M1 0W30 ESP : High HTHS 3.5 Gas Mileage Shock

[doublebase]

I switched from Mobil1 EP 5W30 to Mobil1 ESP 0W30 in my 3.5 Toyota 2GRFe and upon that initial startup my engine didn’t seem to like it much. lol. Made a little noise, a little hesitation/misfire. I thought uh oh, my VVTI system doesn’t like it…but it’s been fine ever since. Once again, no matter what oil brand/viscosity, the 2GRFE is the little honey badger of engines.

 

[Titan]

I fill up at the same pump 90% of the time. I run the pump at full-flow until it stops, wait a second, then run it one more time at about half-flow until it stops. My computer over-estimates mpg about 1 mpg compared to hand-calculations. If I use any other pump, my computer estimation varies from almost dead-on accurate to about 2 mpg over-estimating. These "other pump locations" have slightly different slopes than the one I try to use. All it takes is a bit of slope-change when filling, and my tank stops the pump at a different level of "full". So not only does this make a difference on the CURRENT calculation, it makes a difference on the SUBSEQUENT calculation as well...since the tank has been over- or under-filled just a bit depending upon the slightly different slopes at the different pumps.

 

[Azimuth]

I run the pump at full-flow until it stops, wait a second, then run it one more time at about half-flow until it stops.

Why do you follow this approach?

 

[goingplacesanddoingstuff]

Reminder, “n mpg” is meaningless for comparisons because it is nonlinear. Going from 19-20 mpg is a greater improvement than going from 39-40.

 

[Azimuth]

Reminder, “n mpg” is meaningless for comparisons because it is a nonlinear unit. Going from 19-20 mpg is a greater improvement than going from 39-40.

Time to switch to gallons /100 miles?

 

[Hanynowsky]

The ESP 0W30 is one of the best oils.
The differences between that one and Castrol Edge 0W30 are NOACK and VI.
ESP has 160VI with a NOACK of less than 7%.
While Castrol has a stunning VI204 and a NOACK of 10%.
Both 3.5 hths.

https://n52.opentika.ovh/?auto=0&approval=&grade=0W30&engine=&mileage=0&ocons=0&country=ES&surname=

I second the last comment and can add that these new premium 0W30 are outstanding, better than almost all 5W30 oils in terms of FE and protection.

If a new oil has the capacity to offer better cylinder sealing (better compression) and allows the engine to warmup quicker and above all has a lower viscosity breakdown value, it will surpass the old oil.which is hths 3.0.

 

[Titan]

Why do you follow this approach?

It's an attempt at establishing a repeatable pattern of behaviors. Over-filling can play havoc with tank venting systems, and doing it this way, I've not had tank vent problems...so I keep on doing it. There are SO MANY variables in determining MPGs. Is the pump running at the same speed every time? Sometimes it seems to be pumping faster than others...this can affect when the backpressure shuts off the pump. Is the atmospheric temperature similar? Of course not, it varies...this can also have an effect on the fuel in the tube. But, One Click at full flow plus one click at about half flow (of course, "about half flow" is a big variable), over time, and I get a range of MPGs that generally follow the patterns of the previous fills +/- a few percentage points.

 

[Patman]

It's an attempt at establishing a repeatable pattern of behaviors. Over-filling can play havoc with tank venting systems, and doing it this way, I've not had tank vent problems...so I keep on doing it. There are SO MANY variables in determining MPGs. Is the pump running at the same speed every time? Sometimes it seems to be pumping faster than others...this can affect when the backpressure shuts off the pump. Is the atmospheric temperature similar? Of course not, it varies...this can also have an effect on the fuel in the tube. But, One Click at full flow plus one click at about half flow (of course, "about half flow" is a big variable), over time, and I get a range of MPGs that generally follow the patterns of the previous fills +/- a few percentage points.

It’s all of those reasons why I don’t think it’s important to use hand calculated MPG. The onboard reading might be off by a couple of percent but it’s going to be consistent and that’s all you really need it to be if you want to figure out if something is wrong with your car because the fuel economy has taken a nose dive.

 

[Titan]

It’s all of those reasons why I don’t think it’s important to use hand calculated MPG. The onboard reading might be off by a couple of percent but it’s going to be consistent and that’s all you really need it to be if you want to figure out if something is wrong with your car because the fuel economy has taken a nose dive.

Agreed. I do find it interesting that 100% highway trip manual calculations are closer to the Computer estimate than around-town trips....even with the variable of not using "the usual" pump to fill up.

 

[ka9mnx]

Why do you follow this approach?

I run it on the slowest position on the handle. When it stops, I'm done. We do it this way for consistency. Dunno if it works but it's the best I can do.

 

[Bkdc]

Anyone using this on a Euro car that calls for A3/B4? I’m worried it would shear down pretty quickly.

 

[Patman]

Anyone using this on a Euro car that calls for A3/B4? I’m worried it would shear down pretty quickly.

If you’re worried about that you can always use 5w30 ESP instead. In my experience it holds its viscosity extremely well.

 

[Azimuth]

ESP has 160VI with a NOACK of less than 7%.

Do you have a source on this? From what I saw it is closer to 9%.

 

[kschachn]

Anyone using this on a Euro car that calls for A3/B4? I’m worried it would shear down pretty quickly.

Why would you worry about that? ExxonMobil does not use inferior VM, especially in a flagship product.

Besides, mechanical shear in the VM is highly dependent on the application. Have you had a problem with this in the past? Be aware that a Blackstone UOA cannot distinguish between fuel dilution and shear.

Having said that, yes I use it on my Tiguan. It shows the lowest consumption of any brand I've used.

 

[JimPghPA]

Interesting, how could something like this happen?

Maybe the fuel does not have any Ethanol ( E 0 ), therefore more BTU's pre gallon, therefore more MPG.

ChrisD46 did say that he had just filled it up with fuel. Maybe it is the fuel and not the oil that caused the increase in MPG.

 

[Patman]

Maybe the fuel does not have any Ethanol ( E 0 ), therefore more BTU's pre gallon, therefore more MPG.

When I used to run ethanol free premium in my Corvette I would get a pretty significant bump in MPG, roughly 3% better. Unfortunately Shell and Costco started adding 10% ethanol to their premium a couple of years ago

 

[ChrisD46]

Gas was standard fair ARCO 87 octane unleaded .