I have a curiosity about MAG 1 conventional motor oil with FMX technology. What exactly is FMX and is it hype or a legitimate and unique benefit to the product? I have done some online searches and there are two camps. One say it is the same as Super Tech. Another says it is a step above. As far as I can tell, Both beliefs are based on assumptions. Everyone agrees it is made by Warren Oil. Because of this, people are assuming it is identical to Supertech which is also made by Warren who private labels for wal-mart and other retailers. The other camp says it is Warren Oil's flagship brand so it must be a step above what they produce for private label customers. As far as I can tell both camps are basing their beliefs on assuming. Does anyone one have any factual info or data on the quality of Mag 1 conventional motor oil relative to quality brands out there?
MAG 1 conventional oil
- Thread starter nbpt100
- Start date
MAG1 has always been a good oil in conventional or synthetic and formulated by known good blenders.
They may have something proprietary in their oil but I wouldn’t say that it’s any better than other good known oils out there. You have to read into their claims.
https://mag1.com/
https://mag1.com/products/passenger...otor-oil/mag-1-conventional-10w-30-motor-oil/
https://mag1.com/product-families/22/pds/
They may have something proprietary in their oil but I wouldn’t say that it’s any better than other good known oils out there. You have to read into their claims.
https://mag1.com/
https://mag1.com/products/passenger...otor-oil/mag-1-conventional-10w-30-motor-oil/
https://mag1.com/product-families/22/pds/
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It holds a bunch of good approvals. No clue if it's actually different from other Warren conventionals. And speaking of conventional, what's the motivation there? Break-in oil? Old farm tractor? What?
By this do you mean, "Why bother in this era of synthetics, etc."?
This question has come up and I guess that since they make "synthetics" from conventional oil... they just tap off some of the basic stuff, blend it and sell it. They can skip additional cracking steps (?) and still market a great product for a bit less.
Just a guess.
What would be interesting to know is how much conventional oil is made as a percentage of ALL oil production.
It might be a lot more than the shelve space allotted in stores suggest.
Yes, why bother?
Is there a specific use case being targeted?
Don't take me wrong, I don't hate conventional oil. I'm using it in my air cooled motorcycle. Use it in lawn equipment. I just don't use it in my car.
So far, the answer is "no" regarding factual data. After decades of BITOG discussion, many of us still rely on "what makes us feel good" regarding oil choices. Many are still subliminally influenced by marketing, perceptions, biases, etc.. Many actually adopt the principle that it doesn't matter for "average" conditions.
This reminds me of BITOG discussions decades ago whether Valvolene branded Ashland oil was better/different than NAPA branded Ashland oil. Phone tech. Scott at Ashland contended NAPA was excellent, Valvolene was more excellent, lol.
The unicorn oil will forever remain elusive.
So many of the "beliefs" that you've dug up seem to be based on the thinking that there's competition between MAG1 and other oils that Warren produces. First, MAG1 may be 100% identical to WM's Supertech oil or O'Reilly oil or others and if it is, who cares ? No one is price-shopping across these oils - they walk into Walmart, O'Reilly, a local auto parts store, or a hardware store and grab a jug of oil.
Are they the same ? Dig into something like DEXOS certification. If other oils are assigned the same "number" (don't know, nor care, how DEXOS classifies oils) as a MAG1 oil, they are the same oil.
Are they the same ? Dig into something like DEXOS certification. If other oils are assigned the same "number" (don't know, nor care, how DEXOS classifies oils) as a MAG1 oil, they are the same oil.
I have a 412,000 mile engine that I still use conventional, or a semi syn. Why - because it doesn't leak, so I am not changing now. Is this belief mis guided. Maybe. The problem being if I switch now and it does leak - it likely won't work to go back. A seal is a composite material - the seal plus whatever molecules its absorbed to cause it to swell. I would rather not introduce new into that balance.
Now I have the exact same engine in my truck, and its been on synthetic since about 50K miles. Guess when it hits 400K we will have a direct comparison use case.
I would consider Mag1 if it were more readily available. Wal-mart never has the Supertech conventional in stock either. It is a dying thing.
I put Rotella T6 5W-40 in an old motorcycle I was fixing up. It started to drip oil, slowly. Traced the leak to oil coming off one of the crankcase screws. Apparently, oil was seeping between the horizontally split case haves, and found a way out along the bolthole through the cases. I removed the bolt, put a copper crush washer around the bolt shank, and torqued it down. No more leak.
Moral of the story: I've experienced situations where synthetic oil caused a leak. I still don't understand why, though.
Yes, I am in the "if it aint broke don't fix it" camp. The only reason I changed my truck at 60K is I was going to make a pretty long road trip and wanted to run a longer OCI once. Although it was only 6K miles so in reality conventional would likely have been OK. Once switched I stayed put.
Does the 15W-40 have the API SN / SP still?
Yeah it's still ck/sn. 2.99 a quart in either 2.5 or 5 gal containers can't be beat. Last I checked the 10w-30 was a bit less too at 27.99 reg for 2.5g.
I've only seen MAG1 in franchised Ace Hardware locations, Farm & Fleet, and I remember a parts store listing it in their sales flyer. I'm sure it's a perfectly fine oil, but I just never needed it at the few times I've ran across it or maybe the price was high enough that I decided I'm not paying that when I can get 'fill-in-the-blank-oil' at WM for less.
I agree about WM and conventional oil. A) Why bother when semi-synthetic or full synthetic Supertech can be had for $21 for a 5-quart bottle and B) shelf space is precious in WM, so they stock what sells. If someone argues "they can't sell it if they don't have it", rest assured, at one point in time, WM has data that showed declining sales of conventional vs increasing sales of semi- or full synthetic and they made the decision back then to switch over.
I had to look at their web site to make sure that there is an oil labeled Mag1 Conventional, also a Mag1 Blend. Strange because I always thought that there had to be Group 3 blended in to make SP. I suspect that it is blend and this is just a branding convention. It isn't Warren Oil, which is a different company but Highline Warren (aka Warren Distribution, Warren PP, etc.). Pritzker's company. I bet it's no different than ST, Amazon or Costco (except I don't think Costco sells anything but syn). Still made in Omaha/Council Bluffs?
Lowes has the best pricing for mag 1 and free shipping with a minimum order so I never pay shipping.
https://www.lowes.com/pl/automotive-oils-fluids/motor-oil-additives/mag-1/165806898-721987272992
https://www.lowes.com/pl/automotive-oils-fluids/motor-oil-additives/mag-1/165806898-721987272992
I've only run into Mag1 branded oils at a truck stop in northern Indiana. The pricing was very reasonable. I bought 12 quarts and used it in my 2010 Accord. No issues with using it again if I ever see it.
Jackson_Slugger
$50 Site Donor 2022
It's a syn-blend if not almost a full syn according to the MSDS...
MolaKule
Staff member
FMX is simply Highline Warren's (https://www.highlinewarren.com/) designation for their DI additive package in their Mag1 oils (https://mag1.com/). It is legitimate.
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