Mobil 1 Classic 0W30: best cold weather oil?

Pour point: -65F. Out of character, Mobil even posted an MRV at -40F for this oil: 16200. Both numbers beat Ravenol SSO 0W-30 for a record low. This may be the best cold weather oil you can buy, especially if you need to meet a Ford specification: It is one of only three oils available in the US that “Meets or exceeds” Ford’s WSS-M2C963-A1 Spec. (the others are Mobil 1 AFE 0W30 and Castrol Edge 0W-30 DX). In comparison, Mobil 1 AFE 0W-30 currently claims only a -43F pour point, and Castrol 0W-30 DX only -42F.

 

[Alien]

HPL CK-4 0w30 Cold Climate has a pour point of -80*F. As wwillson has demonstrated, it is just fine for normal use.

Impressive! In addition to taking the king of Pour Points title, it also beats everything else in my table on MRV@-40C at 15014. But not on CCS@35C, where the winner is still HPL Premium Plus 0W30 at 4150.

Thanks!

 

[02zx9r rev2]

Weird, doesn't look anything like that for me.

On a pc it will look like that. If using phone it wont

 

[Alien]

Here is an interesting chart on CCS from the German site https://www.ato24.de/pub/media/wysiwyg/ATO24_Oelanalysen_ACEA_C2_0W30.pdf :

In the tradeoffs and compromises that go into formulating engine oil, it looks like BMW, recognizing that CCS values inflate over an OCI, decided to go for a low initial CCS in order to protect their start-stop engines over the long OCIs they have been recommending. Mobil, on the other hand, went for the highest CCS they could get away with without sacrificing the 0W designation of ESP. (How Fuchs gets away with a CCS that violates the definition of 0W is mystery.)

 

[Revving2Redline]

Castrol Edge Euro 0W-30 A3/B4 has a pour point of -60 but again, pour point is not a figure of merit unless you want to win a freezer oil race.

And just a thought that came to me, my guess is the @High Performance Lubricants and Redline have a higher ester content which I would favour over a PAO that might flow better but doesn't have polarity. While hths wouldn't matter in winter, my suspicion is that it clings better and stays in the bearings longer for a more protected startup.

 

[CarbonSteel]

And just a thought that came to me, my guess is the @High Performance Lubricants and Redline have a higher ester content which I would favour over a PAO that might flow better but doesn't have polarity. While hths wouldn't matter in winter, my suspicion is that it clings better and stays in the bearings longer for a more protected startup.

ESP has a high ester content as well. Oxidation levels in a VOA of ESP that I sent to Polaris were initially flagged as exceptionally high which was later explained by ester content.

 

[OVERKILL]

Here is an interesting chart on CCS from the German site https://www.ato24.de/pub/media/wysiwyg/ATO24_Oelanalysen_ACEA_C2_0W30.pdf :

View attachment 204021

In the tradeoffs and compromises that go into formulating engine oil, it looks like BMW, recognizing that CCS values inflate over an OCI, decided to go for a low initial CCS in order to protect their start-stop engines over the long OCIs they have been recommending. Mobil, on the other hand, went for the highest CCS they could get away with without sacrificing the 0W designation of ESP. (How Fuchs gets away with a CCS that violates the definition of 0W is mystery.)

The higher/lower CCS isn't protecting the start-stop engines, it's just reducing the fuel economy hit. Remember, the CCS visc limit is just to limit the amount of load put on the starter and ensure adequate cranking speed... and at -35C with a 0W-xx. If you've ever owned an old(er) vehicle that might not have had the strongest starter, this can become quite apparent.

 

[buster]

ESP has a high ester content as well. Oxidation levels in a VOA of ESP that I sent to Polaris were initially flagged as exceptionally high which was later explained by ester content.

The new SP appears to no longer have the high oxidation value (5w30 SP grade for sure). Could be ANs or something else. No one knows.

 

[CarbonSteel]

The new SP appears to no longer have the high oxidation value (5w30 SP grade for sure). Could be ANs or something else. No one knows.

The oxidation value was 31 from a batch in November 2022. Not sure when the change happened.

 

[OVERKILL]

The new SP appears to no longer have the high oxidation value (5w30 SP grade for sure). Could be ANs or something else. No one knows.

IIRC, AN's don't drive up the oxidation, that's why that tanked with the updated M1 FS 0W-40 from what I recall with my conversation with @Vitamin Yoda about the changeover from esters to AN's in that product.

 

[buster]

That is right. The new SP has an oxidation value of 10 or under like the entire line now.

If some of those articles are any indication of what made it's way into the current gen Mobil 1:

"ExxonMobil evaluated non-traditional lubricant components in pursuit of break-through performance. As an example, materials from the cosmetics industry were incorporated to enhance the product’s protective properties. The complex formulation is a careful balance of materials each designed to deliver specific performance benefits including more than 25% bio-sourced content and low ash additive chemistry."

