Mobil 1 0W40 has 1000 ppm of P and 1100 ppm of Zn

Mobil 1 15W50 has 1200 ppm of P and 1300 ppm of Zn

Both these oils have a higher ZDDP content than the 5W30, and both are ACEA A3/B3 rated in terms of High Temperature/High Shear (HTHS), while the Dexos1 approved 5W30 is only ACEA A1/B1.

High levels of ZDDP are not generally recommended for long cat life. But Porsche's and GT-R's use the 0W40 as factory fill and do not require change to a higher 15W50 grade as GM does for the C7 on track.

 

Thanks, I stand corrected. That's what I get for misreading my own darned link.

Now I'm starting to wonder what the additive package is on Extended vs Vanilla since ZDDP is equivalent.

M1 0W-40 is great stuff - I've run that in every application that allows for it under a warranty (along with EU Castrol 0w-40). I still have no idea why GM doesn't include that product/label under the warranty, as it's an overall superior oil when compared to their 5W-30 offerings.

 

Best guess why not? Mileage. Every tenth counts nowdays. If you don't believe that, look at semi trailers. More and more have the "wind shields" below the trailer just to try and get tenths of a mile per gallon.
And I agree with you on the M1 0W-40, great oil.

 

Probably a higher level of dispersant/detergent leading to a higher starting TBN. Mobil 1 doesn't list their TBN, but I'm sure there are VOA on the oil site if you are really interested.

 

C66 & Theta,
Thanks to you both for very informative reads (above).
Sam

 

How about Lucas or Royal Purple are they any good?

 

This SAE 5w30 synthetic motor oil comparison was commissioned by AMSOIL so many (most?) will view it with skepticism, but it does include Lucas and Royal Purple. Not trying to enflame any oil comparison discussions, but I think you can see how the two oils you ask about compare to the others in the group even if you totally discount AMSOIL.
AMSOIL Performance Test: A Study of SAE 5w30 Synthetic Motor Oil

 

I've actually read through this a few times when you've posted it, and I've fact checked it just for the sake of transparency.

Leaving out Amsoil-brand results (which other than this study, we don't have results for), the rest of the product results look correct - so I don't think they're skewing any of the competitors' products.

Just an observation to back you up there.

 

OK, OK, I spent most of the morning reading oil posts, and I may have missed it, but, what does time have to do with oil changes. Say the car is stored each winter in a heated garage, and driven only 900 miles per summer. (Summer is 5-6 months) what oil changes are recommended???????

 

The problem with all this oil chat is that no one is checking wear and tear inside the same model engines over time. How are the bearings doing, how are the cam lobes, how are the exhaust guides doing, the cylinders and rings, etc, etc. Without the option of tearing down multiple engines used under various operating conditions (only normal street driving, or heavy track use for example) and seeing if one oil is actually better than another at protecting the engine's parts, then all one can do is hope the oil one uses will not cause premature engine wear. Who has had to rebuild a modern engine (less than 10 years old) due to excessive wear, and at what mileage? Modern engines are expected to wear at such low rates that they will never need rebuilding during the life of the car. Track use will cause a lot more strain and wear on an engine, but how would one know that given the same operating conditions if one oil would have produced more or less wear than another? Just starting a cold engine causes much of its wear. Best thing is just to change the oil often if putting the engine under severe stress. Compared to all the cost of running a track day, the cost of an oil change is almost irrelevant. I use over $200/day in Sunoco 93 at the Glen per day, not counting tires, rotors, brake pads, brake and other fluid maintenance, plus track day fees, hotel, restaurant, travel to and from track, not to forget presents for wife.


Mobil 1 0W40 or 15W50 costs me $26/5 quarts. I just buy lots of those jugs and change my own oil. I am certain many other oils are great, but so far never had an oil related issue. And I have rebuilt engines used for track that had wear, but never felt the need to change to a different oil, as I never felt a different oil would have made a difference, nor would I have the luxury to actually check.

 

So, so true... Pay to play!

