Mobil 1 in it's current form.....

[vinu_neuro]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: vinu_neuro
Some of you are looking at this wrong. Mobil 1 used to be significantly ahead of the competition. It isn't that Mobil 1 has slipped. It's that the others have caught up, especially with the improvement of industry and new OEM specifications.


They why aren't all their oils stand-outs like their 0w-40?

It isn't that Mobil doesn't have some exceptional lubricants. They do, I mentioned them in my previous post. It is that their "pedestrian grades" like 5w30, 10w30...etc appear to have been cheapened.... at least on paper.


Their other oils don't have to meet specifications like 229.5. It's not like Mobil 1 0W-40 is head and shoulders above the rest. There are oils like Pennzoil 5W-40 and Castrol 0W-40 that are also very good. The reason Mobil 1 0W-40 is such a win is the availability and price (Mobil 1 is always on sale somewhere).

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: vinu_neuro
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: vinu_neuro
Some of you are looking at this wrong. Mobil 1 used to be significantly ahead of the competition. It isn't that Mobil 1 has slipped. It's that the others have caught up, especially with the improvement of industry and new OEM specifications.


They why aren't all their oils stand-outs like their 0w-40?

It isn't that Mobil doesn't have some exceptional lubricants. They do, I mentioned them in my previous post. It is that their "pedestrian grades" like 5w30, 10w30...etc appear to have been cheapened.... at least on paper.


Their other oils don't have to meet specifications like 229.5. It's not like Mobil 1 0W-40 is head and shoulders above the rest. There are oils like Pennzoil 5W-40 and Castrol 0W-40 that are also very good. The reason Mobil 1 0W-40 is such a win is the availability and price (Mobil 1 is always on sale somewhere).


Those oils are VERY recent competitors. For quite a long time Mobil 1 0w-40 was one of, if not THE only oil to carry the long list of certs and approvals it does. And even now, its list is not identical to those of the other two.

And of course with the absolutely useless Castrol PDS's, we really have no idea how well their product stacks up here. Pennzoil Ultra 5w-40 at least we know has obscenely low NOACK going for it.

 

[tig1]

Originally Posted By: JAG
Tig, your two Ford engines are very easy on oil so it's no surprise that you have clean engines with Mobil 1 using 10k mile OCIs. I'm in the opposite boat: my VW 1.8T starts to varnish most top notch oils in less than 4k miles, so I am always looking for oils that stand out above the rest.


In the 35 years of using Mobil 1 oil I have only owned my presant cars a few short years. I have used and many others I know have and still use several types of Mobil 1 oil in various types of engines. Even to this day. I make my observations from the standpoint of history and experience which goes way beyond the Duratechs I presantly own. By the way, it's the reliabilty of these engines is the reason I bought them to begin with. And yes, I realize there are several good oils today. That,s why I don't critize other products.

 

[Sunnyinhollister]

Originally Posted By: tig1
Well, I disagree with all of these remarks. My guess is most of you have not used Mobil 1 exclusively for very long periods of time. In 1979 I started using Mobil 1 oils(5-20) for 10K OCIs. 35 years later I have found todays Mobil 1 to be the best I have ever used. Actually my engines perform and stay as clean today as ever. It's amazing how many of you say all oils are far better now than ever with the exception of Mobil 1. In your views it has gone backwards in quality compared to all the others. Silly. Now, more than ever more engine builders are using XM to help with R&D. as new oil formulations come to pass all the time. Also the true quality of an oil is better known by what's not on paper than what is. Through engine testing and tear down, not foolish simple used oil analysis and such. Now, have a ball boys.


You say that an oil's quality is better known by what's not on paper than what is. Through engine testing and tear down, not foolish simple used oil analysis and such. So you have been tearing down your engines since 1979? You say that the current formula is the best ever, but without testing or teardown, it is just more speculation. Also past performance means next to nothing once the formula is changed. Heck my TI stock did great in 1999, but not much since.

