Mobil 1 Runs Cooler?

[vesnyder]

Just had a couple days here in NE Ohio where the outside temperature is Spring like (mid 60's) and noticed that my car seems to be running hotter than last year? Realized that I changed out my Mobil 1 (synthetic) for Valvoline VR-1 (dino oil) during the Winter. Does Mobile 1 tend to run cooler that standard oil? I realize there are a lot of factors - ambient temp, aggressivness - that could affect oil temp, so my readings are not scientific? Has anyone noticed this or is it my imagination? Moving to Valvoline has definitely cured some of my oil leaks!

May be time to investigate that oil cooler I wanted?

[kepperly]

vesnyer,
I recently attended a PCA tech session with Bruce Anderson and "THE" motor oil recommended was Kendal gt 20-50 for its supior heat transfer abilities. This was also listed in Excellance
magazine! I switched from Mobil-1 and my leaks "STOPPED".
At only $26.00 a case of 12 you can't go wrong.

Keith- 87 slant nose cabriolet carrera

[jbripps]

I've also heard that the synthetics can cause some seals to leak in "older" cars, especially 911's. I would stay away from it.

regards,

[gr8fl4porsche]

Before winter I put in Mobil One 15-50 in my 87 with 86,000 miles.
Now have about 6 oil leaks noticeable on my garage floor that were never there before and oil consumption increased.
I am switching back to dino oil as soon as my filter ( and new plug wires!) come in from Pelican
.

[gaijinda]

I have been poking around some VW interest sites over the winter. The subject of heat transfer ability of Dino -vs- Synthetic has been brought up... Any one else hear about this??

[zanick]

yes, the only draw back to synthetics is the leak factor in old cars. Ive seen the same temps on the track with kendal 20-50 as I do with Redline 15-50 and now Amzoil 20-50. driving around town wont really show any difference in the oil temps with different oils, but the age of your oil coolers, radiators, and oil thermostats could.
mk

[Targa Dude]

I would not concider temps of Mid 60's for the base line of any oil performance. I'm surprised you were able to elevate your oil temps at all.

Jorge (Targa Dude)

[movin]

On another note, has anyone seen the instructions for Web Cam installation? It states they do not recommend synthetic oils for use with their cams! Local wrench showed this to me and he has seen it all, pitted cam lobes and rockers, leaking engines, etc., all do to synthectic (usually Mobil 1 ) oils. I'm going back to Kendall or Valvoline for my '87.

[Emission]

First, to answer your question... I don't think synthetic oil will make the car run any cooler. Once the engine is running at normal temps, both oils seem to 'lubricate' just as well.

Second, to put fact in front of fiction...

Synthetics flow better when cold - This means the oil gets around your engine (and critical parts) better during the first few critical seconds.

Synthetics protect better at high temps - This means they won't breakdown under very high temps when dino oil will become gunk. This is critical for the lubrication of turbo engines.

Synthetics have better detergent action - This means they will remove old sludge that is blocking oil passenges and preventing leaks. As a result of this internal cleaning, your engine may leak.

Something else to consider - Every jet turbine engine uses synthetic oil (serious stress and temps). Today, factory fill for BMW, Porsche, Ferrari, Corvette... is all 100% synthetic. Factory fill for Pontiac, Kia, and Saturn is dino oil.

[CEO]

Ditto to what Emission said. I use Royal Purple 20-50 and love it. I have rubbed Mobil 1 and dino oil between my fingers after an oil change and you can really tell that the Synth. oil still feels newer then the dino oil. Keep in mind that this is not a scientific test. And I do not own stock in Royal Purple. But I did notice a drop in my engine temp last summer.
Regards, Kenneth

[pwd72s]

Add me to the synthetic camp..."old" engine and all...

[kepperly]

I guess all respect for Bruce Anderson has vanished. This guy
has probably had more 911 engines apart than most of you
have unhooked bras!!! Think about it mobil-1, 4.50 a quart
kendal - 12 quarts for $26.00 if you are that anal change it
twice as often.plus a lot less leakage and you can see the smoke!!!!

