Mobil 1 synthetic oil varieties

[txtroutbum]

I changed my oil a few weeks ago to Mobil 1 5W-30 for "Truck and SUV"...I've got an '05 SR5 with 25,000 (bought it a few months ago at 20K)..I intend to keep the Mobil 1 in it, and use the OEM Toyota filter.

Went by Wal-Mart the other day for a few odds and ends and thought I'd go ahead and buy 6 or 7 quarts of oil to have on hand for the next time, and they were out of the "Truck & SUV" formulation. Was in Costco this week and they have a decent price on the regular Mobil 1; but it got me to thinking....Is there really much difference in the different formulas of Mobil 1?

I saw 3 fully synthetic formulas on the Mobil 1 website: Mobil 1, Mobil 1 Extended Performance, and Mobil 1 for Trucks & SUV's.

And, what's the best price you've seen on Mobil 1?

 

[RonMAIDEN]

I really doubt there too big a diff in the SUV/truck stuff and unless you tow alot I'm sure you are fine with the regular formulation. I run either M1 or Castrol Syntec.

 

[Jeff Kleb]

Synthetic Oil


I run "regular" Mobil-1 in my 4Runner, and have since the second oil change at 5,000 miles. I get the 'blue' kind that is 5w-30, and it works just fine. I use the OEM Toyota filter, which is especially easy to change on the V6 4Runner.

Don't sweat it, and get whichever one is on sale. Change it often enough & replace your filter each time.....and your 4Runner will thank you by giving years of trouble-free performance.

I am skeptical of those "special formula" oils, and often wonder if the only thing they clean out is your wallet. If Mobil-1 is as good as they say it is, then why bother with extra formulae or additives?

Since I still change my synthetic oil every 3,000 to 4,000 miles - well below the mileage I could put on it - I doubt I could do anything better for my engine by putting in some type of special blend that is supposed to be made for trucks. Unless you have a diesel engine that takes 15w-40 or asks for some "anti-soot" additive, you should stick with the traditional stuff.

Peace and good night.

 

[4Stunna]

An gas engine is an gas engine it doesn't matter if its in a truck or car. The biggest dumbest marking misleadment there is.

 

[Light_Mania]

I haven't run across anything on BITOG that explains what is different about the M1 Truck & SUV formula. The "Extended Performance" formulation is a bit different in that it has a larger additive pack to get it through an extended oil change interval.

Apparently, oil additives over time contaminate the catalytic convertor and shorten its life. The downside to high additive content is a shorter cat convertor life if the oil is changed frequently. I believe the latest oil rating specs call for a somewhat reduced level of additives to prolong cat convertor life.

To add more uncertainty to life, it appears that Mobil 1 - at least some formulations - is no longer "All synthetic" in the sense of the word initially championed by Mobil. They apparently have finally responded to profit demands by using hydrocracked dino oil base stock to help make their synthetic oils. They are still allowed to call it a full synthetic oil, based on the ruling in the Mobil vs Pennzoil suit on the matter.

I hope I got all that right....

 

[Muffin-Man]

I haven't run across anything on BITOG that explains what is different about the M1 Truck & SUV formula. The "Extended Performance" formulation is a bit different in that it has a larger additive pack to get it through an extended oil change interval.

Apparently, oil additives over time contaminate the catalytic convertor and shorten its life. The downside to high additive content is a shorter cat convertor life if the oil is changed frequently. I believe the latest oil rating specs call for a somewhat reduced level of additives to prolong cat convertor life.

To add more uncertainty to life, it appears that Mobil 1 - at least some formulations - is no longer "All synthetic" in the sense of the word initially championed by Mobil. They apparently have finally responded to profit demands by using hydrocracked dino oil base stock to help make their synthetic oils. They are still allowed to call it a full synthetic oil, based on the ruling in the Mobil vs Pennzoil suit on the matter.

I hope I got all that right....

It really is unfortunate that because of pennzoil, now mobil changes there formulation to cut costs, since now mobil 1 is no longer 'truely synthetic' I doubt I will put anything except OEM oil in my T4R.

