Was the original Mobil 1 a Straight 20?

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Originally Posted By: BrocLuno
I'm sure we can disagree, but severely refined hydro-processed GrpIII is maybe as good as older PAO synthetics. The add-paks for all have gotten better for sure ...
smile.gif



The pour point is higher (not a big deal in itself) and the flash point is lower for GrpIII cmpared to GrpIV. So in some engines it could make all the difference.
 
Originally Posted By: Gene K
Originally Posted By: Shannow
Originally Posted By: Gene K
The reason it was introduced as a 5W20 was it "acted" like a 10W30 in the bearings. To me that means high HT/HS.

Since the natural HT/HS of a SAE20 is similar to a 10W30 it made me suspect it might have been VII free.


I'm confident that it was.

I'm searching for the truth, but really DO believe that was how it was built...yes it was a 5W, yes, it had KV in the 20 range, but all of this pre-dated HTHS in J300.

Shell in Oz had XMO, which was a 15W30 XHVI oil, which also I believe was a monograde.

Closest I've been able to find on anything viscometric is this paper on testing the "new" 5W20 synthetic against an SAE 30 in a volvo.

EPA website

Download it and read it, and see how it affects your opinion...I don't want to sway one way or the other.


Thanks. Cant say it convinces me, one way or the other. Interesting anyway/

PS I thought Mobil 1 was introduced in '74 but if it was '76 i stand corrected.


M1 5-20 did come out in the US in 1974.
 
I started using Mobil 1 in 1977, and back then, it was only available in 5W-20. I remember writing Mobil and asking them if it had any VI additive. In the 5W-20 version, they claimed it had NO VI additive. Then, in the very late 70's, or around 1980, they changed it to 5W-30. I wrote them again and they stated it had a small amount of VI additive.

FYI, the next viscosities to appear were the 15W-50, and then I believe 10W-30 around 1990.
 
Originally Posted By: btanchors
I started using Mobil 1 in 1977, and back then, it was only available in 5W-20. I remember writing Mobil and asking them if it had any VI additive. In the 5W-20 version, they claimed it had NO VI additive. Then, in the very late 70's, or around 1980, they changed it to 5W-30. I wrote them again and they stated it had a small amount of VI additive.

FYI, the next viscosities to appear were the 15W-50, and then I believe 10W-30 around 1990.


Awesome effort, thankyou for that.

That's the best yet at putting a myth to bed, and means that the 5W20 would have had an HTHS in the 2.9=3.0 range...which would protect as well as a 10W40 of the day...which, not surprisingly, it DID.
 
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
I wonder how the very first M1 15W50 would compare to the current one?


Depends on what the rating was at the time of introduction. From what I can find the 5W-20 was API SE. I don't think I would put that in any modern car.
 
Originally Posted By: Shannow
That's the best yet at putting a myth to bed, and means that the 5W20 would have had an HTHS in the 2.9=3.0 range...which would protect as well as a 10W40 of the day...which, not surprisingly, it DID.


They did make a comparison (however vague) to 10W-40 on the can.
 
Originally Posted By: mjoekingz28
Was this 5w-20 Mobil's introduction into the market? IE, their first product?


Not their first product but their first synthetic.

First SemiSynthetic - Motul 1966
First Full Synthetic - Motul 1971
First USA Synthetic - Amsoil 1972
First Synthetic by US Major - Mobil 1974
 
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I know it was a 5w and it was thin. I put it in a new Duster with the slant 6 and it went right thru it. I guess it blew by the rings because no leaks. Engines back then just weren't engineered for thin oil. The engine did rev more freely.
 
The original M1 was a 5W-20 API SE based on PAO and two POEs (a TMP and a PE), then changed to a single POE (TMP). The formulation was changed again in 1980 for the 5W-30 SF spec to PAO and a Diester (DTDA).

The W grades in 1974 were defined differently and do not correlate to todays W grades. There were no MRV or HTHS tests, only the CCS and KV100 defining viscometrics. If I recall correctly, the 5W of the 70s was lighter than the 5W today. The limits were changed because the light mineral base oils needed for 5W were short on availability, so they raised the spec to something more like a 7.5W.

Tom NJ
 
Originally Posted By: Shannow
Originally Posted By: Gene K
The reason it was introduced as a 5W20 was it "acted" like a 10W30 in the bearings. To me that means high HT/HS.

Since the natural HT/HS of a SAE20 is similar to a 10W30 it made me suspect it might have been VII free.


Shell in Oz had XMO, which was a 15W30 XHVI oil, which also I believe was a monograde.


What did the X stand for in XMO?
Was it Xylene or Xylaphone?
 
You're probably right about the XHVI.

But I was just having a little joke.
Remember the adds on TV with **** Johnson and Barry Sheene?
They were promoting the XMO oil along with the Shell Shops back when DJ was racing the Shell Sierra's.
 
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I know that you were joshing...red bottle was XMO-Hi, IIRC 5W40.

XMO got caned as promoting excessive consumption, so they kicked it up to the late '80s equivalent of helix Ultra.

Shell had so much right, but seemed to get it so wrong in that era.

...and the cheating Sierras.
 
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