First of all, I don't know what the OP means by bad reputation, and I wasn't saying that regular M1 is bad oil. I do however suspect it's average oil and not ideal for my needs.
Project Farm had his motor oil Olympics. Probably none of you would be surprised that Amsoil won and PUP was second. You'd probably think that makes sense, and I'd agree. In those same tests, regular M1 & regular Supertech were ranked middle of the pack - average oils. Nothing wrong with average, especially since these were M1 & Supertech base products.
I put absolutely no stock in these "tests", which is why I asked if this was the metric being used. They are for entertainment only, this is why the API, ACEA and OE test sequences consist of numerous tests performed with running engines, from different manufacturers, followed by tear-downs with inspection and measurements, because that's what's required.
I was an M1 user for 10+ years of regular M1 10w30. It was OK, but nothing special as far as I could tell. It gave slightly less oil pressure in my Jeep & Buick, and lost/used slightly more oil, compared to Maxlife.
Oil pressure is the result of kinematic viscosity, and since oil grades are ranges of KV values, I'm not sure what the oil pressure is supposed to tell us beyond the fact that it may have been a bit thinner than Maxlife. This is also consistent with it leaking or consuming more, if it was thinner for the grade.
I'm not saying regular M1 is bad oil. I'm just saying it's average, IMO. That's OK because Walmart sells it for average prices.
Right, and I was trying to discern what this was based on, whether it was Youtube circus acts, physical or chemical properties or actual tear-down testing. I'm seeing now that it's primarily, and unfortunately, the former.
The various Youtube oil testers that I've seen said its average, along with also some who said it's good. The only person who used the word "bad" is the OP who is probably click baiting us (and it's working).
The only person on Youtube that has done any kind of quality testing is LSJ, and that's when he was using HPL's lab to test things like shear stability.
Unfortunately, one cannot discern product quality from whether it has price parity with another brand or not. M1 FS 0W-40 for example, is no more expensive than any other M1 grade, but, at the time, was the best performing OTS oil that HPL had tested in their lab, per Dave, and it got his recommendation because of that. This was also the oil used in the Corvette Race Program and by various teams at 24hr events like LeMans and Sebring. I'd assume those are both more demanding than your application?
Before EP and AP, M1 silver bottle was their flagship product line with "Mobil Super" being their mid-tier offering. This would be their current "Supertech Synthetic" equivalent:
https://www.mobil.com/en/lubricants...products/products/mobil-super-synthetic-5w-30
They also have yet another tier below that, Mobil Full Synthetic:
https://www.mobil.com/en/lubricants...-products/products/mobil-full-synthetic-5w-30
Ultimately, we all have our preferences and, given the dearth of qualitative test data, it's typically pretty hard to substantiate any sort of claim that one might base those preferences on. What we do have are manufacturer approvals, and the limited amount of test data that folks like Dave and LSJ have provided, which is hardly exhaustive and only covers a small range of products.