GetSome681

I've been using the Mobil 1 fully synthetic oil, 10W-30, in my 2k max since I got it. Now it seems that they have changed it around. In all reality I'm sure it's the same, but the stupid marketing people have to do stupid stuff to try and sell stuff as always. Now, the 10W-30 I used to use is now marketed towards higher mileage older cars. Also, they introduced a 15W-50 one, which they market towards more performance oriented automobiles. Anyone use mobil 1 full synthetic and also notice this difference? Would anyone recommend the 15W-50. I live in Florida, and Georgia (home, and college home) and so cold temps obviously aren't a problem, and I'd end up changing the oil before winter anyways. Just curious if anyone else who uses this oil has noticed it, and what they plan on using after the change. Thanks!!!

johnny2kgle

I believe that Mobil 1 still makes the regular Tri-Synthetic formula. I liked it much better than regular oil when I tried it. Unless you get a supercharger or turbo, you do not need 15w-50. 15w-50 will kill your fuel mileage. The valves on new engine have tighter tolerances, hence the need for lighter weight oil. 10w30 Mobil is the heaviest weight you will need even in the Deep South. The flashpoint is 400+ degrees.

I have since changed to Amsoil 5w-30 and enjoy the less frequent oil changes, 2 per year. Just a personal preference. Mobil 1 is the best off the shelf mass market synthetic.

ChillWill2000

I also live in the deep south; mississippi gulf coast. I used 5w 30 fully synthetic. I read that I would get better performance w/10 w 30.

Which should I use for the best performance? I dont really care about gas mileage.

[maxi-overdose]

iTrader: (3)

Mobil 1 changed their formular to hydroisomerization in order to compete with Syntech (after they lost the law sue...they decided to follow the footstep) nothing wrong with syntec's isomerization....it just a cheaper way to make synthetic from chemical found in nature.

Mobil 1 didnt score that well on wear testing...asmoil score the top...

srbarnes4ever

The "new" super syn formula is a downgraded version of the Tri-synthetic, which was itself a slightly downgraded version compared to several years ago. Mobil is slowly, but surely turning into a Castrol Syntec, very little true synthetic base stocks; rather petroleum base stocks chemically converted into better stock...but still a long ways from polyalphaolefin or ester base stocks which are true synthetics found in Amsoil and Redline respectively. My suggestion is go buy all the Tri synthetic you can still find in 5 or 10 w 30 and if that fails, buy Amsoil. Good luck!

gxe01

This figures they change oil to meet the new SL ILSAC 3 standards and raise price of oil. Oh and also make it not fully synth. Also if you notice the cold start temp is now higher and the same for all oils. Think I just might change back to dino!

Highlander

Amsoil oils are ALL synthetic (except they do make one blend).

GXE01 - I'm not sure what you mean by the ???

srbarnes4ever

I took that to mean that Mobil has updated their pour point temperature since this latest downgrade of base stock material. Since there is less pure synthetic base stocks, the minimum pour point temp. would likely raise some amount.

bill99gxe

iTrader: (1)

My initial impressions were that this new Super Synthetic would actually go back to a full synthetic based oil, before the Tri-Synthetic came out. Should these assertions be valid about the Super Synthetic being nothing more than Castrol Syntec, then Mobil 1 will lose my recommendation and shouldn't be used by anyone here.....




Please don't use 15W/50 in the VQ.......that syrup should be used in old domestic V8s only.....

theblue

so bill, master of oil knowledge - what oil do you recommend for the average maxima? (something I don't have to mail order please)

srbarnes4ever

[QUOTE]Originally posted by bill99gxe
[B]My initial impressions were that this new Super Synthetic would actually go back to a full synthetic based oil, before the Tri-Synthetic came out. Should these assertions be valid about the Super Synthetic being nothing more than Castrol Syntec, then Mobil 1 will lose my recommendation and shouldn't be used by anyone here.....


I can't find the links I was reading this on Bill, but I'm all but certain that this Super syn is their response to losing the lawsuit against Castrol....thus they've made their oil more cost effective by reducing the overall synthetic base stock value. Plus they raised the price a tad too I think....nice way to increase margin but they are definitely becoming another Castrol Syntec.....It'll be interesting to get a few oil analyses done on this super syn version. The very fact that it touts its usage as for "higher mileage vehicles" tells me its a lesser grade product with additional additives and dino base stocks.

srbarnes4ever

Any particular qualms against mail order my friend? If you're a Mobil One fan, get all the Tri-synthetic you can find or try Valvolines full synthetic version as its supposed to be pretty solid. For the price though, I'd order a case (12 1 qt.) at a time of Amsoil's mid-grade synthetic and be a happy camper. You can get it at cost through several Org. members.

