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Mobil 1 definitely have lower viscosity until engine heats up, especially the 0W-xx that you are using, and especially in colder weather.
Many other factors influence gas consumption more than oil, though. Tires, for example - both model (stiffness) and inflation.
A lot of gas may be wasted by an overfilled transmission. A technician did it with my Buick Regal when flushing ATF. About 15,000K miles later I checked transmission fluid level and found it to be an inch above the upper end of the cross-hatched mark. After pumping out about a quart of ATF my car accelerates much better, coasting longer, and I am filling gas substantially less often - about every 10 days instead of every week.
BTW, I am using both Mobil 1 oil and Mobil 1 ATF. Even after 15,000 miles of driving with overfilled liquid - bubbles, etc., the ATF is so clean and clear that it was difficult to check its level.
On the Honda I am indeed conflicted about using synthetic transmission fluid, yet run it on a Corvette and TDI. Not to beat a dead horse into hamburger, but I would anticipate a slight improvement in mpg, given IF I can shake loose a better synthetic ATF recommendation in that Honda recommends its own fluid and that fluid is conventional.
I did experience a slight mpg increase when I went to the Mobil One ATF in a 6 speed manual Z06 Corvette (yes I know it sounds weird, but ATF is the Chevy recommendation)
http://www.performanceoiltechnology.com/gaugingfueleconomyimprovements.htm
The SAE literature seems to suggest 1 to 3% increase and there was a large Castrol test in Europe with over 2,000 cars using synthetic and they determined an average fuel economy gain of 5.54% average. Castrol also did extensive testing on a 5 cylinder TDI engine using synthetic vs. same car using a 15W-40 and came up with 3% better.
So I'd guess somewhere in there, 1%--5% is gonna be real world for most people.
I think the AAA in 2004 tested ATF in a Lexus and published results of 5% or so better fuel mileage.
20 mpg + 3.6 improvement = 17% (approx)
30 mpg + 3.6 improvement = 12%
40 mpg = 3.6 = 8.5% approx.
50 mpg + 3.6 mpg = 7%
That's more than any of the studies achieved, looks like.
I kind of bristle at "too good to be true" claims on any products.
Research had indicated ExxonMobil SuperFlo (conventional) was THE HOT 5w20 ticket, especially for the price! Since I thought that I might experience some oil consumption in the process of the 10,000 mile break in cycle, wanting some "spare" and knowing I was probably going to switch to synthetic anyway, I spotted a little local sale for Exxon Mobil Super Flo 5w20 at (if I remember .89 cents per qt?). With a send back to the manufacturer 4/5 dollar rebate coupon, this brought the total to .47 per quart? So rather than buy one quart of oil at .89 cents, I bought the rebate requirement of 12 qts @ to be as yet then realized .47 cents per qt, plus one more qt. So now, I had enough oil for two 10,000 mile oil changes and .8 qt of spare.
Further research indicated Mobil One 0w20/5w20, as I said before, 1-3 mpg better, so I did calculations over 20,000 miles at 1-3 mpg of savings. Having used Mobil One in the past research also indicated 20,000 miles OCI was probably conservative. So the gasoline savings @ 2.50 per gal ranged from $37.50-1 mpg, $75-2 mpg,$ 110-3 mpg. So I very simply compared spending $11.14 for conventional oil plus any of those estimated mpg savngs vs spending only 15.87 for the synthetic OCI.
I used it in my 1989 Pontiac bonneville and my best ever highway mpg was 40.1. Between 35 and 38 mpg was more normal for a long highway trip. I got just under 30 mpg around town.
1995 Nissan Maxima that my mom still drives ant it has 180,000 miles on it. Used amsoil from 30,000 miles when she bought it to present.
Also used it on my 2004 MINI Cooper S but i used the euro spec 5w40 in that car. Best ever highway mileage on that car was 40 mpg. Normal highway mileage was around 35-36 and around town 26-28 mpg.
I drove that car a lot harder then all the others because it just made you want to.