 

[CheezWhiz]

what do you guys feed your reindeer this time of year?

 

[CarbonSteel]

That is right. The new SP has an oxidation value of 10 or under like the entire line now.

If some of those articles are any indication of what made it's way into the current gen Mobil 1:

"ExxonMobil evaluated non-traditional lubricant components in pursuit of break-through performance. As an example, materials from the cosmetics industry were incorporated to enhance the product’s protective properties. The complex formulation is a careful balance of materials each designed to deliver specific performance benefits including more than 25% bio-sourced content and low ash additive chemistry."

Sounds like I need to do another VOA of the later formula as a baseline.

 

[Sumboodie]

On a pc it will look like that. If using phone it wont

Gotcha, havent used a pc for internet forums in probably 15 years.

 

[TheRuley]

what do you guys feed your reindeer this time of year?

Poutine

 

[Yolo]

I didn’t see the weight mentioned anywhere.

 

[Nesterenko]

I’ve posted this before but….. when I was going to flight school I was pretty broke. School was pretty expensive. I didn’t pay for plug in parking. My 1998 C1500 4.3 was left outside all day not plugged in. I ran Mobil 1 5W30. Always started. I sold it when it rolled over 300,000 kms in 2010. It had 180 psi of compression on all 6 cylinders on the pre purchase inspection.

I wouldn’t over think the oil too much. Modern day oil is even better than the old M1 I ran. Winnipeg gets pretty cold in winter too.

Winterpeg, right?

 

[Glenda W.]

Im still seeing high virgin oxidation on the 0w30 esp from a voa posted earlier this year. Anyone have a newer voa showing low oxidation?

 

[facility1]

Here is my final table of low pour-point oils, with corrections from the previous table and some additional information:

	PP (F)	MRV@-40C	CCS@-35C	API	ILSAC	WSS-M2C963-A1?	DEXOS?	Markets
Ravenol Arctic Low SAPS 0W30	-76​	15400​	5472​	No	No	No	No	Europe; USA by special order
Ravenol SSO 0W30	-76​	17400​	5580​	SN	No	No	No	USA, Europe
HPL Premium Plus 0W30	-72​	15400​	4150​	No	No	No	No	USA
M1 Classic 0W30	-65​	16100​	?	SP	GF-6a	"Meets or Exceeds"	No	China only?
Imperial Oil's M1 AFE 0W30	-65​	?	?	SP	GF-6a	"Meets or Exceeds"	Gen3 license	Canada only?
Castrol Edge Euro 0W-30 A3/B4	-65​	60000?	6200?	SL	No	No	No	USA, Europe
M1 ESP 0W30	-60​	19000​	6100​	SP	No	No	No	USA
Pennzoil Platinum Euro LX SAE 0W30	-60​	18900​	5800​	SN	No	No	No	USA
Halvoline ProDS P 0W30	-60​	?	?	No	No	No	No	Europe
49N Arctic Synthetic 0W30 Bulk	-60​	?	?	SN	No	No	No	Canada only?
Amsoil SS 0W30 AZO	-58​	?	5372​	SP "Application"	GF-6a "Application"	"Application"	"Application"	USA
Redline 0W30	-54​	?	58​	SP "Recommended for"	No	"Recommended for"	"Recommended for"	USA
M1 AFE 0W30	-44​	?	?	SP	GF-6a	"Meets or Exceeds"	Gen3 license	USA only?
Castrol Edge 0W-30 DX	-44​	?	6000​	SP	GF-6a	"Meets"	No	Europe, Canada?

there are many other oils than Mobil 1 on the market for your use,some even better, also some not even on this chart,in extreme cold weather a battery warmer and plug in block heater is usually the normal thing to do,

 

[Foxtrot08]

This beats it as well but appears to be oriented toward European low-SAPS applications and approvals. Probably not the best choice for my Ford EcoBoost 3.5.

What's the point? I do travel on a regular basis to places that get below -40F, both in the US and Canada. I have seen -38F on my dashboard temperature readout in Lake Louise on a sunny day mid-morning. Imagine what the temperature was overnight. So oils that don't pour below -42F make me nervous. Oils that pour down to -65F or lower make me feel much better. So I have an interest in those.

Not going to argue the point on the oil. As, I like very low cold flow point oils anyways. The further you stay from the cold flow points the better. Typically, you want to stay +20-30f above it at a minimum.


But just food for thought: Gasoline, typically has a freeze point between -40f and -52f. Not including any water contamination and such.


So once you get down into that range, you need to be considering auxiliary heating sources for your fuel lines and oil.