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Synthetic vs Conventional motor oil question

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^ M1 used to be made with much more synthetic properties to it, but they said hey why do Castrol and Penzoil make oil mostly with Highly refined oil and get to call their's Fully synthetic. So they changed their formula.
 
Apparently Mobil 1 "Advanced Fuel Economy" is the old formula http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Oils/Mobil_1_FAQs.aspx#FAQs6

Edit: Oh wait, I think they mean they added the "AFE" to the name in 2008

Haven't you been offering Mobil 1 0W-20 and Mobil 1 0W-30 already? What's different about Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy?
They are the same formulations as the products marketed prior to 2008. As the importance of fuel economy has increased, we felt it was important to communicate to consumers which products in the Mobil 1 family offer the greatest potential for improved fuel economy. Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy oils are engineered to deliver outstanding engine protection while improving fuel economy.
 
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Well, I changed oil this weekend. Got Valvoline SynPower on sale at $21/5qt from Walmart (how timely). The change itself was stupidly easy, albeit very very messy. Spilled some oil while unscrewing filter and pouring used oil from a pan back into container to recycle later. I think I'll invest in an aluminum 2x6 feet tray to put under the actual pan in case of future mini spills. Spent probably an hour altogether but it should be faster next time.

Two questions:
1. Isn't oil drain plug supposed to have some kind of shim, metal, rubber, or otherwise? There wasn't any on mine.
2. How tight are you supposed to tighten the oil filter? Some page I googled said tighten it by hand as much as possible and then turn 2/3rds of a revolution with a wrench. That's what I did, but I'm wondering if that's right or if there is a specific torque for the filter?
 
Hand tight is good enough. Remember to lube the gasket all around with fresh oil.

As for the washer, some plugs use a crush washer, some have a rubber gasket bonded underneath the head of the screw.
 
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For the oil filter yea, just hand tight.

For the drain plug I first use my fingers to finger tight Then I give it a good tighten with my 14mm wrench. My car has a crush washer which I changed once and never again..

Just be careful to not cross thread.


The oil does not even come out until the last few threads of my bolt any how. I just apply pressure while unscrewing and then quickly pull away when its loose.

My oil filter is located directly above my drain plug, so I just unscrew it a little bit after the oil is done draining. And it will drain some more out from the filter area. Then when thats done I just remove the old one and install the new one. No spill nada.
 
thescreensavers said:
^ M1 used to be made with much more synthetic properties to it, but they said hey why do Castrol and Penzoil make oil mostly with Highly refined oil and get to call their's Fully synthetic. So they changed their formula.
Click to expand...


In fact, I believe Mobil 1's change came after Mobil 1 took Castrol and Pennzoil to court (in 1999 if I remember correctly) about the latter calling their oils synthetic despite using Group III bases while Mobil 1 used a Group IV base. When Castrol/Pennzoil won the case, Mobil 1 moved to a Group III base.
 
Meghan54 said:
In fact, I believe Mobil 1's change came after Mobil 1 took Castrol and Pennzoil to court (in 1999 if I remember correctly) about the latter calling their oils synthetic despite using Group III bases while Mobil 1 used a Group IV base. When Castrol/Pennzoil won the case, Mobil 1 moved to a Group III base.
Click to expand...

Some oils like their 0w oils I believe are a group IV, but I don't know if that has changed or not.
 
Mobil 1 did a Q&A with bobistheoilguy forums.

Guess what. They didn't answer the questions about whether their oil is synthetic or not.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/cms/i...ew=article&id=89:mobil-1-qaa&catid=35:content

Note that we are unable to answer the following questions, as they would require discussion about our proprietary formulations; however, rest assured that Mobil 1 is rigorously tested in real-world conditions, designed to be an all-around synthetic motor oil, and is balanced among the key performance attributes for ultimate protection. The questions included:
Is the newest version of Mobil 1 15W50 a PAO/ester based oil (grp IV/V),or is it a grp III hydrocracked based oil? Is there any difference between the newest label version and the previous silver cap version?
...
Group III or Group IV/V base stock this is as well an ongoing debate, and a debate that wields a double edge sword so to speak. I hope you can/will shed light on this subject ending this debate once and for-all !! I see nice M1 prices while shopping for oils, at Walmart M1 is now one of the cheaper synthetics as well at many other retail stores it can be said M1 is one of the cheaper priced synthetics off the shelf which is great.. so just by this alone I have come to the conclusion that M1 is group III which I find nothing wrong with, and please if you can explain in depth the use of group III oil in this soon to be sticky it would be outstanding to have two oil manufactures back to back showing information on the use of group III for base stock verses just purchasing oil deeming it by base stock group.
Click to expand...
 
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