12 quarts mobil 1 synthetic, various grades $30, ymmv, instore.

Solid. Synthetic oil has been getting might expensive in the last few years.
 
Joust said:
I'd be all over it, but not the case here.
Click to expand...
i might have been tempted to get this, as i past on it and bought the 15k type instead...fact is i just didnt feel like keeping the other half of it, in my truck until the next change. Is the 15K better oil? Maybe not
 
primetime said:
Is the 15K better oil? Maybe not
Click to expand...
If you're interested in long life synthetics, it's time to move on from mobil one, et al and on to Amsoil. I've run redline, royal purple and both of these are great too. But nothing is as ridiculously good as the amsoil long life stuff ($14-$20/qt stuff last time I bought). I've run this stuff with their filters for literally years. It's the very best in oils ime.
 
primetime said:
i might have been tempted to get this, as i past on it and bought the 15k type instead...fact is i just didnt feel like keeping the other half of it, in my truck until the next change. Is the 15K better oil? Maybe not
Click to expand...

I change my oil pretty frequently. I think the longest I've let a full synthetic go was about 7k miles - and that's the longest. Usually about 5k. Wasting money? Sure. Doubly so since my oil changes are kinda expensive. Truck is about 16 quarts of Rotella T. Car is 9 qts of synthetic 0w20. That said, I want all the detergent working all the time, and for what amounts to a couple hundred dollars over the lifetime of a vehicle...meh.
 
SamirD said:
If you're interested in long life synthetics, it's time to move on from mobil one, et al and on to Amsoil. I've run redline, royal purple and both of these are great too. But nothing is as ridiculously good as the amsoil long life stuff ($14-$20/qt stuff last time I bought). I've run this stuff with their filters for literally years. It's the very best in oils ime.
Click to expand...
money wise thats like buying 6 qts of pure slick 50:)....thats at least double the cost but ill consider it next time...Had no idea Amsoil was so good:D
 
primetime said:
money wise thats like buying 6 qts of pure slick 50:)....thats at least double the cost but ill consider it next time...Had no idea Amsoil was so good:D
Click to expand...
It's more expensive, but man it sure beat getting under the car each season to change the oil because of winter and whatnot. It was nice to just leave it in there and swap a filter and top it off and be done. And the filters were 12k too, so those last as well. And the engine always sounded protected--my ears are overly sensitive to metal on metal contact in engines; that and wasp wings on any surface--hate those #$%#$%! :eek: They're always out to get me! :bigtears:
 
SamirD said:
my ears are overly sensitive to metal on metal contact in engines
Click to expand...

Same. I spend too much time critically listening to engine sounds, especially for misfires that never throw a code but can lead to problems if not caught early. For friction sounds, it wasn't until I stopped going to the quick lube place and paying $50+ for them to change the oil with bulk (no doubt remanufactured) Quaker State garbage that I heard a difference.
 
Joust said:
I change my oil pretty frequently. I think the longest I've let a full synthetic go was about 7k miles - and that's the longest. Usually about 5k. Wasting money? Sure. Doubly so since my oil changes are kinda expensive. Truck is about 16 quarts of Rotella T. Car is 9 qts of synthetic 0w20. That said, I want all the detergent working all the time, and for what amounts to a couple hundred dollars over the lifetime of a vehicle...meh.
Click to expand...
Sounds like you and I are on the same strategy. I use Mobil 1 and change my oil 3x per year (every 4 months).
My truck takes 6 qt of 5w-30, GF's car takes 5 qt of 0w-20, my motorcycle takes 3.3 qt of 10w-30,
I hate that they're all different flavors, and it's a waste because we put very few miles on our vehicles.
BUT
My thinking is that since I live in South Florida, I'm more concerned about humidity/salt water condensation in the oil as it heat cycles.
So I change it every 4 months just because.
 
Last edited:
viivo said:
Same. I spend too much time critically listening to engine sounds, especially for misfires that never throw a code but can lead to problems if not caught early. For friction sounds, it wasn't until I stopped going to the quick lube place and paying $50+ for them to change the oil with bulk (no doubt remanufactured) Quaker State garbage that I heard a difference.
Click to expand...
My ears are good at picking up what I guess you could call 'excessive metal collision forces'. Engines are bound to make noises with all that is going on in them, but I can hear when valve shims are just a bit off, or a timing chain tensioner isn't right. Frankly, it drives me batty most of the time knowing that the car will have other issues before the engine goes anyways.

Yeah, and quick lube places are a good way to destroy a car--one broken retaining ring around an oil drain plug. Or an underfilled engine and it's toast. Better to not even change the oil for a while versus letting them touch it. :eek:
 
Does anyone else besides me do Blackstone Oil Reports with every change? I've used that to definitively spec my oil change interval.

