Motor oil test, shocking results Mobil 1, Redline, Royal Purple, etc

I consider this article just about worthless. It does one test, not at
the temperatures in operating engines (as nsxtasy pointed out),
and it's a test that may well be of limited relevance.

Before writing the article, Ben Nightingale had posted a query
on the net asking for help about how to conduct his tests:
http://forums.noria.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/616604995/m/8381065241
(see also the May 18 response on that page).

It looks like this was a good-faith attempt to test oils,
but conducted by someone who didn't have a good
understanding of the subject.

Hugh said:

For what it's worth, Wal-Mart sells 5 quart jugs of Quaker State Q Synthetic for under $9.00.

If you change your oil and filter every 3000 miles, it really doesn't matter what the hell you use.

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LOL!!


I used Mobil 1 in all my race bikes and ran lap after lap and even at Daytona lap after lap at 160mph 14k rpm in the 50 mile endurance race and never lost an engine. Honda + Mobil 1 , not a problem in my book and will continue to use it in the NSX. It is an interesting read though..:biggrin:

Tom239 said:

It looks like this was a good-faith attempt to test oils,
but conducted by someone who didn't have a good
understanding of the subject.

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Thanks Tom! That is good research and thanks for posting!

Also thanks to gun_200 for scanning and posting the article here on Prime!

The original article is a valid and informative post and so is your response! Most people reading this thread will learn something and THAT is what this forum is all about!

:smile:

Yes and thanks to Hrant as well...

Couple of random thoughts:

1. Every oil on that list(thanks Hrant) has a specific purpose. For eg, Mobil 1 and the new Amsoil are great for high performance engines. However - they are not cost effective and may not match the characteristics of a diesel.

2. What bothers me is the difference between Valvoline synthetic 5w30 and 10w30??

3. Finally - I use Mobil 1 on my NSX, my passat yet I use the generic Shell Rotella for my Toyota minivan. It gosts $8 for 5 quarts at wally world. The relatively high zinc content makes me feel a bit better about the 7500 mile oil change recommendation. Besides - I have a few friends with diesels who swear by it.

nsxtasy said:

That's still not as good as the deal Pep Boys had on Pennzoil Platinum synthetic last month. $4.49 per quart with coupon, plus a $15 rebate from Pep Boys on up to six quarts, plus a $15 rebate from Pennzoil on six quarts. Which means (not counting sales tax and the postage to mail in the rebate slips) they were giving away $3 along with six free quarts of synthetic.

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By the way, if you're looking for an great deal on full synthetic, that $15 rebate from Pennzoil is still in effect. Wal-Mart sells Pennzoil Platinum for $3.99 per quart, $18.97 for a five-quart jug. So that works out to $8 after rebate for six quarts. Still not bad...

i've been using mobil 1 only..

at the recent nsx track day i was running royle purple Glad I used it. I think I will use only royal purple on all my cars now.. They are available at a Kragen down the street.

I wish they tested some Lubro Moly oil tho. MOs2 anti-friction felt great on my BMW 525i motor.

Mobil 1 is not "Bad" it just isn't as good as some others, Mobil 1 is a group 3 synthetic..which in Europe you cannot even call "Full synthetic" because it is derived from non synthetic base stock..I use only Pentosynth from Pentosin because it is a group 4 which is 100% synthetic.

LubroMoly is a good choice too.

Tom239 said:

I consider this article just about worthless. It does one test, not at
the temperatures in operating engines (as nsxtasy pointed out),
and it's a test that may well be of limited relevance.

Before writing the article, Ben Nightingale had posted a query
on the net asking for help about how to conduct his tests:
http://forums.noria.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/616604995/m/8381065241
(see also the May 18 response on that page).

It looks like this was a good-faith attempt to test oils,
but conducted by someone who didn't have a good
understanding of the subject.

Click to expand...

I agree. It's about as good as those dura!ube infomercials. :biggrin:
Here's their post script on the test on their website:
http://www.streetcommodores.com.au/news.php

OILS AIN'T OILS – The post script

If there's one thing we try and do here at Street Commodores, it's give you, our readers un-biased info on which products are good, and which ones suck. There's so much BS marketing guff out there, that it can be tough to nut out which products can walk the walk – so that's where we come in, doing our best to sort the Holdens from the Lada Nivas.

A few months back (issue 108), you might remember we did an oil comparison. At the time, we thought it was a bloody good thing, and we don't mind telling you we were pretty proud to publish an article that basically bagged a heap of big name brands. You see, at Street Commodores, we can't, and won't be bought. We like to play things straight. And in the name of playing things straight, we'd like to tell you what has happened since that story went to print.

Basically, we made a few oil companies very cross, and some others quite happy; but we've also been educated some more on engine oils, and being the type of publication that we are, we wanted to fill you in on it. The information we've learned since then suggests the test we performed may be irrelevant. Some sources have advised us that the test we used would have been better served testing some of our favourite greases rather than the engine oils we commonly use on our street cars. Sure, we did the test with the best intentions, with a level playing field for each oil and no preconceptions as to who would perform better than another, but when, and if, we mess up, we like to think that we're man enough to set the record straight.

So keep an eye out in an upcoming issue real soon for an in-depth look at what makes up the contents of your oil, what to look for when choosing one, why certain ingredients are so important and whether the test we used was irrelevant for testing oils.


