Valvoline vs Mobil 1?

moazam · moazam's Garage

I got an oil change today and noticed that we had to use 10 quarts of Mobil 1 which ended up costing $78.50.

Now, the PO had used 12 quarts of Valvoline 20W50 Turbo V which cost him $40.

Is the Mobil 1 worth the extra cost?

Thanks.

-M

jazzbass · 07:37 PM

Uh-oh. Let the dino vs. synth wars begin anew.

Search the archives. Lots of info there. Probably too much. Read it all, come away not knowing the answer to your question, as the dino/synth debate seems to be 50/50. Basically, you'll get answers along the lines of either:

"Modern dino oils are formulated so good that you don't need synths. Plus, synths make old engines leak. I've run both, and can tell no difference. Save your money, stick with dino"

or

"Mobil 1 (or Castrol) is the greatest thing in the world. Its like I have 10hp extra since switching. The engine runs cooler and is more responsive. No leaks at all. Definately worth the price."

in about equal doses. Me personally? I save the money and go dino. When changing the oil every 3k miles, I don't thinks there much difference, personally. I have too mony other things on this car to spend my cash on. Valvoline 20W-50 Racing formula for me.

pwd72s · 09-10-2003, 07:06 PM

I'm curious who charged $7.85 per quart for Mobil 1 and got away with it...

Randy Webb · 09-10-2003, 07:31 PM

Check the location, pwd -- Fremont = SFO area suburb. He is paying for the elan & style....

350HP930 · 09-10-2003, 07:33 PM

I usually chose either Castrol, Valvoline or Shell Rotella for my 930 depending on what was the cheapest at the time.

I could never quite justify the cost of mobil synthetic when I would be draining it in 3-5K miles just like I would the dyno oil.

Schrup · Schrup's Garage

Check out this thread.
Synthetic or non-synthetic oil poll
Clear as mud.

HarryD · 09-10-2003, 08:22 PM

I am a Dino guy.

As an aside, I asked my wrench about using the "racing" oils. He suggested I stay away as the additive packages in them are not as long lasting as the ones in the "standard" formulations. Even if I change my oil every 3000 miles, the interval is too long to prevent them from breaking down.

Phil Gilsdorf · 09-10-2003, 10:55 PM

my father would run without oil before he put mobil 1 in his cars, this all stems from mobil 1's foray in aviation oil.
if you want to know all the facts:
http://www.avweb.com/news/news/182893-1.html

in summary, mobil advertised an av-oil that reduced sludge better than all other oils, but in actuality it caused engine failures(engines filled with sludge). Mobil 1 stone walled the aircraft owners/engine rebuilders but eventually settled. As a pilot like my father i find it very disturbing, if they would allow this kind of slip up with aviation oil, it makes you wonder how little research and testing goes into automotive oil.

IROC · IROC's Garage

A lubrication expert (this guy had devoted waaay too much time in his life to the subject of lubrication) made a presentation at our PCA region's tech session a few years ago (Dixie Tech) and I asked him the perennial dino vs synthetic question.

He said that as long as you use a good, name brand oil and change it on a regular basis, sythetic oils offer no real benefit over dino oils. He said that their real benefit would come into play if you lived in Alaska or some other harsh environment where the lower pour points, etc., of the synthetic would help. For all the rest of us, it's unnecessary.

I'd like to see someone come forward with real, documented evidence of dino oil causing a problem in their engine. That would be something to ponder rather than the "feel good" anecdotes about how great synthetic oils are with no real quantitative evidence to back it up.

Mike