For example, with BMW's OE LL-04 oil ~8k miles was a good change interval for my 328d that sees track time. It didn't show any higher wear metal averages than before I started taking the car to the track, and showed the oil was almost out of its protectants. When I switched for Mobil 1 ESP Formula 5w30 (discontinued) I found I could go 10k miles with the same mixed DD/track use and have the same amount of wear metal concentrations as the OE oil. Now that coronavirus has shut everything down and I haven't been able to track much, I'm going to push that further and see what the results look like.
 
pfc_m_drake said:
Sounds like you and I are on the same strategy. I use Mobil 1 and change my oil 3x per year (every 4 months).
My truck takes 6 qt of 5w-30, GF's car takes 5 qt of 0w-20, my motorcycle takes 3.3 qt of 10w-30,
I hate that they're all different flavors, and it's a waste because we put very few miles on our vehicles.
BUT
My thinking is that since I live in South Florida, I'm more concerned about humidity/salt water condensation in the oil as it heat cycles.
So I change it every 4 months just because.
Click to expand...

Man that's hugely wasteful. This isn't 1950 anymore you can easily do it 1x per year if your mileage is low.
 
Furious_Styles said:
Man that's hugely wasteful. This isn't 1950 anymore you can easily do it 1x per year if your mileage is low.
Click to expand...
i seem to change about every 9 to 12 months...and i only drive to essential places (but there is good reason for that :whistle: ) so i very much doubt i actually make a full 15k miles between changes
 
215,000 miles on various synthetics. Castrol, Mobil, or whatever in a pinch...
Mind you, my dodge v6 has hydraulic roller lifters which keep the cam from
wearing too much. But something now: cylinders, rings, and/or valve guides
are burning a quart or so of internal leakage every month. I did change the
timing chain once, front and rear seals at some point too.

Replacing lost/burnt oil isn't the same as draining the sludge. I havn't done
that properly in a while. Might have thrown a filter at it, not recently enough
to be certain.

Why did I just write and/or? Maybe "ior" could become proper engrish?
Might work here, but would get me laughed out of Wallmart. Embrace
the mighty Bool ior wallow ever in fossil lubricants, illogical wallyworld
troglodytes! Yeah, not happening...
 
Last edited:
Oh. And motorcycle oil - I'm using Mobil1 4T stuff...or whatever. Supposedly 2.2q but really more like 2.5
 
Just want everyone to know, the product in the picture is a synthetic blend. Its a good oil, but you need to check your engines oil requirements before getting this. Some engines, especially new turbo engines, require the Mobile 1 Extended Performance which is a higher end synthetic oil.

If you want a rebate on the extended performance then use this:
https://www.mobil.com/en/lubricants/promotions/motor-oil-rebate-program-2020
 
Last edited:
The Lurker said:
What exactly do you think is happening with oil that is sitting in your sump unused?
Click to expand...
In my specific case, I live in South Florida where it's typically 100% humidity, my house is 3.99 miles from the Ocean according to Google Maps. I drive ~2.5 miles to work and it's 2.0 miles from my house to the grocery store. Main issue is that the heat cycling is undoubtedly pulling condensation from the air into the oil and I'm getting more cycles rather than miles compared to the average driver. The more of those cycles, the 'waterier' the oil gets.
 
pfc_m_drake said:
In my specific case, I live in South Florida where it's typically 100% humidity, my house is 3.99 miles from the Ocean according to Google Maps. I drive ~2.5 miles to work and it's 2.0 miles from my house to the grocery store. Main issue is that the heat cycling is undoubtedly pulling condensation from the air into the oil and I'm getting more cycles rather than miles compared to the average driver. The more of those cycles, the 'waterier' the oil gets.
Click to expand...

You are over thinking it.

The temperature variation isnt great enough to matter much and soon as you hit operating temp, any water that may be present is vaporized. Post this in the car forum and make it a poll if you dont believe me.
 
KD5ZXG said:
215,000 miles on various synthetics. Castrol, Mobil, or whatever in a pinch...
Mind you, my dodge v6 has hydraulic roller lifters which keep the cam from
wearing too much. But something now: cylinders, rings, and/or valve guides
are burning a quart or so of internal leakage every month. I did change the
timing chain once, front and rear seals at some point too.

Replacing lost/burnt oil isn't the same as draining the sludge. I havn't done
that properly in a while. Might have thrown a filter at it, not recently enough
to be certain.

Why did I just write and/or? Maybe "ior" could become proper engrish?
Might work here, but would get me laughed out of Wallmart. Embrace
the mighty Bool ior wallow ever in fossil lubricants, illogical wallyworld
troglodytes! Yeah, not happening...
Click to expand...

I've torn down motors just to find leakage at the oil rings.
Everything else was fine.
All those engine builders that obsessively zerod blocks to focus on piston ring hard fit are understandable now.
Nothing like chasing a problem that involves a tear down.
 
pfc_m_drake said:
In my specific case, I live in South Florida where it's typically 100% humidity, my house is 3.99 miles from the Ocean according to Google Maps. I drive ~2.5 miles to work and it's 2.0 miles from my house to the grocery store. Main issue is that the heat cycling is undoubtedly pulling condensation from the air into the oil and I'm getting more cycles rather than miles compared to the average driver. The more of those cycles, the 'waterier' the oil gets.
Click to expand...

The Lurker said:
You are over thinking it.