AltyPaul

And how do you support your "definitely becoming" statement? I'm watching this development closely. I use Mobil 1 and I'm trying to figure out if I'm going to stay with it. I think people are assuming they are going backwards in their formulation. I would like to see that assertion supported by hard data. If Mobil 1 was going to a less expensive formulation, why is their price going up? That fact doesn't seem logical.

srbarnes4ever

Hey AltyPaul, I'm trying to dig up the link(s) that talked about this previously but so far no dice. I'll keep digging though. I'm not trying to flame Mobil One here because I've used it for 150k miles in my trusty Ford Escort (don't laugh!). You have to realize too though that they are in the business to make money. They lost a chunk in lawsuits against Castrol that they didn't win so if you can't beat em......I suspect that they are migrating towards joining them. Price increases are part of business, why not roll up the price on a "new, improved" version of their oil. It increases their margin and pays for advertising the new model. Let me keep digging though and see what hard data I can find.

bill99gxe

iTrader: (1)

For stuff you can get locally without mail order

Dino oil:

Castrol GTX
Pennzoil

Synthetic oil:

Valvoline FULL synthetic
Pennzoil FULL synthetic


Blend (i.e. halfass) oils:

None, they are a waste of money

Mobil 1 is off my recommendation list until the Super Synthetic formula is examined more closely

More importantly, oil filters:

STP
Bosch Premium
Nissan OEM
Mobil 1

djmaxski

Anyone have a preference, Valvoline synthetic vs Pennzoil synthetic for when the Mobil 1 Tri-Synthetic stock is gone???

srbarnes4ever

Valvoline tests pretty well in most wear tests against other synthetics...not familiar with Pennzoils version but likely solid as well. As Bill mentioned though, filtration make sure to get a good (not Fram) filter.

djmaxski

Ok, thanks. I've already been using the Mobil 1 filter with Mobil 1, so I've got the filtration taken care of. Like everyone else, I'm just concerned about what the new Mobil 1 will be like and was looking for options. I've considered Amsoil, but with my driving I've been changing the oil regularily, so I'm kind of interested in something cheaper that still offers good protection. I guess I could always try Amsoil, get an oil analysis done and see what happens.

srbarnes4ever

That's what I'm doing also. I've used Amsoil and changed it at around the 7500 mile mark with an Amsoil filter but I just went 12,500 between a change (4 months) and am now awaiting the oil analysis results....we'll see what happens as they should arrive any day now.

IceY2K1

iTrader: (3)

Bill99gxe can we still submit Oil Analysis to your other thread in the General forum?

I've been religiously using Kendall(dino), but recently switched to Mobile 1(dino) for convienence. Next, I will be going synthetic and I will be using Redline. I FINALLY decided to keep the Max for the LONG haul.

Do you have an analysis of the Redline yet? I don't think I saw one. Anyways, it will be awhile(6K miles) since I just changed my oil to the Mobile 1, but I just wanted to see if I could help contribute.


My votes:
Kendall GT-1 for dino
Redline 10W-30(Winters ALWAYS above 15-degrees F)/10W-40(Summers regularly exceeding 110-degrees F) for synthetic

My NON-votes:
Castrol GTX, Penzoil/Quaker State(Same thing)


I recently switched from Kendall to Valvoline Max Life and it seems to FOAM in my '93 Sentra, so I'm probably going to try Amsoil in it(just not sure about switching to synthetic after 134K miles). It's not worth putting Redline in it.

[maxi-overdose]

iTrader: (3)

"shouldnt be used by anyone here"
b/c the money u paid for a petroleum based product is the same as that of the true synthetic? Having castrol syntec is still better than other conventional engine oil and it does no damage towards ur engine....unless u changed ur oil once every 3 years.


my 2 cents : to me...it is personal preference and the important thing here is not the type of oil u use but the frequency u change ur oil and filter.

bill99gxe

iTrader: (1)

Please let me know when you get those results in.

IceY2K1

iTrader: (3)

Bill?

