Use to be you could pretty well tell the type (group) base oil by reading the MSDS Sheet. But Mobil, Amsoil, and most mfg's have gotten much more clever about not listing specifics...now it's all "proprietary" info.
Lightman...do you know anyway of telling for sure, or are you taking Mfg word for it? Other than a high priced spectrometer...and knowing what to look for (which gets tricky), I don't.

RJ

 

The only thing I can vouch for Delvac 1 is experience. I don't think base stock necessarily determines an oil's overall quality, it's the type of additve package that's formulated with it.

I ran Delvac 1 using Fleetguard Stratapore's from Oct. '03 to Sept. '04, 17K total miles, one filter change halfway thru. No by-pass filtration. My truck is not garaged, and I used the block heater twice in this interval. The truck is also used to plow snow. Even on the coldest mornings, my truck has always started on the first cycle of the grid heaters. I had this fill of oil analyized, and the highest wear metal was iron, which was 26ppm, well below average for this engine. I paid $22.99 a gallon for this, and my intent was for cold weather performance, which to me did it's job, and at a premium price. I can't vouch for the Truck and SUV version, but I've seen virgin oil analysis samples of both, and there additives/properties appear almost identical. If it performs the same, the 5 quart jug is a deal at that price.

As for pour point, I think that applies in many instances to new, unused motor oil. I've looked at many a used amsoil analysis report that shows it's viscostiy @100C has thickened out of grade, severly, and in use for far less than their recommended intervals. You would think then, the "W" winter rating has proportionately changed as well, reducing cold weather performance. Has anyone done a cold pour test on their used motor oil?

Synthetic basestock arguements go round and around. Today it's the group 3 arguement. Step back a couple of decades or so, and if you see advertising from that era, you'll find amsoil, who at the time was using group 5 basestock in their oils, bash Mobil 1 for using the group 4 PAO, stating that it wasn't a "true" synthetic! Times change, and the shoe's on the other foot.
Who's the biggest customer of Exxon/Mobil PAO today, and also has a line of group 3 oil?

 

Rjohnson I've been using and doing analysis on d1 since 2001. I can assure you it is a group 4. As you mention, the old msds used to list the PAO/ESTER basestocks. Not sure on the new ones as they've made msds harder to find. I have a few industry friends that are mobil distributors as well. Trust me, D1 is a group 4 oil. I know people on these forums seem to think everyone else is stupid or misinformed and they know better, but believe me , I'm sure on this one..

 

Just re-read my question to you. Was not doubting your info...although it kind of sounded that way...I was asking if there is anywhere we can go to get a Mfg's base oil group type? I've given up trying...thought you might have a source I did not know about?

I always thought Delvac I was group 4...just questioning the new SUV/Truck oil...based on that price.
RJ

 

I gotcha rj, I guess I missed what you were getting at. In any case, I can ask my friend if we can get more specific info - but as you said some of it may be proprietary. I dont think there's any website per say that has the exact makeups.

It's not uncommon in retail to have 100%-300% markups on products. I work for a manufacturer of residential lighting, and I can tell you that most fixtures that are hanging in your home were bought at 2-3x dealer net price. It doesn't surprise me a bit that Mobil has moved from a strategy of selling low volume high margin to a high volume slightly lower margin plan. I'm sure with the tonage that mobil produces their cost is next to nothing for it.

 

Dang, wish I'd see it here in Okie land somewhere.

 

Interesting.
CI-4 plus is driven by the new lower emission diesel engines specifically cooled EGR and handling the increased soot load and the 2006 cut over to ULSF.

CI-4 is still very high quality oil.

Too bad the lawsuit allowing producers to label group III basestocks as synthetic didn't require a disclosure statement so the consumer knows what they are getting for the premium price.

 

As far as I know, none of the mobil 1 products have group 3 basestocks, nor does delvac 1. If you've looked at VOA's of both oils, you'll see that they're very similar. I also have emails from a mobil employee that frequents the mercedeshop forum, stating that they're the same oil. I'm not sure about the above email, but it doesn't really matter. If you recognize the quality of the additive package by looking at VOA etc, you can see they are both top notch..

 

I wasn't inferring Delvac 1 was synthetic by group III basestock.

Mobil 1 base stock I'm not too sure. I used Mobil 1 for many years, but after the SuperSyn label appeared the quality appeared to drop. This is from the Mobil website:
"Mobil 1 with SuperSyn uses high-performance fluids, including polyalphaolefins (PAOs), along with a proprietary system of additives. "

I was just commenting it would be nice that any brands declaring "synthetic" had to state group III basestock. It would also be nice to see the oil brands still using group I basestock.

-John

 

Had my names reversed. Mobil filed a lawsuit when Castrol came out with Group 3 oils and called them synthetic. Castrol won because they were able to prove to the judge that their dino oil had undergone enough processing that it should be called synthetic.

 

BTW, I just checked it out at the local Walmart. The Mobil1 Truck & SUV is about $19.50 for 5 quarts. It's the same price for regular Mobil 1 so I don't know why anyone would buy the regular Mobil 1. Still about $60 for an oil change. OUCH! But she's worth it.

Edwin

 

That's awesome they finally got smart and figured truck/suv's take a lot of quarts. Price is right. I'd love to get some but still have some Delvac 1 labeled jugs sitting on the shelf itching to get in that CTD

 

I don't know why you couldn't mix the two since Delvac 1 and Mobil 1 TSUV are so similar.

 

I've got plenty of d1..

 

I don't mix brands. Some of the VI (viscosity index) modifiers are not very compatible. They can cause problems.

Owing to the Mobil statement "Mobil1 Truck and SUV 5W40 and Delvac1 5W40 are slightly different in formulation ..." tells me not to mix.