlick
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