Running M1 0w40, should I go D1 5w40?

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I've been running mobil1 0w40 in my 94 Saturn SL1 for about 3k miles. The oil consumption doesn't seem to be an issue and the leakage from my oil pan gasket is almost unnoticible. The engine runs well on this oil, nice and quietly as it does with all other synthetics I've tried in it. However, I've been reading a lot about the poor qualities of this oil. Don't get me wrong, I plan to go to 5 or 6k miles on this but would Delvac1 5w40 be a better oil to use next change? Also, should I just stick with the acdelco filters or go with something else?

--Matt
 
quote:

Originally posted by mkosem:
I've been running mobil1 0w40 in my 94 Saturn SL1 for about 3k miles. The oil consumption doesn't seem to be an issue and the leakage from my oil pan gasket is almost unnoticible. The engine runs well on this oil, nice and quietly as it does with all other synthetics I've tried in it. However, I've been reading a lot about the poor qualities of this oil. Don't get me wrong, I plan to go to 5 or 6k miles on this but would Delvac1 5w40 be a better oil to use next change? Also, should I just stick with the acdelco filters or go with something else?

What poor qualities? This oil has consitently posted good UOA numbers. What are you talking about?
rolleyes.gif
 
I've read nothing but good things about this oil. Can you be more specific?

I'm planning on switching over to it myself next change; that is, if I can find it)
 
As with any oil, do an oil analysis, and then decide whether this oil is good for your engine or not. Don't form an opinion based on something you may have heard from someone who may have been wrong. Personally, I have nothing bad to say about M1 0w-40 and will start using it in my 1.8T soon, too.
 
Sorry if my "beer can full of ball bearings" statement is the one that's been giving the 0W-40 a bad rap.

Never said it's a bad oil, but my 4Runner which grew up on 20W-50 didn't sound all that good on a light end 40.

The 0W-40 is, from what I've read, one of the best oils around.

I switched to Delvac 1 because it was a bit thicker, and would probably help with any sludge in the Toyota Motor.
 
Imo if all you are going to use this oil for is 5-6K miles then by all means go with the M1 0w40. I'm not sure where you heard that it's not a good oil. Delvac 1 is a lot more expensive, at least here in Canada, I don't see a point in switching to it if that's the interval you are using the oil for.
 
quote:

Originally posted by mkosem:
http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=001573

That thread got me kind of worried. Everyone seems to be bashing it because it shears out of grade even though it protects well. This car is specd to use a 30wt anyways so I guess it wouldn't be a problem anyways.

--Matt


You need to look at all the UOAs for this oil. It doesn't always shear out of grade. And unless a baseline is established for the exact oil being tested, we really don't know how much (or even if) any oil shears out of grade, much less the Mobil 1 0w40.
 
The price of D1 is prety close to the price of M1 around here. It go's for $21 a gallon.

--Matt
 
I wish the oil makers would've started out using a different system for viscosity, perhaps making things tighter, such as having it go 20-25-30-35-40-45-50 for instance. So that way if you had an oil that was a thicker 30wt, it could be in the 35 category for instance.

This will never happen now though, things are pretty much set in stone. Besides, only people like us (which are in the minority) even know the difference between a thick 30wt oil and a thin 30wt.
 
well, the problem is my car likes to burn a bit of oil when it's cold. If I let the car warm up a bit before driving it's not really a problem but idling is bad for the car and I don't have time for that. I was thinking maybee an oil with a higher cold viscosity might be better. Since there is a lack of over the counter 10w40 synthetics I figure D1 would at least be a step above 5w40 wouldn't it? I can get amsoil or redline at one local shop but for 10w40 they have to special order it. The price is not bad, but more than mobil1. The confusing thing for me is will having a higher cold viscosity help me or is this just something I'll need to deal with? I do have another case of 6 bottles of 0w40 here, is there something I can do to help that one weakness?

--Matt
 
OMG, I just got like smacked in the head with a ton of bricks. Is it possible that I am losing this oil during cold starts due to something other than piston rings? I was just thinking valve seals make cars burn oil when cold starting don't they? Any other ideas? Should I put MMT and some UCL in my gas or something?

