Mobil 1 Classic 0W30: best cold weather oil?

Pour point: -65F. Out of character, Mobil even posted an MRV at -40F for this oil: 16200. Both numbers beat Ravenol SSO 0W-30 for a record low. This may be the best cold weather oil you can buy, especially if you need to meet a Ford specification: It is one of only three oils available in the US that “Meets or exceeds” Ford’s WSS-M2C963-A1 Spec. (the others are Mobil 1 AFE 0W30 and Castrol Edge 0W-30 DX). In comparison, Mobil 1 AFE 0W-30 currently claims only a -43F pour point, and Castrol 0W-30 DX only -42F.
 
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This may simply be the Chinese market version of the newer Mobil 1 AFE 0W-30 formulation, which can be seen here: https://www.mobil.ca/en-ca/lubrican...nal-vehicle-lubricants/products/mobil-1-0w-30 . It contradicts other PDS that Mobil has posted, such as https://www.mobil.com/en/lubricants/for-personal-vehicles/our-products/products/mobil-1-0w-30 , which I have to assume are the specs for the previous version. It does add the MRV, which I have never seen posted for any version before, and is impressive.
 
HPL's Premium Plus is the best 0W-30 I've seen:
Pour Point: -58°C
CCS: 4150 cP
MRV: 15,400 cP

I'm not a fan of Mobil's skimpy data sheets. They often don't publish CCS or MRV, and these are more important than the pour point.
 
twX said:
HPL's Premium Plus is the best 0W-30 I've seen:
Pour Point: -58°C
CCS: 4150 cP
MRV: 15,400 cP

I'm not a fan of Mobil's skimpy data sheets. They often don't publish CCS or MRV, and these are more important than the pour point.
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You are right: HPL appears to take the crown. But does not claim to meet any standards ...
 
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mattwithcats said:
Mobil 1 ESP 0W-30

-51 °C pour point…

www.mobil.com

Mobil 1™ ESP 0W-30| Mobil™ Motor Oils

Discover how Mobil 1™ ESP 0W-30 advanced synthetic motor oil can prolong the efficiency of emission systems in diesel and gasoline powered automobiles.
www.mobil.com www.mobil.com
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The most recent information I have on ESP 0W30 shows an MRV at -40F of 19000 and a CCS at -35F of 6100, the latter close to the SAE limit of 6200 for 0W (making this almost a 5W30 oil?). OTOH I don't know what the CCS is for Classic or AWE 0W30 - it might be just as close to 5W30 as ESP is.
 
chris719 said:
www.ravenol.de

RAVENOL Arctic Low SAPS ALS SAE 0W-30

RAVENOL Arctic Low SAPS ALS SAE 0W-30 is a PAO (Polyalphaolefin) based, full synthetic low friction motor oil with especially USVO® and proven CleanSynto® ...
www.ravenol.de www.ravenol.de

What's the point though unless you live in Siberia or somewhere in Alberta.
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This beats it as well but appears to be oriented toward European low-SAPS applications and approvals. Probably not the best choice for my Ford EcoBoost 3.5.

What's the point? I do travel on a regular basis to places that get below -40F, both in the US and Canada. I have seen -38F on my dashboard temperature readout in Lake Louise on a sunny day mid-morning. Imagine what the temperature was overnight. So oils that don't pour below -42F make me nervous. Oils that pour down to -65F or lower make me feel much better. So I have an interest in those.
 
Closer examination of the three PDS of Mobil 1 0W-30 (https://www.mobil.com/en/lubricants/for-personal-vehicles/our-products/products/mobil-1-0w-30 , https://www.mobil.ca/en-ca/lubrican...nal-vehicle-lubricants/products/mobil-1-0w-30 , and https://www.exxonmobil.com/en/apps/...ube/2019/09/29/14/26/apzhmobil-1-classic-0w30 ) leads me to the conclusion that these are three different products meant for three different markets. The first is the US product which has a PP of only -42F, the second is a Canadian product also labeled "Mobil 1 AFE 0W30" but is made by Imperial Oil with a PP of -65F, and the third is a Chinese product labeled Mobil 1 Classic 0W30 that is very similar or identical to the Candian AFE labeled product. The US product mentions "Triple Action" but the other two do not. Disappointingly this means that in the US we are stuck with the version that has a PP of only -42F.
 
