M1 iron level issue..and worried

[tig1]

Originally Posted By: Mark72
I been noticing a lot of talk here and there on this forum about M1 and iron levels showing up on UOA’s. I recently put M1 in my new/used van I purchased and I’m sitting here wondering if I should just dump it. Is M1 c r a p?


Since M1 oils are used by more high end engine builders than all others combined, and more M1 is sold around the world for daily drivers, and likely more race teams around the world use M1 than any other companies oil, and the final and most important thing is more BITOGERS use M1 than any other synthetic oil. Rest easy, and worry about something important.

 

[BearZDefect]

Have we forgotten the years when Mobil 1 produced 4x to 8x cam lobe wear compared to their competition from Valvoline and Castrol? I think they finally fixed that with a reformulation, but it was real and not a single botched batch, and the relatively high iron did show up in many BITOGer UOAs. In the end, it likely didn't matter for the life of most engines.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: SlipperyPete
Is there a possibility Mobil 1 simply is better at holding iron particles in suspension than other products?


Yes, there is. But that'd deflate the epic boner those who want to rip on Mobil sport when these types of topics come up.

LOL, but Im not sure that suspended particles necessarily show up the same way in the analysis...

Depends upon the process, but big particles have less surface area per atom, and should attenuate signals like x-ray, IR, etc. differently.

 

[Capa]

Originally Posted By: tig1


Since M1 oils are used by more high end engine builders than all others combined, and more M1 is sold around the world for daily drivers, and likely more race teams around the world use M1 than any other companies oil, and the final and most important thing is more BITOGERS use M1 than any other synthetic oil. Rest easy, and worry about something important.


Exactly, Tig!

 

[andyd]

All these iron bits is funny. I ran my first 528e to 350 K miles on dino Supertech 20 w 50. I would be pleased to use Mobil 1 20 w 50 if somebody gave it to me.

 

[bigt61]

M1 is one of the best oils, period. It is likely overkill in almost every street application unless you stretch your drain interval to maximize benefits.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: BearZDefect
Have we forgotten the years when Mobil 1 produced 4x to 8x cam lobe wear compared to their competition from Valvoline and Castrol? I think they finally fixed that with a reformulation, but it was real and not a single botched batch, and the relatively high iron did show up in many BITOGer UOAs. In the end, it likely didn't matter for the life of most engines.


How do you know it wasn't a specific batch-code of oil?

 

[Garak]

In fact, Overkill, I think we're pretty sure it was a specific batch-code of oil. Those claims disappeared fairly quickly.

I know why tig1 uses M1. With his work in metal, what he likes to do is strain his M1 after use. After all these years of M1, think of how much iron he's scavenged.

 

[Doug Hillary]

Originally Posted By: BearZDefect
Have we forgotten the years when Mobil 1 produced 4x to 8x cam lobe wear compared to their competition from Valvoline and Castrol? I think they finally fixed that with a reformulation, but it was real and not a single botched batch, and the relatively high iron did show up in many BITOGer UOAs. In the end, it likely didn't matter for the life of most engines.


Really, 4x and 8x cam lobe wear.....? ? When was this? over what parameters? Who did the testing? And so on..................

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Doug Hillary
Originally Posted By: BearZDefect
Have we forgotten the years when Mobil 1 produced 4x to 8x cam lobe wear compared to their competition from Valvoline and Castrol? I think they finally fixed that with a reformulation, but it was real and not a single botched batch, and the relatively high iron did show up in many BITOGer UOAs. In the end, it likely didn't matter for the life of most engines.


Really, 4x and 8x cam lobe wear.....? ? When was this? over what parameters? Who did the testing? And so on..................


He's referring to the Seq. IVA results that Ashland and BP referenced in their advertising campaigns with Ashland going as far as saying the oil didn't pass Seq. IVA. I don't believe BP ever went that far.

When brought before the API the API simply replied that Mobil demonstrated that the product had passed all required testing. The advertising stopped shortly after that.

Also note that all this was over one grade of oil: 5w30. It was never claimed to apply to anything other than that. The general consensus was that there was a batch-code of oil from Katrina that they were able to get their hands on that didn't perform as it should in Seq. IVA and they used it to lob a few shots across the deck of the Bismark. They didn't get the response I think they wanted and when the API said they were out to lunch the tactic was abandoned.

 

[buster]

The testing was real, the question is why did it happen? Mobil either 1. Dropped the ball, which would be very rare for XOM to do with their flagship product. 2. There were Katrina batches out there that were not on spec.

The API responded back to me directly and said not only does M1 meets the IVA, they weren't sure why Ashland did what they did.

This issue old, irrelevant and not worth discussing further at all.

 

[vinu_neuro]

Even dino's provide great wear protection as well as cleanliness these days. The only things that matter now out the forums and in the real world how much drains can be extended and the NVH and oil consumption characteristics in cars that consume any oil. In all these categories it's the SOPUS products that are the best. The M1 oils are fantastic and probably the benchmark in pure performance, but they're not as friendly as the others when it comes to actually using them.

 

[BearZDefect]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
How do you know it wasn't a specific batch-code of oil?


I don't. And I understand that marketing claims can be based on clever manipulations. I think it applied to more than one batch simply due to the high iron numbers in so many M1 UOAs, particularly in the API SM years.

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
...
Also note that all this was over one grade of oil: 5w30...

Correct. But at least during those years, this was the most popular viscosity in the US, so I imagine that the highest volume of M1 sold and used here during those years was 5w30.

There were engine lines that didn't exhibit high iron wear from M1, such as many Toyota engines, and Ford modular engines.

I don't have a case to make, it's not a scandal. I know this is a contentious issue at BITOG. There are those of us who believe that M1 xw-30 was below average at wear control for a number of years. And there are those of us who adamantly insist that this belief is rubbish.

 

[Merkava_4]

Mobil 1 is a polishing oil. It contains fine abrasives to polish your engine to a mirror finish from the inside out. What you're seeing with those high iron numbers in the UOA are the remnants of the rough material that Mobil 1 has polished away. All you people need to do is change your oil filter every 6 weeks while running Mobil 1 and you'll be fine.

 

[kr_bitog]

Well, I just dumped my old engine oil (M1 EP 5w30 SM) from my parent's car, it just run 2000 km in 2 years (the car has 40.000 km in 9 years of its life), I can smell the gas from the oil even though I have driven for about 200 kms in the last few days.

For sure once I put in the M1 EP 5w30 SN, the noise getting quieter day by day. So I am sold again to the SN version.