If amsoil,red line, and shaffers are so much better than mobil 1 how come not one high end super car is using it as a factory fill?
MOBIL 1 COMPARED TO AMSOIL
- Thread starter WS-6 BILL
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WS - 6 BILL: First of all, welcome to the site. I personally do not think Red Line, Schaeffer's, and Amsoil is better than Mobil 1. But to answer your question as simple as possible, Exxon/Mobil has a whole lot more money than the other three put together. It is not just a quality issue, it is a low bid issue. As for as here in America, Mobil and Texaco have been at each others throats for years for the GM factory fill business. Mobil has consistently outbid Texaco for this business. That's how Mobil 1 got into Corvette. The European market was a little different, although bidding was involved. But when it comes to Mercedes Benz and Porsche, there were two big considerations. They both wanted full synthetic, not a Group III, and they wanted something that would be available world wide. And the only synthetic I can think of that you can get in any country you go to is Mobil 1.
I concur with Johnny. All of the synthetic oils you have mentioned are "creme de la creme" products, head and shoulders above the rest. One is really splitting hairs about which is clearly superior, with arguments about 4 ball wear data, etc. one can go on endlessly.
And as Johnny indicated, when a Porsche goes out the door, Porsche must be certain that the oil recommendations are indeed available to John Q Public, whether it is in Iowa or east Istanbuhl and Mobil 1 is. And it is about relationships, partnering research, etc. There is much more to the initial fills than meets the eye, money certainly being one aspect, but many other go into the initial fill and recommendation decisions..
George Morrison
And as Johnny indicated, when a Porsche goes out the door, Porsche must be certain that the oil recommendations are indeed available to John Q Public, whether it is in Iowa or east Istanbuhl and Mobil 1 is. And it is about relationships, partnering research, etc. There is much more to the initial fills than meets the eye, money certainly being one aspect, but many other go into the initial fill and recommendation decisions..
George Morrison
That is exactly what I am talking about. It may be inconsequential to you and me when we buy 4 or 5 quarts, or even a case. But when you go through the amount of oil that GM, Ford, and Chrysler do it can add of to a very large expense. Now I figure Wal-Mart is probably one of the best places to buy oil at a discount (for us). I believe I saw regular conventional Mobil on sale the other day for $1.29 per quart. Now I'm not sure what GM is paying for their Mobil factory fill today, but I know 5 years ago it was between $.45 and $.55 per quart. That's a huge savings. My point to the bidding war was, for example, if Texaco would have gotten the bid on factory fill, the Corvette would have had a Texaco synthetic emblem on the valve cover. Although I believe the Mobil 1 is a lot better product that the Texaco synthetic. Believe me, every item that goes into the new cars starts with a bid from someone.
I would think that availability in the US is an issue. I have never seen my first quart of red line and just last weekend I saw my first Amsoil on the shelf at a Murrys Auto in Aurora ILL. No one is going to specify an oil that is not redily available. RW
Patman
Staff member
Another reason Mobil 1 is factory fill in these cars is marketing. If you asked 1000 people
what the best synthetic oil is, most of them would say Mobil 1, since it's marketed so heavily
and it's so visible. Every Formula 1 race has Mobil 1 banners everywhere! So since everyone
has heard of Mobil 1, it makes sense that these car makers would want to use it. They
really don't care if the oil works or not. As long as the engines make it past the warranty
period (which they easily will) then that's all that matters. Just because an oil is factory fill,
doesn't make it the best.
PS, glad to see you found your way over here Bill! (I know Bill from LS1Tech.com)
[ August 10, 2002, 08:21 PM: Message edited by: Patman ]
what the best synthetic oil is, most of them would say Mobil 1, since it's marketed so heavily
and it's so visible. Every Formula 1 race has Mobil 1 banners everywhere! So since everyone
has heard of Mobil 1, it makes sense that these car makers would want to use it. They
really don't care if the oil works or not. As long as the engines make it past the warranty
period (which they easily will) then that's all that matters. Just because an oil is factory fill,
doesn't make it the best.
PS, glad to see you found your way over here Bill! (I know Bill from LS1Tech.com)
[ August 10, 2002, 08:21 PM: Message edited by: Patman ]
Just like Castrol is the factory fill for VWs. Based on info from TDIClub.com, VW TDIs are suppose to run with Synthetic oil (in this case, VW recommends Castrol Syntec 5W40). And we all know about Syntec
Oz
Johnny,
Can you tell us why M1 is better than Texaco Synthetic?
Sure can. Mobil 1 is a PAO and Texaco is a Group III.
OOps.
I thought it was PAO.
I also thought Chevron Synth was PAO. Am I mistaken there as well?
I thought it was PAO.
I also thought Chevron Synth was PAO. Am I mistaken there as well?
I think the Chevron Supreme Synthetic 0W30 is a PAO but I believe the rest are Group III. Wideman could best answer this question. Or maybe Molakule or Terry knows.
The VW factory fill is European Castrol SLX which *is* a Type IV synthetic. It's not available here.
Troy
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