Switching from Mobil 1 - Recommendations & Why

[ZeeOSix]

I've always ran Mobil 1 5w30 in my '02 Z06 with the LS6 engine. But over the last year or so I hear people say "Mobil 1 isn't what it use to be", and that other full synthetic oils will give better protection and make the LS6 valve train run quieter.

I'm thinking of switching to another full synthetic 5w30, but would like to know if there are any that really are any better than Mobil 1 ... and why (more zinc, better wear protection, etc).

Amsoil, Royal Purple, Castrol, etc ... ??? Preferably, something not super expensive, exotic and hard to find.

Sorry if this has been hashed over in the past ... would like some fresh inputs if there are any.

 

[tig1]

"People say". Would these people by any chance sell oil? I have used Mobil 1 oils for 35 years and todays Mobil 1 is as good or better than any I have ever used. Also has you engines suffered lately from Mobil 1 oil?

 

[ArrestMeRedZ]

My LS1 ran quieter on German Castrol than on M1 (mostly valve train noise). I previously used M1 exclusively for 30 years.

I haven't had any oil related failures with M1, with the exception of an oil pump falling out into the pan (not the fault of the oil) after my unfortunate acquisition of a new Chevrolet Citation.

 

[Clevy]

Pennzoil ultra if you can find it. Redline is great oil but likely overkill.
Why not try the Caterham blend.
I'm no fan of mobil however M1 is a decent product though and I'm not really sure you really have much to gain to be honest.
If you are looking for something to add in the anti-wear department why not add a can of MOS2 and see if you can help your wear numbers and get that sexy boost in fuel economy.
And the price of M1 at Walmart makes it very attractive as far as value. And it meets that dirty Honda spec which means you can count on a spotless engine.
If I had carte blanche and could run any oil I chose for free it would be redline. Motul has some really good oil. Maybe give them a shot.
I don't know that there is much out there that will gain you anything,especially considering what it cost.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
Amsoil, Royal Purple, Castrol, etc ... ??? Preferably, something not super expensive, exotic and hard to find.

You've been here long enough and know the drill.

What are you looking to accomplish, and what are your OCIs like right now? Personally, I like all the additive packages (at least what we see on VOAs and data sheets) of all the major synthetics and most of the boutiques. I don't think Mobil 1 5w30 is weak at all, and has some pretty good certifications.

If you want to go long, Mobil 1 is hard to beat. You're aware of their mileage warranty, and we know that tig1 does it. Amsoil could one-up XOM in that department, and you're well aware of what that product is capable.

Of course, many of the other products have some good certifications or are simply well known and trusted. I'd have no problems using Quaker State Ultimate Durability, PP, PU, Petro-Canada Supreme Synthetic, Red Line, or Royal Purple. I'm sore at Castrol about the ancient synthetic brouhaha, so I don't use Syntec unless there's no alternative (I think GTX is a fine product and have no qualms with using it).

If your OCIs are going to be long, pick some oil that will stand behind longer OCIs. Or try GC, or Mobil 1 0w-40 if you're feeling adventurous. However, within specifications and within severe service OCIs, I suspect you'd be very hard pressed to find any discernible difference between the various dexos1 certified and dexos1 compliant 5w30s out there. And there's nothing wrong with a conventional, either.

@tig1: I'm getting braver - I'm trying to work up to 8,000 miles on this Mobil Delvac 1, and get a used oil analysis after a couple runs and see how long I really can go. That's assuming I don't chicken out.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
I've always ran Mobil 1 5w30 in my '02 Z06 with the LS6 engine. But over the last year or so I hear people say "Mobil 1 isn't what it use to be", and that other full synthetic oils will give better protection and make the LS6 valve train run quieter.

I'm thinking of switching to another full synthetic 5w30, but would like to know if there are any that really are any better than Mobil 1 ... and why (more zinc, better wear protection, etc).

Amsoil, Royal Purple, Castrol, etc ... ??? Preferably, something not super expensive, exotic and hard to find.

Sorry if this has been hashed over in the past ... would like some fresh inputs if there are any.


Stick with M1. Its a very good oil.

There are certainly others that a very good also. Or better yet ask some of the "people say" people.

Even better show some of the "people say" people a used oil analysis and ask them to explain it to you. In 2 minutes you will know they are full of pooh.

 

[TrevorS]

I've found Ultra to be quieter than Mobil 1.

I also preferred Quaker State Ultimate Durability / PP to Valvoline and Castrol.

So I would go for Ultra or another SOPennzoil UltraS 5w30.

Or make your own 30 weight using Mobil 1 0w40 and 0w20 or even Pennzoil Ultra Euro 5w40 with Pennzoil Ultra 5w20. The reason being that these 40 weight oils are in another league so I think your own 30 weight blend would be superior.

 

[danthaman1980]

If you've never tried Pennzoil Ultra, give it a shot. Spend a few minutes on WM, AZ, and Pennzoil's website, you should be able to find it reasonably close.

LS engines seem to like GC too, but that's a different animal.

 

[ram_man]

I recently changed my oil and am running quaker state full synthetic. Very good oil very good price. Easy to find.

 

[Capa]

Nothing wrong with experimenting with different brands but it seems that Mobil has served you well for many, many years. I seriously doubt another synthetic would give you better protection when it comes to the life of the engine. If the acoustics are bothering you and them try something a little thicker.

 

[bigt61]

GM designed the engine to run on Mobil 1, they even put a Mobil 1 sticker on the oil cap. Why would you change? GM would issue a TSB if there was a problem putting new SN M1 in a Vette. No such TSB has been released. M1 is relatively cheap and available. Sleep easy, don't try to fix what's not broken.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: TrevorS
I've found Ultra to be quieter than Mobil 1.

