Mobil 1- Great, Good or Average?

[buster]

I'm curious to see what people think of Mobil 1 lately, with these recent reports that suggest the Fe wear is higher then other oils? As mentioned in other threads, it could be a ZDDP issue. Does anyone think Mobil 1's wear should be better for the price they are charging for the oil? Hopefully the new R will fix this problem. I still think Mobil 1 is a great oil but in certain engines it seems to struggle with Iron.

Then there are some that don't think the 11 vs 6 ppm of Fe for example, is even that significant. I'm debating this issue myself. Obviously, if your a perfectionist it does matter. It would be nice if we each took a page from the UOA section and graphed Miles and Wear for all oils, regardless of drivig conditions to see how they compare.

[ December 17, 2003, 07:42 PM: Message edited by: buster ]

 

[Jason8691]

I think its a good oil or it wouldnt be in my truck! Im using the Delvac 1, so far it seems to like it. Ill do a UOA at about 3k to see how its doing.

 

[buster]

Delvac 1 is excellent but I'm refering more to the current line of Mobil 1 SS.

 

[sbc350gearhead]

I think that Mobil 1 is a good oil, and may be the best oil available for some engines. Some engines don't seem to care for it at all, but that could be said for redline, amsoil, RP, shaeffer's etc. We have yet to see a bad report with GC, but I am sure that it is coming. The more I learn on this site, the more I am convinced that there is no one best oil........only the best oil for specific engines in specific climates, under specific driving conditions.

 

[Jason8691]

Oh, sorry about that! I think its a good oil, I have used it in my wifes old Chevy for years without a problem. I dont use it in my new truck because of those pesky shearing rumors!

 

[JohnBrowning]

M1 is a great oil and good synthetic oil. It has the greatest marginal return in my book. You can buy it retail for $3.88 a quart at SAM'S and and COSCO! THe problem with M1 is that we expect more from them because we know they can do better and still turn a profit at the price point they sell at! Delvac 1 is a good oil as well but once again not as good as it could be!

I prefer to be able to buy my oil in a retail setting. I do not lik,e haveing to stock pile it or worrying if my dealer is going to be sick,on vaction, killed, or go out of business. I also do not like mail ordering oil. I currently mail order my Redline and if Mobil1-R is any good I will use it instead of Redline if the ester content is there.

Is their any other API synthetic oil that can be bought over the counter that is PAO? I know I can not think of any other synthic that I can buy OTC that is api certified that will out perform M1 or D1.

Is it the best no!!

 

[sbc350gearhead]

Well QS synthetic is a PAO, but we don't seem to have anyone around here, who is brave enough to try it.......and I am not gonna be the first.

 

[John in the ATL]

Buster,

In the 6 months that I have been on BITOG, I have flip flopped on Mobil 1 back and forth. It has closed the gap with Amsoil ASL/ATM but not as much as I thought a few months ago. I believe it is the best off the shelf synthetic but is lacking in the additive package i.e. ZDDP and Moly.

In the 30 weight category, it is too thin versus Amsoil and GC. For instance, if I owned a new Ford or Honda, I would run the Mobil 5w-30 over the 0w-20 since the former is really a high 20 weight oil.

I have a 94 altima currently running Amsoil ATM 10w-30. In the late spring at my OCI, I am tempted to try half Mobil 10w-30 and 15w-50 with the MolaBrew additive package of #132 Moly EP and LubeControl.

 

[TooSlick]

Here's what I'd do ...

I'd run the Mobil 1, 15w-50 if I expected the low temps to be above 40F for the next oil change period - it's a great deal for the price and they aren't making much on that oil. I'd run their excellent 10w-30 the rest of the time, unless I lived in Minnesota or some God forsaken place like that, in which case I'd run their 0w-30 synthetic ....I'd do this for almost all normal engines, like domestic 6/8 cylinder motors. For high performance, high rpm Japanese and German engines, I'd run the 10w-30 year round. When the engine got over 150k miles on it, I'd run the 15w-50 in those for six months out of the year.

Before you respond, I've been to both Minn and Wisconsin and I love them both ...I hope to retire to someplace as peaceful ....

 

[Patman]

I think Mobil 1 is a good oil, but I also think it could be a lot better. I also know that it has it's limitations, as they don't want to raise the price of it too much and lose market share.

Plus at the same time, I'd be willing to bet that out of all the synthetic oil users out there, 95% or more of them use Mobil 1 (I'm not talking about just people on here, but in general) So they've already got a huge market share, and most of those who use it probably truly believe the advertising slogan they use (Nothing outperforms Mobil 1)

We do tend to see higher iron in a lot of cases, and sometimes higher lead too, but in all honesty, I still think many engines would still get a very long life even with these higher values in the UOA. Most Mobil 1 users trade their cars long before their engine reaches the end of it's useful life.

But for those of us who are perfectionists, trying to get the lowest wear we can (within reason of course, as I certainly wouldn't spend $15 for a quart of oil) this oil just doesn't quite fit the bill.

 

[TooSlick]

ExxonMobil had about a 65% market share world wide in synthetic lubes, the last I'd heard. One of the things they agreed to as part of their merger was to divest themselves of contracts in the sale of Jet Turbine Oils, since they would have had a virtual monopoly in that specific market.

