Mobil 1 - Why do some bad mouth it?

[ZeeOSix]

I know this topic has probably been beat to death 10 times over, but it seems some members don't think Mobi1 1 full synthetic oil is very good, or that there are others that are far better.

At one time, Mobil 1 was the only full synthetic that was easily available that met the GM spec for the Corvette. Now I think there are a hand full of others out there. I've always ran Mobil 1 full synthetic in my Vette, but would like to know why I should change to something better if there really is something better than Mobil 1.

So for those that don't like Mobil 1 ... why?

And if you think there is something better ... what?

 

[Johnny]

It is a very good product and if it is working for you I see absolutely no reason to change.

 

[Russell]

In my 1995 BMW 525i with 188,000 miles, Mobil 1 0w40 made my engine very noisy. Also UOA showed a lot of lead which indicated wear. I have not really tried other Mobil 1 products. Older BMWs seem to like heavier oils per many BMW mechanics as well as my experience.

 

[Herz]

many people bad mouth it because many people glorify it.

 

[Captain_Klink]

basically, they had a superior oil, back when. then they watered down their formula to barely adequate, in order to increase profits. look up "corporation" under google, and you will find that the NUMBER ONE priority of the corporation, is to increase profits. they have absolutely NO priority of producing a quality product. so the way the game goes, is to #1 operate at a loss, and jack up quality, until you get a lot of endorsements. some of the endorsements are basically obtained with money under the table (bribes). then, gradually cut back on quality, until the product is producing huge profits for the CEO and shareholders. Basically, ANY oil nowadays, even BOZO the Clown brand no name oil at your grocery store, as long as it says SL or SM, will protect your engine. They KNOW this, but their reason for living is profit, so that is basically how the game works. That is the reason, that I buy based on price, such as Quaker State, or Valvoline, or ST, or PZ. ALL of these, are superior to Mobil, but you have ABSOLUTELY NO WAY OF KNOWING IT, except by insight into how the game works, which you will find out by using google search, if you are so inclined.

 

[Scienceman]

The high iron.

 

[ZeeOSix]

Originally Posted By: Captain_Klink
basically, they had a superior oil, back when. then they watered down their formula to barely adequate, in order to increase profits. look up "corporation" under google, and you will find that the NUMBER ONE priority of the corporation, is to increase profits. they have absolutely NO priority of producing a quality product.


The main goal of any corporation is to "increase profits and stock value". Making their product(s) more inferior probably isn't a good way to ultimately increase profits, as if the product(s) become known by the public as becoming degraded with time, then the public will not continue to buy the products and the market share is lost which will hurt profits more than anything.

So is there some factual testing that shows Mobil 1 is now inferior and not as good as it use to be? Any non-biased real testing results showing that Mobil 1 is not as good as other synthetics out there these days?

 

[HangerHarley]

Originally Posted By: Troy_Built
The high iron.

 

[HangerHarley]

Originally Posted By: Captain_Klink
basically, they had a superior oil, back when. then they watered down their formula to barely adequate, in order to increase profits. look up "corporation" under google, and you will find that the NUMBER ONE priority of the corporation, is to increase profits. they have absolutely NO priority of producing a quality product. so the way the game goes, is to #1 operate at a loss, and jack up quality, until you get a lot of endorsements. some of the endorsements are basically obtained with money under the table (bribes). then, gradually cut back on quality, until the product is producing huge profits for the CEO and shareholders. Basically, ANY oil nowadays, even BOZO the Clown brand no name oil at your grocery store, as long as it says SL or SM, will protect your engine. They KNOW this, but their reason for living is profit, so that is basically how the game works. That is the reason, that I buy based on price, such as Quaker State, or Valvoline, or ST, or PZ. ALL of these, are superior to Mobil, but you have ABSOLUTELY NO WAY OF KNOWING IT, except by insight into how the game works, which you will find out by using google search, if you are so inclined.


That is awesome Info.

Kind of a good review for BOZO the Clown no-name Oil! Like WalMart XOM Oil named SuperTech

FWIW, several have said the engine is noisier on M1. This seems to be something more than one isolated person has said.

I feel it will "Make"

Leaks easier, too.

 

[lipadj46]

Originally Posted By: HangerHarley

That is awesome Info.

Kind of a good review for BOZO the Clown no-name Oil! Like WalMart XOM Oil named SuperTech

FWIW, several have said the engine is noisier on M1. This seems to be something more than one isolated person has said.

I feel it will "Make"

Leaks easier, too.


So what are your own experiences tell us? You seem to be repeating whatever you have read that day and then speaking from a position of expertise. So you now feel M1 will make leaks easier? So far in my 2 vehicles and may parent 2 vehicles (that I maintain) I have used M1 0w20, 0w30, 5w20, 5w30, 5w30 EP, 10w30, 10w40 HM, 0w40, 5w40, and 15w50. No extra noise, no leaks.

