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© 2002-2005 Brian F. Schreurs
Even we have a disclaimer.
Truth costs money.
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Mobil 1 5W30 Super-Syn Formula
Down the hatch! Our LS1 gets its Mobil 1.
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Mobil 1 currently enjoys the distinction of being the only readily available true PAO synthetic motor oil. You can get the stuff at Wal-Mart for Pete's sake! Perhaps because of its wide availability and comparatively low price, we entered this test with both hope and skepticism: hope that it would do well and vindicate millions of M1 users, and skepticism that it would pull it off. We were expecting it to look pretty beat up by 8,000 miles or so; to say we missed the mark would be polite understatement. Mobil 1 really delivered: 18,000 miles later, it was showing its age but was still hard at work protecting the engine.
| Mobil 1 Honor Roll |
| 0 | Brian Schreurs |
| 1,000 | Gregory Wells |
| 2,000 | Joshua Scott |
| 3,000 | Charlie Nowlin |
| 4,000 | Andrea Holladay |
| 5,000 | Jay Rasberry |
| 6,000 | "Patman" |
| 7,000 | Sunny Garofalo |
| 8,000 | "Orange 01SS" |
| 9,000 | Tommy Lawson |
| 10,000 | Timothy Bundrick |
| 11,000 | Paul Seminara |
| 12,000 | Neil Womack |
| 13,000 | "Jerry" |
| 14,000 | "Joee12" |
| 15,000 | Gary Heidebrecht |
| 16,000 | George Michaels |
| 17,000 | Stephen Scheifler |
| 18,000 | John Richardson |
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As our first phase of the Synthetic Oil Life Study, it was as much a learning experience for the process as it was for the results. We changed some things along the way -- moved the filter change from a mileage-based rule to a performance-based rule, altered the tolerable limits for viscosity, learned a lot about TBN, and a few other things -- which set precedents for the remainder of the study.
But the big question is, what have we learned so far? Here are a few points to ponder, based on our experience with the Mobil 1 phase.
- Getting just one oil analysis only tells a tiny piece of the picture. It essentially would serve only as a pass/fail mechanism; without a trend to monitor, the most interesting parts of the analysis would be impossible to see.
- Total base number is a moving target. There are multiple methods for testing it, which makes comparisons between laboratories worthless, and none of the methods have repeatability rates worth getting excited about. While TBN is worth considering as part of the larger picture, as a singular measure it is too flawed to rely on.
- Engine wear actually decreases as oil ages. This has also been substantiated in testing conducted by Ford Motor Co. and ConocoPhillips, and reported in SAE Technical Paper 2003-01-3119. What this means is that compulsive oil changers are actually causing more engine wear than the people who let their engine's oil get some age on it.
- Topping up the crankcase is a critical component of extended oil change intervals, and frequent filter changes are most likely the key to extreme-length intervals. The cumulative effect of even minor top-ups, let alone a filter change, substantially increases the longevity of the oil.
Based on the results we've got here, we'd recommend 8,000 miles between oil changes on an engine that uses no oil at all, perhaps 10,000 miles on an engine that uses some oil, and 15,000 miles or beyond with a filter change every 5,000 miles. This, of course, isn't any kind of guarantee, and you must evaluate for yourself what your engine requires. One thing we're pretty sure about though: 3,000-mile intervals is a huge waste of resources.
This is a long page with a lot of information. Here are a few bookmarks to help you navigate:
Test Sample Results
The Effect of Top-Up Oil
Interpreting Wear Metals
Test Sample Results
CLICK THE GRAPHIC FOR A FULL-SIZE VIEW
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Oil Miles
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0
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0*
|
1000
|
2000
|
3000
|
4000
|
5000
|
6000
|
7000
|
8000
|
|
Aluminum
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
5
|
6
|
5
|
5
|
|
Chromium
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
|
Iron
|
2
|
2
|
10
|
12
|
14
|
19
|
23
|
26
|
27
|
35
|
|
Copper
|
0
|
0
|
58
|
75
|
81
|
99
|
102
|
105
|
101
|
111
|
|
Lead
|
0
|
0
|
5
|
4
|
4
|
7
|
8
|
11
|
12
|
13
|
|
Tin
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
5
|
4
|
2
|
5
|
4
|
3
|
5
|
|
Molybdenum
|
68
|
69
|
69
|
74
|
60
|
65
|
72
|
75
|
74
|
75
|
|
Nickel
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
Manganese
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
|
Silver
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Titanium
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Potassium
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
9
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
|
Boron
|
120
|
202
|
172
|
178
|
139
|
124
|
150
|
155
|
155
|
140
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|
Silicon
|
4
|
4
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
11
|
12
|
|
Sodium
|
7
|
7
|
8
|
8
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
9
|
8
|
10
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|
Calcium
|
2649
|
3014
|
2780
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2812
|
2599
|
2429
|
2709
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2821
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2930
|
2988
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Magnesium
|
18
|
25
|
73
|
69
|
66
|
71
|
66
|
68
|
61
|
64
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Phosphorus
|
737
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817
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763
|
800
|
694
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699
|
742
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773
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778
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764
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Zinc
|
819
|
921
|
895
|
1011
|
815
|
815
|
890
|
899
|
922
|
985
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Barium
|
0
|
0
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0
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0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
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Viscosity
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60.3
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59.7
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59.6
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58.9
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60.1
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59.3
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58.5
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59.9
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60.2
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61.4
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Flashpoint
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430
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435
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390
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380
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390
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395
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415
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415
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420
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430
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Fuel
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<0.5%
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0%
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3.0%
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<0.5%
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<0.5%
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<0.5%
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<0.5%
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<0.5%
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<0.5%
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<0.5%
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Antifreeze
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0%
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0%
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0%
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0%
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0%
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0%
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0%
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0%
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0%
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0%
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Water
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0%
|
0%
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0%
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0%
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0%
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0%
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0%
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0%
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0%
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0%
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Insolubles
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Trace
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0%
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0.3%
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0.3%
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0.3%
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0.3%
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0.3%
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0.3%
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0.4%
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0.4%
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TBN (old)
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15.5
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14.5
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16.5
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11.5
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8.5
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6.0
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6.0
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6.5
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6.0
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5.5
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TBN (new)
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11.8
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|
|
|
|
|
|
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Oil Miles
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9000
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10000
|
11000
|
12000
|
13000
|
14000
|
15000
|
16000
|
17000
|
18000
|
|
Aluminum
|
7
|
6
|
6
|
7
|
6
|
6
|
5
|
6
|
6
|
5
|
|
Chromium
|
2
|
2
|
3
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
|
Iron
|
38
|
36
|
42
|
41
|
33
|
37
|
36
|
36
|
48
|
47
|
|
Copper
|
124
|
110
|
127
|
124
|
106
|
110
|
105
|
108
|
114
|
102
|
|
Lead
|
16
|
17
|
22
|
26
|
20
|
25
|
25
|
26
|
31
|
31
|
|
Tin
|
4
|
4
|
3
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
7
|
6
|
3
|
1
|
|
Molybdenum
|
83
|
78
|
76
|
74
|
75
|
83
|
84
|
81
|
74
|
72
|
|
Nickel
|
1
|
1
|
1
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