Oh no! Another oil thread.. Blackstone UOA for Mobil 1 0W40 v. Castrol Edge SPT 5W40

Attached are the Blackstone lab UOA test results of Mobil 1 (0W40) (third column of report, sample date 1/13) v. Castrol Edge (5W40) (1st column of report, sample date 10/13) on my 2004 Porsche 40th Anniversary Edition. I change the oil myself and do so frequently, cut open the filter and have yet to find issues. The Mobil 1 0W40 is in the third column, tested on January 31, 2013, and was used under winter driving conditions with colder temperatures, and Castrol was in warmer temps reaching up to 115 this summer in the Inland Empire (although very low miles put on during that time frame, with most miles happening with much more modest temperatures on the drive between Colorado and California). Mostly highway driving, 75 MPH speeds. Let the debate begin.

That's one report. Whippy dip. Doesn't mean much. Keep doing them and then you'll know more.

Actually its two reports. And I'm posting DATA for Rennlist users. If you don't think it is relevant then simply ignore the post. If everyone submitted a few reports to Blackstone the discussion might focus on DATA rather than hype, marketing, and voodoo. I have background and training in multi-variate statistics, and while you are correct that two data points don't make a generalizable sample, 20 to 30 such "tests" would make enough data to draw some conclusions. These results are interesting from my perspective and raise the following questions: 1. Why are the Moly, Boron and Zinc numbers lower in the Castrol sample, compared to Mobil 1? 2. A number of people recommend the 5W40 over 0W40, yet viscosity in both samples are comparable after 3800 miles or so (at highway engine operating speeds). Maybe differences would appear on longer Oil Change Intervals? In any case, I challenge you and others to do a similar two reports on Mobil 1 (0W40) and Castrol (5W40), so we can run some statistics.

Let's see, Mobil 1 is; molyb-90, Castrol-5, boron 197-42, and slightly higher in calcium, phosphorous, and zinc. So, can you explain what that means good or bad?

That is my question too, and why I posted hoping one of our oil experts would comment.

I would have expected more similar numbers on the Moly, Boron and Zinc between both oils. It is my understanding that these are the "protective" additives to the synthetic oil to help reduce engine wear. TBN also is higher in the Mobil 1 sample. So, despite my "impressions" from reading about the oil debate on this site, I'd have to say Mobil 1 faired better than I expected against Castrol 5W40. I'll keep doing the tests, and hope others will do a few too so we can have an adequate sample.

P.S. - I buy what is on sale and I am not wed to any particular brand.

Do you cruch numbers for polititians?

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Ha...good one

+1......

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Get off your high horse and pipe down, Frances. Your first attachment only showed one UOA. You edited the post after/during my post. Regardless, you have nothing. You have 2 UOA's. Whippy dip. On top of that you changed oil brands in the process. The old Mobil is contaminating the Castrol report. Like I said, keep doing them, and after a few reports you'll know more. But if you change oils every report you'll be getting less factual information due to cross contamination.

Wow, really snarky comments. Good going guys. I'm sure this will encourage others to post relevant information on this site. At 3500 mile oil changes (not including a "flush" that would prevent contamination of the comparison test), that would take me about 70,000 miles to run 20 more tests. Hmm, I guess I'll just wait 7 years to post any more reports.

Actually, Frances -- the mobil 1 was fully flushed out by a prior oil change of Castrol 5W40 which was not tested, and my original post was both reports, but only one showed up. Also, Frances -- this preliminary test indicates to me that it doesn't really matter whether I use Mobil 1 (0W40) or Castrol Edge (5W40) as they both appear to be fine in my engine, for my driving conditions, and for my relatively short oil change intervals. Again, based on reading all the "hype" about oils, formulation changes to Mobil 1, etc. etc. I am pleased with the results and would continue to use either oil.

I still only see Castrol Edge

The Mobil 1 is the sample dated January 2013, and the Castrol is the new sample dated 10/13.

Only one sample visible for me 10/8/13

The report as posted has the Castrol 5W40, 10/8/13 sample in the first column, 2nd column are the averages of my two reports, third column is the Mobil 1 0W40 data from January 2013, and the last column are universal averages from Blackstone labs database. If you still can't see the data, let me know and I will try to upload the report again.

Both were available to me from your first entry. Funny, I've been using Mobil 1 until my last oil and filter change, and now am using Castrol. I change mine once a year and have been since 06 when I bought it, which is approx. 5k miles.

...5k miles per year.

As my CPO warranty is expiring soon, I figured I'd go with the Castrol 5W40 based on the LN engineering recommendations, and because it was dirt cheap at a NAPA auto parts sale (5 or 5.50 per quart). But, I've got to say that I'll continue to use the Mobil 1 in the Colorado winter, since temps in my area go down to -30 degrees F without wind chill.

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L&N Eng. recommends and sells Motul 8100 X-Cess 5W40 and Joe Gibbs DT 40 5 W40. You should use one of those.

