I know that the general opinion is that Mobil 1 is the best synthetic oil to run in FI cars, but these guys were telling me that this purple stuff was better?

Purple Royal, or something like that? Mine runs fine on Mobil 1, and I still think it's probably the best, but does anyone have a take on the purple stuff? or perhaps Penzoil's synthetic oil?

Just want your .02

 

It's Royal Purple, I've used their gear oil in my TC, worked pretty good. I heard to stay away from their motor oil, but I also heard that about their TC oil and it still worked VERY well for me.

Give it a shot IMO. Post your findings.

 

I've always heard great things about royal purple. I have no exprience with it but my friend that used to manage a Jiffy lube would change his own oil with royal purple after the shop was closed. He always had great things to say about it. I've also heard good things about Redline but again, I have no experience with it. Let us know what you think if you decide to run Royal purple.

 

I use it and I have no problems. Stiff when cold but once things get all warmed up...nothing better.

 

Mobil 1 has a lot of fans because it was one of the first synthetic oils on the market. So there's some brand loyalty there. However, Mobil 1 is no longer a full-synthetic oil. There are LOTS of full-synthetic oils that are "better" in terms of how resistant they are to break-down under severe use (like a turbo car on the track). There's Amsoil, Royal Purple, Torco, RedLine, Castrol, Motul, Voll-Synthese, etc. Lot's of choices.


The big things that Mobil 1 have going for it is that it has LOTS of detergents (which keeps you engine clean when you're not driving too hard), it's cheap, and you can find it everywhere. But many car nuts don't like semi-synthetics, so they stay away from Mobil 1, Castrol Syntec, and the like. Personally, I'm not convinced that a good semi-synthetic is any worse than a full-synthetic in street use.

BTW, not all Royal Purple is full-synthetic. There's no reason to think that semi-synthetic Royal Purple is any better than semi-synthetic Mobil 1. Personally, I've moved towards running full-synthetic, ester-based race oils (Motul 300V or Torco SR-5) on the track and still run high-detergent semi-synthetics (usually Mobil 1) on the street. On the street, I'm not revving the **** out of my engine like you do on the track. On the street, I want good protection during cold starts, lots of detergents, and long life. Most full-synthetic race oils do NOT fit the bill.

Emre

 

I did a search on this site and found a larger number of people using amsoil. Maybe a poll wound be nice to get concise opinions.

 

There have been polls like this on EvoM before IIRC. Anyway, it's not really useful to know what "most people" on this board use. They just go by marketing hype...not real-world data.

Personally, I go by oil analysis. I've sent off analyses for the Motul 300V and Torco SR-5 I now use on the track and I'm satisfied that they're comparable and both much better than Mobil 1 on the track.

On the street, it's been the other way around. The fancy full-synthetics don't "age" well. Mobil 1 turns out to be very good on the street if you go by oil analysis.

Emre

 

unless I'm reading my label wrong, Mobil 1 is full synthetic. Front and back of the bottle, plain as day, "Fully Synthetic Motor Oil" on the front of the bottle, and "Fully synthetic formula with SuperSyn Technology helps extend engine life" on the back.

I know Mobil now makes several different varieties, but the good ol' standard Mobil 1 is fully synthetic according to the label. What am I missing?

 

I'm bumping this because I wanna know if Mobil 1 is full synthetic or not. Kayaalp, you out there? Or can anyone else confirm/deny this by something other than the bottle labeling?

 

there is 2 types of mobil 1 out there........one with the gold cap(extended service) and the regular one with the green cap............

 

This is a VERY long story. The short version is that Mobil 1 used to be a full-synthetic (meaning it started with synthetic base stock). Then Castrol Syntec came around calling itself full-synthetic...it was really a semi-synthetic (meaning it started with highly-purified dino juice as base stock). Mobil sued Castrol about this...and lost the case. The courts found that the purification process was sufficienly extreme that Castrol Syntec could call itself fully-synthetic. After a while, Mobil 1 also switched over to a semi-synthetic formulation.

