Mixing Mobil 1 with Redline?

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I have a couple of cases and 5qt jugs of Mobil 1 10w30 Tri-synth I have bought on sale over the last year. After a lot of reading I am suspect of this formulation. I would like to know if I could mix in a quart of another type of oil to shore up it's additive package. I have in mind Redline or MaxLife 10w30. (I'm looking for something with moly in it) Is there a problem with mixing PAO with ester or group II base stocks? Would mixing in something like STP 4cyl oil treatment be better?

[ June 16, 2002, 06:47 AM: Message edited by: omaha2.5rs ]
 
It is never a good idea to mix different brands of oils as each company uses their own blend and type of additives which may over time cause a clash and destroy what you are trying to accomplish.

I personally would not worry too much about the mobil one tri synth. It's the new SuperSyn oil that would concern me as it is the one that hasn't been proven out and appears to have a reduced level of antiwear additives as we currently know them.
 
U shouldn't mix RedLine with it. Esters are kinda finicky. You could get some seal leakage. Both oils have the right balance (at least Mobil does) to equalize seals. I have used Mobil 1 10W-30 in all my vehicles for 10 years now without any problems in all ranges of cars. I understand where you are comming from but I think the level of protection in the Mobil 1 is adequate. My oil analysis on my 01 Sentra came back fine after 6K. I'm sure Terry or Bob may recommend to add Shaeffers Moly additive-http://www.schaefferoil.com/data/132.html

Another alternative would be a quart of Mobil 1 15W-50 Supersyn. That would raise the viscosity slightly and also add some Moly. I would not add a conventional oil to the Mobil 1. In my personal opinion its like adding sewage to wine.
 
quote:

like adding sewage to wine.

Nice touch Al
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As Al had pointed out, The mobil trisynth is more than adaquate for normal driving and I don't recommend changing or adding anything to it as I think you would not be helping your cause much if any.

I wouldn't use the 132 ep additive schaeffers has in that case as I don't think you'd need it. Yes, there is a time and place but not here unless other conditions apply that I'm not aware of.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Al:


Another alternative would be a quart of Mobil 1 15W-50 Supersyn. That would raise the viscosity slightly and also add some Moly.


Are you 100% sure it contains moly? Perhaps the moly in that oil sample came from another source?

I never did end up finding out what would happen if someone mixed different viscosities of the same type of oil together. I'd like to be able to safely recommend to LS1 f-body/Vette owners that burn oil, to add one quart of 15w50 Mobil 1 to the other 4.5 quarts of 10w30. These guys find that Mobil 1 burns more oil for them than other brands of oil, since Mobil 1s 30wt oils are on the thinner side of the 30wt scale.

Also, while we are on the subject, how much oil (approximately) gets left behind when
you do an oil change? In my case when I change my own oil, I let it drain for a good 90min
to 2 hours, then pour a 1/4 to a 1/2 quart of fresh oil in there before I put the plug back on.
That way it hopefully gets most of the oil out. But if there still is 5-10% of the old oil
trapped in there, won't that oil's additive package clash with a different oil when you change
brands?

[ June 16, 2002, 07:45 AM: Message edited by: Patman ]
 
You shouldn't be trying to be a better chemist than the manufacturer. In an emergency, or with a leftover qt of one brand I can see a one-time addition as long as they are similar or of the same brand, but I wouldn't mix synthetics because of what was said.... The combo of Group III/PAO/Ester has to be done right.
If the oil is drained HOT, there is minimal left, but still significant. I depends on angles, puddles, etc. We use the air hose to push out a little more, but the next analysis always shows the mixed formulation.
 
Don't you agree that by me pouring some fresh oil down there it might lessen the amount
of the old mix though? So for instance, when I switch from Maxlife to Castrol for my Auto-rx treatment, I will pour some fresh Castrol in there as the Maxlife is draining.

The analysis I do on the Castrol will be the oil change after this one, since I'm doing a quick 500 mile interval with the Auto-rx, then a 2500 mile interval with the GTX. I figure most of the residual Maxlife should be gone by the second change.
 
Patman: Sorry Patman, I do not agree with the theory of pouring in the extra clean oil while draining. When the engine is not running and you pour in the clean oil, it just goes straight to the pan, then out. Most of the left over used oil is in the oil galleys located throughout the engine. The only way to get the clean oil there is to run the motor. To accomplish what you are trying to do will take two or three oil changes with the same brand oil.
 
Patman, I agree with Johnny, that's just a waste of oil and you will achieve virtually nothing by dumping it in. The remaining oil is in dozens of little pools throughout your motor and the 1 path oil poured through will take before draining won't get anywhere near most of those pools.

