Mobil1 in my 4th gen

[AKmoney]

So does BMW. Now go to the BMW forums and see how many people are having sludge problems with their engines. You'll find a large disturbing number.

I've owned an '07 335i since new and hang out on bimmerfest.com and e90post frequently.. This is not true. Oil sludge is not a recurring issue. If you were talking about carbon build-up on intake valves (due to direct injection), dying electric water pumps or oil leaks from bad valve cover gaskets, then I'd agree with you.

BMWs use "condition-based service" for oil changes. Up until this year, that generally meant about 15,000 miles but not necessarily always. The computer tells you when to bring it in. Synthetic oil is mandatory. FWIW, I understand that for MY2014, they increased the oil service frequency to about 10K, so the gods in Munich do apparently see some economic benefit in more frequent changes.

FWIW, I've always changed my 335i oil at approx. 7,500mi intervals, or about 2X as often as the factory recommended. The previous owner of my 4runner changed the oil every 5K like clockwork until I bought it with 95K on the clock. The last time I changed it, I put in Mobil 1. I don't plan to change it until 7,500mi have gone by. The 2UZ-FE is a pretty "lazy" engine compared to a BMW N54 and I don't think it's stressed much. YMMV.

 

[LTDSC]

i go every 7k with mobil 1. Oil always looks clean.

 

[V8Man]

Mileage is only part of the equation on oil changes. I installed an hour meter, if they don't already have them, on my cars. I drive highway, wife in town. 3k miles for me at 60 mph is 50 engine hours. Wife 3k miles at 30 mph is 100 hours. Lots of those hours are setting at stop lights, car pool. So you need to know how the miles are put on too to make the determination on when to change the oil.

 

[zimdba]

Mileage is only part of the equation on oil changes. I installed an hour meter, if they don't already have them, on my cars. I drive highway, wife in town. 3k miles for me at 60 mph is 50 engine hours. Wife 3k miles at 30 mph is 100 hours. Lots of those hours are setting at stop lights, car pool. So you need to know how the miles are put on too to make the determination on when to change the oil.

I've never heard of such a device. Link?

 

[MikeInNH]

Are people trying to get the most out of their oil..or the most out of their engine?

I prefer the later.

 

[jwyshrek]

V8Man has a point...in all other types of motor maintenance (aircraft, marine, construction, mining, etc.) or machinery, they go by the 'run hours' and have some sort of hour meter.

I never understood why they never put hour meters on cars and trucks...they've had over a 100 years to do so. There are aftermarket meters you can install on your vehicle. (http://www.carid.com/universal-cust...&cagpspn=pla&gclid=CIHg1ITt6bwCFUxp7AodOisAJA)


This is why the maintenance schedule in your owner's manual list both time and mileage...for example, '6 months or 6000 miles, which ever comes first'.

A vehicle can have low mileage but a lot of run time...idling such as police and first responder vehicles.

 

[SolRayz]

I do an oil change every 5k miles when the MAINT light stays on. No need to complicate things more than that.

 

[MikeInNH]

I do an oil change every 5k miles when the MAINT light stays on. No need to complicate things more than that.

EXACTLY. Why complicate a simple process that works so well??

 

[V8Man]

V8Man has a point...in all other types of motor maintenance (aircraft, marine, construction, mining, etc.) or machinery, they go by the 'run hours' and have some sort of hour meter.

I never understood why they never put hour meters on cars and trucks...they've had over a 100 years to do so. There are aftermarket meters you can install on your vehicle. (Sunpro® - 2" Hour Meter Gauge)


This is why the maintenance schedule in your owner's manual list both time and mileage...for example, '6 months or 6000 miles, which ever comes first'.

A vehicle can have low mileage but a lot of run time...idling such as police and first responder vehicles.

All cars have hour meters in their computer. Some have a way to display it. For example early 2000 GM cars with the ignition off, push and hold down the trip reset button. Hours are displayed. Otherwise any meter can be installed as long as it’s on the run side of the ignition any circuit that is hot while key is on.

 

[Searay50]

I've never heard of such a device. Link?

I had a boat with a pair of Detroits in it. They had engine hour gauges that were triggered by what was called a Hobbs switch, It was similar to an oil pressure sending unit screwed into the block. When it detected oil pressure it completed the circuit to the hour meters. It was more accurate since hours accumulated only when actually operating versus when the run switches were left on for other reasons.

Geez... i just responded to a 4+ year old post. My bad.

 

[Marfy]

I don't change my oil period. I think the requirement to change your oil is a myth. I mean seriously, I have to fill up gas way too much already. Add oil to that and I'd lose my shirt.

 

[kingofthehill]

I use the Mobil one EP Synthetic 5w-30 and the anual/20k mile filter. I am working up to 10k mile oil changes. My last change was around 7k miles and Blackstone said my sample was good with a lot of life left in the oil.