 

This is an important but often overlooked cost of the hobby

 

I flash the oil every time I go to the track 6 times a year with 15/50 and
When I come back I re-install the recommended 5/30 I use full synthetic synpower at NTB $89 and it's Dexos certified

Cheep insurance for a $70K C7 Z51

For $89 change it 2 times and you would not have to worry about it

 

I take mine with me to the Glen and she is darn faster than me, then we go to the finger lakes wineries for a couple days, most friends bring them along even if they don't race and boy do they do some damage at the shops, almost as much the corvette LOL,

 

After reading the Amsoil test data you referenced I have a number of questions about the Mobile 1 I just put in my C7! Have not raised this issue in this thread but I am still wondering about mainly one item, “coking” in a DI engine. I am not a petroleum engineer but was an early adopter of Mobile 1, for my 1974 260Z, when I paid a large premium for the product. It solved an acceleration problem when used as the damping fluid in the twin Hitachi SU’s as the Datsun district manager said it would! However after buying a quart and reading about this new synthetic oil I was told Mobile made for the military in Alaska I put it in my Corvair where, even with a finned aluminum pan etc, the oil ran very hot and would form foam visible in the oil intake tube. It solved that problem as well! I’ve used it ever since including currently in the 502 cid 525 hp engine in my Pro Street Rod. When looking into the “coking” issue in cars that have used DI engines for some time, Ferrari, Porsche, B&W etc, I just discovered this great “original synthetic 70% polalphaolefin (PO) based Mobile 1 I had been using for years is no more! I get many car mags and always have, but I missed this 2000 article in Car & Driver: (http://www.caranddriver.com/columns/...mantics-column)
It’s well written and I liked the author’s comment relating to the Clinton Lewinsky tryst of about that time period: “Now that the meaning of "is" has gotten so slippery you need to grab it with both hands, we'd better keep an eye on longer words, too. One's already gone squirmy on us -- "synthetic," as in synthetic motor oil.” Good read! He discusses how Castrol introduced what some refer to a more highly refined “dino oil” and called it “synthetic.” Mobil tried to stop what they called “false advertising” since this more highly refined “dino oil” base cost half of their and others PO base stock and they said at the time it was inferior! After a two year fight they lost their case! “Synthetic” was deemed to be a “marketing term.” All of the oil companies were apparently economically forced to switch, in the USA. I wondered why “My Mobile 1” price was significantly reduced shortly after!
The Amsoil 2013 publication you referenced compared 10 oils in a number of tests. In an ASTM total deposit test, designed to determine residuals created at high temperature, Amsoil Signature Series had 5 mg residual and Castrol Edge with Titanium only 4 mg. My Mobile 1 Extended Performance had 23 mg, one of the highest! Is the “new synthetic” Mobil 1 much worse in regard to “coking” that the PO based oil? Would the old Mobil 1 have an even lower residual than 4 mg? As mentioned, I am not a petroleum engineer but did manage and R&D group where we developed products that were made from materials that came from the ground. It was not the main ingredient that was the concern but the small residuals that changed with each new batch that caused problems. In that case sulfur, arsenic, etc. So in the Amsoil tests was it that particular batch of Castrol Edge that was better than that batch of “highly refined Mobil 1 “dino oil?” Would other batches tested be reversed? They were both under the 30 mg spec, whatever the maximum means! I was involved on a number of committees in my industry writing product specifications. It was difficult to get consensus on special “low residual” products we made for the nuclear industry, for example. Other manufactures would not allow tight specs to be introduced and often users didn’t understand the implications!

Would the new Pennzoil oil made from natural gas be better in regard to coking? They only advertise that it is 25% "cleaner" than Mobile 1, whatever that means! I don’t expect the car magazines to present the data; the oil companies spend a lot of money advertising! However in a DI engine there is no gasoline with cleaning “additives” hitting the back of the valves to keep coking in check. Only air and PCV residual and burped oil from the dry sump tank oil get to the intake and back of the hot vales! I’m installing a catch can and clean oil separator to reduce the amount of oil residual ingested but would the old PO based oil made from molecules that start off without unwanted residuals be even better? I’ll switch from my old standby Mobil 1 if I saw another consistently had lower residuals.
Assuming all other oil characteristics are fine with most oils for my C7 since I change it often and I am not tracking the car; also the WOT I use, although frequent, is only in short bursts, I am more concerned about potential “coking” than lubrication issues.