Mobil-1 Racing oil?

[badrich]

Shelby Enterprises recommended Union20W/50 (conventional) oil for my new engine. I plan on changing to synthetic when I do my first oil change. Since my machine is used for street and occasional autocross purposes, I am primarily interested in durability. I get plenty of horsepower, so I don't need to go with the thin stuff to squeeze out a few more ponies. Since I am blessed with decent weather, it doesn't get that cold, so I think continuing with 20W/50, or a reasonable facimile, will work. My question is, what brand to choose? There are so many choices out there, it gets confusing. By the way, the rumors about FEs leaking a little oil here and there are correct. Even with my FE replica motor. I just wipe it down regularly. Sure runs good though! Rich

[Tim Brewer]

Talking about synthetics vs regular oil is like the Ford / Chevy thing. I've used synthetics in my in my F350 for years, and later I'll put it my Cobra. Here's the deal on what I have learned over the years:
1) You don't need "racing" oil if it's not a full time race car.
2) NEVER put synthetic in an engine with less than 1000 miles on it, you WILL ruin your engine. (rings won't seat correctly)
3) Synthetics will sometimes leak in an older engine or an engine that's not too well sealed in the first place.
4) You'll find that a lot of "older" mechanics and engine builders will tell you not to use synthetics only because it's a new school thing, and most of these guys are old school when it comes to lubricants.
5) Synthetics will hold up longer than petrolium.
6) I know of builders that have torn down BBF's after 100,000 miles using regular oil, and the cylinders were still within spec.
It's all just whatever you want.......
Tim

[Hotfingrs]

CSX4027, Here's something to think about. when you say drag racers have been using thinner oil for years....went to a nastalgia drag this weekend, AA/FD and AA Alters....talked to a lot of crews, and to a man they were using 70w Mostly Kendal. Just had to throw this into the mix.

[CSX 4027]

The nostalgia drags would be more apt to use the old stuff. The new Drags use the thin stuff

[Don]

The Corvette Z06 came from the factory with Mobil
1 Oil , a brand new engine to meet GM standard GM4718M, SAE 5W-30 is recommended

Additional comments from Mobil 1 Racing Oil web site:

Team Penske, West McLaren Mercedes, Porsche, Mopar Performance, Corvette Racing and an incredible 74 percent* of NASCAR® NEXTEL Cup Series, Busch Series, and Craftsman Truck Series drivers trust Mobil 1 technology to protect their racing engines. Now the same Mobil 1 technology made available to NASCAR® drivers is also available to you – Mobil 1 Racing 0W-30. With a proprietary blend of high-performance synthetic basestocks fortified with SuperSynTM anti-wear technology, this advanced-protection motor oil is engineered to deliver maximum horsepower in all engine types and sizes.


Benefits of Mobil 1 Racing 0W-30:**
Has boosted levels of anti-wear protection – well beyond those of ordinary motor oils – to help protect engines even during grueling racing applications.

Maximizes power output by reducing internal friction.

Has outstanding shear stability and a robust additive package to help reduce oil breakdown and help extend engine life, even under the most extreme conditions.

Compared to conventional racing oils and higher-viscosity synthetic motor oils, it provides faster flow to critical engine parts at low temperatures.

Delivers exceptional high-temperature protection, even at temperatures up to 400ºF (204ºC).

Applications:
Mobil 1 Racing 0W-30 is intended for professional and amateur "weekend" racecars, as well as modern high-output engines of all kinds. It is ideal for supercharged, turbocharged and high-revving, high-performance engines used in street applications. Note: Mobil 1 Racing 0W-30 is a different formula than Mobil 1 with SuperSyn 0W-30, and the two formulas are intended for different applications. Please see the Product Data Sheet for details.

[Excaliber]

Blows me away anyone driving on the street would use straight 50 wt or higher. I'd be EXTREMELY worried about oil circulation on cold starts, high oil pressure holding open the oil by-pass and no filter action taking place, cam shaft wear due to LOSS of SPLASH until the oil warmed up, added stress to the pump drive, man I could write a book on why I WOULDN'T use thick oil.

On the flip side, being "old school" this 0 wt stuff is also freakin' me out. I don't 0 wt anything in MY motor!

