Mobil 1 High Mileage 5W-30 Full Synthetic Motor Oil

[vanuatoo]

My pathy burns oil, about 1 quart every 1700 miles. Truck has 78,500 miles on it. Has been using oil since the day one I have it (2008, 44,500 miles)

I've used Mobil 1 5w-30 and Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5w-30 with M1-108 EP Filter, result is the same.

 

Mobil 1 support advised me to use

 

Mobil 1 High Mileage 5W-30 Full Synthetic Motor Oil

 

1. Is anybody here using it?

2. Will it decrease the burning rate?

3. Will it affect the MPG?

[devonianwalk]

What I dont get is why is it burning so much oil with such low miliage?

[vanuatoo]

My guess would be because VQ35DE-s are known for this, also I'm a low mileage driver. One trip is usually under 5 miles.

[ferrariowner123]

Thats probably it, its not getting fully up to running temp, I've heard from a few different people that short daily drivers develop problems young.

 

-Kyle

[Towncivilian]

Short trips are not good for the oil, no matter if it is a conventional or synthetic oil. Short trips do not allow the oil to reach operating temperature for extended periods of time. Moisture never gets boiled off, and since the engine constantly runs in open loop there is more fuel dilution of the oil. Switch to a conventional oil and a cheaper filter and change every 3k miles if you cannot get the oil to operating temperature weekly, at least.

 

Oil consumption may be caused by a malfunctioning or clogged PCV valve, which is unfortunately buried under the lower intake manifold on our VQ35DE engine. However, since you say it's been consuming oil since you've had the car, it's more likely there was preexisting damage - possibly neglect by the previous owner, or a power valve screw worked itself loose and was ingested by the intake, which then caused engine damage (scored cylinder walls, etc).

[Rebelord]

As for your question, thats the oil I run in my Pathfinder. 99.0 with 176k. Works great, and cant beat the Walmart price of ~$21 for big jug.

[theexbrit]

I put semi-synthetic in mine as I've read lots of places that the smaller molecules of full synthetic oil can cause leaks in a high mileage car that has never run synthetic. I made a big difference, no more rattles, etc, on start up, seems quieter when cold & runs maybe a tad cooler.

[Towncivilian]

If that were true, wouldn't the synthetic molecules leak out of your engine, leaving the conventional molecules there?

 

It may be true that synthetic oil, at the time it was introduced, caused leaks in vehicles due to the different basestocks compared to conventional oil and lack of proper seal compatibility additives. However, synthetic oil today is compatible with all seals and almost certainly will not cause any leaks. I've read of synthetic oil clearing up some sludge that is creating a "false seal" which then creates a leak, but if you've kept up with oil changes and there are no other mechanical issues you should have no trouble switching to synthetic oil. If leaks do happen to pop up, switching back to your oil of choice should stop them in a couple hundred miles.

 

Not that synthetic oil is inherently "better" at reducing wear or providing lubrication. There is very little benefit to running synthetic oil for anything shorter than a 6k mile oil change interval, except in extreme conditions like very cold temperatures where synthetic will flow better. Check out this person's many used oil analyses. He ran Pennzoil Ultra for many OCIs, then switched to Mobil Super 5000 and achieved about the same oil change interval length with no increase in wear.

Edited August 8, 2013 by Towncivilian

[Rebelord]

Since I swapped to the Mobile 1 Synthetic High Mileage. I am now doing 5k changes. Just because I can hit 5k pretty quick and they are hard miles. If they were easier miles, I'd easily go 6-7k between changes.

(Truck sits about #5000lbs normally, plus the #2000lbs trailer, ~250miles a day in highway and city stop n go.)

Edited August 8, 2013 by Rebelord

[Slartibartfast]

My dad's 03 with 90k has similar oil consumption, and he heard the same thing, that a synthetic oil could make the valve seals swell up and somehow quit leaking oil into the combustion chamber (if that is in fact where the oil is escaping from). It didn't help, and he's back to pouring a quart of dino oil in every thousand miles or so.

 

He makes lots of fairly long trips, so I don't think your driving habits are to blame. It's not an uncommon issue with the VQ engines, and I've yet to hear of anyone really resolving it.

