which is better.. mobil 1 supersyn or tri-syn

mingchi96 · Feb 18, 2003

i searched a lot about how supersyn has moly while tri-syn doesnt but has some other stuff.. i think. Bottom line, which oil is better for a honda in general?
Also, what do you think of supertech synthetic when compared to mobil 1. What is the best synthetic oil I can get for my car excluding Amsoil (since I would have to order it). I have read mixed opinions regarding mobil 1 so Im a little confused. thanks

Patman · Feb 18, 2003

Supersyn has consistently shown lower wear numbers than Trisyn, but even if it didn't, the TriSyn was replaced by SuperSyn, so soon enough the TriSyn will be impossible to find.

Mobil 1 is definitely much better than Supertech synthetic. Mobil 1 is the only true synthetic you'll find on the store shelves down there. Every other oil claiming to be synthetic, uses a group 3 base oil.

Idrinkmotoroil · Feb 18, 2003

Like Patman suggested, for mass produced over the counter oil Mobil1 Supersyn is about the best available, some guys really like their Deisel formulation even better than their gas engine oil but that is a 40 weight oil I believe.

If you want the best oil irregardless of price then some of the small custom producers might be it. They are able to make oils that contain extra additives which most over the counter oils can't or won't do. It seems like Redline might have the best engineered oil right now, Synergyn (big in Texas), and Schaeffers (semi-synthetic blend) offer really good products as well. On my car I would use any of these 4 oils before Supertech or any other Group 3 oil. Redline and Synergyn can be found in certain performance shops easily enough, Schaeffers has to be ordered in bulk.

There is always Neo, Torco, Royal Purple, Motul, but I really dont know much about them. I wouldn't expect them to to perform any better than the others listed above.

TooSlick · Feb 18, 2003

For an off the shelf oil, I'd say Mobil 1, 10w-30 supersyn for a hot climate. Since you are in Texas, you may also be able to find Royal Purple 10w-30 on the shelf - they are based down there - it looks to be a good PAO/Ester based formulation as well.

If you want to find Amsoil on the shelf, look in the phone book under: "Oils, Lubricating" for a local retail outlet or local dealer. I have travelled all across the US and it's pretty easy to find Amsoil now even in small towns. I'd recommend the Amsoil 5w-30 - "ASL" - if you decide to go that route ....

TooSlick

mkosem · Feb 18, 2003

quote:

Originally posted by TooSlick:
For an off the shelf oil, I'd say Mobil 1, 10w-30 supersyn for a hot climate. Since you are in Texas, you may also be able to find Royal Purple 10w-30 on the shelf - they are based down there - it looks to be a good PAO/Ester based formulation as well.

If you want to find Amsoil on the shelf, look in the phone book under: "Oils, Lubricating" for a local retail outlet or local dealer. I have travelled all across the US and it's pretty easy to find Amsoil now even in small towns. I'd recommend the Amsoil 5w-30 - "ASL" - if you decide to go that route ....

TooSlick

all of the murray's auto parts stores around me carry amsoil. is it uncomon to see it in auto parts stores?

--Matt

oilcanboyd · Feb 19, 2003

quote:

all of the murray's auto parts stores around me carry amsoil. is it uncomon to see it in auto parts stores?

i live in los angeles and i've never seen amsoil in my life.

Dick in Falls Church · Feb 19, 2003

>>>i searched a lot about how supersyn has moly while tri-syn doesnt but has some other stuff.. i think. Bottom line, which oil is better for a honda in general?

I think that is an academic question. Mobil no longer produces tri-syn, though you might find some old stock. Either will give excellent service. I think the supersyn is a better oil.

Ken2 · Feb 19, 2003

quote:

Originally posted by mingchi96:
what exactly is a group 3 base oil, and what makes it inferior to others.
......

Simply stated, an oil made with Group III base stock is a very highly refined petroleum oil with the legal right to call itself "Full Synthetic." They are good oils, better than ordinary oils, not as good as true synthetic oils made from Group IV (PAO...polyalphaolephin) base or Group V (ester and other) base, and not worth the price of a Group IV & V oil.

Ken

BrewCityR · Feb 19, 2003

quote:

Mobil no longer produces tri-syn, though you might find some old stock. Either will give excellent service. I think the supersyn is a better oil.

Sounds like SuperSyn is better based on all analysis, but local Farm and Fleet stores here in Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa have 1 gallon jugs of TriSyn 5w and 10w30 for $14 until Feb 23.

MolaKule · Feb 19, 2003

BrewCity,

Undoubtedly, old stock they are attempting to "shed."

I would purchase as much as possible and add 1/2 pint of Schaeffer's #132 to each jug.

buster · Feb 19, 2003

Molakule, being you run both Amsoil and Mobil SS and trisythetic, do you experience any differences in analysis?

[ February 19, 2003, 08:06 PM: Message edited by: buster ]

Idrinkmotoroil · Feb 19, 2003

Hey Jimmy, check to see what Larry Widmer is using in his race engines, last I heard he was a big Mobil1 fan, with some special additive he used to help the oil cling to metal parts, he, he, he.

