Mobil 1 ESP/ X3 vs FS 0w-40

M1 "ESP Formula 0W-40" is NOT A40, only dexos2,
www.mobil.com

Mobil 1™ Supercar 0W-40

Mobil 1™ Supercar 0W-40 is an advanced full synthetic motor oil specifically designed for high performance cars to provide exceptional cleaning power and wear protection, and deliver outstanding overall performance.
www.mobil.com www.mobil.com

M1 "ESP X3 0W-40" is NOT A40 either, but is C40, and has a bunch of other approvals, etc,

mobil 1 esp x3 0w 40

www.mobil.com www.mobil.com

Straight from the horse's mouth.
 
Last edited:
kschachn said:
Both gasoline and diesel have changed a great deal in terms of lowered sulfur limits, which is tied to emissions. A lower ash level was facilitated by better fuel even with aftertreatment devices. I can't think of a reason why you could not use C40 instead of A40 as long as your fuel is not high sulfur.
Click to expand...


Do we know if C40 oils go through the same vigirous testing as A40 oils?
 
I think there is a confusion due to product range differences in the UK. We have two flavors: ESP 0w-40 and ESP X3 0w-40. The latter is SN+ rated.

Why I picked M1 FS 0w40 is because I have been using it since 2000 and much preferred it to what was available. In this car, I get good mpg (important over here) and wear protection and my driving is not demanding as it is not a performance car.

In general, goods availability has suffered for a number of reasons in the past year (mostly for political reason) also causing prices to go up.

I finally managed to send emails to both Castrol & shell, asking them if I could use API grade above SL such as SN+ for my car. Their answer was yes.

What confused me, was mobil telling me I should later SN+ is not compatible and I should stick with SL. so I turned to the forum.

I think I am clear now unless someone comes up with a new twist:)
 
From the M1 website:

"Mobil 1 ESP X3 0W-40 can only be used in the vehicles for which it is approved. It is not backward compatible with vehicle engines requiring an A40, C30 or C20 . *** "
 
vinu_neuro said:
From the M1 website:

"Mobil 1 ESP X3 0W-40 can only be used in the vehicles for which it is approved. It is not backward compatible with vehicle engines requiring an A40, C30 or C20 . *** "
Click to expand...
Don't you wish they would say why?
Hard to believe it would not work well given the oil is currently used by Carrera Cup Racing cars and in engines that are more powerful and stressed than engines that call for A40 oils.
 
felixthecat said:
Don't you wish they would say why?
Hard to believe it would not work well given the oil is currently used by Carrera Cup Racing cars and in engines that are more powerful and stressed than engines that call for A40 oils.
Click to expand...
Current VW/Porsche Certs are in part based on weight. For example C30/504 can only be 30W. C20/508 can only be 20w. A40 is a special case and I suspect it has something to do with the older boxer engines but who knows. Mercedes Benz and BMW are similar.
 
BMWTurboDzl said:
Current VW/Porsche Certs are in part based on weight. For example C30/504 can only be 30W. C20/508 can only be 20w. A40 is a special case and I suspect it has something to do with the older boxer engines but who knows. Mercedes Benz and BMW are similar.
Click to expand...
Actually they are based on HT/HS, the grade designation is secondary to that. Thankfully many later Mercedes-Benz approvals don't designate allowed grades in the approval which I think makes a great deal of sense. Grade is an outdated marker IMO.
 
felixthecat said:
Don't you wish they would say why?
Hard to believe it would not work well given the oil is currently used by Carrera Cup Racing cars and in engines that are more powerful and stressed than engines that call for A40 oils.
Click to expand...
Because ExxonMobil is probably the most careful company on the planet in not recommending any oil that doesn't exactly match the owner's manual recommendation or requirement. Heck they won't even recommend the same grade with a different winter rating.
 
kschachn said:
Actually they are based on HT/HS, the grade designation is secondary to that. Thankfully many later Mercedes-Benz approvals don't designate allowed grades in the approval which I think makes a great deal of sense. Grade is an outdated marker IMO.
Click to expand...
True however remember both C40/511 and C30/504 have a min HTHS of 3.5.
 
What I have learned is that spec/ description for ESP X3 is SN+ and formulated to combat LSPI.
However both shell & castrol informed me their SN+ oil are backwad compatible to SL; opposite to the mobil CS agent. In the meantime, I found out Mob 1 FS 0w40 goes all the way up to SN so I am happy to keep using it when I can.
I take the point about mobil being very careful. If you check the europe website, there are so many flavors of their oil mainly tailored for different manufacturers. This this where I feel API (or another universal one) classification would make life easier to me.

Now I see HTHS spec is creeping into data sheets; another ingredient to confuse consumers (although important for motorcycle engines with wet clutch)
 
bonjo said:
What I have learned is that spec/ description for ESP X3 is SN+ and formulated to combat LSPI.
However both shell & castrol informed me their SN+ oil are backwad compatible to SL; opposite to the mobil CS agent. In the meantime, I found out Mob 1 FS 0w40 goes all the way up to SN so I am happy to keep using it when I can.
I take the point about mobil being very careful. If you check the europe website, there are so many flavors of their oil mainly tailored for different manufacturers. This this where I feel API (or another universal one) classification would make life easier to me.

Now I see HTHS spec is creeping into data sheets; another ingredient to confuse consumers (although important for motorcycle engines with wet clutch)
Click to expand...
API classifications are not relevant to Euro certs. Also LSPI is only an issue with some more modern 4 cylinder petrol engines due to how the vehicles are tuned to reach FE targets.
 
bonjo said:
However both shell & castrol informed me their SN+ oil are backwad compatible to SL; opposite to the mobil CS agent.
Click to expand...

I also noticed Mobil says M1 ESP X3 not being backwards compatible, in particular
not from C40 to A40 and C30. That's likely due to liability concerns. I understand
the reasoning though. A40 is also intended for higher-sulphur fuel applications
and C30 has more stringent fuel-efficiency targets.


bonjo said:
Now I see HTHS spec is creeping into data sheets; another ingredient to confuse consumers (although important for motorcycle engines with wet clutch)
Click to expand...

'Ingredient'? Why should more complete data confuse consumers? Most consumers
won't ever read data sheets at all. Personally, if at all, the lack of data 'confuses' me.
.
 
bonjo said:
Now I see HTHS spec is creeping into data sheets; another ingredient to confuse consumers (although important for motorcycle engines with wet clutch)
Click to expand...
Motorcycles should get wet clutch approved oils, of which there are gazillions to choose from, rather than owners second guessing manufacturers of car or diesel engine oils where wet clutches aren't a consideration during formulation.
Yes, the HDEO users will all have a conniption fit, but would you use manual transmission fluid in your automatics? Rhetorical question wherein the answer is obviously "no". It's not made for that.
 
I looked at shell helix ultra 0w40 but found out it is only available in mainland europe and not here:(

I also came across mobil 1 ESP 0w30. It has very similar specs to mob 1 FS 0w40. So I decided to try it for my next oil change.
 
Really?completely? Not even similar?
anyway my comment relates to the needs of my humble car As well as trying out a low sap oil
 
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