97C5driver

im due for an oil change and have been wanting to try royal purple. But witht he great prices of Mobil1 these days, im wondering if it is worth it to spend the extra cash for royal purple. Is it? or is it just a bunch of hype?

Z28STYLE23

Patman

Neither oil is worth it actually, I wouldn't recommend either of those oils. There are much better choices out there for your money. RP is all hype and no performance, and Mobil 1 is counting on past reputation to get them sales now, as their quality isn't what it was before Exxon took them over (and believe me, Exxon's bean counters are calling the shots now)

trussme

ONLY YOUR billfold will notice the difference. Dyno Tests DO SHOW "up to a 9 hp increase".....!! again, you will not feel the difference, except in your billfold. I use it (haha) because that's what my Performance Shop carries...they take good care of my Vette, and I support them 100%. That's a Good Reason to use it!

Daytona Bob

Yet you offer him no alternative.

My Vote is Mobil 1 in the Engine and RP in the Transmission and Differential.

There is no proof Mobil 1's quality was affected by a corporate merger. The crap people try to say on here is amazing IMO. Show proof when making statements like that. I call

66ratpower

I have to agree . There sure are alot of experts out there.

Patman

Visit bobistheoilguy.com and check out the used oil analysis section in there. This is not new news on there, those of us who are a part of that site have seen the degredation in the quality of Mobil 1 for a long time now. It's not BS by any means.

If you want alternatives, then here goes:

Amsoil, Pennzoil Platinum, Redline, German made Castrol, take your pick.

There are many better choices in oils over Mobil 1. Just because M1 is factory fill doesn't make it the best choice. If you look at enough oil analysis reports like I do, you learn to wade past the advertising hype and focus on the true performance of the oil. Mobil 1's wear numbers simply are not impressive at all, for one, it shows a higher level of iron in the reports, which shows a higher level of valvetrain wear compared to other oils. It often shows higher lead too, which shows higher bearing wear. Is that enough proof?

Secret237

Mobil 1 all the way, I'm not going to change till I have a reason to.

Don't fix something that works.

jc-untapped-z06

Ive always used mobile one, I also change the oil every 2000 miles, I know my engines are very clean on the inside. I would use another brand if I had evidence of it being superior.

Daytona Bob

Thanks for the followup Patman.

We won't agree on the Mobil 1 Degradation issue or Exxon merger having anything to do with it.... but You bring some excellent alternatives to the table and I can appreciate that.

waunavet

Both of these products will do whatever needs gettin' done in your engine and then some. What else are you looking for?

Optimus_C5

RoganR

I've done a lot of reading on this subject and Mobil 1 is not the best choice out there.

Patman

While I don't have absolute proof that the Exxon takeover is the reasoning for the change in Mobil 1 quality, it is pretty strong evidence that the oil analysis reports have started showing a difference in the past few years. I do know that when Exxon and Mobil 1 merged, they let a lot of good technical people go. Exxon is a company that is focused more on profits than putting out a quality product, and I suspect they are banking on the fact that people will buy Mobil 1 no matter what, since 99.9% of the people who use it have never gotten an oil analysis done and never will. So they simply go by the advertising, which everyone knows makes Mobil 1 out to be the best there is. I gotta hand it to them, they know how to advertise! And that's more important (for sales) than any oil analysis report out there. Unfortunately for the consumer, this also means they are not necessarily getting what they are paying for.

Daytona Bob

*Plays along*

Your best choice is ?

waunavet

So what oil do you use?

Patman

One more point that I also have to add. The LS1 is such a durable engine that will last such a long time anyhow, that most people here will never put enough miles on it to see the engine need a rebuild. So in all honesty, we are splitting hairs when it comes to oil choice. Most people on here who have rebuilt their LS1s have done so because they want more power, or they've grenaded it with no much nitrous, too much boost. But a stock or near stock LS1 will last virtually forever, no matter what oil you run. I personally just like to see my oil analysis reports show very low numbers, even if I know I'll probably never put enough miles on my car to wear out the engine anyhow. These engines will go well beyond 300k.

Patman

I had been using German made Castrol Syntec 0w30 for the past 2.5 years, with awesome oil analysis results, but got real curious to try something new to compare, so on my last oil change I switched to Pennzoil Platinum 5w30. It's shown very good results for other people's vehicles, so I'm hoping it'll do the same for me.

Daytona Bob

Do you have a link to a DIY engine oil analysis kit?

rws.1

I switched to Pennzoil Platinum about 15K miles ago.
You can add another oil to the GM4718M approved list.
Horse Power by Quaker State (now owned by Shell who also own Pennzoil) .

Menard's has it on sale 5 Quarts for $5.90 after rebate...that's $1.18/qt.

As for Royal Purple or other exotics ("designer oils") they appeal to the same demographic group that only buys "designer clothes"

People are not buying designer clothes for better wear or fit, they are buying them because they can show off the patch or tell their friends I'm buying XXXX