The bottom line is that Mobil 1 is NOT a full-synthetic (and hasn't been for a LONG time). It's now a semi-synthetic just like Castrol Syntec. Whatever it says on the label about "100% synthetic" is just marketing hype.

The fool-proof test it to read the fine print. Look at what the base stocks are. Real full-synthetics are made up of different base stocks (like phosphate esters). The semi-synthetics are made of purified mineral oils. It's simple as that.

Emre

 

not doubting you, you seem to know what you're talking about, but straight off the mobil 1 website:

FAQs for Mobil 1

Is Mobil 1 with SuperSyn Technology a fully synthetic motor oil?

Yes, it is. To meet the demanding requirements of today's specifications (and our customers' expectations), Mobil 1 with SuperSyn uses high-performance fluids, including polyalphaolefins (PAOs), along with a proprietary system of additives. Each Mobil 1 with SuperSyn viscosity grade uses a unique combination of synthetic fluids and selected additives in order to tailor the viscosity grade to its specific application.


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What's the difference between a fully synthetic and a synthetic blend motor oil?

All motor oils are made up of base oils and additives. In general, fully synthetic motor oils contain non-conventional, high-performance fluids. Semi-synthetic oils (also called "blends") usually use a small percentage of non-conventional, high-performance fluids in combination with conventional base oil.


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It's confusing, to say the least. Are you using a different definition for synthetic (i.e. phosphate esters vs. PAO's), because PAO's are synthetic in this application, no?

 

Royal Purple is very popular in the rotary community. A rotary engine is much harder on motor oil than a piston engine of comparable output. Mobil 1 is also widely used and liked and both seem to leave the internals fairly clean (oil is injected into the combustion chamber on a rotary if you weren't aware). I've been using RP for years and years in various cars and I know one of the RP Techs, David Canitz(sp?) races a rotary so they have lots of R&D feedback from that. Point is, if it'll work really well in a rotary where EGT's are hundreds of degrees hotter (and a major amount of cooling is done with oil), it'll work in an Evo. I typically see EGT's in the high 900 celsius range at WOT, sometimes a hair above 1,000 C. Both are good oils and if changed regularly, will both do an excellent job. RP has the advantage of offering numerous oils both in street and race formulas to meet specific needs. If you're running a serious setup, I'd probably spend the extra $$$ on RP. A lot of NAPA stores still carry Royal Purple. Mobil 1 is much easier to find however. You can also order RP online from places like www.jegs.com in bulk and save $$$. Shipping usually isn't that bad. I did an interview with David some time back. I'll have to dig it up and post it. There was some interesting information. Motul rocks as well but it's damn expensive! Emre brought up a great point however...it's not costly to have an analysis done. You may find one oil works very well for your particular setup.
Michel

 

You have to read between the lines. They say they use "high-performance fluids" (whatever that means) including PAO's. Notice they don't say that the BASE STOCK is PAO. In other words, they can add 1% PAO to 99% purified mineral oil and STILL make the same claim.

The "real" full synthetics (Torco SR-5, Motul 300V, RedLine, etc.) will proudly say that they use PAO or ester BASE STOCKS. And that's the difference.


It's like I've said several times already. Full-synthetics use synthetic base stocks. Semi-synthetics use highly purified dino juice as a base stock. I don't know how to make it any more clear than that.


Exactly. Mobil 1 and Castrol Syntec fall into the second category. FWIW, I think semi-synthetics are absolutely FINE for street use. But I stay away from them in extreme uses (very cold weather or hard track use).


I'm sorry...but I don't see where the confusion comes in. Ester base stocks are born in the lab. That's why people call them "synthetic." Mineral base stocks start as crude oil and get highly purified. Mobil 1 and Castrol decide to ALSO call these "synthetics" for marketing reasons...but most people would call them "semi-synthetics."

Emre

 

I have always ran royal pruple in my cars. I used in in my old b16 turbo and still stay true to it in my evo. Have had zero problems with it. it's suposed to give better compression on the pistons.