 

[Atlanta_man]

I don't change my oil period. I think the requirement to change your oil is a myth. I mean seriously, I have to fill up gas way too much already. Add oil to that and I'd lose my shirt.

I've got a friend that agrees with you, he adds some oil once in a while to his 10 yr old Camry.

He's an engineer too. But Electrical Engineer.

 

[Billynath1988]

Tip of the day: If you order mobile 1 from Walmart its 22 dollars for 5 qts, spend 10 more dollars and its free shipping. cheaper then in store.

Also, there is a video floating around youtube of oil filter study. multiple brands, Stay with OEM toyota filter. packs of 5 found on amazon cheap.

 

[The Nothing]

I was following this blog 15 years ago

https://www.brianschreurs.org/neptune.spacebears.com/cars/stories/oil-life.html

Since then, I've been running Mobil1 in all vehicles. If it's mine, i change it twice a year (april and october, easy for me to remember) and my wife's car annually (christmas) as she only drives about 7k a year.

And I still feel like I'm throwing away money.

 

[Bluesky 07]

Speaking of throwing away money, it amuses me that people pay $5 more for 5 quarts of Mobil1 when the synthetic oil in the Supertech bottle meets the same standards. I am absolutely convinced that nobody would be able to detect a difference in engine wear using one or the other, or any other brand for that matter. For instance, Castrol full synthetic is within a dollar of the Supertech price, but a lot of people pay the premium for the Mobil1 name.

Curious to know if anyone has evidence of Mobil1 being demonstrably superior, especially to the tune of $1 a quart.

And don’t get me wrong, I do the same thing in terms of buying brand names over generic. It just annoys me because my rational mind understands that the difference, if any, is negligible.

 

[flsurf]

I do the exact same thing. I always seem to find deals on Mobil1 so I get 5 qts and a Mobil1 filter for around $30. I just changed it yesterday and I'm at 95,000 miles.

I know this is an older thread, but do you know which mobil 1 filter you use? On Oreillys it shows either M1-102 or M1-102A? I would guess their the same but wanted to make sure ones not better than the other.

 

[kingofthehill]

I know this is an older thread, but do you know which mobil 1 filter you use? On Oreillys it shows either M1-102 or M1-102A? I would guess their the same but wanted to make sure ones not better than the other.

M1-102 is the older filter that is rated for 15,000 miles. the M1-102a is the newer one that they released when they released the 20,000 mile annual protection oils. Basically same filter, but the latter is suppose to be good for 20,000 mile. I have been using the m1-102a filters because I cant find the M1-102 filters locally anymore.

Speaking of throwing away money, it amuses me that people pay $5 more for 5 quarts of Mobil1 when the synthetic oil in the Supertech bottle meets the same standards. I am absolutely convinced that nobody would be able to detect a difference in engine wear using one or the other, or any other brand for that matter. For instance, Castrol full synthetic is within a dollar of the Supertech price, but a lot of people pay the premium for the Mobil1 name.

Curious to know if anyone has evidence of Mobil1 being demonstrably superior, especially to the tune of $1 a quart.

And don’t get me wrong, I do the same thing in terms of buying brand names over generic. It just annoys me because my rational mind understands that the difference, if any, is negligible.

Im willing to spend the extra for the name brand because many of these store brands basically have different oil suppliers bid on the contract and frequently change suppliers. Mobil one is mobil one. Supertech may be pennzoil, valvoline, mobil one, or some other supplier. To me its worth it to have something that I know is consistently similar to the last batch.

 

[Ralph Blake]

I know this is an older thread, but do you know which mobil 1 filter you use? On Oreillys it shows either M1-102 or M1-102A? I would guess their the same but wanted to make sure ones not better than the other.

I have found the Fram Extra Guard is a quality filter, it's really the paper media that counts and Fram has been the leader in filter paper research.

Also i have never heard of a Fram filter can cracking or bursting, and many other filter Mfg's have had these problems. Correct me if i am wrong or you know of a Fram can having a problem.

 

[Bluesky 07]

Im willing to spend the extra for the name brand because many of these store brands basically have different oil suppliers bid on the contract and frequently change suppliers. Mobil one is mobil one. Supertech may be pennzoil, valvoline, mobil one, or some other supplier. To me its worth it to have something that I know is consistently similar to the last batch.

That's a fair point, but is the Mobil 1 demonstrably different or better than whatever may be in the generic bottle if they all have to meet the same standard and are all approved by the auto manufacturers for use in their vehicles? Is there a significant and measurable difference in engine wear or performance? Nobody really knows the answer and that's what bothers me. We end up paying whatever price our peace of mind is worth instead of buying a product that is proven better than the others.

At the end of the day, I'm 99.9% certain that nothing bad is going to happen under my hood that's oil-related regardless of which one I use.