--Matt
 
I just noticed the consumption issue today actually. I was a 1/2 quart low over 1200 miles(since I last checked it). Could this be because it's been really cold lately(many days <20 some <0)? This isn't really all that bad but I can't help but to think there is something I can do to further reduce this problem.
 
Matt, one possibility is start adding M1 15W-50 or Delvac 1300 Super 15W-40 as you continue to add oil during this interval. The M1 probably won't thicken up the low end as much as the D1300S will. (Some folks here have said the 15W-50 has a low vis closer to a dino 5W, while Mobil says the D1300S has a low vis close to a standard 10W.)

The advantages to adding M1 15W-50 are that you keep it all full syn & you get a bit more anti-wear additives (according to Mobil's info). The disadvantage is that you may not be adding too much vis into the low end, & you will thicken up the hot end a bit.

The advantages to adding D1300S 15W-40 are that you'll keep the hot end at a 40wt while adding more vis to the low end, & you'll get more anti-wear & detergent additives. The disadvantage is that you don't keep it all full syn anymore. Actually, with the other benefits of the D1300S, I think I like this option better than staying full syn by adding the 15W-50. (Hmmm, I like this idea so much that I think I'm going to start doing this on my 10k/2yr M1 15W-50 test-case car!)

Then, on you next change you could mix 50/50 M1 0W-40 & D1300S 15W-40, & continue to top up with whichever makes you most comfortable at the time (0W-40 Oct-Mar, 15W-40 Apr-Sep?).

[ March 03, 2003, 03:57 PM: Message edited by: Greg Netzner ]
 
excellent, the 1300 is supposed to be an excellent oil anyways isn't it? What would the disadvantage of having a part syn oil be?

--Matt
 
Yeesh, I think I'm doin' a fair job of 'splaining things & I just end up confusing folks ...

Matt, what I was trying to say was that this whole viscosity rating thing is being blown way out of proportion. We should be looking at actual viscosities rather than viscosity groups.

Let's say you have three oils. One starts out as a "thin" 30wt at 10 cSt, another is a "thick" 30wt at 12 cSt & the third is a "thin" 40wt at 14 cSt. They're all only 2 points apart, right? If they all shear down by 2 points, then they're all 2 points thinner. That's all. Your sheared 40wt is still thicker than either of your sheared 30wts. They haven't actually "changed grades" because the 30wt & 40wt labels are really just a convenient way for us to classify these things, not switches which change an oil from being one thing to another.

Another way to think of it might be like this:
Let's say you have three cars. With all highway driving, one gets 22mpg, one gets 28mpg & one gets 34mpg. They're all the same mpg apart. Do you say that the first two get "20 grade" mpg while the third gets "30 grade" mpg? And what happens if you change from all highway to all city, & your mileage on each one drops by 6mpg? Do you now have one "10 grade" mpg car & two "20 grade" mpg cars? Would you even buy a car that was rated in "mpg grades" rather than in actual mpg? (Would it help if I didn't come up with these goofy analogies?)

From everything I've read, D1 seems to be a more robust oil than any the M1s. And from the ring-pack issues I've read about on other Saturn engines, I'd say D1 (or maybe any diesel-specific oil) may be the better choice for your car. But you don't have anything to worry about regarding the stability of M1 0W-40 in your engine. (Around here D1 is $28-$30/gal, so it's quite a bit more expensive than M1.)
 
ok, so the 0w40 ended up replacing the D1 5w40 that I had in my mom's Volvo 850R(very nice car btw). So now I'm not restricted as to what oil to use. I propose this:

2qt Mobil Delvac1 5w40
2qt Mobil Delvac 1300S 15w40

that should get me a very nice 10w40 with an excellent detergent package that should also do well in cold weather. Sound like a plan?

--Matt
 
Why mix? You really don't know what you'll end up with. Use the Delvac 1, or the Delvac 1300S when the weather warms.

I know, the brands are the same...but the additive packages probably aren't (none of us has any way of knowing), and if not, you're not getting as good protection as if you use all one oil.


Ken
 
OK Matt, now I'm a little confused. How'd we get from a Saturn to a Volvo? And if you replaced the Volvo's D1 with M1 0W-40, why are you asking about mixing D1 with D1300S?
 
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