When I made the switch from conventional oil to synthetic, a good 20 years ago, I used Mobil 1 exclusively. Did so up until about five years ago when I just happened on a 2 for 1 sale on Royal Purple when my local auto parts store was phasing out 5w/30 (which the non-MDS Hemi called for) in favor of 5w/20.

So I decided at that price to try it. Now I never had ANY problem running Mobil 1 I might add. BUT I noticed almost within a hundred miles that my infamous "Hemi Tick" was noticeably quieter, to the point where I had to really listen for it just to hear it. It was a good bit louder with the Mobil 1.

I've since experimented with a couple of different synthetic oils, usually picking the one that was on sale as long as it was a 100% full synthetic. I've used RP & Mobil, as stated, and have also used Castrol Edge and Valvoline SynPower. I've found that the "tick" is loudest with Mobil 1 and quietest with the RP and Valvoline. The Castrol was somewhere in the middle.

I did notice a slight MPG increase over the 6000 miles I had RP in there whereas the other three were about the same. The increase with the RP wasn't a lot and may just have been coincidence of driving a bit more highway or other factors, so I'm not going to say RP gives you better fuel economy.

It's only because the "tick" is quieter that I moved from Mobil 1. Now I use Valvoline SynPower in both my truck and Jeep, and it's almost always on sale at my local auto parts store for about $28 for a 5 gallon jug WITH a free filter (usually a Purolator or K&N - both of which I like). So for under $40 I can do the truck and I can do the Jeep for around $34. I can't really justify the RP at about $9 a quart around here and they NEVER seem to put it on sale, let alone give a free $12 premium filter with it...

 

Well said hammer. I agree. And as for the good ole hemi tick, i`ve owned many a hemi vehicles that have had the infamous ticky`lifter issue, but as soon as i changed out the oil to valvoline, the tick(s) have never been heard from again. (unless you have the exhaust manifold bolt issue, thats a whole different tickin issue by itself)

If you folks using mobil 1 works for you, by all meens, keep using it as long as you`re happy with it. Some of us have chosen not to because we`ve seen the light...lol.

re: "oil wars"
Lets try not to turn mdram43`s new oil post into another pissing contest like the last one. Some of us like to read all the comments about what works for people and what dosent. Its very interesting and very informative to us all.

 

I just made the swap to Syn and went with Valvoline Synpower got it for 32 for 5 quarts including a Fram TG filter which I have and extra because after the 7 quart oil change I have 3 quarts left and one filter. For the next change I got on sale Pennzoil Synthetic with KN filters so now I have 3 quarts of each and 2 filters and waiting on 28 x 2 rebate checks one from Pennzoil and one from Valvoline. So really 50bucks and a filter and 3 quarts of oil left over and the dealer charged me 20 including tax and enviro fees to do the change so my calculation is roughly 60 bucks for a full synthetic oil change and opposed to 100plus for the dealer to use the infamous Mobil 1. I have used almost a quart in there is some confusion in the mileage because of what the dealer recorded and what my wife did but around 2500 km is what I figure so that is 4 months...gonna go the full six months and save some of the oil and compare it to the next oil change which will be the same brand but kn filter, then will try the Pennzoil. I bought enough oil and filters for my hemi and my 2 kids cars Avenger and Caliber for a hundred bucks with the rebates. Now if the weather was warm or my garage had heat I think I would do this myself but for 20 labour and they fill anything else that is low, so go with empty washer fluid LOL, since the labour if I use their oil- parts is 12 but 17.75 using mine plus enviro and tax. Since we are low mileage users I think we can go the full six months like the book says. Funny the dealer says 3 months of 5000kms but he manual with the vehicles says 6 months of 10000kms what is the deal? If they keep trying to make me do stupid stuff like my daughter has 6000 kms which is 3600miles they want her to rotate her tires because it's front wheel drive. I am waiting for the call from the dealer when they call to ask how happy we are with our service......

 

mobil 1 pays for that. I was in the same mindset as you, until a little research


and to anyone and everyone:


this thread was not to bash mobil 1. it was just to say that my results are that valvoline is performing better than mobil 1.

to pedro: I am aware of the color issue. however what I was saying is that my mobil 1 would darken quicker than valvoline in a brief amount of time, which leads me to believe that mobil 1 isnt holding up as well as the valvoline. hence why mobil 1 requires an oil change every 3,000 miles, while valvoline is advertising ridiculous numbers that I wont even play with but may wait till about 4 or 5,000 from now on.
-with your thoughts, you would be telling me that my engine has a serious problem and the mobil 1 is doing some serious cleaning where as valvoline isnt cleaning at all. both I find hard to believe when I am talking about a time period of a week

everyone is entitled to use and do whatever they want on their truck. just letting you know the experience I have had between the two.

 

Very well said md..!

