mike62

Mobil 1 has an oil out there advertised as good for 15K miles. This goes against the traditional rule of 5-6K for normal syn oils. Any one had experience,good or bad, with this? Would like to use this oil if it is truly safe for that many miles.

zheka

I wouldn't trust it on my car

waybomb

It all depends. On operating temperatures, how long at that temperature, operating conditions, engine condition, etc.

I use the FSS on mine.

I did a lot of work in the old days using oil sampling to determine oil change intervals on OTR truck engines and City engines. OTR could get 25,000-35,000 easy using regular old dino Rotella and a centrifugal bypass oil filter. City trucks would get about 7,000 set up the same way. Big difference based on operating conditions.

Some don't trust FSS. I do, based on my experience. Since I am on the road alot (214,000 miles so far on this one), my interval is about 13,000 to 15,000 miles. I use Gold Cap M1 5-30, from WalMart at 27 bucks per 5 quart jug.

austinholloman

So is that company going to buy you a new engine in 30k miles when you have only changed their oil twice? Hell no! Use good judgement. Moving parts at high temps need clean oil. I change my fully synthetic oil in my M3 every 4 or 5k at most no matter what they say... at the end of the day, its your *** when that engine stops running right.

waybomb

What a silly argument. You have taken the oil change mantra of 30 years ago and lived with it. Keep justifying your expense.

Read my post. 214,000 miles using FSS. No knocks, noise, no smoke, 27mpg on the highway.

I guess no engines that had their oil changed every 3000 miles ever blew up, correct? They run forever. And if they did blow up, the lubricant manufacturer gladly bought the consumer a brand new engine. What a dumb argument.

austinholloman

That's not the argument. I don't remember ever saying the words "blow up" anywhere. Simple really. Who's going to pay when the engine stops working? Good you have q car that's made it 214k miles. God only knows what kind of build up is lurking in the engine. That's like the real smart people that said tranny fluid was life time! Did those company's buy people new tranny's at 150k when they failed? No. Do what you want. Just how I see it.

waybomb

I've had the valve covers off at 200,000. Like new.

If you drive in town and never get the oil up to operating temperature for any length of time, yup, you should change every 4000 or so. I also believe FSS would indicate that.

You omnibus change-the-oil-every-4000-miles mantra - XOM, BP, etal, luv ya man.

And how many engines have you rebuilt, designed, machined, etc?

austinholloman

Rebuilt - 7 why does that matter? Should we see who's is bigger next? Like I said do what you want. Unless You or this oil company is buying the OP a new engine when and if I goes I wouldn't tell people that its fine to wait 15k to change oil with out asking a lot more questions. Like how he/she drives the car? Or how many miles are on it now? What type or oil have you been using? Have any leaks? Like I said to each his own.

waybomb

Read my first reply. Read the first sentance. WE AGREE! Jeezuz.

WHY are YOU bent on 5000 miles? I'm not.

I am saying - it depends. If you have FSS, trust it. If you don't, then some decisions need to be made. One is simply thow your money away. Another would be to study the situtation and make an educated decision.

90% highway miles, minimum 1 hour at a time - 13,000 should be no problem.
Trips to the neighborhood grocery store, once a week, no warm up time, better do it in a year, which may only be 300 miles.



ps - Mine are bigger than yours.

austinholloman

PS you crack me up. :-)

saintz

+1

Trust the FSS. It tracks how you drive and adjusts based on that.

Look at it this way... the company selling you the oil tells you the oil will last for 15k miles. If it really only lasted 5k, why would they tell you 15k and sell 3 times less oil?

Mercedes is very particular about what oils you can and can't use, and even they say (based on the FSS programming) that you can do over 10k miles on the oil.

I would recommend to only use Mobil 1 0w40 (or another approved oil). Although 5w30 seems "close," and it is in terms of viscosity at different temperatures, the additive packages and formulation are totally different. There is a reason that 0w40 is generally not sold anymore at discount stores like Walmart and is rarely available in 5 quart jugs. It's better oil than 5w30 or any other weight, and it's generally only sold in the full price, single quart containers. Advance Auto sometimes runs 5 quarts for $30: stock up on the good stuff.

zheka

I live in Florida, and I was told not to use 0w40, case its too (thin or thick, cant remember the term). I have 01 E320 with 106K miles, and I live in the SUPER hot state Florida, should I still use 0w40?

