[bluescoupe]

Like the title says, Autozone (at least the local ones in Tampa, FL) have Mobil 1 0W-40 for $3.99 a quart. I found this out on Saturday and the price was still the same yesterday.
All the other Mobil 1 is the regular price at about $7.

I have personally become an oil baron, owning over 40 quarts of 0W-40!
But now I think I should share the information.

They will get used!

[fruition3000]

<-------Castrol only

[dzenno]

bmw's engine oil cap says castrol, i use castrol, period...thanks for sharing though..

[bimmertt]

good deal. I also stocked up on the mobil 1, but it was a deal from advanced auto parts.

[John 070]

What's the cause of the "low" price on this oil? I never like it when only a certain weight is on sale, why not all? I thought 5W30 was recommended, and all the other weights "shear"....

[vasillalov]

Mobil1 has drastically changed its formulation for 0W-40 in the recent years. I used to run this oil in my VW as it is approved and recommended by VW. I did some serious oil analysis of that oil over a span of 3 years. I have to tell you this is a horrible oil!

[dzenno]

look at it like this, do you really think bmw would go as far as putting "castrol" print on the cap if they didn't "really" think this oil worked best with our engines...i'd say stick with what they tell you "unless you find a good/solid independent lab analysis uncovering a reason to switch"...they do a TON of oil testing (lab) before deciding what oil to go with, most of us don't...

[HPIA4v2]

Originally Posted by TrackRat

If you are referring to the UOA I saw online awhile back, the Mobil 1 0W-40 results were slightly lower than the other oil due to silicon (dirt) and fuel contamination of the oil. If you have some oil test sequence (VW or BMW) data showing Mobil 1 0W-40 "is horrible" or that confirms a change in formulation, I'd like to review it as it's always interesting to see what's going on. I hope you realize that a UOA does NOT tell you how well an oil lubricates your engine. A UOA is intended to tell you only if an oil is still serviceable and what contaminants are present. A UOA does not tell you if one oil lubricates your engine better than another oil.

Since Mobil 1 0W-40 is a BMW approved LL-01 oil it would require re-certification if they changed the formulation. It would also need VW re-certification. Below is a typical confirmation letter for a BMW approved oil with terms and conditions.

+1
I don't need posts saying such xyz is trash until I see numbers of oil analysis.
BTW, if you buy Castrol syntec (made in USA) think again about what BMW means when printing CASTROL on the oil cap. Not all Castrol created equal so I hate company making diff blend for diff market in the world.

[742]

Castrol on the cap is an exercise by the Marketing Department. "Castrol" is a brand, not a standard, and they make a wide range of oils -- most of which do not belong in an E90. Some of which I wouldn't put in my lawnmower.

What works best has been determined by the Engineering Department, and that answer is the BMW LongLife 01 (LL01) specification. There are several oils available that meet this standard (generally one from each brand), all of which are acceptable to BMW and all of which have done a "ton" of testing.

Ironically, the Castrol that seems to attract people, the Castrol Syntec 5W-30, is not approved and can void the warranty.

LL01 is what matters. Not the brand.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Conte...ngineOils.aspx

[cb1111]

Originally Posted by Marcus-SanDiego

http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Conte...ngineOils.aspx

BINGO

The use of any listed oil is appropriate. Castrol is printed on the cap probably because Castrol pays for them . It is a recommendation and not a mandate.

[vasillalov]

Originally Posted by HPIA4v2

+1
I don't need posts saying such xyz is trash until I see numbers of oil analysis.

Ok, here you go:


Obviously, this is an aggregated spreadsheet of 5 consecutive oil reports. It speaks volumes, when you consider that there were no mechanical problems with this engine at all, nor there was a change in climate, driving habits or any other external environment variables.

[noro]

Originally Posted by dzenno

bmw's engine oil cap says castrol, i use castrol, period...thanks for sharing though..

you're kidding right?

ever heard of LL-01?

[742]

Originally Posted by vasillalov

Ok, here you go:


Obviously, this is an aggregated spreadsheet of 5 consecutive oil reports. It speaks volumes, when you consider that there were no mechanical problems with this engine at all, nor there was a change in climate, driving habits or any other external environment variables.

There is high fuel in the Mobil 1 samples, which would not be the oil's fault and would explain the poor results.

I have no great feelings towards Exxon, but something other than simple oil performance seems to get going on with your engine.

[vasillalov]

Originally Posted by 742

There is high fuel in the Mobil 1 samples, which would not be the oil's fault and would explain the poor results.

I have no great feelings towards Exxon, but something other than simple oil performance seems to get going on with your engine.

Well, how would you explain that the fuel dilution problem magically got fixed when I switched to Valvoline? Again, there were no repairs done to the engine for the entire period show in this spreadsheet.