I would also like to add some food for thought:
If you`ve been using certain oil, and its always turning black before other oils do, one would think that the ingredients in the oil is breaking down and burning, hence becoming black. I will never believe that an oil turning black way to soon is doing anything good for your engine. If the oil is staying clean, its doing an excellent job and would seem to me that the oil is lubricating much much better. Eventually, ALL oils will turn black, that meens they are done with what they do best...lubricate. I like to think if the oil is staying cleaner for longer periods of time, that meens (to me) i dont need to change it as often. My rule of thumb is, when i see the oil start to darken, change it and replace the oil filter. I dont wait for it to become black, by then its too late in my opinion, its already doing unknown damage. If i cant see thru the oil thats on the dipstick, its well over due. Also if your vehicle sits for months without running, (and some do..!) thats not a good thing either. Oil can break down over time when sitting inside an engine.

Valvoline gets my vote...!
I`m no fan of mobil 1 oil, i`ve seen the results over the yrs of its use.
Quakerstate....big no no...! QS is the KING OF SLUDGE..! That has been proven time an time again.

 

I'm not brand loyal for either Valvoline or Mobil1. When I saw that mdram43 had achieved an increase of oil pressure from 48 to 55 PSI I wanted to see if I could get the same results but I did not get any change in mine. I'm not questioning the veracity of any results but I did read somewhere (I'm looking for the link) that changing oil brands should not result in a change in oil pressure on an engine in good working condition. As far as the color of the oil goes, yes one can change it as often as one feels it's needed based on it's color, it's a personal choice. I don't think that the color of synthetic oil is based on it breaking down and "burning" based on the operating temperatures our trucks see as synthetics have real high flash points (flash point for Valvoline Synthetic is 465 degrees and 470 for Mobil1). The biggest contributor to the color of the oil are the contaminants that the oil is exposed to, so high volume big area air filters while driving on dusty roads and stop and go traffic will get an oil dirtier quicker. That is why severe driving maintenance schedules are more frequent to straight highway driving.
I think we can agree to respectfully disagree and go from there. I must say that I enjoy these discussions and my posts are not intended to offend but to share my thoughts.

This is from the valvoline website;

· I heard that when motor oil becomes dark, that means it's time to change it. Is this true?
This is not a true oil change tip. You cannot determine the life of motor oil by looking at its appearance since it may change color for several reasons. To ensure the best quality product, the best oil change tip is to always follow the owner's manual guidelines for oil change intervals.


I do have some experience with synthetic PAO based oils. I retired last year as Chief Engineer for repairs on military equipment that used PAO. I was in change of several teams of engineers and one of them involved failure analysis. Every unit that we repaired that used PAO had to have the oil analyzed prior to us dismanteling it or hooking it up to our test equipment. We had our own lab and we collected hundreds of oils samples a year and did a Spectrum Analysis for contaminants. We measured the contaminants for size and quantity PPM as well as the materials ( nickel, aluminum, whatever). I personally reviewed the majority of them so I'm quite familiar with what results are and what they mean.

 

Quite a bit of brand comparison with this topic,I have been on the Mobil 1 synthetic since I got my 09 new as that is the oil my dealer uses, prior to that I always used Castrol Edge in my vehicles and am considering returning to it, have had no problems with the Mobil 1 just feel like using a product I am more familiar with, any opinions on the Castrol pro or con.

 

Interesting thread. I noticed a bit of oil consumption with Mobil 1 that I did not see with the conventionals when I switched over at 25k miles, starting dropping about 1/2 qt on dipstick between 5500 mile oil changes. Truck is pretty quiet as far as this 'ticking' goes but it certainly does not like real cold weather morning starts. I will try the Valvoline Syn with the MOPAR oil filter for this oil change due about now, I think I saw it at Walmart when I picked up the M1 last time.

 

I'm not currently using Mobil 1, although I've used it extensively in the past with no issues. I am curious about your statement that Mobil 1 pays OEMs to use their oil. Do you have anything to substantiate that? From what I've been able to find out over 30 vehicles have Mobil 1 as factory fill AND recommended for all service intervals. And over half the NASCAR teams use Mobil 1. That is a lot of companies and teams to pay to use your product, and it doesn't seem logical that manufacturers like Bentley and Porsche not to mention NASCAR teams would compromise their engines by being paid off. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, and would love to see some solid proof that it does.

 

Although Mobil1 is the official NASCAR sponsor, Valvoline also sponsors NASCAR racing. It's all about marketing and getting your company name on a winning car. Both companies "buy" their advertisement by sponsoring. Also, Valvoline racing oil and the Mobil1 racing oil are not the same stuff we buy at wallymart. Our federal government has stepped in and limited the amount of sulfur and phosphorus we can have in our daily drivers oil. I personally don't think either oils is better than the other in my particular application.