15w50 Mobil 1 (ok down to what temp?)

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ELS

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I have a race bike (atv) that seems to like this stuff... seems to stand up to it better than the 5w40 Rotella.

Problem is, I don't really know how to tell how cold it is OK to use the 15w50?

Coldest weather I would start it in would be like upper 20's after a snow... as snow is about the only thing that motivates me to ride in the cold.
 
I used it in Connecticut without any problems in air cooled Porsche engines. It does get thick when cold, but it does flow. Try putting a bottle in the freezer. My freezer is 10 below, so it's a good bit colder than your situation.

Both the 15-50 and the M1 TDT 5-40 get about equally thick in my freezer. For whatever that's worth.

My Porsche would get oil pressure within a few seconds.
 
I'd say it would be good down to that temperature especially for a motorcycle. If you want some thing even more heavy duty than Mobil 1 15W50, Mobil 1 Motorcycle oil is really hardcore stuff with even more anti-wear additives and no friction modifers that the auto oil has for fuel economy and to better work with the motorcycle's transmission. It's available in 10w40 and 20w50 for v-twins. You can use Mobil 1 Motorcycle oil for racing in an auto engine-Mobil gives a tacit approval on their ask mobil sight. Does your motor oil also lubricate the transmission?
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Falcon_LS
I reckon it should be fine down to -15 C (5 F).


I'll never ride that cold... only nice days or like say 27-32 degrees after a little snow.

Originally Posted By: Cujet
I used it in Connecticut without any problems in air cooled Porsche engines. It does get thick when cold, but it does flow. Try putting a bottle in the freezer. My freezer is 10 below, so it's a good bit colder than your situation.

Both the 15-50 and the M1 TDT 5-40 get about equally thick in my freezer. For whatever that's worth.

My Porsche would get oil pressure within a few seconds.


Thanks... I put some stock in freezer tests, because obviously I can't tell how an oil will do in cold from the specs.

TDT 5w40 was one in the back of my mind too.


Originally Posted By: mechanicx
I'd say it would be good down to that temperature especially for a motorcycle. If you want some thing even more heavy duty than Mobil 1 15W50, Mobil 1 Motorcycle oil is really hardcore stuff with even more anti-wear additives and no friction modifers that the auto oil has for fuel economy and to better work with the motorcycle's transmission. It's available in 10w40 and 20w50 for v-twins. You can use Mobil 1 Motorcycle oil for racing in an auto engine-Mobil gives a tacit approval on their ask mobil sight. Does your motor oil also lubricate the transmission?


Yes, it's a wet clutch... shared oil... and the feel of the trans is how I actually tell it is time to drain.

The 15w50 does not contain friction modifiers that bother the wet clutch.

From the best I can gather, Amsoil motorcycle and Mobil 1 motorcycle are the top oils. I just decided to try the 15w50 as I moved UP in oil quality searching for an oil that would stand up a little longer, without going too long.

The 15w50 specs pretty close to the motorcycle, yet is a LOT more cost effective. It did come to $4.40 per qt... now $5.20 per qt... when bought in 5 qt jugs... was $22... now $26... and gives me 4 oil changes per jug.


Overall, it seems to do really well, especially for the price. OEM 10w40 and Rotella 5w40 needed changing every ride. Going down in VII's, the Rotella 15w40 extends to 2 rides. The 15w50 Mobil 1 is OK for 4-5 rides... looks like it will stand up until it looks dirty at least.
 
Originally Posted By: EL



Originally Posted By: mechanicx
I'd say it would be good down to that temperature especially for a motorcycle. If you want some thing even more heavy duty than Mobil 1 15W50, Mobil 1 Motorcycle oil is really hardcore stuff with even more anti-wear additives and no friction modifers that the auto oil has for fuel economy and to better work with the motorcycle's transmission. It's available in 10w40 and 20w50 for v-twins. You can use Mobil 1 Motorcycle oil for racing in an auto engine-Mobil gives a tacit approval on their ask mobil sight. Does your motor oil also lubricate the transmission?


Yes, it's a wet clutch... shared oil... and the feel of the trans is how I actually tell it is time to drain.

The 15w50 does not contain friction modifiers that bother the wet clutch.

From the best I can gather, Amsoil motorcycle and Mobil 1 motorcycle are the top oils. I just decided to try the 15w50 as I moved UP in oil quality searching for an oil that would stand up a little longer, without going too long.

The 15w50 specs pretty close to the motorcycle, yet is a LOT more cost effective. It did come to $4.40 per qt... now $5.20 per qt... when bought in 5 qt jugs... was $22... now $26... and gives me 4 oil changes per jug.


