Mobil 1 EP vs Castrol EDGE w/Titanium

[The Critic]

Friend is coming over for an oil change on Thurs. It will probably turn into a brake flush, filters, spark plugs, inverter coolant, etc by the time I'm done with it to my satisfaction, but that is another discussion.

2006 Prius, 100k. Book calls for 5w-30 at 5,000 mile intervals. The car is now out-of-warranty.

The car has used bulk 5w-30 at 5-7k intervals for its entire life. Driving style is mixed driving around town.

I was thinking about putting in either Mobil 1 EP 5w-30 or Castrol EDGE w/Titanium 5w-30 for a 10k run. Thoughts on the two?

And of course, I'm open to other oil suggestions as well.

Thanks.

 

[buster]

MaxLife 5w30.

 

[Lovemyrides]

TGMO 0w20 FTW.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: Lovemyrides
TGMO 0w20 FTW.


Dude, it takes 5W-30!

 

[demarpaint]

How about AFE 0W30?

 

[buster]

He lives in California so he thinks he has to run Castrol now.

 

[Nightmare]

I have used the Edge w/t, although it is a great oil there aren't many I would go 10k with.
( only because 7k is my limit)

Logical choice would be the mobil1 ep. I have a friend at work that uses it (5w-30) in a Grand Marquis, 14k a yr, he has 223,000 miles on it.

 

[skyship]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
Friend is coming over for an oil change on Thurs. It will probably turn into a brake flush, filters, spark plugs, inverter coolant, etc by the time I'm done with it to my satisfaction, but that is another discussion.

2006 Prius, 100k. Book calls for 5w-30 at 5,000 mile intervals. The car is now out-of-warranty.

The car has used bulk 5w-30 at 5-7k intervals for its entire life. Driving style is mixed driving around town.

I was thinking about putting in either Mobil 1 EP 5w-30 or Castrol EDGE w/Titanium 5w-30 for a 10k run. Thoughts on the two?

And of course, I'm open to other oil suggestions as well.

Thanks.


It's worth doing a UOA if you don't spend much time on the highway, as time at idle is a big negative factor for oil condition due to carbon deposits and fuel contamination. Which good quality 5/30 you use won't make any real difference, BUT if you are suffering fuel contamination then the choice of OCI is of great interest. The severe service OCI is normally half the max or normal OCI figure.
For a 5K severe service OCI, Castrol GTX 5/30 would be almost as good as Edge 5/30, so try Blackstones and ask for a TBN, because useage, driver style and OCI selection are more important than the oil brand or type. The filter quality is also very important and don't change it until the recommended figure as they work better when dirty, as do air filters. This can sometimes result in a severe service schedule of two oil changes per filter change.

 

[joaks]

is severe service different for a prius? They should spend less time at idle and be on electric mode for stop and go driving.

 

[volk06]

I'm not a castrol fan but you can't argue with a starting tbn of around 12.

 

[tig1]

M1 5-30EP is an outstanding product easily capible of 10K and beyond. You might even consider 5-20EP or even M1 0-20 which is more than good for 10K.

 

[chubbs1]

They are both great, flip a coin.

 

[bigjl]

Originally Posted By: skyship
Originally Posted By: The Critic
Friend is coming over for an oil change on Thurs. It will probably turn into a brake flush, filters, spark plugs, inverter coolant, etc by the time I'm done with it to my satisfaction, but that is another discussion.

2006 Prius, 100k. Book calls for 5w-30 at 5,000 mile intervals. The car is now out-of-warranty.

The car has used bulk 5w-30 at 5-7k intervals for its entire life. Driving style is mixed driving around town.

I was thinking about putting in either Mobil 1 EP 5w-30 or Castrol EDGE w/Titanium 5w-30 for a 10k run. Thoughts on the two?

And of course, I'm open to other oil suggestions as well.

Thanks.


It's worth doing a UOA if you don't spend much time on the highway, as time at idle is a big negative factor for oil condition due to carbon deposits and fuel contamination. Which good quality 5/30 you use won't make any real difference, BUT if you are suffering fuel contamination then the choice of OCI is of great interest. The severe service OCI is normally half the max or normal OCI figure.
For a 5K severe service OCI, Castrol GTX 5/30 would be almost as good as Edge 5/30, so try Blackstones and ask for a TBN, because useage, driver style and OCI selection are more important than the oil brand or type. The filter quality is also very important and don't change it until the recommended figure as they work better when dirty, as do air filters. This can sometimes result in a severe service schedule of two oil changes per filter change.