 

[AggieChris]

Which brand/weight of oil do you guys think is the best to use? I have an 06 4 runner Sport....this time will be my first oil change

 

[Baba Booey]

Which brand/weight of oil do you guys think is the best to use? I have an 06 4 runner Sport....this time will be my first oil change

This is sort of like asking which brand of beer tastes the best. Everyone has their own opinion. Much of it depends upon what you want to spend. If you have money to burn and want nothing but the best, I would say these oils are considered to be among the best (they are listed in no particular order):

Castrol 0w-30 (made in Germany and available only at Auto Zone in U.S. - be sure it says made in Germany on bottle)
Amsoil S2000 0w-30
Amsoil S3000 HDD 5w-30
Redline 5w-30

The Castrol and Amsoil use PAO (Group IV synthetic) as the primary basestock, while the Redline uses POE (Group V synthetic) as the primary basestock. However, for extended drain intervals, the Amsoil would probably be your best bet.

There are other brands that may be even better, but I never see them anywhere (Fuchs, Motul, Synergen, etc.).

I am currenly running Pennzoil Platinum synthetic that I loaded up on at a recent buy one get one free sale, which brought the price per quart down to $2.89. The word is that Pennzoil Platinum is now made using Shell Oil Co.'s XHVI Group III basestock (highly refined mineral oil considered to be synthetic), which may be the best Group III basestock produced (it's rumored to be the same basestock that is used in Shell's Ultra Helix 10w-60 as the factory fill in Ferraris and costs something like $25 per quart). Pennzoil Platinum is putting up great Used Oil Analyses over at the BITOG forum and is highly regarded by one of the most respected and objective members there who analyzes oil for a living.

If you are going to abide by the 5,000 oil change interval to best protect your warranty, you could use just about any decent conventional oil like Havoline, Castrol GTX, Pennzoil, Motorcraft, etc. and buy based on price if you want to save some money.

I am sticking with the 5w-30 weight even though I believe Toyota may now recommend 5w-20 for the 1GR-FE V6. I am not sure if the 5w-20 recommendation was applied retroactively to the V8 or not.

I would stay with a conventional oil (non-synthetic) like Havoline for the first 5,000 or 10,000 miles before switching to synthetic. I know this recommendation is controversial and may represent outdated thinking, but there are those who still believe it's best, and so I figure why not play it safe just in case. It's not like a few thousand miles on conventional oil is going to hurt anything. YMMV.

Check out the "Bob is the Oil Guy" forum for everthing you want to know about oil, and then some.

 

[AggieChris]

I got some Castrol 5W-30 Syntec Blend today at Walmart for $15 for the 5 quart. I am going to change out the oil tomorrow....

 

[tomhaney1]

I changed my oil a few weeks ago to Mobil 1 5W-30 for "Truck and SUV"...I've got an '05 SR5 with 25,000 (bought it a few months ago at 20K)..I intend to keep the Mobil 1 in it, and use the OEM Toyota filter.

Went by Wal-Mart the other day for a few odds and ends and thought I'd go ahead and buy 6 or 7 quarts of oil to have on hand for the next time, and they were out of the "Truck & SUV" formulation. Was in Costco this week and they have a decent price on the regular Mobil 1; but it got me to thinking....Is there really much difference in the different formulas of Mobil 1?

I saw 3 fully synthetic formulas on the Mobil 1 website: Mobil 1, Mobil 1 Extended Performance, and Mobil 1 for Trucks & SUV's.

And, what's the best price you've seen on Mobil 1?

I use "regular" Mobil1 5w-30 also and it works great. I would also concur that the designation for the truck and SUV thing is BS. Just a ploy to get people to pay more. Oh, I also run the K&N performance oil filter.

 

[Uneek]

Which brand/weight of oil do you guys think is the best to use? I have an 06 4 runner Sport....this time will be my first oil change

You can use either 5W30 or 5W20, with API grade SL or higher. The brand and type (regular or synthetic) is your choice and preference.

 

[MadRunner]

Preference..Preference..
I used 10-30w Mobil 1 Synthetic in my '96 runner has 158k on odometer. I just like to pay a little more and have a peace of mind since I use Mobil 1 on my Supra as well. It's cheaper protection for your engine.