 

[tig1]

Originally Posted By: Sunnyinhollister
Originally Posted By: tig1
Well, I disagree with all of these remarks. My guess is most of you have not used Mobil 1 exclusively for very long periods of time. In 1979 I started using Mobil 1 oils(5-20) for 10K OCIs. 35 years later I have found todays Mobil 1 to be the best I have ever used. Actually my engines perform and stay as clean today as ever. It's amazing how many of you say all oils are far better now than ever with the exception of Mobil 1. In your views it has gone backwards in quality compared to all the others. Silly. Now, more than ever more engine builders are using XM to help with R&D. as new oil formulations come to pass all the time. Also the true quality of an oil is better known by what's not on paper than what is. Through engine testing and tear down, not foolish simple used oil analysis and such. Now, have a ball boys.


You say that an oil's quality is better known by what's not on paper than what is. Through engine testing and tear down, not foolish simple used oil analysis and such. So you have been tearing down your engines since 1979? You say that the current formula is the best ever, but without testing or teardown, it is just more speculation. Also past performance means next to nothing once the formula is changed. Heck my TI stock did great in 1999, but not much since.


Of course I haven't been tearing down my engines! I use Mobil 1 oil. But I work with rebuild shops as I weld repair heads, blocks and other parts and I see engines torn down all the time. Here'a sample of a Robert Yates head I repaired not too long ago.






The center pic is a modern head from a Nissan I believe.

 

[Clevy]

I respect tigs experience with Mobil. And he has used the product exclusively for decades,which in my opinion makes his opinion carry weight,because he uses it in everything he owns and as test miles go that makes his opinion valuable on the product.
However because he hasn't used anything else he also has nothing to compare it to,so yes his vehicles run great and are clean internally but would another product also perform as well?
Anyways I agree with overkill that the 0w-40 is likely the most certified oil on earth and can be used in just about any application and it will perform well,and the competition has only just recently caught up to the quality of the 0w-40.
As far as oem's working with Mobil and Mobil being factory fill on many cars as far as I'm concerned that marketing and money being thrown around.
For example my cousin has a caddy. The oil fill cap states to use Mobil 1. So he was. He was under the impression that M1 was the only oil he could use,and I'm sure he isn't the only one who is under that impression.
So as far as that goes its Mobil throwing around money to the oem's to imply to consumers that M1 is the only thing they can use.
Now getting to Mobil working with oem's as far as formulating specific oils for vehicles it only makes sense for an oem to take the lowest bid when tendering those kinds of contracts.
M1 is no longer the top of the line as it once was. The industry has gotten better and Mobil has gotten cheap. As soon as they were allowed to call group 3 oils synthetic Mobil re formulated everything and came out with the ep line,which was the regular m1 just rebadged,and regular m1 got formulated with group 3 base stocks making them cheaper,and Mobil declined informing the consumer of the change which I consider deceptive.
Mobil makes a competitive product,nothing more,nothing less. In canada it's extremely expensive compared to pp which can always be found on sale somewhere for 24 bucks a jug,and its at least equal to M1 in quality.
Mobil used to make the best oil out there,now they just have the best name.

 

[buster]

tig, Mobil 1 has changed multiple times over the course of 35 years, and was once just part of Mobil Oil, prior to being bought by Exxon. Just because for 35 years it served you well, doesn't mean they are still making the best oil they can. Your Ford engines are very easy on oil. 10k miles is nothing.

While the quality of other oils has improved, Mobil 1 hasn't really improved all that much.

The way I see it, I'm completely convinced Mobil 1 oils, other than the 0w40, are average synthetics. Regular Mobil 1 is no better than PP or Valvoline Synpower and EP is not better than AMSOIL Signature Series or Ultra.

 

[buster]

Quote:
M1 is no longer the top of the line as it once was. The industry has gotten better and Mobil has gotten cheap. As soon as they were allowed to call group 3 oils synthetic Mobil re formulated everything and came out with the ep line,which was the regular m1 just rebadged,and regular m1 got formulated with group 3 base stocks making them cheaper,and Mobil declined informing the consumer of the change which I consider deceptive.
Mobil makes a competitive product,nothing more,nothing less.


I believe that is pretty accurate for the most part. Many of you believed this awhile ago. I put the IVA failure and move to Group III behind me, but after seeing PQIA's results, Pennzoil's IIIG claim and Amsoil's study, it's clear to me Mobil 1 is not what it used to be.

