What grade of Mobil 1 for my crazy climate?

[chapmanw]

Hey guys,

I notice a lot of ppl on the board like M1 0w40. But I'm not quite sure what climates those guys live in.

I live in a climate (ottawa,canada) where the winter can be quite cold and the summer is hot. Is it a good idea to run a different grade for each half year?

What grade is recommended? I'm not sure if the recommendations for dino oil grades are the same for synthetic. Here's a rough idea of my climate below(in degrees celsius) ... Ideas appreciated


J F M A M J J A S O N D
Maximum -5 -4 2 11 19 24 26 25 20 13 5 -3
Minimum -15 -13 -6 0 7 12 15 14 9 3 -2 -11
Mean -10 -8 -2 6 13 18 21 19 14 8 1 -7

[JonE]

I live in Minnesota and will use Mobil 1 0-40 or 5-40 year round.

[cary]

0w-40 is suitable for all climates. This is everything from artic to tropical. Accordingly it can be run year around anywhere in the world.

[Tiger]

Mobil 1 Truck & SUV 5W40 is actually Delvac 1 and is much better than regular Mobil 1 oil... Better additives and higher tolerance.

[cary]

Mobil 1 Truck & SUV 5W40 is actually Delvac 1 and is much better than regular Mobil 1 oil... Better additives and higher tolerance.

It does not appear that Mobil 1 SUV 5w-40 is Delvac. It is showing lower levels of additive package and many now agree it is a different formulation. BTW, on Bobistheoilguy there is a UOA of my Toyota Landcruiser with 8000 miles on 0w-40 and another guys Landcruiser with the same motor and 5,000 miles on the SUV 5w-40 and my wear numbers were much lower.

http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=001903#000000

http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=001765#000000

http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=001262#000000


Here is the SUV 5w-40 and 0w-40 in the same vehicle, note the shorter mileage the SUV oil was run.

http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=001810#000000


Finally, the 5w-40 has much worse cold pumping numbers than the 0w-40. If you live where you are starting the car in colder than -10f weather, stay with the 0w-40.

[Tiger]

Two different engines is like apple to orange. All I am saying is that Mobil 1 said M1 SUV is Delvac 1. I believe it is a marketing thing to bring Delvac to mainstream because many user complained how difficult it is to get their Delvac.

Mercedes does not recommend using Mobil 1 OW40 on diesel engine because it did not pass their test. M1 is not designed for diesel engine. Only the M1 SUV 5W40 specifically said for diesel and gas engine.

Diesel engine is rougher on oil than gas engine because of all those soot.

[cary]

Mobil has given conflicting information about the M1 SUV 5w-40. Also, remember that HDEO oils have higher levels of things like Zinc that kill the Cat converters than a standard engine oil. While I think M1 5w-40 is a good oil, in this case, the 0w-40 having A3, BMW LL-98/01, MB 229.1/.3/.5 is more appropriate. Finally, for all the talk, I have seen more good UOA's of the 0w-40 than the 5w-40.

Finally, the three UOA's are for the same engine design. While it is not as good as a comparative test using the same engine (which I also posted), they are generally accepted as a good baseline.

[Jose]

Chap,

If you really want to use Mobil 1 oil, use the 5-W50. It's a bit thicker than the 0-W40, but it will give your car more protection on a cold start and stil be very smooth on warmer days too. I use this oil on the Impreza's of a few customers, for the fast BMW's , well in my opinion, nothing beats Castrol RS series and I do mean nothing. You can punish your engine all you want, even the dummies not warming their engine up before stepping on the throttle, will keep their engine safe. This oil is so sticky, it always leaves a very small film of oil on the upper half of your engine, meaning it reduces cold engine wear.

try it and you won't be dissapointed.

[chapmanw]

I notice that the BMW dealerships around here use Castrol products. I always wondered if they were any good. I might give the Castrol a try later on...


Chap,

If you really want to use Mobil 1 oil, use the 5-W50. It's a bit thicker than the 0-W40, but it will give your car more protection on a cold start and stil be very smooth on warmer days too. I use this oil on the Impreza's of a few customers, for the fast BMW's , well in my opinion, nothing beats Castrol RS series and I do mean nothing. You can punish your engine all you want, even the dummies not warming their engine up before stepping on the throttle, will keep their engine safe. This oil is so sticky, it always leaves a very small film of oil on the upper half of your engine, meaning it reduces cold engine wear.

try it and you won't be dissapointed.

[cary]

Chap,

If you really want to use Mobil 1 oil, use the 5-W50. It's a bit thicker than the 0-W40, but it will give your car more protection on a cold start and stil be very smooth on warmer days too. I use this oil on the Impreza's of a few customers, for the fast BMW's , well in my opinion, nothing beats Castrol RS series and I do mean nothing. You can punish your engine all you want, even the dummies not warming their engine up before stepping on the throttle, will keep their engine safe. This oil is so sticky, it always leaves a very small film of oil on the upper half of your engine, meaning it reduces cold engine wear.

try it and you won't be dissapointed.


Few things:

1) Mobil 1 5w-50 is not available in the US and Canada,
2) 5w-50 will be slightly slower to provide lube on startup than 0w-40 as it is a heavier oil. Hence 0w-40 provides better cold start protection.
3) I would love to hear how Castrol RS is sticky and sticks to upper cyl walls? If you are talking about the fact that some Group V Esters have an affinnity to metal, these claims have never been proven. You also ignore the fact any oil will provide cyl lubercation within seconds of startup.
4) There is no need to warm up an engine before driving. You shouldn't drive hard until the engine reaches operating temperature to allow all the metal components to expand and stablize, but there is no need to sit and idle a car before driving.

[Jose]

cary,

I think you misunderstood me on the waiting until the engine reaches temperature and stepping on the throttle, wat I ment is what you state on point 4. I've seen a lot of wasted engines due to not warming up the engine before going full throttle. What I ment with sticky oil is, some oil brands claim they have highly protective oil on cold start ups , a thing which is hard too proof. The thing is, you can really see which oil is "stickier " to the metal parts ( especially the head ) when you do a lot of valve adjusting on M20/M30 engines. That's when ypu see what brand of oil will still be present on your camlobes even when the engine has been turned off for 24 h.

Other brands rather than Castrol tend to drop of the metal parts and leaving them almost dry while the Castrol Rs-series remains. Now thats giving cold start protection too . Cold start protection for your cilinder walls is easily solved with topping you oil level just above the max, a thing very recomendable for hard drivers out there as it helps mantaining your oil pressure up aswell.

[cary]

Sorry but you are incorrect on both counts:

1) THe effect of oil being up on the lobes is directly related to oil weight and that heavier oils will tend to stick to metal parts. The questionable benifit of ester stocks sticking to cyl walls is on a microscopic level that is not visable to the naked eye.

2) Running you oil slightly above the full mark will do nothing to protect cyl walls. It will simply cause more drag and foaming of the oil by the crank.