Redline vs Mobil 1, any real difference?

[Threeofnine]

I have a 1985 Ferrari Mondial QV with a flat tappet engine. I will need to do an oil change in the next couple of weeks. Would there really be any benefit in switching from Mobil 1 15w50 to redline 10w50? I do drive the car rather hard and frequently cruise at speeds of between 100-120 mph where the RPMs set between 5000-6000. The engine redline is 7k. The oil temps rarely exceed 210F.

Redline is significantly more expensive, and its availability much less, but if it would significantly reduce engine wear it would absolutely be worth the price. If the real world difference is negligible then I might be better off sticking with Mobil 1.

 

[Brian123]

I do drive the car rather hard and frequently cruise at speeds of between 100-120 mph where the RPMs set between 5000-6000.

Mobil 1 15W-50 will be fine. If you take me for a ride in this car, I will gladly pay to refill your gas tank, I do not want a free ride!

 

[Legs4Arms]

I have a 1985 Ferrari Mondial QV with a flat tappet engine. I will need to do an oil change in the next couple of weeks. Would there really be any benefit in switching from Mobil 1 15w50 to redline 10w50? I do drive the car rather hard and frequently cruise at speeds of between 100-120 mph where the RPMs set between 5000-6000. The engine redline is 7k. The oil temps rarely exceed 210F.

Redline is significantly more expensive, and its availability much less, but if it would significantly reduce engine wear it would absolutely be worth the price. If the real world difference is negligible then I might be better off sticking with Mobil 1.

The engine in top gear is spinning those rpm's at 100-120mph?

 

[Threeofnine]

Mobil 1 15W-50 will be fine. If you take me for a ride in this car, I will gladly pay to refill your gas tank, I do not want a free ride!

Anytime

The engine in top gear is spinning those rpm's at 100-120mph?

It is. At 100 mph the rpm’s are right at 5k.

 

[BobsArmory]

You have a vintage Ferrari and you are worried about the price of a few quarts of oil?

 

[Threeofnine]

You have a vintage Ferrari and you are worried about the price of a few quarts of oil?

Not worried about the price, I would be more worried about the availability. I’m mostly curious if the benefits would be negligible. I do drive the car a lot, I’m on track to put over 10k miles on it this year so I want to engine to last as long as possible.

 

[fozzdesy2001]

Do the Mobil 1 15W-50 at least twice a year if no track days and only angry grocery getter driving sounds good to me.

 

[Japanese]

Would there really be any benefit in switching from Mobil 1 15w50 to redline 10w50?

Mobil 1 15W-50 will be fine. If you take me for a ride in this car, I will gladly pay to refill your gas tank, I do not want a free ride!

I would use Mobil 1 FS Euro x2 5W-50 instead of 15W-50. Both are the same viscosity but the first one is ACEA A3/B4 and has many Euro car approvals, including MB 229.3 and Porsche A40. The M1 15W-50 doesn't have any of those. I'm sure the base oils and additive package of the FS Euro oil are much better too.
You can find the Mobil 1 FS Euro x2 5W-50 at eBay for about $7-8 per quart.

https://www.mobil.com/en/lubricants/for-personal-vehicles/our-products/products/mobil-1-fs-x2-5w-50

 

[f355spider]

I would use Mobil 1 FS Euro x2 5W-50 before 15W-50. Both are the same viscosity but the first one is ACEA A3/B4 and has many Euro car approvals, including MB 229.3 and Porsche A40. The M1 15W-50 doesn't have any of those. I'm sure the base oils and additive package of the FS Euro oil are much better too.
You can find the Mobil 1 FS Euro x2 5W-50 at eBay for about $7-8 per quart.

https://www.mobil.com/en/lubricants/for-personal-vehicles/our-products/products/mobil-1-fs-x2-5w-50

That makes a lot of sense.