 

[Pablo]

I only have one question in this thread - what happened to that head?

 

[tig1]

Originally Posted By: Pablo
I only have one question in this thread - what happened to that head?


These kinds of threads do lead to nowwhere. As for what happened to the head. Here's a pic before repairs were made. A steel insert broke out.



Sorry for getting off topic.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: buster
Quote:
M1 is no longer the top of the line as it once was. The industry has gotten better and Mobil has gotten cheap. As soon as they were allowed to call group 3 oils synthetic Mobil re formulated everything and came out with the ep line,which was the regular m1 just rebadged,and regular m1 got formulated with group 3 base stocks making them cheaper,and Mobil declined informing the consumer of the change which I consider deceptive.
Mobil makes a competitive product,nothing more,nothing less.


I believe that is pretty accurate for the most part. Many of you believed this awhile ago. I put the IVA failure and move to Group III behind me, but after seeing PQIA's results, Pennzoil's IIIG claim and Amsoil's study, it's clear to me Mobil 1 is not what it used to be.


Geez after I finished up my Castrol Edge SM stash I went out and bought Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy. lol IMO Castrol clearly dropped the ball with the Edge change over from SM to SN in their line up. Oh well. As far as companies "studies", I take them as advertisements, always with a grain of salt. As always opinions vary.

 

[tig1]

Originally Posted By: buster
tig, Mobil 1 has changed multiple times over the course of 35 years, and was once just part of Mobil Oil, prior to being bought by Exxon. Just because for 35 years it served you well, doesn't mean they are still making the best oil they can. Your Ford engines are very easy on oil. 10k miles is nothing.

While the quality of other oils has improved, Mobil 1 hasn't really improved all that much.

The way I see it, I'm completely convinced Mobil 1 oils, other than the 0w40, are average synthetics. Regular Mobil 1 is no better than PP or Valvoline Synpower and EP is not better than AMSOIL Signature Series or Ultra.


There you go. Everyone has improved except M1 and there oils have gone backwards. Sure.

 

[bvance554]

Originally Posted By: vinu_neuro
Some of you are looking at this wrong. M1 used to be significantly ahead of the competition. It isn't that M1 has slipped. It's that the others have caught up, especially with the improvement of industry and new OEM specifications.


Exactly what I was going to say...

 

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: tig1
Originally Posted By: buster
tig, Mobil 1 has changed multiple times over the course of 35 years, and was once just part of Mobil Oil, prior to being bought by Exxon. Just because for 35 years it served you well, doesn't mean they are still making the best oil they can. Your Ford engines are very easy on oil. 10k miles is nothing.

While the quality of other oils has improved, Mobil 1 hasn't really improved all that much.

The way I see it, I'm completely convinced Mobil 1 oils, other than the 0w40, are average synthetics. Regular Mobil 1 is no better than PP or Valvoline Synpower and EP is not better than AMSOIL Signature Series or Ultra.


There you go. Everyone has improved except M1 and there oils have gone backwards. Sure.


K. Touché
Mobil has figured out how to maintain a competitive product that costs them nominal to produce.
Yes Mobil has kept up with all the new specs and requirements and they've managed to do it using lesser quality base stocks however the finished formulation is adequate to maintain the motor it's in.
I used to be an m1 fanboy,then I read about the castrol debacle which made me hate them and its only lately(and on tigs recommendation) that I tried a Mobil product again.
I'm not saying Mobil is garbage,absolutely not. In fact I'm sure using it will lead to long reliable engine life. What I am saying is that Mobil has taken away what made them the best in the first place,and that was using only the best base stocks and then a second to none formula.
Take the 0w-40 for example. It was not long ago that it was very high in group 4 base stocks however it was re formulated and in fact the PowerPoint presentation was posted here at some point. And if a person reads over that PowerPoint it becomes clear that Mobil reformulated and tried to keep the public in the dark about it. And the new formula is lesser than the previous one although barely perceptible in normal day to day use.
What I'm saying is that Mobil thinks nothing of reformulating to a lesser product to save them money and passes it off as close enough.
What made Mobil the best was the fact that their oil was,all the way across the board,every grade they produced was made with nothing but the best quality ingredients. Now the ingredients are average and that makes the finished product average as well.
Again I'm sure the use of m1 will keep an engine alive longer than the car around it,and I suppose that's good enough.
Or is it?

