Best oil for a 1999 Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG?

[BradC43]

Hi guys, I currently use Mobil 1 0w-40 and I always thought it was the best oil but my car started to burn oil so I checked my oil and it was BLACK at almost ~7500 miles. I live in Orlando, Florida and I drive pretty spiritedly to be honest. Most if not all of my trips are less than 20 miles, but Ive done 10k miles since i got the car in December. The guys at autozone tell me not to get mobil 1 cause "its not even full synthetic anymore" and the guys on mbworld mentioned running 5w-50. So what do you all recommend?
Thanks

 

[RooflessVW]

Black oil is fine, means it is doing its job.

Stick with Mobil 1 0W-40 or pick up some Castrol Edge 0W-40. Can't go wrong with either; My preference is Castrol.

 

[2004tdigls]

i found my ML burned mobil 1 like no tomorrow, I just went to a dino 15w40 and I have never looked back because the oil consumption almost stopped

probably not the best oil, but i change it every 5000 miles

 

[BradC43]

dino oil? idk, i want the best of performance and protection and i feel dino wouldnt be able to keep up with how i drive. If the consensus come out to me sticking with 0w40 i guess ill start doing oil changes at 5k miles

 

[JimPghPA]

What is the fuel, Diesel, or gasoline?

 

[WhyMe]

previous owner/s might not have been changing oil on a timely basis and your cleaning out the sludge.

 

[Dyusik]

Originally Posted By: BradC43
dino oil? idk, i want the best of performance and protection and i feel dino wouldnt be able to keep up with how i drive. If the consensus come out to me sticking with 0w40 i guess ill start doing oil changes at 5k miles

A 15w40 would be HDEO, an oil with capabilities that some syn oils and then some. Can't see anything wrong with a 15w in FL.
Originally Posted By: JimPghPA
What is the fuel, Diesel, or gasoline?

Gas.

 

[JimPghPA]

A couple of years ago there was a thread here on BITOG about Mercedes not specifying Castrol Edge 0W-30 European formula for vehicles sold here in the U.S.

It said that Mercedes has specified that oil over in Europe and they had no problems with the main seals of their engines. But in the U.S. it was not called for and many of the vehicles that did not use it had leaking main seals that had to be replaced under warranty, and Mercedes was now specifying Castrol Edge 0W-30 European formula for their cars sold here in the U.S.

So in regards to what oil should you use, if you do not want your main seals to leak, then use the Castrol Edge 0W-30 European formula in the black bottle. Pep-Boys has a special going on this month of five quarts of Castrol Edge and a filter for $29.95 after a mail in rebate for a $10 credit card refund. My local Pep-Boys stocks the Castrol Edge 0W-30 European formula and I got 5 quarts and a filter with this months special.

 

[userfriendly]

I did the 0W40 thing until one day I got sick of paying big bucks for engine oil for an 04 C240.
After that, above freezing it got 15w40.

 

[Wolf359]

The color has nothing to do with how well the oil is doing. Mobil 1 0w40 meets MB 229.5 spec which is the current recommendation. I wouldn't use any 15w40 oil, that probably doesn't meet MB 229.5 and is probably meant for diesel engines, not gasoline. I run the oil in my E-350 to 8-10k, it's normal for it go black after a while.

 

[RooflessVW]

Originally Posted By: userfriendly
I did the 0W40 thing until one day I got sick of paying big bucks for engine oil for an 04 C240.
After that, above freezing it got 15w40.

$25 for 5 quarts is too much?

Originally Posted By: JimPghPA
A So in regards to what oil should you use, if you do not want your main seals to leak, then use the Castrol Edge 0W-30 European formula in the black bottle.

There is no longer angering special about that oil, unless you are finding older SL stock. Castrol 0W-30 and 0W-40 are now basically the same oil, with the 40 having a slightly higher HTHS. The Castrol 0W-30 that Mercedes used to recommend was the different, "green" Castrol.

 

[userfriendly]

The Benz took 7.5L and the truck 12.5L, 20L pail of 15w40 in the spring, and 5w40 in the fall.
If it got colder than -35C I suppose 0w40 would be better than 5w40.
Either that or plug the block heaters in. Why pay more for an inferior product Roofless?

 

[RooflessVW]

I don't think that the common 0W-40s (Mobil, Castrol, Pennzoil) are inferior to much of anything.

Also not sure why you'd want to run it in a truck; surely you can buy the most appropriate oil for each application?

 

[DdDd]

The best oil is:

The one you change on schedule.

Seriously though that flavor of Mobil had the highest amount of PAO of any product they made. 40% iirc. But I notice m1 tends to also have high noack.

 

[RooflessVW]

Originally Posted By: DdDd
The best oil is:

The one you change on schedule.

And also meets required specs.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
Originally Posted By: userfriendly
I did the 0W40 thing until one day I got sick of paying big bucks for engine oil for an 04 C240.
After that, above freezing it got 15w40.

$25 for 5 quarts is too much?

Originally Posted By: JimPghPA
A So in regards to what oil should you use, if you do not want your main seals to leak, then use the Castrol Edge 0W-30 European formula in the black bottle.

There is no longer angering special about that oil, unless you are finding older SL stock. Castrol 0W-30 and 0W-40 are now basically the same oil, with the 40 having a slightly higher HTHS. The Castrol 0W-30 that Mercedes used to recommend was the different, "green" Castrol.


Yeah Mobil 1 0w40 is about $25 at Walmart for a 5 quart jug. They also have their $12 rebates twice a year so it drops it down to around $13 for a 5 quart jug. Should start up again in September.

I'm not sure why he's using 15w40, I don't really know of any oil in that weight that meets MB 229.5 spec.

According to this Mercedes chart, there isn't a single oil thicker than 5w40 that meets that spec:

https://bevo.mercedes-benz.com/bevolisten/229.5_en.html