I have no problem with people questioning M1 but at least speak from personal experience or sound research/evidence not just what you interpret from a thin slice of the vast info on this site. You have been a member for a only a month. I read passively for a couple years before I jumped in. I'm not saying don't participate but read a little more and form your own opinions before jumping on a bandwagon.

 

[Captain_Klink]

we KNOW that the corporation is OBLIGED by the LAW of the corporation to increase profits. we here, also KNOW that ANY SL or SM oil will protect your engine. They DO NOT reveal any of their base oils to us, for a REASON. if they were still so superior, the would reveal it to us, but the DON'T, so I'm not that stupid that I was born yesterday. Either reveal to us the base oil composition, or otherwise - WHY ARE YOU HIDING IT??? could it be that you have to do that to increase profits. I repeat: I was not born yesterday.
I have seen plenty of superior UOA with just lowly SuperTech oil, showing excellent wear numbers at 10-12,000 miles. Also, the UOA shows too much iron. if it was superior, there would be LESS iron, not MORE!!! Being a member of BITOG has allowed me to educated myself, and make knowledgeable decisions regarding what oil I spend money on, and how to advise other people who are less informed.

 

[jstutz]

I stopped using it because of all the UOAs that have reported higher iron in them. There have been a few pretty good explanations for that which are not wear related, but they are just very good educated guesses. That said, my blazer ran over 175k miles on M1 at about 8 k mile changes before i switched it to QS or PP and it dont burn a drop of oil. I think that says something about M1. There are many people that run hundreds and hundreds of thousand miles on plain M1 so it must be a good oil. For me though i would rather just choose another synthetic that dont have the slightly higher iron content show up in UOAs. At least until there is a proven explanation.

 

[sxg6]

Its always bothered me how Mobil 1 uoa's always show elevated iron levels. No other synthetic or conventional oil uoa has consistently shown elevated iron levels the way Mobil 1 does.

 

[Gary Allan]

Man, you know this thread isn't going to stay contained.


I think defektes said it best

Quote:
many people bad mouth it because many people glorify it.


Many seem to anoint it with magical properties and defend it as though it was grafted in heraldry. Others attempt to point out some flaws in that belief ..and do so in a punitive manner.

They're in eternal violent conflict.


It's a good product line. There's no magic oil ..even from Amsoil.

 

[lipadj46]

I understand the UOA evidence is compelling to some. That is based on a few assumptions, 1) 20ppm as opposed to say 8ppm is appreciable wear 2) A UOA can see all the iron in a sample (they can't) 3) The iron in a UOA is all elemental iron (it's not). I guess we will have to see in 7 or 8 years if mobil 1 fed engines finally start dying.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: lipadj46
So what are your own experiences tell us? You seem to be repeating whatever you have read that day and then speaking from a position of expertise. So you now feel M1 will make leaks easier? So far in my 2 vehicles and may parent 2 vehicles (that I maintain) I have used M1 0w20, 0w30, 5w20, 5w30, 5w30 EP, 10w30, 10w40 HM, 0w40, 5w40, and 15w50. No extra noise, no leaks.


Under the right conditions, any synthetic can enhance leaks. In my Audi 200, I had been running Delvac 1300 15w-40 in the first summer I got it. There were some leaks. I used Delvac 1 ESP 5w-40 in the winter, and of course, it leaked a lot more.

It's not Mobil's fault that my valve cover gasket was brittle with age. I changed it and the problem is gone.

As for high iron numbers, I'm not worried. There's loads of iron in my engines. In fact, it's mostly iron. I'm sure I won't run out of iron anytime soon.

 

[lipadj46]

I have the feeling that Mobil 1 one will kill a person too if they drank enough of it.

 

[Audi Junkie]

Funny you mention the 'vette. My friend ran M1 5w-30 in his 'vette thinking it was the best, being "approved" and factory-fill. His UOA was a disaster. The best vette UOAs I saw were 15w-40 HD.

 

[lipadj46]

Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
Funny you mention the 'vette. My friend ran M1 5w-30 in his 'vette thinking it was the best, being "approved" and factory-fill. His UOA was a disaster. The best vette UOAs I saw were 15w-40 HD.


Now the question becomes would another energy conserving over the counter synthetic 5w30 do appreciably better in consecutive UOAs in the same engine during the same interval, the same season driving in the same manner? Or are we just picking and choosing our data points to prove our bias?

 

[Johnny]

Originally Posted By: lipadj46
Or are we just picking and choosing our data points to prove our bias?


I personally think you have solved the problem.