Oil shelf life and oil recommendations

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Beware, this is a long post.
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Alright, I wanted to run this by the members of this board because I know there are some very experienced individuals on here that can provide great insight. This is my first post here by the way. I’ve been reading for quite a while but never had a question that I felt was worth posting until I came upon some Mobil 1 0w30 the other day.

A brief story on my choice of oil, I’m looking to replace the 5w40 Rotella full synthetic that I’m running now. This oil will be for my Honda S2000, this car is garaged and is not daily driven. The garage is not heated however, it doesn’t get below freezing so the oil generally won’t be subjected to frigid temperatures while inside the car.

I’m wanting to switch from Rotella 5w40 because I believe it is thicker at operating temperature than what the S2000 was designed to run. Obviously, the Rotella has an operating CST of ~14 whereas most 30 weight oils fall into the 9.5-10.5 CST range.

Now, I know some of you are thinking that GC 0w30 would be the obvious choice here. However, I’m reluctant to use it for two reasons. 1) Several members on this board have reported a sluggishness or otherwise lazy feel to their Honda engines when using this oil. 2) It’s on the thicker side for a 30 weight oil with an operating temp of 12CST, this getting close to the Rotella 5w40 that I’m using now. My goal is to use a ~10CST 30 weight oil to see if I can perceive any differences in the way the car feels. I have never used a 30 weight oil in the car before, all the oil changes that this car has received were 5w40 oils, first Castrol Syntec and now the Rotella.

I found about 3 cases of Mobil 1 0w30 at a local Advanced Auto parts store. The cases looked pretty old and the oil was GF-3/SL rated. With the recent word that Mobil is now a Group III operation I was wondering if anyone on here is of the opinion that the older SL stuff might actually be a better oil? What is the shelf life of such an oil? From what I can find online it seems that oil shelf life maxes out at about 5 years. The Mobil 1 0w30 that I found could be pretty close to 5 years old.

So, finally, my question to you oil pros is two fold. Do you think the Mobil 0w30 SL is in good enough shape to run in my S2000? And, supposing that the 0w30 is too old what other 0w30 oils might you recommend that stay close to a 10CST operating range? Ideally I’m looking for something that is available locally, I’m not too fond of mail ordering lubricants for my car.
 
According to something I once read that Pennzoil came out with motor oil has a shelf life of at least 18 months.

Eventually if motor oil sits on a shelf long enough it will not meet nre requirments. For example, after about 5 years a motor oil sitting on a shelf probably would not meet new requirments.
 
IIRC, Mobil use to state it's synthetic motor oils had a shelf life of ten years. I recently noticed they now they claim five years. Personally, if it's kept in a controlled environment, i.e., indoors without wide temperature swings, and low humidity, I don't see why a quality full synthetic wouldn't have a shelf life 10 years if the bottles are sealed.

M1 0w30 GF-3 SL circa 2002 had the product code 48116-8. You might check the product code on the bottles to narrow in on the actual formulation. You might also get a hand held portable black light to check the production date code.

Personally, I much prefer the older formulation of M1 compared to the mystery oil they're now producing. They don't even publish the CCS and MRV values for the current stuff. If that "treasure" you found was nearby, I'd be inclined to add it to my oil stash myself.

If you decide to go with alternatives, I'd consider Pennzoil Platinum, Chevron Supreme Synthetic, Castrol Syntec, Valvoline’s Synpower in 10w30. All have the viscometrics you desire, should have a HTHS of ~3.1, and are quality products.
 
Yip, I think 427Z06 has summed it up there.

What is the oil recommendation for the S2000? I am aware that the S2000 club here in SA get Motul 8100 0W-40 Ester E-Tech brought in for their cars, since it meets the requirement here. If Honda is ok with a 0W-20, I'd be inclined to want to use the Motul 300V of that viscosity if I were in your shoes. The one hassle with the 300V range is that it does not carry the manufacturers specifications that other commercial oils do, because Motul don't care to sell it to agents for general use...its a racing oil, but they say it can be used as a normal daily driving oil. My guess is that if they did send it for the manufacturers approvals it would pass with flying colours.
 
Oh and the Mobil 1 that is sold in SA is still the SL spec 0W-40. And that is what is currently available at the Subaru and Mercedes agents.
I have a stash of this oil and the one thing I did notice when I had poured out a litre the other day, was that there is a thin black residue at the bottom. Maybe Moly and/or other additives dropping out of suspension? So if you do buy that 0w-30 (and I would), I'd give it a good shake before use.
 
Since Honda recommends 10W30 for your car, why have you never tried it? You went right to the only alternative recommendation (if extreme climate conditions warrant its use) of 5W40 and are considering a switch to old 0W30 Mobil 1 because you are losing HP with the thicker Rotella? I'm just not sure what your logic is here. Why not try what's recommended before you experiment? You don't seem to have extreme climate conditions under your current situation.
 
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Since Honda recommends 10W30 for your car, why have you never tried it? You went right to the only alternative recommendation (if extreme climate conditions warrant its use) of 5W40 and are considering a switch to old 0W30 Mobil 1 because you are losing HP with the thicker Rotella? I'm just not sure what your logic is here. Why not try what's recommended before you experiment? You don't seem to have extreme climate conditions under your current situation.



I see your point however, after reading this guide from a member of these forums I'm inclined to try something different. My goal is to find an oil that gets flowing as quickly as possible when I cold start my engine. I'm a little shocked that Honda doesn't recommend a 5w30 considering it has the same operating performance characteristics of a 10w30 but with better cold flow capabilities. I do not feel that I'm losing HP with the Rotella, in fact I don't expect to really feel much of any difference if I switch to a 30w oil. However, I'd at least like to try.
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I found about 3 cases of Mobil 1 0w30 at a local Advanced Auto parts store. The cases looked pretty old and the oil was GF-3/SL rated. With the recent word that Mobil is now a Group III operation I was wondering if anyone on here is of the opinion that the older SL stuff might actually be a better oil? What is the shelf life of such an oil? From what I can find online it seems that oil shelf life maxes out at about 5 years. The Mobil 1 0w30 that I found could be pretty close to 5 years old.




The EXACT same thing happened to me a while back. You can do a search on my posts about it. I stumbled across some real old SL/GF-3 0W30 M1 and bought it. I was going to put it in a brand new vehicle. I was hesitant at first but after researching it, I found that it is a top notch oil, presumably more PAO based compared compared to the newer formulations. I happily used it (it's still in there today) but will switch to GC in the spring since I am severing ties with EOM for reasons I am sure you are aware of. If you do not mind doing business with EOM, buy that old stock 0W30, it is a great oil. Sitting sealed up on that nice warm shlf kept the oil in fine shape. I did shake my bottles before pouring the oil in my engine.
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Alright, I found a "motherload" stash of SM 0w30 at another local auto parts store. I asked for 0w30 and they all looked at me like I was crazy. Then I asked to go in the back to check if they had any stored back there. Man, there had to be at least 6 cases of this stuff. It still looked older, they had some new cases of Mobil 1 10w30 sitting right next to it and the cases of 10w30 looked different. Nonetheless, the 0w30 was SM rated so it's at least 2004.

I put it in my car today, I can't really feel a difference in the way the engine performs. I do notice more valve train noise. I'm not sure if this is because of the thinner oil or because Mobil 1 tends to be a noisy oil to begin with. Anyways, thanks for all the input guys. I'll give this fill of Mobil a try and see how it goes.
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