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Engine & DrivetrainDiscussions about the engine and drivetrain of your vehicle.
This is a discussion thread titled "Mobil 1 Group III "Synthetic" now?", within the Engine & Drivetrain forum, part of the Technical & Vehicle Assistance Forums category.
I know some here have heard about the lawsuit that Mobil had against Castrol, or vise versa, over the definition of a synthetic motor oil and what exactly constituted a synthetic motor oil. The case came out in favor of Castrol, ruling that Castrol could call their "extra refined crude oil' synthetic motor oil. This changed the definition of what could be called a synthetic motor oil.
Shortly afterwards, Mobil 1 came out with a new formula that replaced the Tri-Synthetic formula now called Super-Syn. The oil is now a bit cheaper than before and is is darker and only says "Fully Synthetic" not 100% Synthetic Motor oil on their packaging. It still has the same odor though. Does anyone here beleve that Mobil 1 took a short cut by adding some refined crude to their oil?
Well, it's been 6 years since Castrol made the change, 2 and a half years since the definition change, and a year and a half since Mobil 1 changed so since the change is supposed to improve the product and widen the temperature range, I'm going with "does it matter?"
1) No lawsuit was involved. As the link below details, the arbitration between Mobil and Castrol was at a division of the Better Business Bureau.
2) Castrol Syntec, and all other over-the-counter synthetics except Mobil 1 are made from Group III base oil. It is indeed very highly refined petroleum. It is a good product, but not worth the price. Amsoil's XL-7500 line is also Gr-III.
3) Mobil 1 is not made from Group III base stock. It is mainly Group IV polyalphaolephin with some Group V ester base oil.
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