There are many excellent synthetic lubes in Europe available on the shelves, but in the US only the independent blenders like Amsoil, Redline, RP, Synergyn and Torco produce competitive products....All the other major oil companies have gone to the cheaper, GP III stocks ....

Tooslick
Dixie Synthetics

 

[buster]

Thanks, you all make very valid points. I totally agree.

 

[mikep]

I agree with gearhead in that it can be an excellent choice depending on the engine in which it is used.

Perhaps one of the first things I realized after finding this site is no single oil is the "best" for all engines.

Having said that, my own personal opinion (based on what I've seen here) is that M1 is a good oil overall but not a great oil. I think it's a bit overrated and while it may keep an engine extremely clean, leaves a lot to be desired in wear performance vs. even some very inexpensive GII and GII+ oils.

Mikep

 

[buster]

When you look at the complete Mobil 1 line up, their now covering more ground.

0w-20
0w-30
5w/10w-30 ------ All are API
0w-40

To add to the list

0w-30 R
SUV ? -------- Non API
Delvac 1

They are finally giving us a NON-API oil which for the oil fanatics like myself, is a good thing!

[ December 18, 2003, 10:29 AM: Message edited by: buster ]

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

I think the 15w-50 is a great product. The 10w-30 seemed better than average and the 5w-30 seemed to be only average in my vehicles. It's difficult to justify purchasing any of the current (non-SUV) M1 products outside of 15w-50 with Amsoil being a clear leader in this field. Not that M1 is bad, but for a bit more money spent with Amsoil, you do achieve the almost-panacea of oils.

Patman--you're almost at 10K posts. That's amazing! Anyone else have this many posts?

 

[Patman]

quote:

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Originally posted by ToyotaNSaturn:


Patman--you're almost at 10K posts. That's amazing! Anyone else have this many posts?

---

I don't think anyone out there is as obsessed with oil as I am!

 

[jsharp]

quote:

---

Originally posted by John in the ATL:


I have a 94 altima currently running Amsoil ATM 10w-30. In the late spring at my OCI, I am tempted to try half Mobil 10w-30 and 15w-50 with the MolaBrew additive package of #132 Moly EP and LubeControl.

---

I added some #132 and 3oz of Auto-Rx to M1 5W-30 and my wear numbers improved. What you're tempted to do is worth a try IMO.

I've used M1 since it appeared as a 20 weight back in the dark ages. I've become a bit less enamored with it now after looking at so many UOA's on this site but I still think it's a good oil. I've used it too long in a lot of long term vehicles to think otherwise...

 

[buster]

In order to be factory fill in the many vehicles it is, Mobil 1 needs to meet the fuel efficient/API requirments. This is one of it's downfalls I think. It therefore loses an edge in the viscosity department (HT/HS) and additives allowed by the API-ZDP.

 

[Alex D]

I assume we are talking XW-30 weight M1 here, because M1 15W-50 is one of the best oils out there if you can stomach the viscosity. It has a super additive package.

In general I think GC is a much better off-the-shelf synthetic, much better. i also think that many oil companies are now coming out with improved formulations to satisfy European standards since there are more European cars on the road in the US. This started with GC nad is continuing with M1R, M1 SUV and Pennzoil ACEA3 synth and I think we'll see moe of this development.

I used to run M1 in all of my cars, but I don't like how thin it is and how much oil consumption it still causes in motors. M1 was okay in the GM engines, LT or LS style, but it was the worst oil in my Ford 4.6 SOHC. I think it is an average synthetic, mostly hampered by having to be API certified and not having the HT/HS performance I would want in an oil. I also believe that Redline, Amsoil and Schaeffer's are much better oils. I don't mind paying more, therefore I do not buy M1 anymore. I will however give M1R a try when it comes out.

quote:

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Originally posted by John in the ATL:
Buster,

In the 6 months that I have been on BITOG, I have flip flopped on Mobil 1 back and forth. It has closed the gap with Amsoil ASL/ATM but not as much as I thought a few months ago. I believe it is the best off the shelf synthetic but is lacking in the additive package i.e. ZDDP and Moly.

In the 30 weight category, it is too thin versus Amsoil and GC. For instance, if I owned a new Ford or Honda, I would run the Mobil 5w-30 over the 0w-20 since the former is really a high 20 weight oil.

I have a 94 altima currently running Amsoil ATM 10w-30. In the late spring at my OCI, I am tempted to try half Mobil 10w-30 and 15w-50 with the MolaBrew additive package of #132 Moly EP and LubeControl.

---

[ December 18, 2003, 07:43 PM: Message edited by: Alex D ]

 

[tmus2122]

To much noise for me, yes I have a like a knock chevy, but much more noise with M-1. Going to use Chevron 10W30 dino, change every 3000, last truck was a 1988 K2500 with over 200K NEVER had a oil related problem using it for construction and commericial snowplowing for 15 years, changed every 3000 with dino. This site got me suckered it trying M-1, **** you guys. You even got be on oil filters to, just going to use anything other than a Fram. Say what you will, I am going to use Chevron dino.