Mobil 1 synthetic vs 15000 mi synthetic vs 1 year synthetic

[KennyG]

I have no issue with following the computers oil change recommendation, but I don't think that the computer takes time into consideration. Most manufacturers require a yearly change. That's probably why Mobile One states 15, 000 or 1 year. Check your owners manual. It could affect a warranty claim if a dealer wants to push it.

I think the "time" measurement is different on different cars. I had a Chevy Cobalt that was not driven much and the computer didn't alert after a year, but I now have a Ford Fusion that isn't getting a lot of miles and it seems to alert after a year even with limited mileage.

 

[timswi]

My oil life monitor goes off at around 6k..I tow but not always heavy--I change around 7500. Mobile1 and K&N filters. Never had a problem..Guess I might be conservative in my aproach but it has worked for me.

 

[90cummins]

I think the "time" measurement is different on different cars. I had a Chevy Cobalt that was not driven much and the computer didn't alert after a year, but I now have a Ford Fusion that isn't getting a lot of miles and it seems to alert after a year even with limited mileage.

When synthetic oils came out they were slow to gain acceptance because they were expensive and people would not believe the claims of 20,000 mile or 1 year oil changes that Mobil-1 originally claimed myself included.
Now they are popular and in many instances required so we willingly pay for the performance benefits although most users don't use the extended drain capabilities.
I became a believer in the 80's thru testing we performed while developing the US ARMIES BRADLEY FIGHTING VEHICLE's HMPT-500-3 (600hp) hydrostatic steering transmission in Dalton Massachusetts..
In those days the oil fill of 15 gallons would be good for 110 hours of Dyno time before efficiency was noticeable and required changing.
Engineering wanted to see the benefits of the synthetics if any so a test was performed.
As mentioned above the Mil Spec oil used which was Shell Rotellta T 15w40 required 110 hour changes.
The synthetic oil tested was Mobil Delvac-1 5w40 and controlled testing confirmed that performance loss was negligible after 440 hours with no oil changes.
Teardown and inspection of the transmission revealed that all internal components were suitable for continued use.
Soooo the transmission was reassembled and the test was continued using the (used original oil fill) and continued for another 440 hours for a total of 880 hours of on point testing and a total run time of over 1000 hours which included start & warmup and time between test point changes (ON ORGINAL OIL FILL).
That experience proved to me the benefits and I've used synthetics almost exclusively.
So to get back on topic I feel that The Marketing Department's define specific uses for the same oil & re-badge it to target your specific vehicle type and/or driving style with little or no performance gains.
I would suggest using cheapest name brand oil. The oils MAY be slightly different but all will perform fine.
My 2cents
90cummins

 

[Gale Hawkins]

You might find this Blackstone Labs research interesting. The only issue I see is that despite using synthetic oils, the folks sending in their oil samples were changing oil around the 4,000-mile mark :confused3:.

https://www.blackstone-labs.com/Newsletters/Gas-Diesel/July-1-2017.php

Thanks for the link since we picked up our first ever Subaru and it has over 100K miles on it. It was good to see Rotella T6 5W-40 had a slight edge over all of the other motor oil tested in that generation of Subaru turbo engines.

 

[WilliamBos]

My oil life monitor goes off at around 6k..I tow but not always heavy--I change around 7500. Mobile1 and K&N filters. Never had a problem..Guess I might be conservative in my aproach but it has worked for me.

Just curious, does your OLM drop to 20% at 5,000 miles? After the 3.6 timing chain troubles GM did a hard reprogram so it hit 20% at 5,000 miles and 0% at 7,500 miles.

 

[RalphVa]

I have no idea what the difference is between regular M1 and M1 for high mileage, etc. Changed our Mazda3 near 10k to regular M1.

On our VW Jetta TDI, could not get the special exhaust M1 for it; so, changed at 10k miles for 6 years using the dealer's Castrol 5w30 formulated for the TDIs. VW claims no engine failure issues due to lubrication using 10k changes.

Was doing some research on synthetic oils. Seems both Mobil and Castrol have Group IV oils (e.g. full synthetic, not hydrotreated stuff). Not sure where Castrol gets their oils from now: probably from the oil refinery that their parent owns now. They used to buy all their US oils from Exxon. I worked the last 6 years of my working life at Baton Rouge. We sold gobs of base oil to Castrol then (prior to 2000). Baytown, the largest base oil producer in the world, sold lots to Castrol. Just after I retired, Baytown started up a plant to make synthetic oil out of some of their slack wax. Not much longer, Exxon and Mobil merged. Not sure what happened to the synthetic oil from Baytown.

Recently saw 0w20 by Castrol at Walmart. It's half the price of M1. Wondering about it. Now that we have 2 gasoline cars instead of our VW TDI, am using only 0w20. Even using it in my Tacoma that calls for 5w30 (don't think 0w20 was out much in 2005). So, using nothing but 0w20 in the vehicles but using the Castrol 5w30 diesel stuff (from VW) in my Isuzu diesel generator. Change the Tacoma's oil about every 3 years or so and plan to change the generator's oil about every 5 or so.

Ralph

 

[Copperhead]

Mobil 1 5w30 high mileage..... Petroleum Quality Institute of America

Mobil 1 5w30..... Petroleum Quality Institute of America

Best I can tell, the HM variety has a higher level of zinc. Everything else is relatively close in formulation. Seems like more of a marketing thing.

 

[marchanna]

It's always marketing.

For high mileage, I think the best thing to do is just bump up the viscosity a little, ie, go from an Xw30 to an Xw40. Really, what are the needs of a higher mileage engine? Everything's a little sloppier, so a little thicker oil will help, such as improve compression a little. If there's residue or other junk that needs to be cleaned out, that's what seafoam is for. Maybe change the oil a little more frequently.

Those 0w20 oils do not last long and they're highly subject to foaming. Generally, they will give you a little better fuel economy, but they're only good for about 5,000kms (3,000miles). They break down really fast. I've used them for a while in my gassers, and they just really start foaming bad if you try to push them too far.

 

[Copperhead]

And even if I had a vehicle that called for 0w20, I would never use less than 5w20. Far more shear stable and uses far fewer viscosity modifiers in the mix. And there is not a dealer or OEM on the planet that can tell the difference between 0w20 and 5w20 if they tested it. 5w20 is rated down to -30C / -22F and a 0w20 is rated down to -35C / -31F. Not a lot of folks see actual temps that low except in the northern most tier of the country and Canada. No... wind chill doesn't count!

 

[MacLawn]

I've researched WAY too much about oil:

The higher the psi the oil has, the better.

Wear protection reference categories are:

Over 105,000 psi = INCREDIBLE wear protection

90,000 to 105,000 psi = OUTSTANDING wear protection

75,000 to 90,000 psi = GOOD wear protection

1. 5W30 Pennzoil Ultra, API SM synthetic = 115,612 psi.

2. 5W30 Mobil 1, API SN synthetic = 105,875 psi

3. 10W30 Valvoline VR1 Synthetic Racing Oil, API SL (black bottle) = 101,139 psi

4. 5W20 Castrol Edge with Titanium, API SN synthetic = 99,983 psi

5. 5W30 Pennzoil “Ultra” Platinum, Pure Plus Technology, made from pure natural gas, API SN = 99,039 psi This oil was introduced in 2014, and comes in a dark gray bottle with a blue vertical stripe on the label.

6. 0W20 Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy, API SN synthetic = 96,364 psi

7. 5W20 Mobil 1, API SN synthetic = 94,663 psi

8. 5W20 Valvoline SynPower, API SN synthetic = 94,460 psi