My Honda says the capacity is 4 quarts ... with only 3.5 at an oil & filter change. If I jack the driver side wheel 12" off the ground on one side and let it sit like that for a few minutes, I can get most of that remaining 1/2 quart out.
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Speaking of capacities, my wife's 2000 Civic (106hp engine) has a capacity of 3.6L (3.8qts) according to the manual, but if I drain it for 2 hours it always takes me a full 4L (4.2qts) to bring it up to the full line. Perhaps the capacity they list is for the person that isn't as insane as me! (by letting the oil drain so long)
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People laugh at how long I let it drain, however it's good because by the time I pull off the old filter, it's not super hot anymore, so it's easier to do.
 
Patman: I do the same thing once in a while- Pour a little of oil through. At least it helpa flushsome of the residue down. I usually put the plug in loosely so the oil covers the bottom of the pan. Also I feel what if you drain hot and replace filters you would be getting out 99% of the old oil. I can't prove that butthere can' be much more than a slight coaring throughout. I'm willing to be proven wrong.

I have many times added a quart of 15W-50 to my 4 qt capacity crankcase in my 94 Toy Truck. This does appreciably cut down on oil use. This truck used oil from day one.
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It cuts usage in half.
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Bob: How about adding maybe just a portion of the #132.

Bob: I'm considering the Straight Shaeffers Straight 30wt full synthetic. Whadya think??
 
I realize that it won't get all of the old oil out, however if there is any oil that might get stuck in the oil pan (which is probably the higher percentage of what gets stuck) this method would help flush that out. I guess it's the method only used by the most anal of oil changers, that's me!
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I was just thinking this morning, what about mixing Valvoline SynPower with Maxlife? They probably use similar additive packages, other than the moly in the Maxlife. Then you could get the benefits of longer drain intervals, with the extra protection of moly.

Dammit, I just wish more affordable synthetics were out there with moly in it!
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Something to keep in mind, Even though moly is one of the more critical ep additives now in oil, Schaeffers also has another barrier lube property used in conjunction with moly called penetro.

Interesting enough, the penetrating version of this additive showed some very impressive results on the timken machine as I showed terry as well how this worked at plating. I have no idea as to what it really is, but I know it is one of those darn secret ingrediants like so many of us hate because of no idea what it is. This is one of those products that doesn't show up on a standard oil analysis report as well.

just a side note patman, there is one guy in canada that does sell schaeffers and if you want to know where or who, I'll check for you and let you know.
 
Bob, that would be great! If I could get Schaeffers up here in my area for a good price (and I don't have to get it shipped to me) I will definitely try it out!!
 
Patman, in the SBC there is a considerable (3 oz?) amount of oil which sits in each valve cover. This is due to the oil drain holes being towards the top of the head almost in line with the pushrods. So, by pouring some fresh oil, you are probably getting rid of 1 valve cover's worth. There will also be a small amount (1 - 2 oz?) of oil in the lifter valley which does not drain. This will not be washed out by your method.

Also, I've dropped an oil pan or two after about 30 min of hot draining and the pan was pretty much done draining.
 
Interesting info, thanks Chris! I'm not going to be doing that Castrol GTX oil change now anyways, so I don't need to worry so much about getting all the old Maxlife out anymore. Right now I'm on my second oil change with Maxlife, as I'm doing the short 5-600 mile interval with Auto-rx. This Saturday I'll drain it out and replace it with more Maxlife, the new SL stuff this time.

So on my next analysis (which I'll probably take at 5000 miles) it'll be a pretty decent sample of Maxlife, since by then all of the remaining Mobil 1 should be long gone.
 
Can't speak for synthetic oils (never used them )but as far as conventional oils there had better not be a problem with adding one brand to another , I could see some serious legal issues if any brand of oil cannot be mixed with others. The API standards are supposed to be a uniform standard so that oils can conform to them (and are backwards compatible). If it says it is SL, it better be SL, and if it cannot be mixed with other oils there had BETTER be a VERY LARGE DISCLAIMER on the bottle. Adding that paper and metal can of oil that you found on the back of the bottom shelf marked SA to the new car that is running SL does not make sense, but adding the SL oil to top off the vehicle with SJ would only be slightly IMPROVING the quality, not degrading it. If the additives in one brand would clash with additives in another there would be some serious issues that we would have already heard about.
Think about all the folks that get the oil changed at the quickie places every 3k miles, of the folks I know that do it only some of them always go to the same place. The rest go wherever is having a sale on the service.
I believe that most of us on these posts really believe strongly that the brand that we use is the best, that's why we talk the way we do. But the vast majority of folks who drive cars probably don't know the brand or weight that is in the vehicle at the moment.
To sum it all up, I respectfully dis-agree that oil brands cannot or should not be mixed, I don't even have a problem with mixing weights. It seems the oil companies don't have a problem mixing synthetics with petroleums, and if you ask ANY of them, they all tell you that as long as it meets the standard it has to be compatible. I think most everyone does try to stay brand loyal, but if we stray, there's not going to be any little tap on the shoulder saying 'you're gonna pay for that.'
Now if FRAM came out with oil I probably would be a little worried ....
see y'all
 
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