High mileage oil

thebat

Original poster
Member
May 14, 2017
79
New England
I was thinking of changing my TB's motor oil from Mobil One to Mobil One High Mileage. Truck has 142K miles so I guess it's due. Any thoughts, recommendations or experiences with this?

Also, just a heads up. Mobil One in every variety is $20 a jug (5 gallons) at Walmart online. There are a lot of great prices for auto products there including Valvoline Tranny fluid @ $18/gal, and Mobil One Oil filter for $9. I think they are in a price war with Amazon or something. Time to stock up!
 

Matt

Member
Dec 2, 2011
4,019
I'm at 178,9XX on my 02 and don't use high mileage oil. I think, as long as you do the required oil and filter changes, you really don't need to bother with the high mileage stuff.
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,262
Ottawa, ON
I think I read somewhere that it has something to condition the seals. Or it could just be marketing hype, like using premium fuel. I say as long as you use a good synth oil and quality filter, you're fine.
 
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Redbeard

Member
Jan 26, 2013
3,466
Something you might do just to see how well your oil is holding up is to send a sample to Blackstone (https://www.blackstone-labs.com). One can see if any blow-by is passing the rings and getting into the oil since your concern is being higher mileage. Plus any metals which don't belong in the oil. I haven't sent anything to them recently but used them for several years and they do a good report for the money. I'm over 195k miles and still use "regular" mobile one extended. I use the extended variety since it stopped a very slow leak probably out of the rear main seal.
 

HARDTRAILZ

Moderator
Nov 18, 2011
49,665
At 185K I use the cheapest regular oil I can find and have no issue with leaks or oil use. It's standard 5w30 like the factory intended and I see zero reason to change.
 

sunliner

Member
Mar 25, 2012
365
At 185K I use the cheapest regular oil I can find and have no issue with leaks or oil use. It's standard 5w30 like the factory intended and I see zero reason to change.
that's pretty much what my brother does, and he's a petroleum engineer. 25+ years with Mobil but he's always gone with whatever was on sale and changed oil & filter on schedule with no problems (even with three teenagers driving).
 

HARDTRAILZ

Moderator
Nov 18, 2011
49,665
I would rather spend money on a better filter than waste it on oil that won't do anything extra.
 
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littleblazer

Member
Jul 6, 2014
9,265
:iagree: Unless you're running some ultra high performance stuff 5w30 is 5w30. Mine started consuming a bunch around 200k... but I drove it harder than most and put it away soaked. :rotfl: There are seal conditioners... not needed with conventional and its usually a higher viscosity in the HM flavor. Believe it or not regualr castrol GTX has some of the best film strength. For the most part... if it meets API it's more than adequate. :tiphat:
 

Maverick6587

Member
Dec 16, 2018
730
Sterling Heights, Michigan
This guy on YouTube does pretty amazing oil reviews. I don't remember him doing actual physical tests on the oil. He sends the oil out for a chemical test, to see what chemicals are contained in each brand of oil. He does let you know what each chemical does and what amount is good/bad for your type of engine.

He usually just compares two different oils to see which brand/type is better.

This is his channel:

This is an episode he did comparing Mobile 1 High Mileage to Amazon Basics 5W20
 

DocBrown

Member
Dec 8, 2011
501
I've been using a store branded full synthetic for quite a few years now in my HHR and my Sierra. The HHR has 160k, the Sierra has 155k. The store branded stuff is Dexos approved (as is Amazon Basics) and on sale is $2.60 a quart. I always just use 5-30 as directed.

No one has even been able to articulate any advantage to spending the extra 3 bucks a quart for Mobil 1.
 

Mektek

Member
May 2, 2017
656
FL
just wait for the mobil rebate offer and then it's the same or lower price as cheap brands. I have 15 quarts in stock 😄
 

C-ya

Member
Aug 24, 2012
1,098
I generally use whatever is on sale, be it store branded oil or the big guys. I haven't switched to high mileage oil even though I have over 200K on my 5.3. I use synthetic and change it per the OLM. In my previous GM product, a '98 C1500 with a 4.3, I changed it every 4K miles whether it needed it or not with the cheapest dino oil I could find. Again, not high mileage. I sold it with 245K seven years ago and it is still on the road here in town.
 

BrianF

Member
Jul 24, 2013
1,192
West central Sask.
If you are running into seal issues then maybe try HM oil. Up here it commands a premium over conventional and even group 3 synthetic oils. Is it any better for a higher mileage engine than "regular" oils? Who really knows.

I am not a Mobil fanboy. They make a great product but they price themselves like they are the end all be all.

Go find the correct grade at the store and then pick the cheapest flavor you want that meets the API spec.
 