As Joaks pointed out a Prius doesn't spend much time ticking in traffic.

And the Private Hire companies that use them in London, of which there are many, I know for a fact they don't employ any kind of severe service interval.

Just get them serviced at the normal intervals.

These engines are built to stop and start all day long in traffic, they are not a run of the mill vehicle.

Of the OP's two choices I think both would be spot on but do feel myself drawn to the Castrol!

 

[fauxchemist]

Funny that people are suggesting/defending Castrol around here. Every time I use the "C" word around here I get [censored] for it. I got banned from this forum for two weeks,defending Castrol products. I dont even use Castrol. I use Mobil 1

 

[skyship]

Originally Posted By: joaks
is severe service different for a prius? They should spend less time at idle and be on electric mode for stop and go driving.


Oops, I missed the fact it's a hybrid.
The only severe service issue for hybrids is dirty air and I don't think off roading is so popular with Prius owners. I suppose too many cold starts might be a slight negative, but other than that a hybrid is much better suited to inner city conditions.
Use a real good oil filter (OEM?) and stick to an oil listed for the exact engine type in the Castrol, Liqui Moly, Mobil or Shell oil finder sites in the UK, not the US web sites, as they are all part of the go green fuel economy game and might list 0/0 or something silly.

 

[KCJeep]

Both will do you just fine, the Castrol gold bottle is definitely in a different league than black bottle Syntec and the UOA's I've seen with it have been very impressive no doubt.

Mobil 1 seems to work very well for most people driving Toyota products.

 

[buster]

I think the new Edge is a really good oil. Doesn't seem to do was well in the Seq IIIG as PU though, not that most cars would ever even see those conditions.

 

[84zmyfavorite]

Ok, so How do air filters work better when dirty again? Ive heard this one before, and would like more insight.

 

[skyship]

Originally Posted By: 84zmyfavorite
Ok, so How do air filters work better when dirty again? Ive heard this one before, and would like more insight.


Think of a filter as a simple mesh screen, along come some fairly large particles and get stuck BUT they leave some space around themselves open, so after a while some smaller particles that were happily passing through the screen get stuck in the new small holes. The more big particles that get stuck the more small holes are available to trap the small particles.
A typical air filter might stop 97% of debris that hits it when new, BUT when it is real dirty it can stop 99% (Yes, the advertising folks only quote final filitration figures!) and a modern ECU does compensate for dirty air filters so it won't effect the fuel consumption.
Now you might not think the extra 2% difference between a new and dirty filter is not an issue in engine wear terms, but it sure is, because those tiny particles that pass the air filter are often made of Silicon and when they get into the cylinders they are bad news as their crystal structure has nasty sharp points and they are tougher than steel. Those devils are so small they even get past the rings and valve seals and into the oil where they then chew on the bearings. If 3% of debris passes through the air filter when it's new that means a new filter lets three times as much junk into your engine as an old one, so try not to change air filters too often as it's bad not good news.
The same dirty filter principle applies to oil filters, BUT a good quality blocked air filter will not damage an engine, whereas a blocked oil filter is bad news because the pressure relief or by pass valve opens and un filtered oil then circulates. Manufacturers are very cautious about how long an oil filter will last, so there is no need to change one early unless you have a very good reason like serious sludge, blown turbo or engine bearings starting to fail.
My diesel Volvo has a max OCI of 20K km, but due to severe service considerations (Short tripping and driver abuse) I change oil every 10K km, BUT the oil filter is only changed every 20K. I do check my air filter every 10K but if I can see anything that is not black it gets put back. The ECU will give a check engine warning when it needs replacing if my idea of dirty is not correct.

 

[The Critic]

Just got in from changing the oil with Mobil 1 EP 5W-30 and a NAPA Gold oil filter. The previous fill was Pennzoil 5W-30 bulk and OE filter per the sticker, with 7k. I also put in a new engine air filter, cabin air filter, new wiper blades, new front parking light bulbs (both were out), new license plate bulbs (both were out as well), and adjusted the tire pressures including the spare.

Since this is the first oil change with synthetic, I have advised my friend to monitor the oil level closely and to return for another oil change in 10,000 miles or 6 months, whichever comes first.

When the car gets back from Nashville, it will receive new Zerex Asian 50/50 AF for the engine cooling and inverter cooling systems, brake fluid flush, NGK Laser Iridum spark plugs, rear brake clean/adjust, KYB front & rear struts. I always seem to be able to find work to suggest on cars that I service.