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mobile 1 EP 0w-20 lowers phos and zinc to 650 & 750 ppm

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by epoch_time, Mar 25, 2017.

  1. epoch_time

    epoch_time Active Member

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    I hope to attach mobil 1 pdf charts in this post.

    I believe mobil 1 first offered 0w-20 in the gold cap extended preformance 15000 mile oil in early 2015..
    This 0w-20 synthetic was the only mobil 1 product offering 800 and 900 ppm phosphorus and zinc levels.
    Prior to that mobil 1 only offered advanced fuel economy 0w-20 at 650 and 750 phos--zinc levels.

    The 0w-20 advanced fuel with lower antiwear levels produced dark colored oil after only 4200 miles.
    The 0w-20 extended performance oil became a similar dark color after about 6900 miles a big difference in my opinion!
    The orignal oil (toyota oil) in our 2010 prius stayed perfectly clear in color till about 5900 miles.
    We had rented both prius v and c with under 6000 orignal miles and there oils (assuming orignal toyota oil) were also clear in color indicating better oil from toyota. This rentals were around 2010 before toyota oil lowered there phosphours and zinc levels to be compatable with USA mandate of lower anti-wear additives.

    I am very disappointed that mobil 1 chose to reduce the anti-wear levels in there 0w-20 ep oil.
    They also reduced the anti-wear levels in there mobil 1 high mileage oils from 1000 and 1100 to 800 and 900
    and changed there high mileage api rating from sl to sn.

    I will stay with mobil 1 and hope they go back to offering 0w-20 with at least 800/900 pho-zinc levels.
     

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    #1 epoch_time, Mar 25, 2017
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  2. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Does clear oil indicate better? Toyota oil is all I've used btw, but I'm just not sure there's a connection between oil quality and how dark it looks over time. I've actually heard the opposite, that a typical detergent oil will keep contaminates in suspension, and accordingly look quite dark.

    Perhaps it just looked clear on the dipstick? (n) Here's a pic of Toyota 0W20 I drained, after 4876 kilometers:

    upload_2017-3-25_7-40-3.png

    And the new oil, also Toyota 0W20:

    upload_2017-3-25_7-41-25.png

    (It's distinctly amber coloured from the outset.)
     
    #2 Mendel Leisk, Mar 25, 2017
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2017
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  3. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    That is good Mobil-1 data which I was unaware we could get.
    I do realize the companies are constantly changing specs, and I do focus on the ratings I like to go for the A1/B1 , which is easier in the 30 weights.

    Beyond that it is hard for a layman to know. I am under the impression there is an eco-trend to reduce the ZDDP zinc phosphate additives in lubes, so without expert knowledge of lube formulation I don't know if less ZDDP is a good thing or bad thing. What I recommend is to compare against say Toyota brand on these parameters, which tends to be quite high quality.
     
    #3 wjtracy, Mar 25, 2017
  4. epoch_time

    epoch_time Active Member

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    #4 epoch_time, Mar 25, 2017
  5. epoch_time

    epoch_time Active Member

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    Yes I'm am refering to the oil appearance on the dipstick in all of my observations
    Oil Experts say color of oil is no indication of oil quality.
    Black (used oil that was original yellow) still may be considered good oil as the additives could be still good.
    But Black oil at 5000 miles compaired with clear oil would indicate lots of engine wear (iron and others) turning the
    oil black..
    I also have a 2009 prius (bran new at that time) that came with dino oil. it was pitch black at 1300 miles I changed at that time to mobile 1 5w-30 extended performance gold cap where in never got black. I changed mobil 1 oil at 6500 miles it was light brown on the dipstick this was mobil 1 5w-30 ep api sm (higher phosphour and zinc).

    Clear appearing oil on the dipstick represents clean oil. Clear appearing oil after say 5000 miles indicates minimum engine wear.. engine wear is the only thing I can think of that changes the color of oil.
    Well maybe carbon would also contribute to oil color change.
     
    #5 epoch_time, Mar 25, 2017
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  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    FWIW whenever I check our Prius dipstick near oil change time it still looks very clear, nothing like a couple of other (conventional) vehicles I also change the oil on. With the latter the oil even on the dipstick is very dark.

    But if you're looking through 2~3 inches worth of drained oil in a jar, then the difference becomes very apparent. Again, a lot of people would say that's just the oil "doing it's job".

    In a way then, maybe the dipstick appearance IS a better indicator: it shows finer gradations of particulate in suspension. I've got a feeling you could drain freshly changed oil within weeks and it would already look very dark, viewed in a glass.
     
    #6 Mendel Leisk, Mar 25, 2017
  7. Currahee

    Currahee Member

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    The gold cap is moving to the new "Annual Protection" BS oil, perhaps this change is in anticipation of that.
     
    #7 Currahee, Mar 25, 2017
  8. jzchen

    jzchen Newbie!

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    You probably should look into oil analysis to determine things. Once you crank a diesel engine, even with fresh oil, the oil turns black. Not quite true that it is only wear that causes the oil to go dark. Combustion side affects things.....

    TBN number is quite important for longevity. So looking at that spec is a good idea if you want to see how long an oil might last....
     
    #8 jzchen, Mar 25, 2017
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