Mobil 1 Synthetic oil?

Premier_2

AirCooledHeaven wrote: »

Protection has nothing to do with viscosity in a modern engine, older engines with bigger clearances between components maybe. The key to preventing all the cold start wear is to get the oil where it needs to be as quickly as possible, and for this you need low viscosity.

But not too low.

As I said it needs to be the right balance between low enough to get the oil where it is needed (and coat the necessary surfaces) and high enough to provide protection when it gets there.

Premier_2

slow_saver wrote: »

I always thought Mobil 1 was one of the best oils you can get, it passes all the API #'s, but Ford don't actually recommend it (but then they wouldn't cos they want you to get the car serviced at their dealers using their rip-off priced oil!) I was also wondering about this as my mate has a Golf TDI PD and they have (VW) changed from the PD semi synthetic to fully synthetic, so perhaps I should just use the Mobil 1.

You don't need to go to a Ford dealer to get Ford recommended oil

Castrol Magnatec 5w30 is Ford approved. There are many others.

I very much doubt one oil meets all API specifications; some perhaps, but not all.

Ford has it's own specification for oil. e.g WSS-M2C913-A, WSS-M2C913-B, etc. Check the handbook for the correct specification for your car.

AirCooledHeaven

Premier wrote: »

But not too low.

As I said it needs to be the right balance between low enough to get the oil where it is needed (and coat the necessary surfaces) and high enough to provide protection when it gets there.

Hi Premier, I wonder if you're confusing viscosity with film strength? A more viscous film is not necessarily more protecting than one of a lower viscosity, even if intuitively it feels right. It's all down to the chemistry and additives.

Premier_2

AirCooledHeaven wrote: »

Hi Premier, I wonder if you're confusing viscosity with film strength? A more viscous film is not necessarily more protecting than one of a lower viscosity, even if intuitively it feels right. It's all down to the chemistry and additives.

You're absolutely correct. There's a lot more to oil chemistry than just viscosity.

That's why I recommend following the manufacturers recommendations with regards to which oil to use.

I might be wrong, but I don't think Mobil 1 oil is certified as meeting or exceeding the appropriate Ford specification. If it does, it would have been wrong of the Ford dealer to say that Ford do not recommend its use. If it doesn't, the Ford dealer was absolutely right to say that it is not recommended by Ford (but was arguably wrong to suggest you go ahead and use it anyway if you want to)

AdrianHi

Premier wrote: »

You're absolutely correct. There's a lot more to oil chemistry than just viscosity.

That's why I recommend following the manufacturers recommendations with regards to which oil to use.

I might be wrong, but I don't think Mobil 1 oil is certified as meeting or exceeding the appropriate Ford specification. If it does, it would have been wrong of the Ford dealer to say that Ford do not recommend its use. If it doesn't, the Ford dealer was absolutely right to say that it is not recommended by Ford (but was arguably wrong to suggest you go ahead and use it anyway if you want to)

Mobil 1 may well be good for the car, but never subjected to Ford's test procedure (which cost someone some money) to earn the certification.

My previous car with it's 9000 mile oil service interval was specified to use a mineral oil, about half way through it's time with me (all 122K miles of it) the Mitsubishi dealer started selling me a "full synthetic" oil at higher cost. For a 9000 mile use over the top, but I swear the car felt better and I measured around a 5% improvement in fuel consumption (which more than offset extra cost) . The cars engine was still like new when I traded it in.