Been using Castol 20-50 since,,,,, well since I can remember. It's what my family has ALWAYS used. It was good enough for Grandpa and it's good enough for me too!

Curmudgeon Ernie

[Ant]

I have heard good things with Mobil 1, but is the 0-30w oil suitable for racing in larger older engines. I have been using Castrol 10-60 RS synthetic which is designed for racing and high performance driving on the road.

[FUNFER2]

I have something to add. Most companys boast their oil in advertisments, that's marketing. Most sanctioning race programs will "bid" persay, for that companys oil use for advertising. It's all about that mighty ole dollar. Oil is oil, it's the aditives that vary between those companys. Oil, really does not break down, but, get dirty, the additives are what breaks down & have to be replenished. The "name factor" determens the price. I get my oil from "Parts Plus", their name on the bottle, it's like $0.87 each. Who's oil is it ? VALVOLINE. In our sprint car, we've run their cheap oil for years with no problems at all. Each winter during the rebuild, you can still see the cross hatching in the cylinders, no build-up of sludge ect...very clean. The most critical aspect of keeping an engine in top condition by way of ware is, CHANGE IT OFTEN ! Don't go by the, "every 3,000 miles or 3 months", it depends on how you drive it & the weather conditions. Who's oil did I see "world of outlaws, team "Quaker State" Steve Kinsers crew using ???
well........it was not Quaker State. Their are only a handful of oil refineries with 10 times that amount of brands on the shelf. Do you really think that all of the brands you can buy refine their own oil ? Does Pep Boys, Advance Auto or........Shopko ? ect....
In twenty years or so of building & maintaning my own race engines or our daily drivers, have I ever had a oil related problem. I know nothing.....about the synthetics, do they work, good question, will an engine have a longer life, don't know ? I've have my daily drivers last well over 250,000 miles untill their death, not to engine lube problems but, the car it's self has had it's better days. I think what it comes down to is, buy a quality filters, (oil & air) keep the engine full of oil at all times, change it often & choose the viscosity which conditions the engine will be run in. I'm not a pro-builder or a chemical scientist, just a car guy giving his two cents.

Thanks,

[Don]

Good point was made on the Marketing agreements between various manufacturers. In the Owners Manual for the Corvette, it mentions that all synthetic oils do not meet the standard of GM 4718M, but Mobil 1 does.

Might it be that only Mobil 1 meets the standard ?
The oil filler cap states to use Mobil 1. The price per quart at Wal-Mart is $3.97 X 6.5 quarts = $25.80 for the oil change.

[Excaliber]

BMW specifies a specific and EXPENSIVE oil for their engines. They strongly encourage, to the point of "strong arm" encourage BMW owners to use it.

...whatever, I'll use Castrol as soon as I'm off their lot.

[Ford of France]

I believe the BMW manual requires a 10W-60 Synthetic that is a proprietary oil only to be found at your "friendly" BMW dealership. Very expensive, coming in at around $12.00 per quart. Warranty is void if you use anything else. This applies to the M3 and few other select models.

[FUNFER2]

Question, How would BMW know if you used their approved oil ?
Is there a secret formula ?
(I'm not thrashing you my friend, just BMW)

[Michael C Henry]

My 427 used Mobil 1 20-50W ,But came with instructions to not get carried away with the throttle untill the engine had at least 140° oil temp.When the cam and lifters went south ,The oilpump 1/4" hex drive drive was about to round over.I replaced it with a blueprinted Melling hy volume pump with a 5/16" hex drive ment for trucks.The drive is 1/4" hex on the top and 5/16" hexon the lower end. I asked about the top not being as large and was told they allways round out the lower end at the pump.Admittedly my car is not an everyday driver and you do not start it unless you have something deliberate in mind.