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littleblazer

Member
Jul 6, 2014
9,265
If you are running into seal issues then maybe try HM oil. Up here it commands a premium over conventional and even group 3 synthetic oils. Is it any better for a higher mileage engine than "regular" oils? Who really knows.

I am not a Mobil fanboy. They make a great product but they price themselves like they are the end all be all.

Go find the correct grade at the store and then pick the cheapest flavor you want that meets the API spec.
You spelled amsoil wrong... :rotfl:
 

BrianF

Member
Jul 24, 2013
1,192
West central Sask.
Remember, Amsoil signature series changed every 3k with bypass filtration. Make sure it is 0w30 for those cold Florida starts. It helps me sleep at night because it is cheap insurance.

Sorry to go off the rails, couldn't resist but littleblazer said that word that gets my blood pressure up.

On this note, Amsoil does make a top notch product but like Mobil, it is not worth the price. You can greatly extend your oil change indexes with conventional group 2 and 3 oils by using a quality filter and used oil analysis.

Engines, while in some ways have been cheapened by the bean counters, they are light years ahead of what they were 20 years ago. Today you can pull apart a modern, high mileage engine and still see the cross hatch in the cylinders. They don't wear out the same way the old ones did. The seals are made much, much better than they ever were. If a seal is leaking, its usually because its defective, not worn out. High mileage oil wont fix that.

Also, don't be so concerned with brand. There are only a few oil companies making engine oil. Mobil made oils under the ACDelco and Supertech labels. Warren is relabeled as various others as well as Supertech, depending on what region of the country you are in. Citgo currently makes most of the Canadian Tire brand, Motomaster oils. Imperial Oil, then Shell made Motomaster previously. SOPUS (Shell) makes Pennzoil and Quaker State flavors. Most are nearly identical in blend. PetroCanada has made ACDelco. Supertech and now Tune it in Canada appears to be made by Safety Kleen.

All of these oils are just fine. Find the grade, API index and pick your price point. In a standard change index and outside very harsh conditions, you will never see any difference in engine wear from group 2 conventional and Amsoil SS. Don't believe me? Try to standardize your driving habits and do used oil analysis.
 

littleblazer

Member
Jul 6, 2014
9,265
Remember, Amsoil signature series changed every 3k with bypass filtration. Make sure it is 0w30 for those cold Florida starts. It helps me sleep at night because it is cheap insurance.

Sorry to go off the rails, couldn't resist but littleblazer said that word that gets my blood pressure up.

On this note, Amsoil does make a top notch product but like Mobil, it is not worth the price. You can greatly extend your oil change indexes with conventional group 2 and 3 oils by using a quality filter and used oil analysis.

Engines, while in some ways have been cheapened by the bean counters, they are light years ahead of what they were 20 years ago. Today you can pull apart a modern, high mileage engine and still see the cross hatch in the cylinders. They don't wear out the same way the old ones did. The seals are made much, much better than they ever were. If a seal is leaking, its usually because its defective, not worn out. High mileage oil wont fix that.

Also, don't be so concerned with brand. There are only a few oil companies making engine oil. Mobil made oils under the ACDelco and Supertech labels. Warren is relabeled as various others as well as Supertech, depending on what region of the country you are in. Citgo currently makes most of the Canadian Tire brand, Motomaster oils. Imperial Oil, then Shell made Motomaster previously. SOPUS (Shell) makes Pennzoil and Quaker State flavors. Most are nearly identical in blend. PetroCanada has made ACDelco. Supertech and now Tune it in Canada appears to be made by Safety Kleen.

All of these oils are just fine. Find the grade, API index and pick your price point. In a standard change index and outside very harsh conditions, you will never see any difference in engine wear from group 2 conventional and Amsoil SS. Don't believe me? Try to standardize your driving habits and do used oil analysis.
The company that makes amazon basics is also solid. Like I said, in ultra high performance scenarios there is a difference and I've seen it... but you're talking 40k engines alone... the cheapest shit that meets SN or dexos is really stout oil. Dexos is a tough performance spec. :tiphat: amsoil I bet uses the exact same base stock as Mobil... they behave too similarly not to.
 
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BrianF

Member
Jul 24, 2013
1,192
West central Sask.
Yes, forgot about Amazon's new flavor. Yes, Amsoil buys basetock from Mobil. Like Mobil would make some ultra super secret basetock just for Amsoil and use something inferior for their own blends.

When the 4.2 came out as well as the 5.3 for this platform, GM had 2 oil specs (cant recall the numbers) for gas engines. One spec was for the performance engines and the other was for everything else. Dexos came about and was essentially blending the specs and adding a bit to the mix. Dexos is a great spec as it has minimum performance requirements and cleanliness. Pretty much every plain jane oil out there met both GM specs and now meets Dexos.
 

