The rarely seen Mobil Special, TDS

Status
Not open for further replies.
Last edited:
Yeah Nygotha it is just fine for short runs. TBN is good at 8.6 and the rest of the results look actually just fine as well. I ran some of this in my car and it did just fine.
 
At $37/12 quart case at BJs, it's a great choice for those with normally aspirated vehicles adhering to severe service oil changes.

 
Originally Posted By: wemay

At $37/12 quart case at BJs, it's a great choice for those with normally aspirated vehicles adhering to severe service oil changes.




Not really a good price for a low level dino, especially when you have to pay to shop there
crazy2.gif


If it was $10 cheaper, it might be a decent buy.
 
^^^ Yeah, it's nothing "special" and neither is the price. I've never used this oil before, and I see no reason to use it with all the other choices on the market.
 
I agree with you Wemay that for $3.08 a quart is a decent deal. This oil is also approved Ford Ford Wss-m2c-946. Which means it has the same approvals has Castrol GTX, Pennzoil, and Mobil Super. This is the everyday price by the way. It has been on sale for $27.99 a 12 qt case. That makes it a very good deal at that price point.
 
I don't know what makes it a "low level dino". If it's the VOA additive chemistry, Valvoline doesn't show anything special either but the UOA are as good as any other major. Other's would point towards Mobil Special's positioning in the Mobil line of products. That i agree with but it doesn't mean that all their oils aren't excellent.
 
Mobil 5000 is guaranteed by XOM for 5K miles.

Mobil Special is guaranteed by XOM for 4K miles.

Ergo, Mobil Special is below Mobil 5000.

QED
 
Not meaning to give you a hard time here Nygotha I just have a bit of a different take on this deal. That is true about the 5k for Super vs the Special. But really a 1k mile difference is not all that much of a "difference" at the end of the day. And as we all know here a UOA is the best way to tell if or how long an oil will be good for. And I'd bet Mobil Special would hold up longer than 4k miles in a number of applications. Just like Mobil Super was actually good for 12-14k miles for PSD's old Ford truck. Well, well past the hoopty Doo 5k miles of "warranty". The viscosity held up by very well, flash point was high and wear metals were low as Pennzoil Ultra. Again, I would bet Mobil Special would perform rather well past 4k miles in some applications as well. And we all question these "warranty's" made by the oil companies as well. Hard to take them but so seriously. These supposed "warranty mileages" really are just a advertising selling point /guide than anything else.
 
Last edited:
Good points, but wemay did ask for criteria for ranking. Thus re-stating the benchmarks used.

If XOM considered it a superior dino oil, wouldn't it have a higher warranty than their standard retail offering?

In any case I still have a big stash of $0.99 / qt QSUD to run from when I lived near a Menard's, so I personally no longer have a bone to pick in the conventional oil arena anyway. But I ran lots & lots of Exxon Superflow in my prior truck in SE Louisiana on 3K to 5K O/FCI without complaints. Mobil Special was advertised as its replacement, perhaps a stepping stone to Mobil 5000?
 
Last edited:
My opinion here is that Mobil has too many product lines. Most oil companies run 3-4 lines. Of course more choice might be a better way for consumers but it can also confuse consumers as well.
 
Here's Exxon Superflow for comparison. I ran cases of the 5W-30 in my wife's 1998 Trans Am and cases of the 10W-30 in my 2001 5.9L Ram 1500 Sport. I cleaned out our local rural Autozone when these were put on clearance.

http://www.pqiamerica.com/exxonlabelrevnew.htm

Mobil Special has more calcium but less moly. Exxon Superflow has lower NOACK.

Vis profiles look similar.

Same base stock? Who knows? One data point for Exxon Superflow and two for Mobil Special doesn't make for a comprehensive analysis.
 
Yeah I agree with ya Nygotha. Mobil Special is considered a lower tier by Mobil. It has 15% less additives than Mobil Super. Which does make a difference at the end of the day. On that point I certainly agree that is why Mobil Super did so well in PSD2015's former Ford truck. And I would not recommend Mobil Special for a run anywhere near that long. Only UOAs would give the answer of how long it truly is in a given application. I bet Mobil Special could run 8k miles in the right applications.

As far as base stocks again I think you are right on with your analysis here.

And PimTac you are right too... Too many flavors here with their stuff. It's like they are making ice cream
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted By: bigt61
It's an OK oil - but it's easier and cheaper to just buy SuperTech dino at Walmart.

I agree, and if I ever buy motor oil online to have shipped to my home (which will probably never happen), it wouldn't be Mobil Special. There's no reason for me to search this oil out.

I've seen this oil in a store only once, and that was at a Mobil gas station. Needless to say, the price was too high. I told a co-worker of mine about it, and he said the "Special" in the name of the product made it sound like it was cheap, low quality oil, lol.
 
Originally Posted By: PimTac
My opinion here is that Mobil has too many product lines.

If Mobil is running too many product lines, you might not want to look at Shell's offerings.
 
SOPUS offers many heavily overlapping product lines in various brands, but XOM does as well.
By my count, there are seven different flavors of M1 on offer here, all but two (TDT and Euro) in a variety of grades. There are four different flavors of M1 0W-20, just as an example and there's also an MSS 0W-20.
It's all about marketing and retail shelf facings.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top