On a serious note, I think you will find that the Supertech oil tests out decently, a few guys on this board have had decent results with it. But IMO a good Group 4 or 5 oil is the best way to go for max. protection on a hard driven high rpm motor that you want to keep, and if cost of the more expensive oils don't bother you. The use of Supertech in your brothers oil may be just fine if it fits in his price range and he is willing to drain the oil 5000 miles or less. good luck with your choice, post up any used oil analysis that you may do.

Joey

[ February 19, 2003, 10:55 PM: Message edited by: Idrinkmotoroil ]

S2000driver · Feb 19, 2003

Am I correct the tri-synthetic is API-SJ, and SuperSyn is API-SL?

SL is better than SJ, right?

Ryan00TJ · Feb 19, 2003

There was also a short run of SL Tri Synthetic Mobil 1 just before the new SuperSyn was introduced. All SuperSyn carries the SL designation. I've heard rumors of the SL TriSynthetic being close to the SuperSyn formula but with out the Moly. As Mobil noticed that the formula was defficient in boundary lube protection they reformulated and included Moly and whallla SuperSyn. I wish I would have run an Analysis on a SL TriSyn batch I ran over the summer to see how close in fact it was to the current formula SuperSyn.

[ February 19, 2003, 11:53 PM: Message edited by: Ryan00TJ ]

mingchi96 · Feb 19, 2003

what exactly is a group 3 base oil, and what makes it inferior to others.

One thing to note though, I did put supertech synthetic in my brother's car as a guinea pig. Waiting for it to hit 5000 and will do an oil analysis on it. One interesting thing regarding this is that my brother out of nowhere asked me what I did to his car because he is consistantly seeing 20-30 extra miles on a tank of gas and I never told him what kind of oil I put in it. . Thats a good sign.

Patman · Feb 19, 2003

quote:

Originally posted by Ryan00TJ:
There was also a short run of SL Tri Synthetic Mobil 1 just before the new SuperSyn was introduced. All SuperSyn carries the SL designation. I've heard rumors of the SL TriSynthetic being close to the SuperSyn formula but with out the Moly. As Mobil noticed that the formula was defficient in boundary lube protection they reformulated and included Moly and whallla SuperSyn. I wish I would have run an Analysis on a SL TriSyn batch I ran over the summer to see how close in fact it was to the current formula SuperSyn.

Never fear! My sister's Honda is now running that rare SL formula TriSynthetic, and I will be draining and sampling it around mid March. It should have between 6-7k on it.

G-MAN · Feb 19, 2003

quote:

Originally posted by Ryan00TJ:
There was also a short run of SL Tri Synthetic Mobil 1 just before the new SuperSyn was introduced. All SuperSyn carries the SL designation. I've heard rumors of the SL TriSynthetic being close to the SuperSyn formula but with out the Moly. As Mobil noticed that the formula was defficient in boundary lube protection they reformulated and included Moly and whallla SuperSyn. I wish I would have run an Analysis on a SL TriSyn batch I ran over the summer to see how close in fact it was to the current formula SuperSyn.

Actually, there's much more to the SuperSyn formula than moly. In fact, tests have shown that the earliest formulation of SuperSyn didn't have any moly.

Mobil got the name "SuperSyn" from the trademark name of its proprietary high vis and high VI PAOs that they have been making for a few years. The base oil blend for Mobil 1 SuperSyn is a mixture of these relatively new PAOs as well as new esters that Mobil developed. In other words, Mobil 1 SuperSyn is not simply SL TriSyn with moly added. It's an entirely new synthetic oil formulation.

MolaKule · Feb 19, 2003

Buster,

Over 3-5k intervals, the Mobil 1 SS and Amsoil ATM oils were equivalent in wear, in terms of the aggreagte wear in ppm/1k.

I never used Trisyn, so have no results.

It does appear that TriSyn SL had moly, but the pre-SL versions did not.

buster · Feb 20, 2003

Thanks Molakule. Do you go for extended drains or just 3-5k?

Regarding the SS formulation, is it that unique other then the Moly addition? I don't see what can be so different about it.

Also, Mobil claims they make the best VI improvers on the market. Why do there oils tend to thin out then? I'm not sure why other oils such as Amsoil/Redline don't have a thinning out problem? In fact, they seem to thicken up. There is an interesting analysis on the 0w-30 at 5k miles from Mobil 1. It actually thickened up!

G-MAN · Feb 20, 2003

quote:

Originally posted by buster:
Also, Mobil claims they make the best VI improvers on the market. Why do there oils tend to thin out then? I'm not sure why other oils such as Amsoil/Redline don't have a thinning out problem? In fact, they seem to thicken up. There is an interesting analysis on the 0w-30 at 5k miles from Mobil 1. It actually thickened up!

A couple of points: Unless a baseline oil analysis of the 0w30 was done, then we don't know if the oil in fact thickened up after 3000 miles. (It was 3000, not 5000.) I tend to think the batch of 0w30 this oil came from was blended on the heavy side, which happens with normal production variations.

As for Mobil 1 always thinning, take a look at the latest LS1 long term test of Mobil 1 5w30. At 5000 miles the viscosity has remained rock stable.

which is better.. mobil 1 supersyn or tri-syn

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