Benzo 003

0W40 is fine for Florida, it protects from -50 F to +400 F....my mid west dealer has just switched to 5w40 by the facotry recommendations. The 5w40 will give you more "heat" protection, for peace of mind. Just make sure you dont you use the ESP 5W40....that's for a diesel.
I'm sticking with 0W40 every 10k...

saintz

This is a quote off Mobil's website regarding the Mobil 1 0W40:
0W40 is basically magical oil. When it's cold, it flows like water (the 0W means it's very low viscosity when cold). When it's hot, it sticks like glue (40 means it is high viscosity when hot). 5W30 is inferior oil: in cold conditions, it's thicker and gums up more, and in hot conditions, it's thinner and doesn't coat as well. This is one reason that 0W40 is recommended, and also why it's harder and generally more expensive to find compared to any of the other, inferior weight oils. The other reason is that 0W40 has a better additive package (detergents, friction modifiers, etc.).

Bear in mind that your engine runs at between 80 and 100 degrees Celsius, which is around 180 to 210 degrees Fahrenheit. In FL (or where I live in SC) it's maybe 100F. So your engine, after warming for about 5 minutes, is running at twice the temperature of the atmosphere, meaning your oil is way hotter than the air around you. In other words, the climate you live in is generally irrelevant to your oil choice.

The exception is with regard to cold starts. If you live somewhere cold, you need a low winter weight (like 0W or 5W). If you live somewhere warm, you don't (a 10W might work). But 0W40 is magical oil. It starts in Alaska (0W winter weight). It runs well in a hot engine in a hot climate (40 weight).

If your oil was an umbrella, 0W40 is a golf umbrella. It has you fully covered, from cold starts to hot operating temps. 10w30 is a pocket umbrella. It's not as good when it's cold, and it also doesn't lubricate as well when your engine is at operating temperature.

saintz

Mobil answers this question perfectly, so I'll quote them:

saintz

Regarding the additive package, which is the other main difference between oil weights, here's the chart from Mobil: http://www.mobil.com/USA-English/Mot...duct_Guide.pdf

Note that 0W40 has more Phosphorous and Zinc added compared to most other oils they make. In other words, even if you live in a warm climate and can get away with running 10W40 instead of 0W40, it has a different additive package and won't provide the same longevity and protection.

ejsheltra

Don't forget the quality of the filter you use.

Air Marshall Eldritch

Jiffy Lube is quite pleased the 'every 3000 miles' mantra is still floating around.

My FSS would approach 15k when I drove almost exclusively long-distance highway. Now that I rarely use the car, and for local short trips,it has shortened considerably.

lkchris

See http://papers.sae.org/2007-01-4133/

zheka

"saintz" you also mentioned about oil temperature runs at "80 and 100 degrees Celsius". When i look at my oil temp gauge, it always show its at 88-90. (not when its cold starts of course). after i drive a mile or so, it climbs to the 90 mark. Even though 80 is the middle of the gauge. Thats normal? (bear in mind, i'm in Florida)

ejsheltra

Interesting read Kent. I had heard of similar results learned from a neighbor that had worked for Mobil Oil Corporation for many years. He had a fleet car that was in their test program on oil wear and need of frequency of drain. The rule was batch one involved a tear down at 150k miles and batch 2 at 200k miles. the deal was no oil change allowed. At 5000 miles the filter was changed and sufficient oil to top off. Mobil One full synthetic was used, 5w-30. At 200k his motor was torn down and resulting bearing wear was minimal and cylinder wear was less than 4/1000 of an inch taper from top to bottom. that is barely breakin. Obviously oils have improved since the time of this test which was in the early 1980's. But it goes to show the quality of the product. The oil filters used were Wiks (or Wix, not sure of spelling) Brand. this was for a fleet of Chevy Impalas.

waybomb

Awesome.

saintz

The temp gauge is actually monitoring coolant temps, but those should be similar enough to your oil temps. The thermostat opens at 80 degrees C, so that should be the minimum temperature once the car is warmed up. The fans turn on at 90 degrees C, so anything below 90 means the car isn't actively trying to cool itself. Totally normal. On a very hot day with the AC running, you may get above 90, which doesn't indicate a problem, but just means it's hot and the car is having trouble keeping cool. You don't need to worry until you're over 100 or so.

Sathinas

100 degrees is nothing on a pressurized cooling system.

Typical coolant won't boil until about 120C in a typical car's cooling system. The good stuff won't boil until 375F (190C), and even that, a 0 PSI. That means you can leave your expansion tank cap off, and the good stuff won't even notice it's not there, and still only boil at 375F. Of course, long before the good stuff starts boiling, your engine oil will be toast.

zheka

thank you guys, I was kinda afraid that was pretty high, thank you for all the information.