[Byots]

I did some reasearch awhile back on synthetics vs traditional oils, including calling some Winston/Nextel Cup engine builders and digging up as much test data as possible and found everyone pretty much agrees synthetics are inherently better in every area, except there appears to be some question on bearing pressure capability. This is supposedly where the racing synthetics predominantly differ from the standard Walmart sold synthetic, in that the extra additives enhance this bearing strength. The synthetic manufacturers seem to skirt around this issue when I confronted them on phone calls (I was able to get some engineering guys at Mobil 1), even going as far as to say that the bearing strength is not a critical criteria to go by (there is a ball wear test to assess this, I recall). The obvious directly applicable anology in our engines would be, of course, the camshaft/lifter interface. I spoke with engine guys at a number of race teams, some advertising other brand oils on their cars, and was told that even though their race oils had slightly different additive packages than street stuff, it was either modified from Mobil 1 or formulated by the other manufacturers to duplicate Mobil 1 (these guys asked their identities not be revealed) - Mobil 1 is clearly the standard. Anyway, it seems to me that now that the potential bearing shortfall in the synthetic has now been addressed with the Mobil 1 racing version, it's the clear choice to me. I've also noticed with standard street vehicles that they are more sluggish when going to a heavier oil, so the 0w30 or 10w30 seems to be a good direction to go....

[REDSC400]

I have always tried to use as thin a weight oil as possible that will maintain correct oil pressure in seasonal driving conditions. In the Cobra, I change my oil and filter twice a year. November and May, usually is the schedule.

The November oil change sees 10w-30 go in for the cold winter months and the May change sees 20W-50. My FE has a 9 quart capacity with the cooler and filter. I have been using RedLine pure syn oils in my FE now for the past two oil changes. Prior to that I was using Amalie Pro-Syn Blend. The engine was broken in for the first 3000 miles on Castrol pure dyno juice non syn.

Some of the high precision new motors like the AMG Mercedes and Porsche have very very close tolerances in their main bearings and I have read that is why they use the very thin oils. Thicker oils will starve those metal to metal mating areas from what I have heard.

Since I put less than 3000 miles on the Cobra per year, I am not stressing any of my oils per se. In fact, there are usually less than 500 miles on the car during the winter oil change interval (November thru May) as the weather here in CT during those months pretty much shuts things down as far as cruising is concerned.

I get no oil leaks with the Synthetic RedLine oil and add no additives to it. This coming November, I may change the feeding to about 5 quarts of 10W-30 with 4 quarts of 5W-30 as the cold start viscosity will be better. I need to call Redline to make sure that such a blend will be ok, but I do believe it will be fine.

Redline is not inexpensive by any means and a good price for it is about $7.95 per quart X 9 = $72 per oil change plus filter. However, when I last took off my rocker covers in June, the engine looked pristine after 12+ years of running.

[Ant]

I have never used Mobil 1 but keep hearing great things about it!

My choice has been Castrol RS 10w 60 synthetic, I have found it to be superior than other oil, the only test I can compare was I used Valvoline race 50w, and then Valvoline synracing 10-40, would have to say these oils are crap, massive oil pressure drops even on cold days, in my 650+bhp big block race engine. I get Castrol RS start off at over 70psi cold and end up with 60psi hot, and thats at 240F - so as far as heat stability goes Castrol RS is very good, I dont know about its actual lubricating value or the ball test etc.

Can you use the Mobil 1 racing oil on the road, that is if you warm your Cobra up and give it a good run each time you take it out or race it?

[Cal Metal]

Kevin:

I believe that the dealership requires that all service be performed by them on a customer's car.

In addition to Mobil 1, I have always used their synthetic transmission fluid in my auto cross cars. Its ability to handle the heat has saved the day many a time.

[What'saCobra?]

i've been using Mobile 1 in everything for the last twenty plus years or whenever they started making it.

Nothing has ever failed or smoked and i drive the pants off everything all the time.

Motorcycles, race boats, vettes, cobs, trucks and smowmobiles.

Everything that is, except aircraft. A friend of mine at Lycoming suggested avoiding the Mobil 1 they prepared for aviation about ten years or so until there was a clear field experience that said it was OK. He was a very older guy that started on OX-5's, ran P & W radials during the WWII and is very careful.

He gave me good advice. Aviation Mobile 1 was a complete and abject failure. Mobile paid for the overhaul of many dozens of engines at $15K to $30K a pop to settle their potential lawsuits from the damages caused by the oil. At least, Mobile did step up to the plate and pay.

So, before i took the plunge on this oil for a semi-street engine, i would wait a bit and look for results.

Street is not race.