I even did some Oil analysis on a couple of those cars although I would have a hard time finding the records after I moved up to CT.
Motor oil for .47 cents per quart. Now that is cheap!!!!!!
;-)
Could you give me a reference to this research? I'm very much interested in reading it. BTW, thanks for all the wonderful information/knowldege ruking. I'm sure many readers here me included learn a lot from your expereince.
I remember an interesting case of a fraudulent transmission shop. Upon conviction the perpetrator confessed that the smarter the customer was, the easier to fool---he would show them a transmission pump housing with little scratch marks on it and say "that's bad", when in fact it was of no consequence to the longevity of the component.
Sometimes I wonder if I don't fall prey to the same mistake when I read these impressive test results.
I know for an absolute fact that I can run (my) engines on conventional oil a min of 250,000 miles. THERE IS NO DOUBT IN MY MIND. With any conventional OCI there is of course greater risk for sludging, but hey that just goes with the territory, if one choses conventional. I actually did it on one of my first bought cars a 1970 VW Beetle. The HUGE however was I changed oil between 1500 and MAX and I mean MAX 3,000 miles. This translates app to 167 to 84 OCI's.
I also ran a 1987 TLC 250,000 miles with synthetic and 15,000 mile OCIs. This translates to 17 OCI's. So in my case it was how many translations I wanted to do.
The VW Jetta TDI even has a topside oil change option. You literally run a plastic tube down the dipstick and pump up an "evaculator" and your oil is literally in a container ready for disposal in less than 2 mins. The bulk a 10 min OCI is opening the new oil containers pouring it in and its clean up. Still I like the 25,000 mile OCI.
Recycling is part of the water, sewer, garbage bill whether it is used or not. Also the local auto parts purveyors offer used oil recycling free of charge.
It might be due to the higher than advertised thickness of the oil.
Krzys
My brother attempted a one year 10,000 interval using Amsoil, but he started getting some engine clatter. I suspect that his filter failed.
Krzys
I personally had a "wire mesh" screen that served as on "oil filter/screen" in a 1970 VW Beetle.
My 1966 Plymouth Valiant 225 recommended a filter change every second oil change, ditto my 1969 Plymouth Sport Suburban Station Wagon with a 383 2BBL. As fortune would have it, I was doing a little house cleaning recently and came across the manual to my old 1985 Dodge Daytona Turbo. That manual states that the non-Turbo 2.2 liter engine was to have its oil changed every 12 months or 7,500 miles, which ever came first. The filter recommendation is for every second oil change. For the blown 2.2 liter engine the recommended OCI is every 6 months or 7,500 miles, which ever comes first. The filter recommendation is for every oil change.
Best Regards,
Shipo
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Since I run 15,000 mile OCI's, perhaps I am wasting my money and time changing the filter at 15,000 miles instead of 30,000 miles?
No, both of my Plymouths were second hand and each had just a hair over 100,000 miles of Quaker State paraffin abuse before I got them. Talk about a smelly sludge, ewwwww. As such both of them got new Havoline mineral oil and a new filter every three to five thousand miles. Unfortunately I lent the 1969 to a friend who ran the engine dry and threw a rod through the side of the block so I never got a chance to see if the stepped up regimen helped.
On the 1966, it was so crusted up when I bought it (for $220) that I had to pull the valve cover, the rocker train, the spark plug sleeves and the oil pan (damn that's a loooong oil pan) and literally shovel them out. Once back together and filled with new oil that thing ran another 100,000 miles before it was totaled out in front of my house by a Police car involved in a high speed chase. :-( The only indication that I ever had that the mineral oil based Havoline and the stepped up oil and filter changes ever worked was with the oil consumption. When I first got it the engine was burning a quart every 150 miles, however, by the time it tipped over 200,000 miles it was only burning oil a quart every 800-1,000 miles. I attribute the improvement to the cleansing and freeing up of the piston rings.
