I noticed Exon Mobil are hyping their new improved Mobil 1 engine lub. I called Mobil and asked for a data sheet but was told they had none at this time. He told me the new Mobil 1 was for extended warranty of
15,000 miles. He implyed it had better cleaning and wear control over the older Mobil 1. I found it at Wal- Mart for $23.80 five Qt. jug the old Mobil 1 was $19.95 five Qt.jug. I am just wondering how much better the new Mobil 1 is?I've said this before but it bears repeating. Even under the most extreme conditions and circumstances you won't be running your engine anywhere near the limits of what a decent synthetic oil can take, no matter what brand. And even if you do, most likely your motor will die from the failure of some part that is not lubricated by the oil first. In an overheat situation, you will be getting signs and symptoms long before your synthetic motor oil breaks down and causes the engine to seize up, and at that point I would stop driving and be more concerned about what was causing the problem. As for cold start-up, all synthetic oils have low temperature viscosity stability and pour points far below the temperature that you would ever consider driving your car. A good synthetic motor oil is helpful when a problem arises, and good for preventing or reducing some issues but all of the name brands provide vastly more protection that you will even need in an automobile, no matter how hard you use it.
At a certain point even oil refiners have to "one-up" their competition to maintain market share. Old or new, Mobil 1 will provide you with much more service and protection than you will ever use or need.
Cheers - Jonathan
My experience with the first Mobil 1 oil offered with my '74 Honda Civic was superb. I drove the car to the junkyard 12 years later -- 12 years of tough service on San Francisco hills. During the time that I owned it, the car never needed to have its engine opened.
Having said that, I don't know anything about the "new" Mobil 1 oils. I'm a bit concerned that the older formulations may have been cheapened to make the new version look better. I have this concern about a certain brand of oil filters. In both cases, the company has been acquired, which puts great financial pressure on the outfit.
Two points:
- In doing some research about lubrication for a certain late 60s record changer, for which an "adhesive oil" was specified, I was told that synthetic oils have a tendency to leave a good film coating on surfaces. The guy who said this is a refrigeration mechanic and also a racing nut. I sought out his advice because the adhesive oil is marketed in Europe by a firm that specializes in refrigeration lube. The requirement in this record changer is that the oil stay in place and not leak down by gravity into an assembly that's got to stay free of lubricant.
- The flash point of the oil is much better (higher) with Mobil
1 -- thus, it's less likely to burn if it gets past the rings or valve guide seals.- I got exactly the efficiency improvement that was advertised:
8%- I believe that the traditional Castrol formula is a far better oil than most natural oils. I got a power improvement with it in my Aerostar.
Richard
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