Keith Epperly- 87 slant nose cabriolet turbo look carrera

[mb911]

Bruce knows his stuff but I can tell you if you use a synthetic oil in a porsche engine you will experince cooler temperatures , a cleaner engine, and better protected.

The big deal with the stuff is that it cleans the sludge out of the old seals and promotes leaks. The other thing that needs to be considered is that we are all running a gear driven layshaft/oil pump. This requires a GL5 additive to protect for years of trouble free service. I have found that a motorcycle oil works best as it provides the leak free pluses of the DINO oil and the flowing, cool running of the synthetic oils.

Ben

[movin]

Does anyone remember what the Performance Magazine article stated about Kendall Oil? Was it compaired to any synthetics? Quite a number of experienced/seasoned mechanics are skeptical of synthetics due to what they have seen in rebuilds, especially cam and rocker wear. However, the synthetics offer superior resistance to breakdown. The private aviation folks seem to like dino oil because it creats a varnish that coats engine internals that protects them from corroesion while sitting for prolonged periods.

[mb911]

I must mention that private avaition folks do not have much choice of the oils they use because so very few are PMA'd or authorized for that use. But yes some synthetic oils have been known for wear to cams but the blends seem to work the best.

Ben

[chrisp]

I have used Mobil1 for the past two years and have switched to Kendall this year. The main reason is cost. 20-50 GT-1 is $1.50 a quart at my local Autozone.

I know an oil engineer and Mobil1 is the best value of any oil out there. But if you change often it really doesn't matter. It does have better heat resistance properties so it goes in the wifes A4 1.8T because that little sucker works hard.

I will probably respond to the many oil related posts that will come up this year. I will be able to compare Mobil1 to Kendall later when I have more miles and a few track days on it.

Who really knows what the wear protection is from one oil to the other. None of us do. John Walker and Bruce probably have the most experience.

I suspect in the world of oils there are bad oils and there are the rest. Can anyone really measure in the field the differences between the best and the second (or fifth) best oils? Probably not. The oil industry has become very marketing intensive in the past 10-15 years. I think this says something. The market is saturated and all of the products are good. Features and benefits are no longer a competitive selling point...which NASCAR driver uses it is.

[kstylianos]

FYI:

Walt at Competition Engineering is currently working on my top end and we stumbled into this very conversation.

His thoughts:

- Synthetic is not worth the money as you are 'supposed' to change every 3-3.5K anyway. Dino's don't lose the effectiveness at 3.5K miles.

- Most Cam manufacturers (Webcam, Elgin, Crane, etc.) state their warranty is void if synthetic is used. Don't know the specifics, but if 'most' do, its for a reason.

- He's never seen an engine need a rebuild due to 'bad' oil, just to lack of it.

- As far as dino's, he doesn't like Pennzoil as its leaves a 'varnish' coat on the inside the case. Not necessarily bad, may be a rebuilders headache to remove.

- His favorite dino oil's are Kendall and Castrol. This is what he runs in his cars.

Not my opinions, but from a very respected 2nd generation Porsche engine rebuilder.

[movin]

Regarding the voiding of warranties by cam manufacturers, Webcam said in their opinion most synthetics don't have zinc additives and this may be the problem. That's true for the some brands except Red Line, Ams Oil, and others. The performance synthetics do have the phosphorous and zinc antiwear additives; these additives generally have been removed in most brands to enhance O2 sensor and catalytic converter life.

[Emission]

The topic of oil is so subjective, even among the scientists.

Each of want our oil to do something different. Some want good flow at low temps, others want high temp stability. Some don't want varnish in the engines, some do. Some of us like high detergent, and zinc... The list goes on and on.

One thing is for sure. Like a post above says, I've never seen an engine "fail due to oil" as long as the owner followed the service schedule (regular oil and filter changes)...and that goes for synthetic or dino oil.

Now, I CAN tell you who makes the best hamburger...

[Targa Dude]

Their is only one oil I will ever run in my P-car... been running Kendall for about 10 years now even with the new formula it's still the best oil for older P-cars IMHO


Jorge (Targa Dude)