Mobil1 15w50 experiment

That oil is too thick. Thermostat too cold. Period.

And I thought I was out on a limb running 10W30 in a Ford :)

Do you have the funds to replace the cam? Isn't this a LS based Vortec engine with a roller cam how did it get wiped? HOW does it have a "known" cam issue?

Also why do your cars have no cat cons?

I might recommend you quit playing games with way too thick thick oil on your cars.
Known cam issue because I seen it when I was fixing the intake. The cars have no cats because both the exhaust systems rusted off and I'm a cheap ass and fixed it with flex pipe. I was a mechanic for 10 years and managed 90+ peices of equitment.. I'm not playing games I'm genuinely curious what will happen. I've rode my Harleys in 15f degree weather and cold started them on Dino 20w50. Every diesel I worked on ran 15w40 Dino all winter. Never any oil wear problems.
 
This post was not made as a question if it's smart or not to run this oil in these motors. This post was made for future reference for others. If I find that it's not a good idea I will gladly post that. If it makes no difference I will post that as well.
 
I've rode my Harleys in 15f degree weather and cold started them on Dino 20w50. Every diesel I worked on ran 15w40 Dino all winter. Never any oil wear problems.
If the oil can be pumped it will lubricate. Wear comes from inadequate HT/HS not from an oil that has a somewhat higher film thickness. So no you should not have seen any oil wear problems unless the winter rating was totally inappropriate for the starting temperature and failed to pump.
 
Thermostat is too cold . Should be using a 180 series at a minimum. Using a 160 will just make your engine take longer to reach optimal temperature, leading to moisture in the oil that never gets burned off.

As far as using the Mobil 1 15w-50 goes as an experiment, that’s very old news. The results have been in for decades.

Hundreds if not thousands of vintage car owners have been using it for at least 20+ years, myself included, in all types of temperatures. In seldom used cars, and in daily drivers. My daily driver vintage Mustangs and Shelby’s never had issues starting or driving with the 15w-50 in temperatures ranging from zero F to 120 F. Excellent wear protection .

But I do agree with others here, that Mobil 1 0w-40 is a better all season choice. Much less drag and with all the wear protection of the 15w-50. Surprisingly, I found that both oils, when hot, gave identical oil pressure and temperature.,

Z
Didn't realize the 15w50 had been out for so long. I hadn't seen it till recently. Glad to hear it's worked well for you. As for the 160t Stat. That has been In This truck for at least a year and probably 10 to 15k miles. Never any signs of moisture on dipstick. Actuall engine temp is probably higher than 160 anyway. Reads 185 on Guage. Moisture would burn off even with no thermostat. I've done it. What builds moisture in oil on a gasser is trying to convert it from a pcv system to an old "road draft tube" like what's on diesels and old 1960s cars. That will peanut butter up a small block really fast. I know that from personal experience as well
 
I'll add to my earlier post.

I'd done an oil change on the Probe with M1 15W50 Extended Performance, and it did really well. I think the dino PYB 20W50 was just a little too thick for that car. I think right after that Mobil discontinued it. Then later on Mobil reintroduced their 15W50 with the silver cap version.

Me being a thickie, I'm definitely looking forward to your experiment (y)
 
I'll add to my earlier post.

I'd done an oil change on the Probe with M1 15W50 Extended Performance, and it did really well. I think the dino PYB 20W50 was just a little too thick for that car. I think right after that Mobil discontinued it. Then later on Mobil reintroduced their 15W50 with the silver cap version.

Me being a thickie, I'm definitely looking forward to your experiment (y)
There was an Extended Performance version of M1 15W-50?
 
There was an Extended Performance version of M1 15W-50?
Yep. I used it in the early 2000s.
Screen Shot 2022-10-06 at 10.09.56 PM.jpg
 
Here on the other side of the pond we used to have Mobil 1 15W-50 Motorsport Formula, but that was discontinued a loong time ago, 15+ years ☹️
The only 15W-50 sold here now by Mobil is the Racing 4T version of M1.
 
Known cam issue because I seen it when I was fixing the intake. The cars have no cats because both the exhaust systems rusted off and I'm a cheap *** and fixed it with flex pipe. I was a mechanic for 10 years and managed 90+ peices of equitment.. I'm not playing games I'm genuinely curious what will happen. I've rode my Harleys in 15f degree weather and cold started them on Dino 20w50. Every diesel I worked on ran 15w40 Dino all winter. Never any oil wear problems.
O.K. Fact check. 2001 is supposed to have an LS motor with roller cam. If you lobes are wiped, the rollers are shot and no oil is going to help. You don't see the cam with the intake off. There is a bolt on valley tray under the intake. So what engine is this?

If you want to run a bit thicker HD oil I might suggest Rotella T4 10W30 or better yet
the latest Quaker state 10W30 synthetic is a good oil with good cold weather properties.

Nothing to learn with a 15W50, Just that you made a mistake by running it in anything other than an air cooled bike.
 
I've gone from *w20 oils to high HTHS ACEA A3/B4 or C3 oils in quite a few cars and never noticed a scrap of difference.
Same here, i don't see what an engine being a 4 cylinder has anything to do with it. Used enything from 5W30 to 15W50 in 4 bangers without noticing anything at all... In some cases a slightly noisier engine on thinner oil but that's about it.
 
M1 15W-50 is a fantastic oil and will help extend engine life in a large number of engines. It even works wonderfully in older oil-consuming Prius', adding as much as 100K more life to the engine.

I've used it in high performance engines for decades, with stellar results.
 
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