oil type?

i am planning to change over to either castrol gtx semi synstic oil or moble 1 full sys. so...what would be my best choice i currenty use castrol gtx oh...its a 95 vin w vortec

Mobil1 Synthetic

I used the Quaker State 4X4 Synthetic. But between those 2 choices I would go Mobil1

I used the Quaker State 4X4 Synthetic. But between those 2 choices I would go Mobil1

Just to let you know, your oil is not a synthetic, it is a hydro-processed Group 3 conventional oil.

Just to let you know, your oil is not a synthetic, it is a hydro-processed Group 3 conventional oil.

Just going by what it says, not an oil expert by any means.

http://www.quakerstate.com/pages/products/oil_synthetic4x4.asp

I agree with BlazerLT, Mobil1 all the way. Stay away from fram filters.

I use only Mobile One Synthetic....but, if you have high miles and have not changed your rear main seal, then you might want to think about not switching. I had a very small leak and after switching over, it got worse and had to change the seal.

I had a small leak when i changed, then the Mobil1 reswelled the seal and allw as good as new. It is not the oil that causes the leak, the oil removes all the gunk that is trapped in there that has been blocking the seal from getting oil, so at first you get a leak, some time later it stops when the seal swells again.

Just going by what it says, not an oil expert by any means.

http://www.quakerstate.com/pages/products/oil_synthetic4x4.asp

I would honestly pass on the blends when changing your oil next time.

They only have 20% of the synthetic oil's capabilities, yet you pay one heck of a lot more than standard conventional. With that being said, the synthetic in it is not a true synthetic.

Get what you pay for, and don't be sucked into the marketing hype.

I had a small leak when i changed, then the Mobil1 reswelled the seal and allw as good as new. It is not the oil that causes the leak, the oil removes all the gunk that is trapped in there that has been blocking the seal from getting oil, so at first you get a leak, some time later it stops when the seal swells again.

Quoted for truth. Same thing happened to me as well.

I will never use anything but Mobil1. When it gets real cold I drop to 0W-30 and then when end of March hits I put 5W-30 in for the whole summer until about the end of November

i am planning to change over to either castrol gtx semi synstic oil or moble 1 full sys. so...what would be my best choice i currenty use castrol gtx oh...its a 95 vin w vortec

today i bougth a gallon of moble one truck/suv 5/30 it was the same price as the 5/30 so heck why not try it after all it gotta get to high revs for the best power (on vortec's) and a wix filter

today i bougth a gallon of moble one truck/suv 5/30 it was the same price as the 5/30 so heck why not try it after all it gotta get to high revs for the best power (on vortec's) and a wix filter

I don't think that is synthetic.

I don't think that is synthetic.

Their products called "mobile1" are fully synthetic. The one's called "mobile" are not.

I hadn't heard of this type before, it looks like a new product:
http://www.mobil1.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Oils/Mobil1_Truck_SUV_5W30.aspx

It would be nice if someone posted a reliable listing of the Groups the major lubricating oil brands and subbrands base oils belong to - as well as the definitions of the oil groups. Would be good for the FAQ.

http://www.carbibles.com/engineoil_bible.html

http://www.carbibles.com/



Nice link I found.

XPC

Everything you will ever need to know about motor oil.

www.bobistheoilguy.com

Be warned, once you start reading you will be glued to your monitor.

The forums are great.

Their products called "mobile1" are fully synthetic. The one's called "mobile" are not.

I hadn't heard of this type before, it looks like a new product:
http://www.mobil1.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Oils/Mobil1_Truck_SUV_5W30.aspx

You are right there.

I think I was mistaking the quaker state truck and SUV.

Good links, but I am still hoping for a listing here of all the major brands and types so that you don't have to correct people when they say such and such a brand is a synthetic when it's not.

I don't think that is synthetic.

okay to clear up your confuseon it is MOBLE1 NOT MOBLE ONE AS I STATED IN THE 1ST REPOST.....sorry and ...it says fully synstic however i do not know of any moble1 product that is not systiic ...

okay to clear up your confuseon it is MOBLE1 NOT MOBLE ONE AS I STATED IN THE 1ST REPOST.....sorry and ...it says fully synstic however i do not know of any moble1 product that is not systiic ...

Was just a mistake on my part.

It is a synthetic.

You sure you should be using a synthetic with a new engine like that?