...just to be clear, I am not trying to start a war or attempting to bash a product. I strongly believe that Mobil1 0W-40 is no longer the same as it used to be several years back. They changed its formulation since it was first introduced in USA and this shows. One of the interesting things is that Mobil1 0W-4 is no longer a group 4 synthetic oil but rather a group 3. Also, they lowered the TBN of it by 1 or 2 points.

[vasillalov]

Trackrat,

I remember your comments very well from my previous posts. I have not ignored them at all. As a matter of fact I dug through the original reports from Blackstone Labs to see if they put any recommendations in the comments sections.

Concerning the poor performance of the Mobil1 that I was experiencing:

* The very first oil report had the following comments: Great engine, running within norms. Wear metals are within expected averages for this engine

* On the second oil report I inquired about advises for the increased fuel dilution. They commented: a possible problem with the fueling system might be existing. Check an repair fuel system components and especially injectors and re-sample. ---> I called BS on that one since the engine was running smooth as butter, just like the day I bought it.

* The comments about the fuel system problems persisted till I switched to Valvoline. On the first valvoline sample they commented: Nice improvement over Mobil1. Your fuel system problem seems to have been solved and your sample shows much lower fuel dilution. ---> I've not done ANY repairs. I just switched oil brands.

* On the second valvoline sample they commented: "Great results. We recommend extending your oil drain intervail to 6000 miles and re-sampling. Your fuel problems from the previous samples is definitely gone. Good work." ---> Again, I've done NOTHING else, but change the oil and drive the car.

How do you explain all this....?

I am sorry, but when you experience something like that first hand, it leaves a firm mark in your mind about oils.


P.S.:
Do a little research and you will see that I am right about the fact that Mobil1 0W-40 has changed its formulation in the past several years. TBN went down 1-2 points, and it is now group 3 instead of group 4 synthetic oil.

[Alexander]

I just use the BMW Syn oil since it's $60 for a kit from Tischer.

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

In my last car M1 would sheer a lot in caparison to castrol of the same viscosity ratings.

I use BMW's oil regardless from tischer on this car. (which I guess is still castrol).

However, if I decided to go my own route, I would stick with Castrol even still, preferably their European formula.... or Amsoil.

[Alexander]

Originally Posted by TrackRat

Now back to the original thread topic... Mobil 1 0w-40 on sale at Autozone for those who are interested.

Thanks! I work for Advanced, so no it's all just a huge scam!

Not sure if it is Nation wide, I wouldn't think so. Your store might have accidentally received an extra shipment.

I would check myself, but I have 14 quarts already and I don't need to be tempted to buy more.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Originally Posted by TrackRat

You also told me in the other oil threads that you change the air filter every 10K. That would explain why eventually you got the seal correct on the filter or a loose vacuum hose and eliminated the source of silicon being ingested by the engine.

This would explain the silicon problem. There could have been a seal issue, which eventually got solved during a filter change. Or, as you've suggested, something got tightened some place (the source of dirt).

The improved numbers, after switching oil brands, do not prove that the oil was the culprit here. The conclusion doesn't take into consideration other factors that could have come into play. In particular, it doesn't account for an improper seal or other source that allowed dirt to get into the engine.

Are there other samples out there that confirm vasillalov's numbers?

[vasillalov]

Originally Posted by TrackRat

You will note that I didn't say Mobil 1 did NOT change the formulation. I said they would need to re-certify the oil if the formulation was changed and that I'd like to see your data showing the formulation changes, which never appeared.

Well, I will need to dig up the Mobil1 PDFs that I saved a way back and compare them with the latest documents they have on their web site. The type of data you are asking is hard to come by unless you work for Mobil or you are following their product lines historically.

However, I do believe that I have kept some old PDFs on my old hard drive. I will try to post them later on this evening.

On the second note:

I agree with you that there is no way the engine can produce silicone out of nowhere. You may have a good point about the air filter not being sealed completely in the airbox.

[vasillalov]

Originally Posted by Marcus-SanDiego

Are there other samples out there that confirm vasillalov's numbers?

I cannot give you specific numbers, but my experiences and conclusions were shared by a relatively large number of VW and AUDI fans. Of course, there was an equal amount of Mobil1 users who were swearing by the product, so in the end it was just yet another oil argument...

It is definitely not an isolated "incident though".

Look fellas, simply put, I have absolutely no interest to argue about this. I gain nothing and I loose nothing. I do not sell any products here. I work in IT. For me all this is just sharing experience. I just want to contribute to the community with my experience. I am not forcing anything down anyone's throat. We are all grown ups here, (I hope) to be able to make our own decisions and reason about those things.