Originally Posted By: VenzaTRD
Also, IS mobil 1 fully synthetic?? or just mobil 1 extended performance?---VenzaTRD
Here is the story:
In that late 1990's Castrol came out with "Syntec" that they called a full synthetic. It did not contain PAO/Ester stock, which was previously the standard for calling an oil synthetic. Instead it contained new highly-refined mineral oil (conventional oil) that is called hydrocracked.
Mobil filed complaints with the FTC and some industry trade organizations complaining that this was false advertising by Castrol (which is now owned by BP). However, the ruling that came down from the industry trade groups that did self-regulation on advertising claims was that hydrocracked oil could be called a full synthetic. Separately, the FTC refused to intervene by not agreeing to hear the Mobil case.
In order to compete in terms of cost, in the early 2000's Mobil 1 changed their formula to include some of the cheaper hydrocracked oil along with PAO/Ester stock. Previously when it was 100% PAO/Ester stock it was called Tri-Synthetic, but is now called Mobil 1 with SuperSyn. Best guesses are that Mobil 1 still contains about 30-50% PAO/Ester stock along with hydro-cracked base stock. This is partly based on the Japanese MSDS which requires disclosure of mineral oil, including hydrocracked, in the MSDS. But there is other evidence that Mobil 1 has a fair amount of PAO base stock. ExxonMobil operates one of the largest PAO plants in the world, that supplies Mobil 1 and many other companies. During Hurricane Ike, the plant was damaged and shut down for several months, causing severe shortages of Mobil 1 products. So there is no question that Mobil 1 still contains a fair amount of PAO base stock.
http://www.imakenews.com/lng/e_article001239508.cfm
Almost all of the competitors from major oil brands who market synthetic oil (Valvoline, Pennzoil, Quaker State, Castrol, ConnocoPhillips brands, etc) have very little or no Group IV/V PAO/Ester base stock and are considered Group III hydrocracked oil. So even though Mobil 1 has reduced their Group IV/V PAO/Ester stock from 100% to about 30-50%,
Mobil 1 still has more PAO/Ester than any major competitor. The only exceptions are some boutique oils such as Amsoil, Redline, etc, and none of these high PAO content boutique oils are API SM and ILSAC GF-4 (API Certified - Starburst) energy conserving formulas, and do not technically meet manufacturer warranty requirements for most engines.
If you want a high PAO/Ester stock oil that is API SM an ILSAC GF-4 (API Certified - Starburst) energy conserving formula, and meets manufacturer warranty requirements, then Mobil 1 is your best bet. However, it has been found that one can make an oil that is Group III hydrocracked base stock and add just a small amount of PAO/Ester, and come up with a very good "synthetic" that has many of the advantages of 100% PAO/Ester and can actually provide better energy saving formulas and have low friction properties with the right additives. These include synthetic oils such is offered by Pennzoil Platinum, Valvoline Synpower, Castrol Edge and others. There is some evidence that the new Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy oils have lower amounts of PAO/Ester base stock than other Mobil 1 oils in order to achieve the energy savings.
Mobil 1 EP probably has a little more PAO/Ester base stock and more additives that extend the life of the oil, as compared to regular Mobil 1. Mobil claims EP has 50% more SuperSyn.
There are some very knowledgeable people on this forum, but there are also some who will bad-mouth Mobil 1 because they hate ExxonMobil or for whatever other petty reason they have they want to steer you wrong, so be very careful what you read.