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