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Toyota oil vs Mobil One oil

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by alfon, Feb 24, 2012.

  1. xs650

    xs650 Senior Member

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    The funny part was that the 2.6 vs 2.7 was the High Temperature High Shear (HTHS) spec and the Toyota oil's 2.6 was the bare minimum acceptable.

    Getting the lowest viscosity you can get in the HTHS test isn't necessarily a good thing so he was off in magnitude and direction.
     
  2. tumbleweed

    tumbleweed Senior Member

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    I will continue to use Mobil 1 0W20 and I will suffer the consequences of not using the "superior" Toyota branded Eneos oil. ;) I have never known anyone who could prove they destroyed an engine by using the wrong brand of motor oil. Maybe the wrong viscosity but I suspect even that would need to grossly wrong to do much damage.

    The difference in gas mileage between different brands of 0W20 is probably so slight as to be virtually unmeasurable. There may be a few tenths of an MPG which counts toward the CAFE number but for the average owner it won't matter.
     
  3. Jon Hagen

    Jon Hagen Active Member

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    Good Question, I have a quart of original Toyota 0-20 from 2009 and ones I bought last summer.
    The original is in a different jug, but the "NEW" Toyota 0-20 jug looks suspiciously like a Mobil 1, 0-20 jug, so ???

    I only rack up 10-12,000 miles per year, so at 10K I take it to the dealer let them change oil, check everything and rotate tires, then I am good to go for another year. $50 per year does not hurt my feelings at all.:)
     
  4. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    Mobil 1 0w20 specifically states on the front label that it meets Toyota specs/warranty requirements.
     
  5. xs650

    xs650 Senior Member

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    Toyota USA changed 0W-20 oil suppliers a year or two ago.

    From what I remember Mobil brews it now to Toyota's specs.
     
  6. Alexma

    Alexma Member

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    LOL..................looks like quite a few missed this one.... ;)
     
  7. hlunde

    hlunde Member

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    LTZR1 -- Your level of detail suggests that you know who supplies Toyota's oils. Is that correct? Or did you get this information by analysis. If it's by analysis, then the "fingerprint" of the specs might suggest who the supplier is.
     
  8. wick1ert

    wick1ert Senior Member

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    It took me a second when it was posted, but I got a good laugh from that too!

    On a side note, does anyone know how long unopened oil's shelf life is? I've got some 5W-30 and 10W-30 that I got dirt cheap with rebates when I had other cars a few years ago. Is that still good?
     
  9. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    Wow great data holy mackeral.
    Does Toyota make a 0W-30 synthetic for Gen-II? If not sounds like maybe blend in some of this Gen-III lube with Mobil-1 next winter. I did not realize Toyota made a synthetic.
    PS- when you say lighter I think you mean less viscous at the same weight of oil.
     
  10. cossie1600

    cossie1600 Active Member

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    I skip them both. I got cold ticks with the Toyota oil at like 7000 miles, Mobil 1 did slightly better. I went 9800 on my AMsoil and no ticking. Oil analysis also came back very positive, it suggested I go to 12000 miles
     
  11. tumbleweed

    tumbleweed Senior Member

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    5 years minimum according to Mobil.
     
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  12. alfon

    alfon Senior Member

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    Just purchased a full case of Toyota 0w20 synthetic oil
    for $ 5.50 per quart, 12 quarts per case. Reg per quart
    price is $7.20.

    Currently I am using Mobil One 0w20 full synthetic oil
    but I will give this a try, Napa has Mobil One
    full synthetic for $5.79 / quart which is currently
    on sale.
     
  13. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    ....what is a cold tick?
     
  14. hlunde

    hlunde Member

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    Thanks for your data and I understand the points that you are making. But I seriously doubt that the ICE oil would cool to as low as 40C. between restarts during normal driving. If for example the oil cooled to 60 or 70C. between restarts then the difference between 5W20 and 0W20 would be quite small. Perhaps someone here has monitored engine oil temperature during normal driving conditions and could provide this data?

    For an initial winter cold start the difference between 0W20 and 5W20 could be quite significant and I wonder if actuation of the VVT system is Toyota's concern. Or is it achieving adequate oil flow through the small oil filter element during a cold start?
     
  15. revhigh

    revhigh MPG Enthusiast

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    Quite significant ???? C'mon ..... :D


    Significant in the REAL world .... or significant because it's scientifically measureable with unbelievably sensitive measuring devices ???


    REV
     
  16. hlunde

    hlunde Member

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    Pour points of these two oils is different -43C vs -57C. Is this significant during a -20C. cold start for a Prius? I can't say either way.

    I know that I can easily notice the difference in winter cranking speed between Syntec 10W30 and Syntec 10W40 (non Prius, of course) and these two oils have the same winter (W) viscosity rating.
     
  17. revhigh

    revhigh MPG Enthusiast

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    I think you're confused about the viscosity ratings ... the FIRST number .... the 10 .... is the cold start viscosity rating (I think at 0C) ... in this case ... the exact same number ... the number after the W is the hot viscosity rating ... the viscosity rating of the oil after being warmed.

    Therefore ... your observations of cold start up cranking speed being different make no sense, as the ratings of the two oils you mention are EXACTLY THE SAME.

    Example ....

    Multi-weight oils (such as 10W-30) are a new invention made possible by adding polymers to oil. The polymers allow the oil to have different weights at different temperatures. The first number indicates the viscosity of the oil at a cold temperature, while the second number indicates the viscosity at operating temperature.

    At cold temperatures, the polymers are coiled up and allow the oil to flow as their low numbers indicate. As the oil warms up, the polymers begin to unwind into long chains that prevent the oil from thinning as much as it normally would. The result is that at 100 degrees C, the oil has thinned only as much as the higher viscosity number indicates. Another way of looking at multi-vis oils is to think of a 20W-50 as a 20 weight oil that will not thin more than a 50 weight would when hot.

    REV
     
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  18. hlunde

    hlunde Member

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    I'm not confused, I just didn't go far enough in my example. Castrol rates its cold cranking viscosity at -25C. But if I'm cranking at a more typical winter temperature, say -8C (18F.) then 10W30 and 10W40 are indeed different. The other aspect (which I haven't examined for Castrol products) is that there is an allowed range for each viscosity measurement. For example, earlier Mobil1 10W30 products just barely made the spec for a 30 weight oil under the high temperature condition and perhaps should have been labeled as 10W25.
     
  19. revhigh

    revhigh MPG Enthusiast

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    OK ... if you say so ... :D

    REV
     
  20. hlunde

    hlunde Member

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    Castrol spec sheet attached.
     

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