Any response?

bill99gxe

iTrader: (1)

Wow, Mobil 1 dino.....I don't know of anyone who uses it.....

Kendall is a good oil with a long history, but I don't see it major parts stores in my area.


There is one Redline analysis done with a Civic coupe, and the results didn't tend to support doing over 10k intervals as Amsoil does. However, I think Redline is a good oil, but the additive package appears to be geared more toward "racing" your vehicle consistently (i.e. driving like Russ ) than just going long intervals....

Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought Valvoline MaxLife was a dino oil with additives for engines over 75k or something like that. I don't recall if the Valvoline full Synthetic bottles say MaxLife. I'm really tired of all the marketing crap that has gone on with oils......especially Castrol....

Foam? The only reasons I know for foaming are overfilling the crankcase and/or antifreeze. Perhaps there was enough Kendall dino oil still in the crankcase to cause a slight overfill when you put the Valvoline in....

My wife's old '92 Sentra was switched from Texaco Havoline dino to Mobil 1 at around 100k and it did fine.

I haven't seen any reason to not recommend Castrol or Pennzoil dino oils from my personal experiences and the relative plethora of oil analysis data on my personal vehicles and also Maximas that have used Castrol GTX in the past.

bill99gxe

iTrader: (1)

To me, getting a Blend is no better than a good dino oil. You don't go any further benefit interval-wise and you don't get any extra protection. So why throw away another buck fifty a quart? Better to spend the extra money burning the hole in your pocket on a decent oil filter.

IceY2K1

iTrader: (3)

It's probably the blend. Definitely not the Trisynthetic. It was just a temporary till I decided what to use next.

I and a few others have had great results with it. However, it is difficult to find and then it's gone from around $2/qt to $2.50/qt, since the recent oil hikes.

I'm not interested in long change intervals. I always change it at 3K(I know not necessary, but it keeps me in "touch" with how the car is running/leaking/dirty), but with Redline prices I'll probably go to 4K. There is NOTHING that protects the upper ring area as well as Redline IMO and that is why I've decided to go for it. That and I only put around 12K/yr., so the cost doesn't matter.

Your right it's a dino. It's for my Sentra with 134K miles. I agree to much marketing BS to know what's dino vs. REAL synthetic. That's why I want to contribute to YOUR oil analysis thread.

I thought it was overfilled, but I check it often. I had run it hard/hot, so I was thinking the oil was foaming. Again, it's in a Sentra w/134K miles, so who knows the reason. Just made me worry, since you can't cool and engine very well with bubbles.

No leaks? I'm going to go with Amsoil then.

I'm not trying to knock your oil, I'm just BIASED towards it probably.


Again, once I get the Blackstone Analysis done on my Sentra(Vavoline Max Life dino) and my Maxima w/Redline, can they be added to your Oil Analysis thread? The Sentra Test Kit is on the way, so the results will be available soon.

[maxi-overdose]

iTrader: (3)

question....I thought we were talking about Amsoil full synthetic vs syntec hydroisomerization. Isnt Blend a half of synthetic and half of dino?

I think my attention is on the performance and protection ability of syntec vs that of pure 100% synthetic.

bill99gxe

iTrader: (1)

Sure, that will be great. The more analyses we get, the less ignorant we appear in general on how oils do. My stance against blends isn't primarily from an analysis standpoint (althought the one with Syntec with a Fram oil filter after 7,200 miles was fairly bad), but just from my belief that blend oils are marketed and gimmicked to the point of pure confusion as to how they are formulated and what benefit they really provide.

bill99gxe

iTrader: (1)

A blend is half and half in theory. Beyond that, I get lost fairly fast.

Until someone is the guinea pig and goes 15k or more on Castrol Syntec with only a filter change over a one year period (as I did with Amsoil on both my 94 and 99 Maximas) I continue to believe that only synthetics have any business going this kind of mileage.....

Initally (first 4k or so), I doubt there is a substantial difference. After that, I would say that's where the dino/blend breaks down much easier than synthetic because of use. It's all about what you're comfortable doing. I'm just trying to add some numbers to justify what individuals believe.

srbarnes4ever

I'm not sure that's exactly right Bill, but I have no direct data to prove otherwise right now. I'm certain I read that synthetic blends could have as low as 20% synthetic stocks in them and were NOT required to be anywhere near 50/50. Man I've gotta find those oil links.....

bill99gxe

iTrader: (1)

Hence my "in theory" preposition.