I have been running Mobil 1 0W-40 in my engine for some time now. I did 2 hours of harsh track driving on this oil last month. When I was not turning a corner on the track, I was flooring the gas pedal all the way. I had my oil analyzed recently to see how it was holding up. Here is the lab report. The current sample (dated 02/20/10) is for Mobil 1 0W-40. The samples dated 03/29/09 and 02/01/09 are for Castrol Syntec 0W-30. The sample dated 05/24/08 is for BMW/MINI 5W-30.

The wear metals in the current sample are quite low, meaning the oil was doing a great job. Also, the comments from the lab who did the analysis are shown below. They were quite surprised to see such low wear after a track day. Needless to say, I will be sticking with this oil from now on!


LAB COMMENTS: Thanks for the note about the track time. Had you not mentioned it, we never would have guessed. Guess those guys (and gals) at BMW really do know a thing or two about building nicely wearing engines. We generally suggest keeping your oil runs short when racing, as that type of operation puts extra stress on an engine, but we think going 5K mi on your next oil should work fine. The TBN read 5.3 so you still had plenty of active additive left. We consider a TBN reading of ~1.0 too low for extended use, as virtually all of the active additive in an oil has been exhausted.

 

Thank you so much, uzun, for your time, effort and expense.

Most importantly, thanks for posting this info here for the rest of us!

 

Thanks for sharing that. I don't think anyone has posted 4 oil analysis results. The major diffs I see with the Mobil are Iron (lower), Boron (much higher), Calcium (higher), Molybdenum (higher somewhat). So this isn't jumping out at me except for the Iron level. Maybe that's an important metal I don't know. Calcium isn't a metal of course, and I don't think Boron is involved in engine wear either. Sounds like you change your oil plenty.

 

is Mobil 1 0W-40 an approved oil for MINI for warranty purposes?
I used to use the same oil on my Audi A3 and it was recommended by VW/AUDI.

 

Yes, Mobil 1 0W-40 is an approved oil.

Boron, Magnesium, Calcium, Molybdenum, Phosphorus and Zinc are additives in the oil. Different oils have different amounts of these.

The main wear metals are Aluminum, Chromium, Copper, Tin and Iron. After the beating the engine took on the track, one would expect to see elevated levels of these wear metals, but they still came out nice and low.

 

M1 0w-40 is great oil! Good to see your results...I've been running 0w-40 for quite a while now.

 

great post.

Thank you.

 

This was great information because I was trying to decide what I would use when the time comes to change the oil. I have another 4k miles before I hit 5k for the first time and will change the oil.

I do have a question. I know we need to bring the Mini into the dealer for the scheduled maintenance so they can't complain if there is a warranty issue. My question is this. I plan on changing the oil every 5k miles no matter what the computer says. Right now, it is saying 15k for my first change. When I go to the dealer, what are they going to put into the car? 5w30? Should I then run that for 5k and then change it back again to M1 0w 40? Thoughts?

 

You could always provide the dealer with your own oil - although I am not sure if they would use that under the warranty maintenance changes. MINI will use a synthetic 5w30 oil that's made by Castrol. Hope this helps a little.

 

Yes, the dealer will use the BMW/MINI branded 5W-30 oil, which would be fine to run for 5K. You can switch to M1 0W-40 when you change your oil 5K later. There is no harm done in switching between different oil brands.

 

Ok, thanks! That is what I will do then. Once I hit 5k, change to M1 0w40 and do that at 10k as well. Planning ahead, because I put between 400 and 500 miles a week. Will go pretty quickly.

Cheers!

 

Mobil 1 now lists the 0W-40 as the recommended oil for all yrs of MINI.

 

Wow that's pretty awesome. I was curious what the calcium, zinc, and other soft metals were doing in your oil, and now i know. I've always used Mobile 1 in my VW, but I've never seen any data on if it actually performs better. Now I know. I'll continue the trend with my MINI.

Just out of curiosity where is the lab you sent the oil to and what do they charge?

 

Been using this oil for 4/6 changes so far, as I got a few cases very cheap from a guy locally. I dont track, but I like it. probably in my head, but it seems to run smoother!

 

Here is the website for the lab that does the oil analysis:

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/

On that site, you can request a free test kit to be sent to you.

They charge $22.50 for the oil analysis. If you want to see the TBN number which basically shows how much remaining life the oil has, that's another $10 extra.

 

I've always wondered.... With a higher viscosity such as 40, opposed to 30, would there be a difference in gas mileage? or power? Would the engine need to work harder to overcome the greater thickness?

PS - Sorry if this is a stupid question.

 

Mobil1 10-40 extended works well also.

 

If you look at the viscosities of the oils in the report I posted, the viscosity of M1 0W-40 is only slightly higher than the other 30 weight oils. So the horsepower and mpg differences would be very minimal, if any.