Regarding the 1985 Turbo Daytona, as I'd had any number of family and friends who'd cooked their turbochargers running conventional oil and using the 7,500 mile OCI, I decided to alter the plan a bit. I stuck with the OCI recommendation; however, that was when I first got real religious about using Synthetic oil. Anecdotal though it may well be, I had never seen any breathed on Mopar 2.2 go more than 50,000 miles on a turbocharger, until mine that is. Mine was still running extremely well on the factory turbo at 110,000 miles when I traded it in, longevity that I attribute directly to the Mobil 1 (15W-40 summer and 5W-40 winter, or something like that) that I was using.
Best Regards,
Shipo
I can wax nostalgic about the "good" old days" of lubrication with late 40's on up cars. However to me, 2006 ARE the "good old days"!!!?? To be fair the standards for conventional oil have come a very long way, ie, 5w20 Honda specification conventional oil with OEM recommended 10,000 mile OCI's.
I do like NOW with synthetic oils and 15,000 to 25,000 mile OCI's. By way of comparison of 1500 to 3,000 mile OCI's, 15,000 to 25,000 mile OCI's are "miracle" intervals. Innards clean as a whistle are icing on the cake !!
I never did leave filter for two oil changes, just thought I remembered that that was the requirement long ago.
Yup, I couldn't have said it better. ;-)
Best Regards,
Shipo
Best Regards,
Shipo
The 2.2 needed "valve job" at about 50K...covered by extended warranty or 7/70 power train (I forgot which).
The 2.5 had head gasket in mid-life and its demise was due to about every seal leaking (including rear main seal) and finally, at the end, the head gasket must have gone again. The 2.5 was used to tow a trailer (probaby under 1500# loaded), so it may have suffered from that abuse.
When you guys talk about sludge, what sorts of problems actually result from it? I'm guessing leaking seals would not be a symptom of sludge, but since head gasket could be from overheating might that happen as a result of sludge? Or is it strictly a seized engine that is the end result of excess sludge?
Of course after a while, you develop a "wine" nose for this sort of thing. I got to the point that I didnt even have to open the oil cap or even lift the dip stick. Actually I could correctly guess it at 4 paces.
The flip side of course was the engines that I'd tear down that had been fed with a mineral base oil (Havoline and Valvoline to name two), even if they'd been abused through long OCIs, they were never as evil smelling and heavily cruded up on the inside as the engines oiled with the paraffin based Pennsylvania Grade Crude oils.
Best Regards,
Shipo
More on topic, a good reason to go to a min of 10,000 mile OCI's today.
Do you suppose that Quaker State has figured a way to put paraffin into their synthetic oil?
Yup, I couldn't have said it better. ;-)
Best Regards,
Shipo "
This may be arcane, even for this board. But one application is getting better.
I have been using Mobil One Truck & Suv 5w40, AKA Delvac One 5w40. I have been using it for 25,000 mile OCI's. The fuel of choice since new (82,000 miles now) has been LSD #2 diesel (low sulfur diesel) the majority of which has been CA diesel on road and sulfur NTE 140 ppm. I have traveled in other states, and have used 49 state #2 diesel (standard of 500 ppm).
Just recently, OCT 2006, the CA standard was changed to ULSD 15 ppm (ultra low sulfur diesel)with the other 49 states to follow on.
UPSHOT: I will probably after the next OCI, change the OCI from 25,000 miles to 30,000 miles. (due to far lower sulfur content which greatly lessens the conditions for soot formation, i.e., the soot % is WAY lower, i.e. letting the TBN last for more miles.
Oil consumption has been app an 1/8 of a qt or 4 oz for 17,000 miles.
1) Lower maintenance
2) Cleaner emissions
3) Higher mileage
4) More fun to drive
5) Truly renewable sources of fuel (not to be confused with the house of cards that E85 {at least the U.S. version of E85} is built upon)
I'm sure I could think of several more reasons, but why bother? ;-)
Best Regards,
Shipo
Ford has said the next gen F-150 will get a version of the Range Rover diesel and GM has sais they will start bringing back their diesel SUVs as well.
Now we just need some more diesel cars besides VW and Mercedes.