I have this in my Chevy 6.0 this winter.

5E5242D2-E183-4231-AEE3-30F9A729A1D9.jpeg
 
ka9mnx said:
Pour point has nothing to do with cold engine operating or starting. It's only relevant if your planning an oil change at those temperatures. Boggles my mind why oil companies still publish those specs.
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It doesn't boggle my mind. They are clearly warning you that if you operate your engine below the temperature listed as the "Pour Point", the oil is no longer a liquid. Anyone with any common sense will not want to do that in actual practice. Imagine that you were sitting in your truck and the dashboard temperature display showed a temperature of -45F and you know that the Pour Point of the oil in your pan is -40F. Would you push the start button? I would definitely not in my truck! And if this happened in the middle of the wilderness out of cell phone range (which is where I sometimes am), it could be a disaster.
 
Alien said:
It doesn't boggle my mind. They are clearly warning you that if you operate your engine below the temperature listed as the "Pour Point", the oil is no longer a liquid. Anyone with any common sense will not want to do that in actual practice. Imagine that you were sitting in your truck and the dashboard temperature display showed a temperature of -45F and you know that the Pour Point of the oil in your pan is -40F. Would you push the start button? I would definitely not in my truck! And if this happened in the middle of the wilderness out of cell phone range (which is where I sometimes am), it could be a disaster.
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I dunno. Let’s phone someone in Edmonton, Alberta, a city of over a million people. Most folks with cars outside would plug in at those temps. This screen shot is from the cold snap of Jan 2024. As for starting vehicles in the bush, a lot of the oil patch workers have automatic start systems that will start their vehicle when the coolant temperature drops to a certain point. The engine will start and warm up to normal opearating temperature then shut off. This will occur a few times during the night. But yes, it’s torture on the engine otherwise. Maybe someone from Alaska wants to add to this.

B9E8C484-AE1E-4EF1-809E-B7685571132A.jpeg
 
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Alien said:
It doesn't boggle my mind. They are clearly warning you that if you operate your engine below the temperature listed as the "Pour Point", the oil is no longer a liquid. Anyone with any common sense will not want to do that in actual practice. Imagine that you were sitting in your truck and the dashboard temperature display showed a temperature of -45F and you know that the Pour Point of the oil in your pan is -40F. Would you push the start button? I would definitely not in my truck! And if this happened in the middle of the wilderness out of cell phone range (which is where I sometimes am), it could be a disaster.
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Hmm. That's what they thought back in the 1970's when pour point was a thing. Then in the early 1980's we experienced back-to-back severe Winter's and GM was flooded with engine failures. GM did extensive testing to uncover the mystery behind their failed engines and found pour point was moot spec. About that time pour point was abandoned for a newer, more appropriate, spec CCS and MRV. I know because I lived in Superior, WI during that time.

At -40F and below your vehicle will not start without an engine block heater and a good battery. At the extreme temperatures you cited (-65F), Your vehicle may start with a block heater, oil pan heater and battery heater. Best guarantee in that case is a heated garage. Once started, engine doesn't care about those temperatures after a little warm up.
 
ka9mnx said:
Hmm. That's what they thought back in the 1970's when pour point was a thing. Then in the early 1980's we experienced back-to-back severe Winter's and GM was flooded with engine failures. GM did extensive testing to uncover the mystery behind their failed engines and found pour point was moot spec. About that time pour point was abandoned for a newer, more appropriate, spec CCS and MRV. I know because I lived in Superior, WI during that time.

At -40F and below your vehicle will not start without an engine block heater and a good battery. At the extreme temperatures you cited (-65F), Your vehicle may start with a block heater, oil pan heater and battery heater. Best guarantee in that case is a heated garage. Once started, engine doesn't care about those temperatures after a little warm up.
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From personal experience I know that today's cars are much easier to start in cold weather than the 1970's and 1980's models were. In my experience today's cars (if well maintained and supplied with a good battery) will start and run at -40F with no problems. The worry that I have is will they be lubricated once started.

I have used block heaters, but where I go these days there is no place to plug in, so they are useless to me.

You did not answer my question: would you push the start button?
 
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