Overall, it seems to do really well, especially for the price. OEM 10w40 and Rotella 5w40 needed changing every ride. Going down in VII's, the Rotella 15w40 extends to 2 rides. The 15w50 Mobil 1 is OK for 4-5 rides... looks like it will stand up until it looks dirty at least.


That's intereesting stuff. I don't know whether 15W50 contained friction modifers or not but since it's not the full on Mobil 1 race oil it doesn't contain as much moly so that would also make it more compatible with wet clutches. Plus it's thicker than most of Mobil 1 race oils available. That's the great thing about the motorcycle oil though, it's thick doesn't contain too much moly nor friction modifers for sure but otherwise is a full on race oil. Maybe you could get even more runs out of the Mobil 1 motorcycle oil 10W40 or 20W50 and that would compensate for the price difference? Probably not though.
 
I ran Mobil1 red cap 15W50 (both tri- and super-syn I think) in my Porsche 968 in the early 2000s.

It was not a happy camper down around freezing, clearly having issues with overly thick oil.

Sure it ran and didn't grenade, but I could tell...
 
Well, I got caught by a mild winter going in, and then BAM....
Yep, a foot of snow.

So the I still had the 15w50 in there.
Since that was the case, I took a chance on turning the engine over.

It seemed to do just fine to me down in the lowest temperatures I will ride in. It didn't turn over hard, and I heard no sign of lack of lubrication... and I could see it was moving around OK through the site glass in the bottom end.

I was out at Walmart, and saw that the price dropped back down to $22 a jug. So I snatched some up. I think I am going to stick with this stuff for this application, unless I happen to run across something that changes my mind.

It stands up enough better in this application that I'm actually saving money using it over cheaper oils, and having to fool with changing less often, and saving filters too.

And at $22 for 4 oil changes... or $4.40 a quart, it's hard to justify the additional cost for the "motorcycle" label oil... rather it be OEM, Mobil 1, Amsoil, or other known motorcycle specific brands (Maxima/Motul/BelRay/Golden Spectro/etc).

I just don't see any of that providing more than double the drain interval of the 15w50, or enough additional engine life to pay for itself.....

I think I would for sure "feel better" about supporting one of those companies instead of Mobil, but........ ah I dunno...
 
I used in in NH for 8 years and never had any problems starting, even when nights hit -30
 
Can someone please explain the MRV at -40 deg 12188.

Typical Properties

Mobil 1 15W-50
Value
Viscosity, ASTM D 445
cSt @ 40º C 124.1
cSt @ 100º C 18.0
Sulfated Ash, wt%, ASTM D 874 1.4
Phosphorous 0.1
Flash Point, ºC, ASTM D 92 229
Density @15º C kg/l, ASTM D 4052 0.86
Total Base Number (TBN) 11.9
MRV at -40ºC 12188
Viscosity Index 161
HTHS Viscosity, mPa•s @ 150ºC, ASTM D 4683 5.0

http://www.mobil.com/Australia-English/Lubes/PDS/GLXXENPVLMOMobil_1_15W-50.asp
 
Originally Posted By: virginoil

Can someone please explain the MRV at -40 deg 12188.

Typical Properties

Mobil 1 15W-50
Value
Viscosity, ASTM D 445
cSt @ 40º C 124.1
cSt @ 100º C 18.0
Sulfated Ash, wt%, ASTM D 874 1.4
Phosphorous 0.1
Flash Point, ºC, ASTM D 92 229
Density @15º C kg/l, ASTM D 4052 0.86
Total Base Number (TBN) 11.9
MRV at -40ºC 12188
Viscosity Index 161
HTHS Viscosity, mPa•s @ 150ºC, ASTM D 4683 5.0

http://www.mobil.com/Australia-English/Lubes/PDS/GLXXENPVLMOMobil_1_15W-50.asp



That has to be a typo. The 0W-40 is 26242 at the same temperature
 
In a daily drive I cut it off at 20F for maximum saftey but in reality 5F is more realistic. I always take the side of caution.

My Dad has ran it to -25F but I would not recomend it. His truck sounded like a coffee can full of marbles rolling down a hill the first few seconds at idle and it barely turned over. If I recall correctly it was even colder the night before it was -25F ince the sun came out for a few hours.

Since his trucks valve train is still like new with only one valve needing to have a new shim to bring it within specifications that one time did no real harm. Like said though I would not make a habit of this. He's an over the road trucker back then and was gone weeks at a time when he left the M1 15W50 was still ok to run then artic air from Canada blew in and changed that.

I know OCC runs SAE60 year round even in NY State winters.....So I think 15W50 is ok for what you see. I think you are right in the daftey range and will not have problems as long asyou let the oil pressure come up before reving the snot out of it!
 
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