[vanuatoo]

Short trips are not good for the oil, no matter if it is a conventional or synthetic oil. Short trips do not allow the oil to reach operating temperature for extended periods of time. Moisture never gets boiled off, and since the engine constantly runs in open loop there is more fuel dilution of the oil. Switch to a conventional oil and a cheaper filter and change every 3k miles if you cannot get the oil to operating temperature weekly, at least.

 

Because I'm low mileage driver I barely achieve 3000 miles in 6 months and usually change it at that stage.

I use synthetic because it's better protecting the engine at startup and I'm almost sure dino oil will not make things better.

 

I also make 300 mile trips 5-6 times a year and noticed that at the highway, oil is burned much quickly than in the city.

I hope that high mileage oil will somehow reduce oil consumption. For instance if It's halved compared to what it'is right now, I'll be happy man.

[Towncivilian]

HM oil is worth a try. It will likely slow the oil consumption. It may take several oil changes with the HM oil before you see any significant difference, so do not be discouraged if nothing changes with the first use of the oil.

[vanuatoo]

HM oil is worth a try. It will likely slow the oil consumption. It may take several oil changes with the HM oil before you see any significant difference, so do not be discouraged if nothing changes with the first use of the oil.

Do you think it will affect performance and/or mileage?

[Towncivilian]

Not perceptibly.

[shoesandsocks]

i use mobil 1 HM in both my trucks for a while and i had great results with both one even helped with leaks in my 96 i dont use it anymore however i use extended performance in th 96 because its my gfs and i dont like to change oil that much on hers vg33 oil filter location sucks. on my 01 i use 0w-30 mobil 1 to try and squeeze as much mpg as i can from it.

[drewp29]

I am going to throw my 2 cents in here.

 

I switched my oil at the last oil change ~2000 miles ago, from M1 5w30 HM Full Synthetic to Valvoline 5w30 HM Synthetic Blend. This was based on advice given here that the blend vs full syn might help out my oil consumption.

 

Well, it was an experiment, but it did NOT help the oil consumption. It made it worse. Instead of approximately 1qt every 1000 miles, I now put about 1.5 - 1.75 qts per 1000 miles. Looks like I'll be going back to the M1 Full Synthetic.

 

I have yet to get to the PCV valve change, but hopefully it will reduce it enough that I feel it is worth the time spent changing it out.

[bushnut]

The kind of oil you use is NOT going to reduce your oil consumption. Your engine is burning it. fix the root cause of that and it will end the consumption problem. It may be PCV valve , piston rings, some sort of gasket or seal leaking somewhere. an engine is not supposed to burn oil. it burns a mixture of gas and air.

My truck has 218000 kms on it and doesn't burn or leak a drop of oil. will that last? probably not. all machines wear out and need maintenance. letting it burn or leak oil will lead to other problems down the road. I'd say fix the issue and continue to enjoy your truck for years to come.

[Towncivilian]

Actually, some oils have lower NOACK values (volatility at high temperatures) which means less will evaporate at high temperature areas and at high load conditions. Low NOACK values can be especially beneficial for direct-injection engines. Pennzoil Ultra 5W-30 has the lowest NOACK value currently with 6.4%; typical values are 10%+.

 

All engines consume ("burn") a small amount of oil by nature. Whether this ends up to be a noticeable amount by the end of your OCI depends on other factors (driving style, if there are any other mechanical problems, oil leaks, etc).

Edited August 30, 2013 by Towncivilian

[drewp29]

Actually, some oils have lower NOACK values (volatility at high temperatures) which means less will evaporate at high temperature areas and at high load conditions. Low NOACK values can be especially beneficial for direct-injection engines. Pennzoil Ultra 5W-30 has the lowest NOACK value currently with 6.4%; typical values are 10%+.

 

All engines consume ("burn") a small amount of oil by nature. Whether this ends up to be a noticeable amount by the end of your OCI depends on other factors (driving style, if there are any other mechanical problems, oil leaks, etc).

 

Interesting, I might have to try Pennzoil Ultra at the next interval.

 

I still need to change the PCV though. It's interesting, my garage floor has 0 spots of oil from the Pathy, so I know if it is leaking any it isn't much at all, and there isn't a crazy amount of soot on the tailpipe or noticeable exhaust coloration, so it is almost like the oil just 'disappears'.