Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications General Mods What oil to use

i use mobil1 and i likes it

Originally posted by ANDYW:

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Most he(re) run Mobil 1 which is now considered a semi synthetic!

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Umm, that's nothing I am aware of. AFAIK, the new "SuperSyn" is the same old formulation of Tri-Synthetic with additional anti-wear additives.

But I'm all ears. Can you point me to something that goes into detail about this?

Call me square, but I use good ole FMC/Motorcraft Super Premium 5W-30 from AZ w/ a FL-820S oil filter. If Ford says to use it, it has to be the end all be all of oil/filters, eh? lol

Originally posted by ANDYW:

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5w30, same as dino! Most he run Mobil 1 which is now considered a semi synthetic!

-andy

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There was huge discussion a few months back because Mobil was changing their formulation a bit as well as their labeling. New gov standards, and all, and some folks were worried that they were giving up the moral high ground with regards to offering a "true" synthetic to the masses. Lots of real techies over on VWVortex with long discussions about very arcane details regarding exactly which specific elements of "performance" were being improved/detrimented/traded off/etc. Some people were panicking and rushing out to buy the last of the old stuff before it went away. Silly.

Bottom line is it is still a full synthetic, or at least that has been my interpretation now that the dust has settled.

Last I read the Gov't uped the percentage of synthetic oil required for a synthetic like Modil One to be called synthetic!
-Andy

Just go Amsoil full synthetic 5W-30 with an Amsoil SDF-11 filter . . .you can chanhe your oil ever 25,000 miles or every 6 months, it's ALWAYS clean, has great cold startup (-40F) and my engine runs better than ever. It's $5.50/qt through spmotorsports.com, $5.70 everywhere else on the web, and like $9 at local stores. It's their filter, when combined with their oil, it just has the best filtering capactity on the market, and you don't have to change it that often because of it. I've been doing a change every 6 months (which is about 6,000 miles for me), even though I could go longer primarily because Houston is such a dirty city and my car is taxed with all that gunk.

my $.02, and yes, it is an opinion, but a tried and true one. . .

Suneil

Originally posted by ssmumich00:

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I could go longer primarily because Houston is such a dirty city and my car is taxed with all that gunk.

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How does all that GUNK on the outside of your car break down your motor oil faster?

I stick with Mobile 1, I can buy it anywhere, and since I'ce started using it my car runs smoother, a little quieter (maybe it's in my head, who knows?), but noticabe difference is that the temp guage is lower than when I was using Penzoil.

Originally posted by ANDYW:

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Last I read the Gov't uped the percentage of synthetic oil required for a synthetic like Modil One to be called synthetic!
-Andy

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No.

Mobil took Castrol to court for calling it's snake oil "synthetic" even though the base stocks were derived from conventional petroleum (or something like that.)

The gov, or the NAD, or whatever, sided with Castrol. The SAE got out of the business of trying to define the term "synthetic" back in the early 90's, so by the time this case came around, I guess Mobil didn't have a leg to stand on in court.

So, the ruling of the court was that since the word "synthetic" is so ill-defined, that Castrol has as much right to use the term as anyone else. Heck, any oil could be marketed as synthetic, since it doesn't occur naturally.

So, basically, there is no government required percentage or standard of any kind on what the word "synthetic" really means.

So are we getting ripped off? That depends.

I think Mobil is just as synthetic as it has always been. Which means, that the base stock is 100% PAO synthetic. I've read reports that bash Mobil for using conventional petroleum as a "carrier" or "process" oil, but within that same report, the author defined process oil as "non-lubricant oil used in the production..." to serve as a solvent/carrier for additives. Doesn't sound like a big deal to me, and the author had an axe to grind and a product to sell.

Is it worth 4x the cost of regular oil? That depends. You certainly can't go wrong using conventional oil with regular changes, and some people have done engine teardowns after 150k and measured no significant difference in wear. But others have had their oil analyzed and seen appreciable differences between engine wear indicators. Finally, Grassroots Motorsports found actual horsepower gains (2 hp) in switching to Red Line synthetics.

So, if actual wear at high mileage is your main concern, then dino is fine. But if you feel that less friction is a good thing (more hp, less heat, smoother running, etc.) than the right "synthetic" might be for you, whatever the word means.

That is a much better explanation that the one I was given. Thanks. When I'm wrong I like to know.

I'm wrong!

-Andy

Originally posted by ANDYW:

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That is a much better explanation that the one I was given. Thanks. When I'm wrong I like to know.

I'm wrong!

-Andy

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Always happy to help...