Winter use for TDI, Mobil1 vs Mobil 1 EP

[Whimsey]

Our 2017 Explorer 2.3 EB is due for an oil change for winter use. I have "regular" Mobil1 5w-30 and Mobil 1 5W-30 EP. available for use. I did an UOA for a 6,200 mile winter run on Mobil1 5W-30 previously and the wear metals were fine but the viscosity dipped into the upper 20 wt range, not by much. My wife drives the Explorer exclusively and uses the remote start frequently during the winter. Would the Mobil 1 EP hold up "better" than Mobil1 for ~7,500 miles of these winter use conditions. I'm changing it earlier in the the fall due to lots of spring/summer driving, 8,000 miles, yes I'm doing an UOA. I'm in NJ and have to change my oil outside. I'm 65 and not in good shape so working outdoors in the winter is not going to happen anymore. Though I do enjoy working on my vehicles in decent weather. Thanks

Whimsey

 

[Oily_Thing]

Why not run Mobil 1 AP and a great filter like Fram Ultra and change them once a year?

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

Whimsey I'm seventy five I don't like winter work of the cars. So I do two OCI's first one in April the next one in October I really don't pay much attention to the miles. Highest OCI to date has been 7156 miles. I just pick a sunny day and get it done. It rains a lot here in the Pacific Northwest in the spring and the fall. But in two or three weeks you can depend on a sunny day or at least just a cloudy day. I need about 15 minutes after I have everything lined up to do the change.

 

[bullwinkle]

EP allegedly has higher PAO, I would use that over regular M1. In my xB, 5W30 EP outlasted 0W30 AFE, the EP was in better condition at 10K than the AFE at 7K.

 

[VQ35DE]

I use Mobil 1 AP.

 

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted by bullwinkle
EP allegedly has higher PAO, I would use that over regular M1. In my xB, 5W30 EP outlasted 0W30 AFE, the EP was in better condition at 10K than the AFE at 7K.



As well as at least a slightly higher starting TBN, so a no-brainer choice for winter idling, cold running fuel diluting conditions.

 

[demarpaint]

Given a choice, I'd use the EP.

 

[NO2]

EP is the best value in the M1 lineup.

 

[4WD]

Originally Posted by NO2
EP is the best value in the M1 lineup.


+1 … AP was introduced to draw more attention to EP !

 

[edyvw]

Originally Posted by Whimsey
Our 2017 Explorer 2.3 EB is due for an oil change for winter use. I have "regular" Mobil1 5w-30 and Mobil 1 5W-30 EP. available for use. I did an UOA for a 6,200 mile winter run on Mobil1 5W-30 previously and the wear metals were fine but the viscosity dipped into the upper 20 wt range, not by much. My wife drives the Explorer exclusively and uses the remote start frequently during the winter. Would the Mobil 1 EP hold up "better" than Mobil1 for ~7,500 miles of these winter use conditions. I'm changing it earlier in the the fall due to lots of spring/summer driving, 8,000 miles, yes I'm doing an UOA. I'm in NJ and have to change my oil outside. I'm 65 and not in good shape so working outdoors in the winter is not going to happen anymore. Though I do enjoy working on my vehicles in decent weather. Thanks

Whimsey


Ep.
However, considering tendency of EB to dilute, I would use Euro oils, something ACEA A3/B3 B4.If that vehicle is out of warranty, I would use Castrol 0W40 or Mobil1 0W40.

 

[UG_Passat]

Since you're going to idle the engine more, in a futile effort to warm up the interior, in a highly variable NJ winter... go with 5000 mile oil changes. If you want the 7500 mile OCI, get in, crank up the heated seats, and start driving to warm up the car faster.

Mobil recommends EP or AP (or Truck & SUV) 5w30, not regular Mobil 1.

