For ~70,000 miles I ran Castrol Synthetic motor oil
For the next ~10,000 miles, I ran Mobile 1 synthetic because they had an annual rebate program and my final cost on a 5qt jug was ~$12
Oil usage with the Castrol was negligible.
Oil usage with the Mobile 1 was worrisome.
I chalked it up to worn rings at ~80k miles…sigh…what else could it be…not leaking, not in the antifreeze or transmission…has to be going out the exhaust pipe.
So Mobile 1 stops the rebate deal. I go to Walmart looking for oil and Havoline has 6 quarts of semi-synthetic for less than $20. Might as well go with that, the rings are shot, car is heading for salvage.
The Mobile1 was disappearing at a rate of 1qt every ~1,500 miles…the Havoline is ~1/5th of a quart missing at 1,500 miles which is what I was looking at with the Castrol!
What the!
I don’t know what to say folks. If you have an excess oil usage issue, maybe you need to try a different brand of oil before tearing in and replacing rings…
Correct, but this was a sudden onset…a swift break from the norm with 5x more oil usage occurring in short order…that’s not a “nothing to worry about” situation for me.
The oil was also getting darker faster with the Mobile 1. The Havoline stayed golden for a noticeably longer period of miles.
I noticed more oil burning in my Buick 3.8 liter with Mobil 1 also. I only used it once. Went back to conventional mostly, Supertech synthetic occasionally. I don’t see a real benefit of using synthetic on the 5k mile oil change interval I do (unless the synthetic happens to be cheaper for some odd reason).
I’ve used Mobil 1 in the acuras since new with no oil usage and conventional Mobil in the Pontiac, no problem. There does appear to be an oil shortage now though and had to order from rock.
I will say though that the son needed to use a different brand in his new bmw. Don’t know why but some oils are better in some cars.
Some other posters here have also noted an increase in oil usage when switching to a full synthetic oil. In any case, as other above have said, 1500 miles per quart isn’t enough to warrant considering any major engine repairs. Some maintenance experts say oil additives vary brand to brand, and mixing the additives can produce undesirable effects, so it is best to choose one brand of oil and stay with it for the life of the vehicle.
The 20,000 miles of protection must be based on burning enough oil to fully replace all the oil at least once during that time!
How many hours or miles did you go between Mobil 1 oil changes? I think you’re not the only one who notices this. After 7000 miles something happens and oil consumption goes up. I think it starts getting very thin. Apparently with you it happens sooner!
I started a thread on this exact topic and spelled it Mobile and I was told that is only in Alabama!
I agree. I had a 1998 Regal with the 3.8L and used regular mineral oil, changing when the OLM reminded me to do so. That was between 7000 and 7500 miles. It never used oil and the engine ran well until I sold it at 187,000 miles.
I wonder what the results would be if Mobile had been used for the first 70k miles and then Castrol for the next 10k miles…
One thing not mentioned is the oil viscosity. 5-30, 5-20, 0-20, who knows. It seems a bit premature to even consider scrapping a car at one quart per 1500 miles.
Also not mentioned is driving habits, enviro conditions, and the oil change regimen along with how long and how often was the engine operating with a low oil level.
I would like you to mix 1 part SAE 40 oil per 3 parts Mobil 1 oil and then report back on your oil consumption. I’ve already started this experiment but the engine leaks so much that it won’t be very helpful, and oil consumption is less than a quart per 5000 miles anyway, and I don’t want to go past 6k miles as an experiment with this engine.
My Dodge Status has consumed a quart of oil every 1500 miles for the last 20 years, I am willing to try Mobil 1 to see if the consumption increases. I fear that during the next 20 year I will need to replace this car.
I used to think that one should always you the same brand of oil of the correct viscosity for a specific vehicle and not change brands. I bought a new Oldsmobile Cutlass in 1978. I couldn’t resist a sale on Valvoline at 25¢ a quart with rebate. I had been using Quaker State. I then found Citgo oil which with the rebate was free. My only cost was the stamp to mail in the rebate form. The car didn’t know the difference. I bought whatever brand was on sale. I never had to add any oil between changes for the 33 years and 240,000 miles I drove that car.
I had a lawn mower that burned oil badly. The manual called for straight 30 weight. On a whim, instead of buying the 30 weight at my local Rural King for $1.79 a quart under the house brand label, I splurged and bought full synthetic 10W-30 under the house brand label for $2.79 a quart. The synthetic oil cut the oil consumption by 75%>. I got three more seasons from the mower. Finally the compression got to the point where the engine had no power.
Reminds me of the time I decided to install new piston rings in my beloved lawnmower, symptom was low power and hard to start. Turns out replacement rings are widely available, inexpensive, & not that hard of a job, maybe 90 minutes. Wow, very noticeable immediate improvement. Started & ran like it was brand new. For about 3 weeks , then the electrical dynamo that produced the spark cracked and failed. Vibrations from the newly robust engine … lol … But it was an interesting experiment.
