Mobil 1 5W-30 -vs- 0W40

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Hi,

Well I must say that the people on this forum sure are knowledgable regarding oil....so i have a question.

I have new (1700 miles) Mazda Protege5 that I have put Mobil 1 0W-40 SS in @ 700 miles....here are my questions??????

Should I use the 5W-30 as my manual says or is the VI# for the 0W-40 low enough that it does not make a difference?

What is VI# of the 5W-30 SS????

Basically, I am looking for your guidance on which oil to use....I live in Indiana (can get cold) and change my oil at 3000 mile intervals without fail.

Thank you for your help!
Eric...
 
The M1 0w-40 isn't a bad choice. It has better cold cranking and pumping capability than a 5w-30. Better than the M1 0w-40, I think, would be AMSOIL's S2000 0w-30. The 0w-40 will give you a hit in gas mileage and hp over a 30 weight.

The VI of M1 5w-30 is 169. The VI of M1 0w-40 is 185 and AMSOIL's 0w-30 has a phenomenal 196 VI!
 
Jay,

Acutally I wanted to know where in the sae range for 40 weight oil the Mobil 1 0W-40 falls...

I think the number will be around 12-14 or something like that.

I thought the VI was this number.

You said the 0W-40 had better pumping ability than the 5W-30....I assume this means for cold starts since it is a "0" weight oil....but will the 40 weight be too much for my 4 banger engine??????

Thanks for your help!
Eric...

quote:

Originally posted by Jay:
The M1 0w-40 isn't a bad choice. It has better cold cranking and pumping capability than a 5w-30. Better than the M1 0w-40, I think, would be AMSOIL's S2000 0w-30. The 0w-40 will give you a hit in gas mileage and hp over a 30 weight.

The VI of M1 5w-30 is 169. The VI of M1 0w-40 is 185 and AMSOIL's 0w-30 has a phenomenal 196 VI!


 
ew,
Search the Exxon-Mobil website,it will give you the specs you need(except HT/HS ?).You say that you do 3000 mile changes.With Mobil1(or any typeIII synth),0w/40 vs 5w/30 is splitting some mighty fine hairs in terms of engine wear/cold starts
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Mark
 
Rungerman,

Thanks for the reply. I thought Mobil 1 was type IV synthetic??????

I looked at the mobil site but was hoping to get some "expert" opinion from the people on this site...

I was just trying to figure out if the mobil 0W-40 would be too "thick" for my engine versus the mobil 5W-30, as the manual recommends.

I have read that mobil oils fall near the low end of their respective grade and I was just trying to find out what others thought about using the 0W-40...

Thanks,
Eric...
 
40-weight oils span the range of 12.5 to 16.2 cS. M1 0w-40 is 14.4, so it's almost exactly in the middle of the range. I think you're OK with the M1 0w-40. I just don't think it's ideal for the winter. Don't throw it away!
 
My reply to search the factory specs was NOT ment to be smart-butt! Common opinion here says one step up from factory recomended viscosity is a good move.
BTW,whats a runger?
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Mark
 
Mobil 1 is a Group IV (PAO) base.

Its Viscosity is 14.4 cSt. at 100 C. Thats right in the middle of the range of 12.5 to 16.3 for a 40 wt oil.

My opinion and the opinion of some experts (not me) is that 40 wt is fine for vehicles.
Being a syn it has very good low temp properties which are due to the high VI of the PAO. There is not nearly the amount of VI improver as a conventional oil so it should hold up. Also 0W-40 is the standard in Europe where engines are for the most part expected to run harder than here.

An alternate to the 0W-40 is Delvac 1 5W-40. This oil may in fact be a better oil than the 5W. I just poured it in my son's 2000 GrandAm. I will be comparing it with the wear properties of the 10W-30 TriSyn and SS.

Hope this helps til you get more info.

Al
 
Rugerman1,

Sorry about that...I didn't mean to call you runger!

I did not think you were being smart...I checked out the site but I figured the people here would have more accurate info...

Where did you guys here that going one up from the manufacturer's suggestion is a doo thing?

I have never heard of Delvac, is this synthetic????
Who makes it???????

Thanks for all the replies, as they are very helpful
 
Delvac1 is also made by Mobil. Some say it's the BEST diesel/gas oil made(ask a VW TDI driver)!
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Mark
 
ewsmith1
You need to understand CAFE and what it means to viscosity reccomendations for vehicles sold in the U.S. It's all about fleet economy, nothing to do with wear/longevity. 0W40 M1 a good oil IMHO, well the TS version was, and I'd be surprised if SS version not better.
 
Thanks for all the help!

What is CAFE????????

So then, do most of you think I will be ok running the mobil 0W-40 all year long eventhough Mazda say 5/10W-30??????

I live in Indiana and the winters do drop below zero...the car is kept in a heated garage(80) but at work it will be outside.

Thanks,
Eric...
 
Sprintman,

It is a 2003 protege5 with a 2.0L engine.
At 60 it revs 3000 rpm
At 80 is revs around 4000+ rpm

So it revs pretty hard all the time!!!!! That is why I put in the mobil 1 0W-40

Thanks,
Eric...
 
Sprintman,

Can you check with a local Mazda dealer there and see what they recommend as the oil grade for my car?

It would be interesting to see if it is different than what they recommend here in the states?

Thanks,
Eric...
 
Well, I'd buck the "collective wisdom" on this one and run the Mobil 1, 0w-30 or 5w-30. I just think the 0w-40 is a bit thick for a brand new, high revving engine, especially in the winter. Why folks think they know more than the engineers that actually designed this engine is beyond me.

The oil analysis results for the Mobil 1, 5w-30 have been very good, and it will give you better engine performance and fuel efficiency than running the heavier stuff.

Delvac 1 is an excellent oil, but the additive chemistry is optimized for use in HD diesel engines.
Now that the Mobil 1, 0w-40 is easy to find, it would be my choice for a high mileage gas engine. If the motor was severely worn I might even put the 15w-50 in there in hot weather.

TooSlick
 
quote:

Originally posted by TooSlick:
Well, I'd buck the "collective wisdom" on this one and run the Mobil 1, 0w-30 or 5w-30. I just think the 0w-40 is a bit thick for a brand new, high revving engine, especially in the winter. Why folks think they know more than the engineers that actually designed this engine is beyond me.
TooSlick


Not really trying to start an argument-just a couple of points:

I'm not sure that anyone here said they know more than the engineers who design the engines. I think the thought is that its our car and we can look at the information and make an informed decision based on the advantages/disadvantages of either a 30 or 40 wt oil. I happen to feel that the engineers did not recommend the 30 wt. they probably agreed the 30 wt would be acceptable and the corporate entity recommended it because of the CAFE. Thats just my opinion though.

Also my Ninja Sportbike (I know its not a car
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) specifies either a 40 or 50 wt oil. The redline on this puppy is 14K rpm. So high reving is not a reason to reject the 40 or 50 wt oil. Sure there is a milage penalty. I have seen numbers like 2% decrease in milage.

One last thing- for those of us that decide to buck the herd: an oil analysis would be advised IMHO to confirm our choice. Of course since we own the vehicle that's not required either.
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