L&N generally recommended moving to a 5W40 over the 0W40 due to shearing. I understand that they sell oil and recommend those two brands -- and I may try the Motul at some point in the near future. But I want to do a few more samples of the Castrol and Mobil for Blackstone. This quote is from the LN Engineering website http://www.lnengineering.com/oil.html "On newer water-cooled Porsche engines where Mobil 1 0w40 is recommended, a simple change to an oil with CJ-4 rating or preferably an oil with SL or CI-4 rating as well as a viscosity of 5w40 rather than 0w40 are two changes that can be done in addition to more frequent oil changes to ensure longevity of newer engines. Granted most of these oils will not come with Porsche approval, so if your vehicle is under warranty, defer to the Porsche approval list and select a 5w40 viscosity where appropriate over that of a 0w40, regardless of API rating, as all will carry the most recent API ratings."

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No, that would be the 4th column. Your second column is your unit location average (the average of your 2 sample's UOAs).

I stand corrected.

Thanks for posting the report. We have to start somewhere. My car has seen M1 up to 115k and I just switched to Castrol 5w40 so this is somewhat interesting. However, we can all see that the numbers are high or low but as you indicated, it's very hard to make sense whether those variations mean much in a real world setting and if it would have any noticeable impacts.

For this first test, it does not seem that wear indicators are very different, even though the ad pack in the Castrol seems off compared to the Mobil 1. I agree, it is just a starting point which is why it would be helpful if others do some similar tests and submit their results to Blackstone and post results.

Your report doesn't snow much difference in oils. Did your car burn 1/2 a quart of Mobil 1 over 3.5k miles? Perhaps because your oil change interval is so short the oils still look fresh. Also, your car has just 60k miles, so there shouldn't be anything failing internally to give abnormal readings. Royal Purple gave me the OK to run their synthetic for up to 15k miles with high capacity oil filter in my Acura. I stuck to 10k oil changes for the last 50k miles, never had to add oil. Car is now at 200k miles. And thumbs up on using the P-car. You put 10k miles on the car in a year, good man!

I'm no oil savant, only wasted a few too many hours reading threads over on BITOG as well as here... My understanding is that earlier versions of Mobil1 0W40 suffered significant high temp viscosity breakdown (viscosity improver breakdown?) and got a somewhat bad reputation, but that the latest formulation (SN-rating) does much better maintaining its high temp viscosity after hard use. Though with your frequent change intervals, and without knowing if you pushed your engine during those 3,700 miles, it could also be that you just didn't exhaust the VI improver capabilities of the M1 in that time. I like Redline 5W40, but a 0W40 is certainly a better choice if you plan on driving during the winter in "The icebox of the nation".

I drove at highway speeds for long distances, but not necessarily racing situations. I agree that there appears to be no difference, and maybe a longer oil change interval (7500) should be tested. I do believe that the Mobil 1 tended to burn off more quickly even at short oil change intervals. I was losing at least one to two bars over a 3 to 5k interval. I did not lose any Castrol according to the oil level indicator, or dip stick during similar mileage and highway speeds. Keep in mind, that between California and Colorado I go over several mountain passes, including Vail Pass and Berthoud Pass, both of which are in the 12,000+ foot range. So, I'd say the engine gets a fairly good work-out compared to city driving. And yes, I bought the car to drive and its a blast from California to Colorado. Although I was nabbed by Utah State Patrol at 89 mph on I15. Now I have a radar detector.

Here is my report from July 2013. The Mileage on the oil is actually about 9,000 miles in about 3 years. I gave them the wrong info when sending in the sample. It is from a 2003 C2 cab that has only ever had Mobil-1 0w40 oil.

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You didn't change oil for three years or am I reading your post wrong?

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Yes, sad to say life got very busy and I didn't get to drive it much. Does that mean y'all will now kick me off the list? Probably going to have all kinds of trouble with the bearings and things, huh? Guess I should buy a new engine now so I'm not stranded on the side of the road?

LOL, wait until KrazyK gets in here. IDK what kind of punishment shall be administered for that. Maybe force you to park your car in Tenderloin at night with top off? LOL.

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Thanks for posting this sample Don King...btw are you the real Don King? Post a pic of your hair to verify. HAHA I'm a long time boxing fan/boxer and love the screen name. Your sample only helps to validate the point I have been making here for a long time now. For low mileage cars running synthetic oil(which includes most of our cars), long interval changes are quite acceptable as time alone does not degrade modern synthetic oils. Your IOA is just one of many that validate my theory.

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+996. I've been in the same camp. Sludge is a byproduct of heat. If the car doesn't get heated, sludge isn't gonna form magically. As for acids attacking your parts, if good amount of additives are still present in your oil(partially determined by TBN test) then no need to worry either. Cars have been around a long time with older tech Dino oils with even more worse abuse from owners/collectors and a good majority of them are just fine. Of course there are those that would pull the fire alarm at the first sign of a smell or get a full colonoscopy if their butt feels funny....

More data all on my 2003 C2 Cab, alas no turbo, the 2013 report is on Motul XS 5-40 changed at low miles while doing IMSB. The others are Mobil 0-40.

I'm so glad that a lot of these reports are coming out of the woodwork. If you guys don't mind reposting it in the thread I created in hopefully having a comprehensive collection of these in one spot. Thank you. https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...l#post10856806