For the OP, be sure to use only a Baldwin or UFI oil filter. The both have the proper standpipe and anti drainback valve. The Mobil 1 filter has no standpipe and the Fram filter has the standpipe but the anti-drain back valves never work to hold oil in the filter. The Baldwin and UFI were are all I used when I had a 308GTS and later a 328GTS. I used Mobil 1 15w-50 in the 308 and later when I got the 328, I used Mobil 1 0w-40 or Castrol Edge 5w-40...but that was many moons ago.

 

[Threeofnine]

Baldwin or UFI oil filter

Is Baldwin good? Before I exclusively used UFI, and I still will for the Mondial. However, for my Testarossa I have to find an alternative as UFI stopped producing TR oil filters. Baldwin does make one that will fit the TR. This makes me a little nervous because the only engine that I’ve ever lost in my life was due to a faulty oil filter.

 

[chris719]

I would use Mobil 1 FS Euro x2 5W-50 instead of 15W-50. Both are the same viscosity but the first one is ACEA A3/B4 and has many Euro car approvals, including MB 229.3 and Porsche A40. The M1 15W-50 doesn't have any of those. I'm sure the base oils and additive package of the FS Euro oil are much better too.
You can find the Mobil 1 FS Euro x2 5W-50 at eBay for about $7-8 per quart.

https://www.mobil.com/en/lubricants/for-personal-vehicles/our-products/products/mobil-1-fs-x2-5w-50

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The 15W-50 has a slightly higher HTHS (probably retains it a bit better also) and the additive package is the same as the FS 0W-40 and X2 5W-50 now except it has 200-300 ppm additional ZDDP. It’s a good option if your climate and use cases allow for a 15W like a summer car only.

 

[Japanese]

The 15W-50 has a slightly higher HTHS (probably retains it a bit better also) and the additive package is the same as the FS 0W-40 and X2 5W-50 now except it has 200-300 ppm additional ZDDP. It’s a good option if your climate and use cases allow for a 15W like a summer car only.

There is no summer / winter or slightly higher / lower HTHS. The serious approvals that one of the oils covers and the other doesn't—says it all. They are very different oils in terms of base oils and additive package. The good think is that one is not that expensive than the other which is the case with Mobil 1 vs Red Line.

Also you can see that both Red Line 10W-50 and 10W-40 are ACEA A3/B4 oils. For some reason Red Line recommends the 10W-40 for 1985 Ferrari Mondial Quattrovalvole. However 10 qts of Red Line will cost the OP $200 shipped and the Mobil 1 FS Euro 5W-50 will cost him about $80 with free shipping on eBay.

https://www.redlineoil.com/10w50-motor-oil

https://www.redlineoil.com/10w40-motor-oil

 

[18LateModelFan]

You have a 1985 Flat Tappet Engine - I would follow OEM viscosity but use an oil with the greatest ZDDP or use a ZDDP additive

 

[AEHaas]

I have driven Lamborghini and Ferrari cars for decades, been on the track and had friends who raced cars. Todays engine oils are far superior to those of the time when the Mondial was produced. You could run a grade or two thinner that will result in a cooler running engine. Cooler = less wear and tear. However, the best way to chose a viscosity grade is to look at your temperatures and pressures during your way of using the car. In my 575 Maranello owners manual, for example, they stated the target oil pressure should be 70 PSI at 6,000 RPM. This is regardless of the temperature and is used as a guide to what viscosity grade is to be used. Blanket recommendations are useless. Your choice is application dependent in your car the way you drive it.

ali

PS: For driving around town in spirited fashion (not on the track) a 20 grade oil was appropriate for my Enzo. My neighbor with an Enzo having 5,000 more miles on it and fully broken in had 4 times the wear rate. He drove as myself but used the 60 grade oil recommended for the car. ’Not appropriate for our application as we are not on the track going 225 MPH.
After 15 years of ownership, Onofrio Triarsi took my car in, tore it apart for condition analysis then bought my car for his personal collection. He owns multiple Ferrari dealerships.