Otto

http://www.eneos.us/motor oils.html

http://www.eneos.us/0w-50.html

http://www.eneos.us/racing_and_sponsorships.html

http://www.neosyntheticoil.com/products_en.html

:smile:

i need to start buying oil in 55 gallon drums... that would be so awesome :biggrin:

RON98 said:

i need to start buying oil in 55 gallon drums... that would be so awesome :biggrin:

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NO it's not that great..the 55 gal drum comes with a big nasty check to write:wink:

zahntech said:

I use only Pentosynth from Pentosin because it is a group 4 which is 100% synthetic.

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What weight are you using?

Tom239 said:

What weight are you using?

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In Southern California I would use 10/30. in cooler climates 5/30.

I have seen the oil weight argument on this site many times and I have no interest in having an arguement on this topic:wink::smile:

zahntech said:

In Southern California I would use 10/30. in cooler climates 5/30.

I have seen the oil weight argument on this site many times and I have no interest in having an arguement on this topic:wink::smile:

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I wasn't looking to argue; I just didn't see 10W-30 listed as one of the products on the pentosin.de web site. For those of us who use 10W-30, it looks like Pentosin isn't an option.

Yeah it looks as though 10w30 is not available in Lubromoly either, not too surprising though, as these are German oils and I cannot think of a German car that uses 10w30.

My issue with Mobil 1 is that it is not a Group 4 synthetic and it costs as much or more than better oils do.

start reading here: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/ see you in a few days:biggrin:

Sorry if I seem defensive but people seem to get really passionate about oil weights on Prime and I really don't want somebody saying that I am going to kill women and children if I don't use the oil weight they say is best.:wink:

otto_joe said:

The information we've learned since then suggests the test we performed may be irrelevant.

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At least they owned up to it...
The second I saw them using the same procedures used by the infomercial scammers, I knew something was up.

darknezz_ghost said:

i've been using mobil 1 only..

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Read through the thread. M1 is one of the best.

NSXLuvr said:

The relatively high zinc content makes me feel a bit better about the 7500 mile oil change recommendation.

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My best advise to you(assuming you dont drive like an old lady who shifts at 3,000 rpm), is to get your oil sampled. From my research, you're definitally doing damage.

Multi-weight oil has additives that expand when they heat up to change the rating. For example, in a 10W30, the oil is a 10 weight oil, with additives to thicken it to a 30 weight when hot. Over time, these additives burn up. I haven't done oil tests in the NSX yet, but in the Type-R, 3000 miles of spirited driving was enough to burn up enough additives so that it could only turn the 10 weight into a 20 weight when warm. This means, every time I revved to 8400rpm, I was doing so with only a 20 weight protecting my engine! I can only imagine if you ran the oil for 7,000 miles!!!

And zinc is only useful for oil starvation. It doesn't protect you when your oil breaks down from usage.

WTF, does that mean what i think it does?? that mobil 1 had the highest wear factor in this test?? that is like the opposite of what i normally hear(but filters are junk)

wtf

Swift said:

WTF, does that mean what i think it does?? that mobil 1 had the highest wear factor in this test?? that is like the opposite of what i normally hear(but filters are junk)

wtf

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Negative. What that means is in THAT TEST that M1 preformed the worst.
Do you rememer pro-long, and all those other snake oils on TV? They had tests that they excelled at too. Doesn't mean you should put them in your $30,000 engine. The ONLY true test is using each oil for a few 3,000 mile runs, sending each sample to BlackStone labs and comparing the major wear numbers. The rings are probably what we want to be most conserned about.

I think a Primer needs to do an official NSX test....

Most people don't know that Amsoil was the FIRST in synthetics.

They are way ahead of the game and have consistently challanged any oil companies.......... non have taken the challenge.

BATMANs said:

Most people don't know that Amsoil was the FIRST in synthetics.

They are way ahead of the game and have consistently challanged any oil companies.......... non have taken the challenge.

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do you work for them or something??
or just have a huge hard on for random and obscure oil information

BATMANs said:

Most people don't know that Amsoil was the FIRST in synthetics.

They are way ahead of the game and have consistently challanged any oil companies.......... non have taken the challenge.

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Amsoil isn't even API certified is it? I think their website says the tests are too expensive!?!?!?! Seriously??? If they don't have the money to run the standard tests that everyone else runs, I doubt they have the money to hire the same level of engineers, or do as much testing.

I don't know, I wouldn't use it. The allure of getting an extra 50,000 miles by some magic oil is too risky to me. I think the odds that it would do more damage than good are too great(just my own guess). I would rather get a solid 300,000 miles out of a popular widely used Synthetic.

Then again, I could be wrong. Someone should test some oils in their NSX.

I just wonder these test results are bunch of biased data. I might ask this question on Consumer Report Magazine and let them do the test.

I have tried Amsoil once and didn't care for it much for the price at the time. Until about 2 years ago I used Mobil 1, with no complaints. I tried Royal Purple and was very pleased with it. I now use it in both my Accord and my NSX(both are tracked). I thought I was crazy, but my car seems to run noticably smoother with the Royal Purple. My wife had my Accord at her work one day and bought the oil and did an oil change and told me that the car does run smoother, especially after an oil change. I have been curious to try Eneos but is even more expensive than the Royal Purple.