 

[daves87rs]

Part of the problem is that there is so many choices out there.
I ran M1 for years (even before I joined this site) with little issue at all (never did figure why it burned a bit on the top), bu that stuff took a beating, and held on pretty well.

The only reason I don't use it now it because what I've learned here. Most of the time, you don't even need to use a synthetic! I have cars that are easy on oil (and live in a winter salt wonderland), so I don't need to spend crazy money.....

 

[hardcore302]

I had a Calais and it was AWESOME! I miss that car soo much!

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: Clevy
Originally Posted By: tig1
Originally Posted By: buster
tig, Mobil 1 has changed multiple times over the course of 35 years, and was once just part of Mobil Oil, prior to being bought by Exxon. Just because for 35 years it served you well, doesn't mean they are still making the best oil they can. Your Ford engines are very easy on oil. 10k miles is nothing.

While the quality of other oils has improved, Mobil 1 hasn't really improved all that much.

The way I see it, I'm completely convinced Mobil 1 oils, other than the 0w40, are average synthetics. Regular Mobil 1 is no better than PP or Valvoline Synpower and EP is not better than AMSOIL Signature Series or Ultra.


There you go. Everyone has improved except M1 and there oils have gone backwards. Sure.


K. Touché
Mobil has figured out how to maintain a competitive product that costs them nominal to produce.
Yes Mobil has kept up with all the new specs and requirements and they've managed to do it using lesser quality base stocks however the finished formulation is adequate to maintain the motor it's in.
I used to be an m1 fanboy,then I read about the castrol debacle which made me hate them and its only lately(and on tigs recommendation) that I tried a Mobil product again.
I'm not saying Mobil is garbage,absolutely not. In fact I'm sure using it will lead to long reliable engine life. What I am saying is that Mobil has taken away what made them the best in the first place,and that was using only the best base stocks and then a second to none formula.
Take the 0w-40 for example. It was not long ago that it was very high in group 4 base stocks however it was re formulated and in fact the PowerPoint presentation was posted here at some point. And if a person reads over that PowerPoint it becomes clear that Mobil reformulated and tried to keep the public in the dark about it. And the new formula is lesser than the previous one although barely perceptible in normal day to day use.
What I'm saying is that Mobil thinks nothing of reformulating to a lesser product to save them money and passes it off as close enough.
What made Mobil the best was the fact that their oil was,all the way across the board,every grade they produced was made with nothing but the best quality ingredients. Now the ingredients are average and that makes the finished product average as well.
Again I'm sure the use of m1 will keep an engine alive longer than the car around it,and I suppose that's good enough.
Or is it?


Don't you think all the oil companies are doing the same thing? Look at the difference between gold bottle Edge, SM and SN, especially 0W20. They killed it.

 

[Mathson]

One think you should consider is that USA is not anymore the number one market for Mobil 1. I suspect Russia / China today presents the most growing market and market share for EM there is a couple of percent. All the PAO in the world will not satisfy that huge demand.

 

[spk2000]

I was using M1 for a long time not realizing they reformulated it and at extended OCI's that it was no longer meant for 15,000+. Now I use a different product in each of my vehicles to see if anyone is better than the other. I have PU, Amsoil and Mobil 1 Extended Performance. They all work very well but I still prefer the Amsoil it is just harder to buy local and you pay more for it. I plan to do some testing soon on all of them but they are all different vehicles making it difficult to do a true comparison.

 

[Hermann]

Originally Posted By: JAG
Tig, your two Ford engines are very easy on oil so it's no surprise that you have clean engines with M1 using 10k mile OCIs. I'm in the opposite boat: my VW 1.8T starts to varnish most top notch oils in less than 4k miles, so I am always looking for oils that stand out above the rest.


Maybe you should buy better engineered cars, then oil would not be a worry. Just sayin.