Mobil 1 or Valvoline Synthetic

No other engine of mine has ever gone over 150K, except for the 69 VW Bug I had long ago... it was over 300K when I sold it, still running great.

Even with that, I'd agree - except for the hard use that Bronco II saw over its life. Offroad use in the north maine woods, use by a deputy fire chief for 8 years, and much towing. I don't believe it would have gotten near

200K without an extra tough lubricant. What I really need is something to make the rest of the truck last as well!

No one blows an engine (due to lack of lubrication) while using API certified oil that has been changed regularly and kept up to level.

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i will address stan's comments.

i have studied oils since 1961, and have taught lubrication at automotive and industrial businesses. the catch phrase is changing oil regularly. there are so many variables in this dept.

for example - on mineral based oil, the API classification is based on the temp. of 180 degrees in order to come up with it's standards. but the society of automotive engineering states that for every 20 degree rise in the base line, will cut the life of the oil by 50%. so, if one was to put this oil in the family station wagon, pack it full of kids, and people plus luggage, add a heavy trailer to drag down the road, turn on the a/c, and head for the mountains on a hot summer day. what is the life of the oil? could be over in less than 2,000 miles. now, if someone was into abusing the engine, then many of the properties of the oil have changed and may not offer the protection as fresh oil.

i could go into synthetic oils, but let me say this since it is coming upon the growing season. take your old trusty lawn mower out, chank it up and made some passes and push the mower to the choking point, but don't let it die. notice where this point is. then, if you want. change the oil with fresh mineral based oil and do the same thing. after you are satisfied where that choke point is, then put in synthetic oil in. (doesn't make any difference in brands) and go cut the same lawn and notice where the choke point is. remember, you haven't done anything to the mower, just change oil. and if you see any improvement on a 3 1/2 hp engine, think what you would see if you have a 150hp engine. then write back to the newsgroup and tell what you found out. and tell how slow the synthetic oil gets dark. then you decide whether or not it's worth the difference.

it's not me telling. people say put up or shut up. well, there's the challenge and it's your mower, your lawn so how can it be fixed?

you will notice a difference, but you will be surprised of how much.

knowledge is power - growing old is mandatory - growing wise is optional

I use synthetics because I don't want to worry about oil breakdown..ever. I change oil and filter at 5000 miles. My driving is 99% freeway done in 45 minute stints. I could change at 3500 miles and would if I had the time. However, I don't and I need to be able to run a bit longer between changes. My experience has been that synthetics work better in extremes of heat and cold, seem to have greater detergent qualities and never turn black between changes.

You weirdo. I see no tests like the one I linked to anywhere else. Therefore, I asked you to provide one. So provide one or shut up.

I choose Valvoline MaxLife Synthetic 10w30 anyway.

BTJustice

----- Original Message ----- From: Robert A. Matern Sent: 4/20/2004 3:18 PM

So Rude... I'm thinking you're a troll now...

I had no trouble finding links with a Google search... though I must admit, most are from some manufacturer or other! Pretty hard to find unbiased testing of any kind... here's one that looked good:

AMSoil Test inProgress Mobil 1 18,000 miletest

I just don't want one of those "reclassified" oils that isn't actually a true synthetic at all, qualifying for the name only because the definition was changed. Which makes me wonder if Valvoline is one of those...?

"Buford T. Justice"

hi robert - i gave up on trying to say something useful on this subject after my last post, because most people are going to say that the person who is saying something about it - one way or the other is biased.

i figure that anybody who does the lawn mower test with their own unit will definitely see a different between synthetic and mineral base - regardless of brand.

i will shed some light on mobil one since there doesn't seem to be giving credit where credit should be due.

first, mobil one was developed back in the early 60's and was discovered by accident. they brought in to the lab where they use to do a 392 hour dynamic engine oil test. the purpose of this test is to run the engine for 392 hours solid, then the oil drained, and sent to the lab for analysis. the synthetic oil sat there behind the door for a couple of years and when the lab boys ran out of oil to test, they ask about this stuff that had been sitting there. there was a assigned number on the box. well, they put the oil in and did the test. when they went to drain the oil out, it still looked as clean as when they put it in, so they poured it back into the engine and ran the test again. after the second time, they did drain it and sent it to the lab with a note of wanting to know what kind of oil it was. and that's how it came to be.

there were a lot of problems with ester based oils. the amount of type of additives to put it to make it compatible with mineral oil based oils. people don't realize what all is put into engine oil. for example - seal sweller. that's right. it has to be a certain amount to cause the seal to swell at the same given rate the parts are shrinking from wear. if you didn't, you was leak more and more oil as the engine got more wear on it. and that is just one of many. anti foam agents is another, sure don't want to pump oil around in an engine with air bubbles in it. after they achieved the final balance it hit the market.

people were highly skeptical of an oil that was advertised that it could go 25,000 miles without changing. and it was 5 dollars a quart back then. could change a lot of mineral based oil for 5 dollars a quart.

and then everyone people wrote in about what they put the oil through. one person owned an airline company and they would send off their oil samples of their engines to find out when the oil was so contaminated that it needed to be changed and also based on the metal makeup what kind of engine trouble to expect. so, they started to send in the synthetic oil into the lab. the only thing they changed with the oil filters. it was over 100k miles on the oil before the lab said change it and with no sign of engine part failure. the lab company was independent and had no way of knowing what this particular product was.

another person did basically the same thing and at the 100,000 mark, and when they mike the parts, they were still within original factory specs.

in the late 1960's. the daytona 500 made news. because of the track temp being around 180 to 200 degrees and the big block race engine was stuck next to the heat of the exhaust of the car in front of it - that after the race, when they drop the oil plug, no oil would come out. they would drop the pan - take a pocket knife and literally cut the oil out of the pan, rolled into a ball and could bounce it on the floor. total oil breakdown. the ones that had ran mobile one, not only did the oil run out of the pan, but when they tore the engine down, they found that it still have the cross hatch pattern in the cylinder walls. these stories were carried by popular science and popular mechanics at the time.

look how long it took for the other brands to finally come out with their own synthetics and of course, the name of the game is to knock down the leader. in this case - mobile one.

but they are all the same base makeup, just as all the oil companies use mineral based oil for their regular oil.

so, which one is best? i'm not going to side up with one of the other.

but, i will tell you this much. synthetic oil is not suited for extreme high pressure, extreme demand applications, such as use in mining operations. when you have a 7,000 dollar pump the galls up because of the type of oil being used, it gets expensive fast. mineral based oil clearly is the better choice.

but, for light pressure, high temps, hostile environment applications, such as in autos and trucks, they appear to be the best choice, but it depends again and the person's driving habits as to whether or not it would be in their best interest to use them.

i hope this will shed some light on the subject.

~ curtis

knowledge is power - growing old is mandatory - growing wise is optional "Many more men die with prostate cancer that of it. Growing old is invariably fatal. Prostate cancer is only sometimes so."