Mobil 1 0W-30 Advanced Fuel Economy
 

I decided to try out Mobil 1 0W-30 Advanced Fuel Economy to test the claims of an additional 2% more fuel efficiency vs conventional motor oil.

According to that I should see about a 0.85 mpg gain in the winter and a 1.1 mpg gain in the summer.

I understand small changes are difficult to track especially since my gas mileage can easily change 5+ mpg from one tank to the next.

I will report any findings over the next several tanks.

If anyone else has any results from using this product or any other 0w-30 product (as I'm sure almost all 0w-30 oils will have a lower viscosity then their 5w-30 or 10w-30 counterparts) feel free to chime in.

The mileage gains are reported as "potential" gains, and come only from the fact that the oil performs as a zero weight when it's cold. The comparison, if I remember correctly, is made against standard 10W30 oils.

I run it in my Van, I've had it in for over 10k miles, and only added 1.5 qts in that time, with the same filter, no air filter, and it still looks like oil last time I checked, which was, admittedly, about a month ago.

I used M1 0W30, and I never "saw" an improvement, but I'm sure it was there. The expected improvement is much smaller than my ability to measure, and would be totally lost in the day-to-day noise in my data. The fact that I understand how and why it's expected to improve my fuel economy will have to suffice. Although, I am able to verify that a cold engine starts easier when it's got 0Wx synthetic.

I think that the 2% is just for the engine and will not translate to an overall FE increase of 2%. I think the biggest plus is less wear and tear during cold operations where most damage is done.

Might try a search. I though there was a thread on API Fuel conserving engine oil requirements and testing. I did a quick search but did not find it.

Yeah, the issue with Mobil's claims is that they're not comparing between theirs and any other oil of a comparable weight, but between there's and a heavier oil. So really, and 0w30 could claim that. The also compare between 0w20 and 5w20 for the oil I just put in my engine :p

Of course, M1 isn't trying to attract new customers with their claims, because they (somewhat) openly say that the comparison is between oils of different weights, not different brands. They're not making a claim so that you'll go from, say, Pennzoil to M1, they're making the claim so that you'll buy their 0W synthetics.

(At least that's how I read it when I bought the stuff.)

Is a possible 2% gain even really worth the cost? (If there is a difference)

I know the 0W-30 stuff and the normals weights are the same price at Wal-mart. Is this true elsewhere too?

Synthetic is a good idea anyway, because of the extended oil change interval and reduced cold-start engine wear. It's worth the price premium over conventional, in my book. Since 0Wx retails for the same as 5Wx, grabbing the zero-W is a no-brainer.

0W20 is slightly more expensive at wholesale than 5W20.

I use it in my car and in the wife's. Cost is the same at WalMart so no reason not to. Haven't seen any noticeable gains and don't expect to, but we already used 5w30 synthetic for the other reasons stated above. One thing I can say is that it didn't hurt our FE!

i'm wondering what is the lowest viscosity i should try on my car
I wanted to try the new castrol Edge but i use 20 w/50 becasue my dad has always told me once cars are over 125 thoushand miles to use higher viscosity oil for more protection and all of his cars have always run pristine so i don't mind stickin by that to make my motor last

You want to use the thinest oil that is thick enough to keep the oil pressure up, without an oil pressure gauge that is hard to tell, but I figure it's time to go to a thicker oil when my car starts to burn much more then a quart of oil between changes, I've only used 20W 50 in one car and that was because it burned a quart of oil every 300 miles.
So I would say that unless you are more the a quart low when you go to change the oil then stick with your normal oil, if you are half a quart or less low then try something thiner.

Sweet my car never runs more than a half a quart low if that so I'll try 10w/30 on the next oil change and see how that goes

If you're not burning alot between changes, it's probably the cold weight that's affecting you, and you'll burn a little bit until the engine warms up, characterized by smoking until the engine is warm.

If you're burning more than, say 1.5 or 2qt in 3-5000 miles, you're going to need a thicker warm weight, as well.

IOW - if you're only burning very little, you could still stand to go down a weight in the cold end. If you're burning alot, you'll want a thicker oil. Then again, if you're burning alot, and you intend to keep your vehicle, it's ALWAYS cheaper to fix the problem than to keep buying band-aids for it.