M1 FS 0W-40, M1 FS 5W-40, D1 ESP 5W-40 Volatility Results - March 2025

[JD!]

Amazing information, thank you for publishing your test results.

If you're taking suggestions, it would be interesting to see how the Mobil ESP line stacks up against these oils. Cheers!

 

[JAG]

If you're taking suggestions, it would be interesting to see how the Mobil ESP line stacks up against these oils. Cheers!

Thank you. Good news is that due to a BITOG member very recently sending M1 5W-30 ESP, I will be testing that next. I have also been testing some HPL oils since late 2024, but I have not been posting the results for several reasons.

 

[ARH_0700]

Thank you. Good news is that due to a BITOG member very recently sending M1 5W-30 ESP, I will be testing that next. I have also been testing some HPL oils since late 2024, but I have not been posting the results for several reasons.

Looking forward to those results. I have some M1 ESP 0W-30 if needed for comparison.

 

[JAG]

Looking forward to those results. I have some M1 ESP 0W-30 if needed for comparison.

That would great. Thank you. Perfect testing companion to its 5W-30 brother. Please let me know if you need my address again.

 

[JD!]

Thank you. Good news is that due to a BITOG member very recently sending M1 5W-30 ESP, I will be testing that next. I have also been testing some HPL oils since late 2024, but I have not been posting the results for several reasons.

Great! I've been using 5w-30 ESP in all of my vehicles as of late, so I really look forward to hearing about it.

 

[JAG]

Here is a picture of the cups after wiping them with rubbing alcohol. I have to sand the varnish off before the next test occurs.

 

[OilUzer]

After ending the test, I poured virgin oil into each cup and they sat until this morning. I stirred the mixtures, then drained the oils. The two M1 oils have a lot of insolubles left behind, while QS Ultimate Durability 10W-30 has almost none. The pictures are not as revealing as my eyes are. M1 0W-40 FS has roughly twice as much insolubles volume as M1 5W-40 FS does. The difference in amount of insolubles between the two M1 oils and QS UD is huge. I did not include a picture of D1 5W-40 ESP because it was not tested as long as the others, but the amount of insolubles is similar to what QS UD’s cup has.

View attachment 277099

I did some tests in old days torching different oil in aluminum cups ... it was for fun and I don't recall the results. I think I posted it here.

Based on your test, 10W-30 did well. I have a feeling M1 EP 10W-30 may win this test.

 

[JAG]

Good 10W-30 synthetic oils do tend to have very little VII or even none and the base oils are relatively viscous, which leads to low volatility. M1 10W-30 EP probably has fairly low volatility but I expect it to be considerably higher than QS UD 10W-30. Same is true for almost every oil. That QS oil has crazy low volatility. Sadly it is extinct. QS UD became QS UP, and they don’t make it in 10W-30. QS UP oils do have very low volatility for their viscosity grades. I tested some of them and have a thread about it.

 

[chris719]

I will send you ESP X4 0W-40, PP Euro 5W-40, or even a bottle of BMW 10W-60 if you’re interested in testing any of them in this way again.

 

[tired]

Good 10W-30 synthetic oils do tend to have very little VII or even none and the base oils are relatively viscous, which leads to low volatility. M1 10W-30 EP probably has fairly low volatility but I expect it to be considerably higher than QS UD 10W-30. Same is true for almost every oil. That QS oil has crazy low volatility. Sadly it is extinct. QS UD became QS UP, and they don’t make it in 10W-30. QS UP oils do have very low volatility for their viscosity grades. I tested some of them and have a thread about it.

Do you think that the low volatility offsets the use of lower quality base oils (frequent but not ubiquitously) used in 10W-30 formulations?

 

[JAG]

I will send you ESP X4 0W-40, PP Euro 5W-40, or even a bottle of BMW 10W-60 if you’re interested in testing any of them in this way again.

That would be great. I already have PP Euro 5W-40 and have not tested it yet. I would really appreciate getting the other two. I’ll send you a PM with my address. Thanks!

 

[JAG]

Do you think that the low volatility offsets the use of lower quality base oils (frequent but not ubiquitously) used in 10W-30 formulations?

Primarily Group I based oils have pretty much or entirely gone extinct. For primarily Group II based oils, in a moderate enough climate, I would certainly prefer 10W-30 to 5W-30. I consider Group III to be fairly high or very high (if GTL) quality, so do not mind if synthetic Oil X in 10W-30 uses more Group III than synthetic Oil X in 5W-30, if the 10W-30 is less volatile. I want Noack values below 10%. I also want low consumption and have experienced oils with lower volatility having higher oil consumption. Low volatility with high consumption defeats the purpose. I try to minimize oil transport through PCV system and the deposit-forming nature of burning oil that got above the top ring. Misting is a separate process from evaporation, so even a magical zero volatility oil would still end up in the PCV system. That’s frustrating. Good question that was obviously impossible for me to answer concisely.

 

[edyvw]

That would be great. I already have PP Euro 5W-40 and have not tested it yet. I would really appreciate getting the other two. I’ll send you a PM with my address. Thanks!

How much of oil do you need? I have some Motul 300V 5W40 racing oil. Maybe would be interesting to see how it performs against street oils.

 

[JAG]

How much of oil do you need? I have some Motul 300V 5W40 racing oil. Maybe would be interesting to see how it performs against street oils.

That would be very interesting. I don’t need much of each oil, since one test uses only 1 ounce. We don’t want to cut it too close, though. The volume of a Chap Stick is roughly what to shoot for. More quantitatively, 10 ml is a good amount. That allows for multiple tests, if needed.

 

[edyvw]

That would be very interesting. I don’t need much of each oil, since one test uses only 1 ounce. We don’t want to cut it too close, though. The volume of a Chap Stick is roughly what to shoot for. More quantitatively, 10 ml is a good amount. That allows for multiple tests, if needed.

I will send you, just DM address.
Actually I have also new Castrol Edge 0W30. Can do that too.