The temperature variation isnt great enough to matter much and soon as you hit operating temp, any water that may be present is vaporized. Post this in the car forum and make it a poll if you dont believe me.
Click to expand...

With only short drives like his, the engine/coolant temp might be getting up to normal operating temp, but I doubt his oil is getting to normal operating temp.

That said, he should just get a lab test done and see if there's actually any water content.
 
I've been running Mobile 1 full synthetic in my 2005 Scion TC since the 5th oil change. The first 3 were free at the dealer and then the 4th one I did a synthetic blend and then moved to full synthetic.

Sometimes I run the normal stuff and sometimes I run the high mileage stuff.

I change oil about every 5k miles. Doesn't matter how long it has been. I also use the Purolator Pure1 or whatever they just recently renamed them to. I have run the higher end Fram filters in the past as well.

The Purolator filters keep the oil a bit cleaner in between oil changes.

Original engine has 230k miles on it now and I have never done anything with the internals. I did finally have to replace the valve cover gasket about a month ago because it started leaking. I also replaced the valve cover itself because the aluminum on the original valve cover was definitely a bad casting.
 
The Lurker said:
Just want everyone to know, the product in the picture is a synthetic blend. Its a good oil, but you need to check your engines oil requirements before getting this. Some engines, especially new turbo engines, require the Mobile 1 Extended Performance which is a full synthetic oil.

If you want a rebate on the extended performance then use this:
https://www.mobil.com/en/lubricants/promotions/motor-oil-rebate-program-2020
Click to expand...
Definitely not synthetic blend. Mobile super is the synthetic blend. That is not this stuff. I bought the 5w-20, says full synthetic right on the box. Here's the product page: https://www.mobil.com/en/lubricants/for-personal-vehicles/our-products/products/mobil-1-5w-20

Every single product in that picture is full synthetic.

Here's the synthetic blend: https://www.mobil.com/en/lubricants/for-personal-vehicles/our-products/products/mobil-super-5w-20/
 
Last edited:
FaRKle0079 said:
Does anyone else besides me do Blackstone Oil Reports with every change? I've used that to definitively spec my oil change interval.

For example, with BMW's OE LL-04 oil ~8k miles was a good change interval for my 328d that sees track time. It didn't show any higher wear metal averages than before I started taking the car to the track, and showed the oil was almost out of its protectants. When I switched for Mobil 1 ESP Formula 5w30 (discontinued) I found I could go 10k miles with the same mixed DD/track use and have the same amount of wear metal concentrations as the OE oil. Now that coronavirus has shut everything down and I haven't been able to track much, I'm going to push that further and see what the results look like.
Click to expand...
I used to. Until I discovered some noise in my Accord's engine that sounds like main journal bearings that was confirmed by a friend who's a professional mechanic and Blackstone's reports were all good for the last 3 oil changes prior to that event. There should have been traces of copper in there, but there were none. I dropped them after that.
 
Furious_Styles said:
Man that's hugely wasteful. This isn't 1950 anymore you can easily do it 1x per year if your mileage is low.
Click to expand...
Humidity and salt are a HUGE deal, so I understand the caution. Oil is great in ideal circumstances, but in severe duty it does need to be changed more frequently--no way around it.
 
Furious_Styles said:
You're just being wasteful. FL is not a harsh climate and if salt water is getting into your engine you have other problems.
Click to expand...
It is harsh. Hell, it's bad on people too. And it's not salt water, but salt air salt exposure in general. Salt particles getting into the engine and oil. Salt is very reactive.
 
The Lurker said:
You are over thinking it.

The temperature variation isnt great enough to matter much and soon as you hit operating temp, any water that may be present is vaporized. Post this in the car forum and make it a poll if you dont believe me.
Click to expand...
Not necessarily everywhere. Operating temp on a 2 mile trip isn't doing the same heating of the components as 20 miles, especially in different temps and humidities. And groupthink doesn't make things right or wrong.
 
SamirD said:
Humidity and salt are a HUGE deal, so I understand the caution. Oil is great in ideal circumstances, but in severe duty it does need to be changed more frequently--no way around it.
Click to expand...

I just did a rearend and tranny flush bc I can hear/feel when it's time.
Whenever a car rolls past me with synchro grinding or band/pressure issues it makes me cringe.
 
UltraTaco said:
I used to have 4cyl Camry 2007 brand new, not sure where oil would go, but I always seemed almost a quart short when oil change was due. Exhaust pipe was clean and she ran fine.
Click to expand...
I have always suspected it mostly normal for engines to use about a quart between changes......no visible leaks or smoke on mine either
 
primetime said:
I have always suspected it mostly normal for engines to use about a quart between changes......no visible leaks or smoke on mine either
Click to expand...

Most factory specs say it's normal.

I think it's crappy piston rings.

Whatever the case, just keep checking the oil - and add as necessary.
 
SamirD said:
Humidity and salt are a HUGE deal, so I understand the caution. Oil is great in ideal circumstances, but in severe duty it does need to be changed more frequently--no way around it.
Click to expand...

No one said it didn't. But if you think that scenario he is describing is "severe duty" I got a bridge to sell you.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top