Was just a mistake on my part.

It is a synthetic.

You sure you should be using a synthetic with a new engine like that?
no prob... and as far as a new eng well alot of people change to syntheic at their 1st oil change with new cars with out any prob. so i do not see why it would be a prob with my motor at 4500 miles if you see any prob please explain....

no prob... and as far as a new eng well alot of people change to syntheic at their 1st oil change with new cars with out any prob. so i do not see why it would be a prob with my motor at 4500 miles if you see any prob please explain....

So this is your second oil change then you should be good.

A lot of the engines that come with synthetic are high performance engines that are broken in on a dino anyways before they are installed.

Just out of curiosity, does anyone use Royal Purple? I know it is expensive but I heard that it is one of the best.

It is not as good as Mobil1.

It is not a true synthetic. It has some true synthetic constituents, but is also has some hydrocracked Group 3 conventional oil.

More marketing than anything.

Mobil1 is a great oil with a high TBN and the ability to go over 8000miles per oil change without a flinch.

I keep a half-bottle of German made Castrol Synthec 0w-30 in my truck at all times, though she doesn't consume any at all. Mostly it is there when I do a mid-term oil filter swap at 6k miles. (I run 1 year/12000 miles on my oil choice)The big reason why is to show off a little when the Royal Purple guys come around with a Timken machine to demonstrate how "good" and superior their products are. (A fellow on the BITOG oil site had a similar experience, BTW) I wrap the bottle with duct tape to obscure the label and ask them to run a few Oz. of this through thier machine after demonstrating just how much furhter and how much more pressure their precious oils go. You can't stop the rotor on a Timken machine no matter how hard you press on it with a load of German Castrol 0w-30 in the cup. :D Royal Purple will stop the machine and turn into black goo after you get about 80 pounds on the lever. I do not think I will see that fellow at the local NAPA shop anymore. Now if I can only get them to take that stupid Lucal oil stabilizer display off the front counter - the one with the silly little plastic gears inside with the crank you can turn to make it work. :D A good oil choice will not require bulking up with additive either.

Mobil -1's a great choice, it's commonly available and protects well. They recently toughened up their 5w-30 to be a little thicker, so there should not be much issues with leaks and breakdown at the end of it's serice life like before. I on the other hand, did not like the rattle-clack it made my valvetrain do on startup. The rattle and clack went away with the switch over to German Castrol (I have been lucky to buy ALL of it up in my area - the oil's no longer produced by Castrol so good luck finding it) and a switch over to plain old AC/Delco or Wix Filters. I have enough stash of this stuff for the next 10 years of oil changes on all of my vehicles.

Rare, but if you can find it - German Made Castrol 0w-30 gets my vote. Combined with a good Wix or AC/Delco filter, no troubles at all. I used to use Mobil-1, but it gave me startup rattle and clack noises. But this was before they reformulated it - their 5w-30 Trisyn and Synthetic now are made much more robust and a tad thicker than say just 6 months ago.

Mobile -1 T&SUV oil is reformulated HDEO oil used in diesel big rigs. No worries though HDEO's work well in our engines too. I used to run Either Shell Rotella Synthetic or Mobil Delvac (Which T&SUV was based on) to do a deep, thorough clean-up of the engine before swithing it over to synthetics. Minor leaks that *can* arise from switching tosynthetics usually dissapear in about 3-4 oil changes. The "false seals" made of goop, varnish, gum and grit get washed out by the very penetrating and cleaning properties of synthetics. THen the seal contidioning properties that are added to most synthetics go to work and keep the seals fresh, clean and swollen to spec and the little drips dry up.

EDIT: Sorry about the double post, my browser flipped out on me and broke my message up. :P

You are right on track.

The one thing about German Castrol Syntec is that the 0w30 is now not the same as the 2004 and earlier batches.

No longer green. Results haven't varied much, but it is still a mystery as to what this oil is.

All that anyone is saying, even those in the know - is that it is a "trick" formulation. Totally synthetic in nature and completely unadulterated. It's just loads and loads of esters, the usual findings of ZDDP, some calcium for detergency and that's it. There is basically *nothing* in the oil to go wrong as it is not additized beyond standard chemistry for cleanliness and particle suspension. As it's TBN or "ability to eat and suspend" loose carbon, acids and combustion byproducts is slowly depleted over time, it does not shear down, or thin with age; but gets thicker. Not many oils can claim that, claim to quietly cover so many standards so wonderfully and just simply work.