I also preferred Quaker State Ultimate Durability / PP to Valvoline and Castrol.

So I would go for Ultra or another SOPennzoil UltraS 5w30.

Or make your own 30 weight using Mobil 1 0w40 and 0w20 or even Pennzoil Ultra Euro 5w40 with Pennzoil Ultra 5w20. The reason being that these 40 weight oils are in another league so I think your own 30 weight blend would be superior.

That's what I use in my S2000 and E430, I mixed Mobil 1 0W20 with 0W40 with ratio 40-60 for S2000 and ratio 60-40 for E430.

 

[chubbs1]

Like a lot of people have said M1 is still a great oil. So are many other majors. I play around to find if any oil has any discernible difference from another and I have yet to find one. If you strictly go by spec sheets you can't go wrong with any of the SOPUS "syns" PP,PU, Quaker State Ultimate Durability and Formula Shell Syn. M1 is still an oil I would trust in any of my vehicles anytime.

 

[danthaman1980]

Originally Posted By: bigt61
GM designed the engine to run on Mobil 1, they even put a Mobil 1 sticker on the oil cap. Why would you change? GM would issue a TSB if there was a problem putting new SN M1 in a Vette. No such TSB has been released. M1 is relatively cheap and available. Sleep easy, don't try to fix what's not broken.


Oh hooey. Not one engine was ever designed around a specific brand of oil. Even if the LS was, Mobil 1 has been completely reformulated at least twice since the LSx engine was thought up. Seems to me M1 fanboys spend a lot of time talking people out of trying other oils and very little time trying to understand why anyone would want to stray from the M1 gospel.

Nothing wrong with M1, it is a good oil but there are LOTS of good oils out there and you'll never know if your engine likes a different one better if you don't try.

 

[NorWest5]

Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
I've always ran Mobil 1 5w30 in my '02 Z06 with the LS6 engine. But over the last year or so I hear people say "Mobil 1 isn't what it use to be", and that other full synthetic oils will give better protection and make the LS6 valve train run quieter.

I'm thinking of switching to another full synthetic 5w30, but would like to know if there are any that really are any better than Mobil 1 ... and why (more zinc, better wear protection, etc).

Amsoil, Royal Purple, Castrol, etc ... ??? Preferably, something not super expensive, exotic and hard to find.

Sorry if this has been hashed over in the past ... would like some fresh inputs if there are any.


My top 3: 0w30 German Castrol, Pennzoil Ultra, Pennzoil Platinum. Better and quieter than M1.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: danthaman1980


Nothing wrong with M1, it is a good oil but there are LOTS of good oils out there and you'll never know if your engine likes a different one better if you don't try.


I agree, you'll never know until you try.

 

[SigQAEngineer]

Let a Prius owner chime in

[img:center][/img]

A Prius's engine is computer controlled & frequently turning itself On/Off pending driving condition, speed etc. Therefore, cold starting performance is tested very extensively.

Consequently, a Prius owner gets many repeated opportunities listening to how his engine is behaving after an OC.

While my Prius is under factory warranty dealers performed OC & 5w30 conventional were used.
Best MPG recorded = 47 mpg

When I started using synthetics at 60K, Mobil 1 5w30 was my first choice, the best recorded mpg was 48.9 mpg, not bad IMO.

Tried German Castrol 0w30 just once & contrary to my expectations it did not perform as well as Mobil 1, best recorded mpg = 48.4, as others have pointed out, the GC 0w30 has a higher than average viscosity at warm temp & I find that absolutely correct.

Once reached operating temperature, every time the engine is restarting I can feel more drag from GC than Mobil 1 & there was more start-up vibration resulted from a heavier oil.

But does this mean GC is not as good as Mobil 1 ? Absolutely not, because Prius's engine is fairly low in output & HP comparing to your Z-06's LS6, and it max rpm is 4500. IMO the GC is over kill. It is obvious GC is made for high performance engines.

IMO your Z-06 could benefit from the GC's higher viscosity, which is almost 40 wt.

Not long ago I switched to Royal Purple 5w30 after scored a 12 qt deal on eBay for $87.95 shipped. I immediately noticed a difference, my cold starting vibration is non-existent & engine is quieter. Something in RP makes it more "slippery" than anything else I've tried.

Remember, a Prius owner gets to hear his engine restarting over & over.

I ran the car out of gas on-purpose just to see how far I could get per tank using RP. One day my car stalled at 586 miles & drove 2 mi on battery until I found a gas station, took 11.4 gallon to fill up, which equates to 51.4 MPG, the best I've seen.

Keep in mind that I drive normally by keeping up w/ traffic & don't practice any "hypermiling" techniques to slow down the traffic & make people angry.

While I haven't tested Amsoil, Redline, Lucas etc. Royal Purple has given me the highest MPG after having used German Castrol 0w30 & Mobil 1 5w30.

Royal Purple 5w30 = 51.4 mpg
Mobil 1 5w30 = 48.9 mpg
GC European Formula 0w30 = 48.4

 

[FZ1]

Stay with the M1. It's cheap and easy to get at WM. + it's the same chemistry as is in the engine now.

 

[danthaman1980]

Sig, that's exactly what I would expect. GC is one of the thickest 30wt oils available, while RP is one of the thinner ones. Both are good oils but they are very different.

 

[Nyquist]

The oils on my shortlist: Mobil 1, Quaker State Ultimate Durability & Pennzoil Platinum.