My Toyota dealer sells 0W20 synthetic over the counter for newer Toyotas in both Toyota and Mobil1 brands. The dealer told me that any 0W20 that meet SAE SN standards is fine and Toyota confirmed it.
The European Synthetics are different. Toyota oil is not that particular, so Mobil one would work. For the difference between European synthetics with US versions, just google it on bobistheoilguy.
I disagree. It is total garbage, but it is also a good chance for the dealers to make money by luring less knowledgeable owners into the dealer service bays. GM is not alone in this. All the auto manufacturers try to do it.
Oh I know they do. Doesnāt mean I like it. GM is the one making a lot of money here. The up front licensing fee plus the make $.39 for every 10 gallons sold. Now if ALL the manufacturers do this, then the cost of quart of motor oil will double or even tripleā¦ but weāll be buying the exact same oil we did before this started.
Oh I know they do. Doesnāt mean I like it. GM is the one making a lot of money here. The up front licensing fee plus the make $.39 for every 10 gallons sold. Now if ALL the manufacturers do this, then the cost of quart of motor oil will double or even tripleā¦ but weāll be buying the exact same oil we did before this started.
And yet the cost of motor oil is going down, not up, even as more oils now carry the dexos label.
There are also valid mechanical reasons for different oil specs, both Euro vs. US and within the US.
http://www.blauparts.com/vw-oils/vw_oil_german_ravenol.html
This is just one ofThe āopinionsā who, if I read closely, compares their oil to non Euro organic brandsā¦NOT synthetic. I am sure they do their own testing with the oils they want, but I would like to see where they specifically say that all synthetic other then theirs are not suitable.
And yet the cost of motor oil is going down, not up, even as more oils now carry the dexos label.
Thatās because the cost of crude oil has gone down.
@asemaster - While there are valid reasons for different specs, engineers can also design the engines to work within a given spec. It sounds like the euro spec largely results from extended drain requirements. Fine, then the SAE could create a āextended drain syntheticā spec, applicable industry-wide. Wish they would.
It would be nice if the SAE included something that indicated non-synthetic, group III, and group IV.
This may not be a valid argument for those who suspect Consumer Report surveys, but I am looking at the Euro carmaker products in the most recent 2015 automotive issue. What separates them from the rest, especially the Japanese brand model cars isā¦they are consistently inconsistent, if that makes sense. From the mini to VW to Audi to the rest, after five years, you can expect major engine problems at a much higher accumulative rate then ANY group of cars made in the US including Japanese brand cars. If they are insisting that car owners use oils based upon their standards as a substitute for better engineering for longevity, they are barking up the wrong tree. It wonāt work. Ford may run into the a similar long term problem with their āturbo maniaā approachā¦but I doubt they will look for a solution by using Euro standard oils. They will respond like other makers do. They will make ābetterā motors.
One thing I found interesting about Mobil-1 is that F1 racing teams apparently use the same Mobil-1 you can buy at the parts store, not some āspecial blendā just for racing that some other oil company sponsors of racing provide for their teams. While this is mostly anecdotal, if itās good enough for an engine spinning at 15K+ RPM, it ought to be able to handle the turbo on your grocery getter.
Iād be surprised if thatās true. Not that race oil is better for a street car, but because the requirements are so different.
āF1 racing teams apparently use the same Mobil-1 you can buy at the parts storeā¦ā
Like Texases, I am skeptical.
Smokey Yunick stated, many years ago, that the race cars (both Indy and Nascar) displaying logos for oil companies or oil additives typically used only one or two drops of the products that they were endorsing.
Did they use those products?
Yes
Did they use them in meaningful amounts?
Apparently not
Those F1 cars may be using extremely miniscule amounts of āregularā Mobil-1 in addition to a crankcase full of true āracingā oil.
Oil in a race car has to survive the race. They constantly are rebuilding the motors and tweaking based on past experience.
In Smoky Yunickās day (and I am a big fan of Smoky), racing oils were usually straight 40 or 50 weight oils.
But until recently Mobil 1 used to be Mobil 1 and except for different weights, they were all PAO oils. Now that is no longer the case. If the F1 teams use Mobil 1, which Mobil 1 do they use?
Consumer oils have lots of detergents and other additives to extend change intervals. Racing oils would need very little of these chemicals, leaving room for more anti-wear components. So while I guess itās possible they use āregularā Mobil1, theyād be giving up performance. So Iād think theyād use a racing-optimized oil. But I have no facts to back that up.
And there are the facts - thanks, @keith . As expected, "Mobil 1 Racingā¢ 0W-30 and 0W-50 were developed specifically for racing engines and are not recommended for street use. "
So, if Mobile wantās to keep the market in Euro cars, it will have to make oil to ātheirā standards ? To me, That is the important question. You may see a change in their labeling and advertising staing they are comparable, but they donāt need to change the oil.
Racing oil does not need all the additives that regular oil has, since sludge, condensate and low temperature starting are not an issue.
An EXXON friend who is an oil consultant coached a local Corvette racing team to victory by using 0W20 synthetic. The thin oil allowed for a few extra miles per hour, but at that time it was not recommended as a normal lube oil for those models, due to excessive oil consumption in those loose engines.