If LSPI concerns you... then EP and AP are SN Plus, not Truck & SUV (SN only)

AP VOA:
http://www.pqiadata.org/Mobil1_Annual_Protection_5W30.html

Can't find a EP VOA (yet)

 

[ChrisD46]

Originally Posted by JohnnyJohnson
Whimsey I'm seventy five I don't like winter work of the cars. So I do two OCI's first one in April the next one in October I really don't pay much attention to the miles. Highest OCI to date has been 7156 miles. I just pick a sunny day and get it done. It rains a lot here in the Pacific Northwest in the spring and the fall. But in two or three weeks you can depend on a sunny day or at least just a cloudy day. I need about 15 minutes after I have everything lined up to do the change.

*I like this plan for a non - GDI engine using either Castrol or M1 EP synthetic oils ... Twice a year schedule in Oct. and April and my Sedona and Elantra will not see more than 7,500 miles ea. any way .

 

[bbhero]

Originally Posted by edyvw
Originally Posted by Whimsey
Our 2017 Explorer 2.3 EB is due for an oil change for winter use. I have "regular" Mobil1 5w-30 and Mobil 1 5W-30 EP. available for use. I did an UOA for a 6,200 mile winter run on Mobil1 5W-30 previously and the wear metals were fine but the viscosity dipped into the upper 20 wt range, not by much. My wife drives the Explorer exclusively and uses the remote start frequently during the winter. Would the Mobil 1 EP hold up "better" than Mobil1 for ~7,500 miles of these winter use conditions. I'm changing it earlier in the the fall due to lots of spring/summer driving, 8,000 miles, yes I'm doing an UOA. I'm in NJ and have to change my oil outside. I'm 65 and not in good shape so working outdoors in the winter is not going to happen anymore. Though I do enjoy working on my vehicles in decent weather. Thanks

Whimsey


Ep.
However, considering tendency of EB to dilute, I would use Euro oils, something ACEA A3/B3 B4.If that vehicle is out of warranty, I would use Castrol 0W40 or Mobil1 0W40.



I agree with edyvw... Outside of warranty... Castrol 0w40 or M-1 0w40...

 

[Whimsey]

Thanks everybody for your feedback, it's greatly appreciated. I went with the Mobil 1 5W-30 EP for my winter run. I had that and plain Mobil1 5W-30 on hand. Previously the plain Mobil 1 5W-30 did a winter run of 6,200 miles with good wear metal #'s and some viscosity shearing and minor flash point reduction along with "trace" amount of fuel. Hopefully the EP will allow me to go with a slightly longer winter run since I had to change the spring/summer run earlier time wise as I reached over 8,000 miles on "plain" Mobil 1 5W-30 and didn't want to push it further with a small turbo DI engine. And yes I'm sending a sample to BS to see how the 8,000+ miles OCI did in this engine.

Whimsey

 

[Whimsey]

Originally Posted by bbhero


I agree with edyvw... Outside of warranty... Castrol 0w40 or M-1 0w40...


I'm in warranty till 125,000 miles. The concern of LSPI would preclude me from using a high calcium oil in my smallish 2.3L turbo DI engine. So far the plain Mobil1 5W-30 oil has shown real good wear metal #'s even with some shearing when used in the winter and summer for 6,200 & 7,000 mile OCI's respectively.

Whimsey

 

[edyvw]

Originally Posted by Whimsey
Originally Posted by bbhero


I agree with edyvw... Outside of warranty... Castrol 0w40 or M-1 0w40...


I'm in warranty till 125,000 miles. The concern of LSPI would preclude me from using a high calcium oil in my smallish 2.3L turbo DI engine. So far the plain Mobil1 5W-30 oil has shown real good wear metal #'s even with some shearing when used in the winter and summer for 6,200 & 7,000 mile OCI's respectively.

Whimsey

Those oils I mentioned far exceed API SN Plus, if that is your concern.
Also, LSPI is present primarily in small turbo engines, and 2.3ltr is NOT considered small. Just because people in the US think everything has to be V8, remember that 97% of world drives much smaller engines and 2.3ltr is considered in many markets as big engine.
LSPI is primarily concern among engines 1.0ltr to 1.6ltr and turbo, and that is not among all manufacturers.