THe new "Gold" colored stuff seems to be built along the same lines, but the Zinc, Phosphates and calcium have changed a mite bit to stay inline with what's needed for SM service. (Long life Catalyst requirements) People have not reported much difference. I will try some once my stocks deplete, but for now, my older 95 engine speced for pre SM oil standards just loves the devil out of the old forest green mystery oil.

Just to clarify, TBN is the total base number which is the total amount of additive in the oil.

Mobil1 is 12 and Castrol GTX is around 8-9 and when the TBN drops to around 1 , the oil will need changing.

It isn't the carbon eating number at all, it is a representative amount of total additive in the oil.

Total Base Number measures the corrosion preventative levels of amines (the "base") that eat combustion-related acids in the oil. It is only a measure of the ability of the anti-corrosion additives ability to neutralize acids in the oil and nothing more.

Once the amines are depleted, your oil gets much lower in pH and you begin to get corrosion by the acids, resulting in pitting of all the metal surface that is oil-whetted. Probably also contributes to formation of sludge.

Agreed, but with clarification - TBN is also what helps an oil carry away and suspend, thus "eat" things that the oil filter will not trap.....in addition to the properties you pointed out. When TBN is depleted one of many bad effects as a result is percipitation of those suspended materials and the inability to keep "washing" metallic parts clean. We know that condition as sludge. :D

You are partially right in that depletion of TBN affects the suspendability of the particulates, but it is the VI improver/dispersant that suspends other particulates. This polymer is undoubtably degraded when the oil gets acidic.

The amine content, as measured by TBN indicates nothing except the oil's ability to neutralize acids. It is simply a titration of the oil with acid in the laboratory.

http://www.oiltrack.com/index.php?pagename=lubricating_oil_description

http://www.paragon-sci.com/htm/p-tbn.htm

Understood, perhaps I was in error in trying to simplify things a little too much? Not everyone's a geek like I am, or as knowlegable as you are. :D But it's good that this info comes out. Informed consumers are the best consumers - they force companies to stay on their toes. :)

The higher the better.

My Esso XD-3 0w30 Synthetic I use has a TBN over 12.2+

Only available in Canada though.

I apologize if I disagree over minor issues, but IMO, it is better to be painfully precise than only glossing over facts to keep things simple. Most people will try to understand the most complex argument if they are interested. If not, they don't care enough to read it.

In reality, even if you or I try to be very precise in a description or process, it is still really only the current thinking about what is happening, and probably not reality. Reality is always more complex, but yet much more elegant than our perception of it.

just a thought, with the limited ability of the oil filter (basicily any brand-I know...except fram!) to do it's intended job of cleaning the oil, I would think CHANGING your oil often would be the best thing for your engine. regardless of all the chemicals etc in all the different oils everybody likes or dislikes,the dirt & crud that ends up in the crankcase does the damage. I'd rather change my oil at 3ooo mi. & have new clean oil in the engine than go a bunch more miles with all the slop inside

IMO, there is no need to change the oil very frequently. The suspended particles in the oil are of a size that is much smaller than the clearances of your engine. That is why they set the specifications for the oil filters to be what they are. Anything that can pass the oil filter should not be harmful. Color does no harm. Any additive level above a certain amount adequately protects your engine.

There is no benefit in changing the oil more frequently than that needed to keep the additive levels above a certain point. The oil filter (unless plugged and being bypassed) captures the particles that can cause damage. Actually, the older an oil filter gets, the better it filters - up until it can no longer flow enough oil and gets bypassed.

just a thought, with the limited ability of the oil filter (basicily any brand-I know...except fram!) to do it's intended job of cleaning the oil, I would think CHANGING your oil often would be the best thing for your engine. regardless of all the chemicals etc in all the different oils everybody likes or dislikes,the dirt & crud that ends up in the crankcase does the damage. I'd rather change my oil at 3ooo mi. & have new clean oil in the engine than go a bunch more miles with all the slop inside

old myth, the 3000mile oil change died in the 70s.

The only thing keeping it alive is lube stations and lack of knowledge about oil.

Hell, some people change their oil every 3000miles with synthetic which is a shame and a waste of good oil.