My buddy's long time Frankenberry engine oil mix

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Can't recall if I mentioned this before. But he's been using this on his Crown Vics, Lexus, Acura, Camry, etc. for many, many years. No engine failures. And these are all well-used cars that he gets around 100K-150K miles and takes them out to 250K+ miles.

1 qt pure synthetic 10w-30
1 qt conventional straight 40 Weight
0.5 qt Rislone, concentrated engine treatment ( very thin base oil )
And the 3.5 quarts, of Mobil, conventional 5w-30, pumped from a barrel...

Being in the Los Angeles area, cold flow starts aren't a big issue. I don't understand the logic but maybe some one else might.
 
Hey, if it works for him
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Seems like a slow cleaning solution ...
 
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His vehicles, his choice.

But "no engine failure" isn't going to sway any arguments regarding mixing. Those that do, will continue. Those that don't still will not.
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Originally Posted By: 69GTX
But he's been using this on his Crown Vics, Lexus, Acura, Camry, etc. for many, many years. No engine failures.


Tough to kill all of those engines.
 
is the synthetic and straight 40w Mobil as well?


I guess I get the adding a thicker oil to kinda compensate the Rislone.

but i guess he could have just used 10w30 for the last 3.5 quarts.

or just a 10w40 for all and a quart of rislone.


anyways.....how did he come to the conclusion for the amounts? is that something he just went with or did he carefully measure it out as he experimented?
smile.gif
 
Sounds like quite the cocktail. Is it because he thinks it's better than anything else on the market, or just saves $$ by getting the main component in barrels?

VOA on that stuff would be pretty interesting.
 
Since Frankenberry is the name of a kiddie cereal I was expecting some kind of grain to be added to the long, impressive list of oils and that solvent.

Unless the guy is a chemist or tribologist he gets NO POINTS for dreaming up that recipe.

You can bet if he were to run out of one element he'd just adjust on the fly.

Even though all this oil stuff is compatible there's a "whacky, homespun recklessness" to it. I'm not at all impressed with whatever paralogic he applies.
 
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I wonder how much this cost compared to just buying a 5w-30 major brand synthetic?


Here's some super rough calcs I did just from quick searches for pricing of components.

10w-30 synthetic: $9/qt x 1 = $9
40 weight: $4/qt x 1 = $4
Rislone $7/qt x 0.5 = $3.5
Bulk 5w-30 $3.72/qt x 3.5 = $13.02

Total = $29.52 for 6 qt @ 4.92/qt

Not terrible but plenty of cheaper/ more consistent / less hassle options out there, especially with sales. Price could be lower if other components are also bought in bulk.

Still...just why?
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Originally Posted By: Black_Thunder
anyways.....how did he come to the conclusion for the amounts? is that something he just went with or did he carefully measure it out as he experimented?
smile.gif




He told me that back in the mid-1970's he attended an oil seminar by an ex-GM engineer concerning lubricants. His point was that some engine failures back then were attributed to some mfg's oils that came with "bad" additive packages. So if you put in a least a quart or two of someone else's all, you'd be protected in such a case. And so my buddy has been mixing engine oils for 42 years. Never an engine failure...never an engine repair other than gaskets. He's had dozens of cars - usually 3-4 at a time. Yes, he's on top of car reliability and only buys cars known to have considerable engine life. It surely isn't the 1970's when it comes to current oil technology, certifications, and quality control.

I think the Mobil from drums just denotes any old cheap but name brand conventional oil at his auto shop. You're assuming he pays $9 for a quart of synthetic. I doubt it. I've made him aware that you can buy jugs of synthetic at WM for $20 and often a net $10-$12 with rebates. With 4 cars needing oil changes - he can go through a jug of synthetic fairly quick. Don't know his OCI's but they probably are equal to or less than mfg recommendations (so 4K-6K) since he's using basically conventional. He does love his additives as there are several he uses in both engine and transmission.
 
Sounds like an old geezer who's a) entertaining himself and b) "insisting on something" so he feels like he's either involved or important.

A pal of mine took an intensive lube course related to his work- a BIG machinery filled plant. When his kid's battle wagon was 1.5 qt. low I went to add some oil and he got all agitated because my "rescue oil" possibly didn't match what was in there.

There was no way to know. I said, "It's down 37.5%. Stop being such an {fill in dirty word here}".
 
Originally Posted By: Kira
.....There was no way to know. I said, "It's down 37.5%. Stop being such an {fill in dirty word here}".
Curmudgeon?
 
Originally Posted By: CT8
What is the advantge of the mix?


A smug self satisfaction that one is smarter than the rest of the world. At least in the mind of the OP's friend's case.
 
Originally Posted By: CT8
What is the advantge of the mix?


The reasoning was stated earlier. When he started this regimen he was an old "geezer" of 21 yrs old...lol.

He does 3-4 k normally....rarely to 5 k....and very rarely to 6k.
 
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