xB-Mobil 1- after four tanks

[ChromiumSteel]

Numbers after four tanks.

33.33
32.45
32.95
32.42
31.42
30.975
30.59
31.22
32.1
32.719
30.08
31.826
32.297
32.67
33.33
30.31
34.789
31.7
37.035 < Mobil 1 5W-30
37.6757
34.25
35.953

 

[mechtech]

OK. I'll bite. What is xB Mobil 1?
And how did you get all those numbers from 4 tanks? Are you averaging every time you let off and on the gas pedal?

 

[goodvibes]

Probably a Scion XB with gas mileage history, the last 4 being M1. Showing over a 10% improvement which doesn't seem possible without other variables.

 

[ALS]

What were you running before the Mobil 1?

 

[Eddie]

Highly unlickly to see that much difference UNLESS the old oil was higher viscosity or very poor quality. When I changed over to Mobil 1 (engine and 2 differentals in a Subaru) my mileage went up 0.4 % with a SD of 0.16.

 

[ChromiumSteel]

The stealership has a Mobil sign outside of the door to the service dept. After last free oil change I drained the dino and put in Mobil 1. I've kept track of every tank since new. The vehicle had 6420.2 miles on the clock at last fill.

 

[LarryL]

You're saying 4 tanks of oil, not for tanks of gas, which means you're talking about 4 oil changes. To go from 31mpg to 37mpg is quite a jump. Must have been a big change in conditions.

 

[AstroVic]

This is almost certainly not because of the oil you used. I religiously tracked the oil use in my old 2001 Honda Civic, which I had purchased brand new. Every single tank was filled full and carefully logged. I changed to Mobil 1 oil/filters at about 10,000 miles in that car and I never noticed any significant improvement in fuel economy. None.

That said, what you're probably seeing is the result of two things:

1 - The car is breaking in. Cars tend to increase their fuel economy as they break in.

2 - It's obvious that you are concerned with fuel economy (your choice of car + logging each tank tells us that much!), so it's my hunch that you might be subconciously going easier on the gas pedal because you WANT or EXPECT to see an increase with Mobil 1. I'm not saying you'd do this on purpose, but it's a very real possibility.

A very slight increase is possible, although I personally never noticed one after 70,000+ miles of nothing but Mobil 1 oil/filters in my Civic.

Just my two cents.

 

[ChromiumSteel]

Actually I'm a Honda guy and this thing can't match Civics I've had. I'm Swiss. I'm cheap(thrifty) like my dad. 81 years old comfortably retired and stops his car and picks up cans to cash in the deposit!
I'm a truck driver. I always strive to get the most MPG I can. Wish some of these full size pick-up drivers would do the same.
Been using M-1 for years. Last Toyota I had was a '94 4Runner. Manual trans. Rated 15-18. Was able to get up to 22 MPG after changing all fluids to Syn. Valvoline 75W-90 in trans and diffs.

 

[mechtech]

C.S. Anyway, good work! The world needs more people like you!

 

[AndyH]

quote:

---

Originally posted by ChromiumSteel:
The stealership has a Mobil sign outside of the door to the service dept. After last free oil change I drained the dino and put in Mobil 1. I've kept track of every tank since new. The vehicle had 6420.2 miles on the clock at last fill.

---

Could it be due to the dealer using a bulk conventional oil of a greater viscosity in all vehicles service there? Perhaps they use 10W-40? Just a thought.

 

[surfstar]

ChromiumSteel, if you look at the averages you get from each data set, there is a statistical difference between the numbers.
http://www.physics.csbsju.edu/stats/t-test_bulk_form.html

You have enough data to show that there is a difference. As long as there were no other changes (i.e. engine break-in, weather warming, driving habits) you can attribute it to the M1. It's hard to elimate all the variables in a real world test, but if its repeated enough it will become more robust.

So if you can repeat it by running dino again and seeing the MPG drop, it makes your case for M1 increasing mileage even stronger. But of course its hard to prove that there was no bias, as you know which oil is in the crankcase.

Anyways, keep up the testing and data logging.

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

"I'm cheap(thrifty) like my dad. 81 years old comfortably retired and stops his car and picks up cans to cash in the deposit!"
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