Mektek

Member
May 2, 2017
656
FL
Another thing to note is that Mobil 1 no longer real synthetic - it's group 3 hydro-cracked base stock like all the others. Still good enough ......
 

BrianF

Member
Jul 24, 2013
1,192
West central Sask.
Oh group 3 is plenty good enough, its just sad they charge way too much for it. Even Amsoil has shifted a lot of their product to group 3. I think only their SS is PAO now.

Group 2 is absolutely fine. In my 3500 I run a blend 10w30. No sure which percentage of 2 or 3 it has but its cheap oil. Used oil analysis shows that the basetock essentially does not shear in a full index with some heavy towing. Oxidation is low to none as well, even with a turbo.

I think marketing has done a number on us and we need to step back, take a breath and read up on an oils specs first.
 

littleblazer

Member
Jul 6, 2014
9,265
Oh group 3 is plenty good enough, its just sad they charge way too much for it. Even Amsoil has shifted a lot of their product to group 3. I think only their SS is PAO now.

Group 2 is absolutely fine. In my 3500 I run a blend 10w30. No sure which percentage of 2 or 3 it has but its cheap oil. Used oil analysis shows that the basetock essentially does not shear in a full index with some heavy towing. Oxidation is low to none as well, even with a turbo.

I think marketing has done a number on us and we need to step back, take a breath and read up on an oils specs first.
Isn't regular mobil delvac 15w-40 a regular group II? Last I checked that was about the best you could use as far as HDEO.
 

BrianF

Member
Jul 24, 2013
1,192
West central Sask.
I would assume its group 2. Most 15w40's are group 2. I think Rotella now has a group 3 15w40.

Delvac is great oil, no doubt about it. But price wise I can get as good for cheaper. PetroCan is proving to be bloody stout in my ISB6.7.
 

littleblazer

Member
Jul 6, 2014
9,265
I don't pay much more than 9$ a gallon for it. Problem is the Effing boat needs 12 gallons of the shit. :laugh:
 
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DocBrown

Member
Dec 8, 2011
501
just wait for the mobil rebate offer and then it's the same or lower price as cheap brands. I have 15 quarts in stock 😄

I generally don't hassle with rebates unless it's something I already would buy. Especially not if the cost is a wash.

I haven't found any reasons why dexos is better than non dexos ....

There's a lot of documentation on this. It's probably not as big of a deal for some of the older GM vehicles. But it is for the newer small turbo charged engines Low-Speed Pre-Ignition (LSPI). The wrong oil can be a big problem for these engines.
 
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Mektek

Member
May 2, 2017
656
FL
Wow! Something new keeps popping up.
So from the description on the Valvoline website it appears that residues of engine oil can spontaneously ignite the mixture as it's being compressed in GDI turbo engines.
Since neither of the engines in our platform have these then dexos won't do us any good.
Darn! I made a special effort to select the dexos 5w30 thinking it was something special.
Oh well...........
 

littleblazer

Member
Jul 6, 2014
9,265
Wow! Something new keeps popping up.
So from the description on the Valvoline website it appears that residues of engine oil can spontaneously ignite the mixture as it's being compressed in GDI turbo engines.
Since neither of the engines in our platform have these then dexos won't do us any good.
Darn! I made a special effort to select the dexos 5w30 thinking it was something special.
Oh well...........
It's still a good spec. Iirc if its dexos its atleast partially synthetic too.
 
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DocBrown

Member
Dec 8, 2011
501
Help me understand, what are you saving by not using Dexos approved oil? The stuff that's not isn't any cheaper.
 

BrianF

Member
Jul 24, 2013
1,192
West central Sask.
Our engines were out prior to dexos but these days everyone and their dog makes an approved product.

If you find some oil that meets those old GM specs, that will suffice.
 
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Mektek

Member
May 2, 2017
656
FL
When I was looking through the mobil 1 rack a year ago, only the 5w30 were dexos. High mileage was not. Things may have changed now.
 

DocBrown

Member
Dec 8, 2011
501
That doesn't surprise me. There was a time when high mileage oil made sense. Back in the days when when GM 5.7 liter engines valve guides would start to wear out and piston slap was actually a real problem. But with today's tight tolerances I just don't see the need for high mileage oil. I don't think it's a big seller anymore. Also, I don't think anyone is making high mileage in a synthetic.
 

littleblazer

Member
Jul 6, 2014
9,265
That doesn't surprise me. There was a time when high mileage oil made sense. Back in the days when when GM 5.7 liter engines valve guides would start to wear out and piston slap was actually a real problem. But with today's tight tolerances I just don't see the need for high mileage oil. I don't think it's a big seller anymore. Also, I don't think anyone is making high mileage in a synthetic.
Mobil 1 EP high mileage. :tiphat:
 

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