Engine oil is basically the lifeblood of any vehicle. Like our body, our engine needs clean and free-flowing oil that helps prevent the engine to wear and helps it cool during high-pressure situations. So how do we identify a good engine oil?
WBasically, they are no longer just standard oils to lubricate your engine, but they have added components that will also help prevent your engine to damage itself, create a protective barrier for engine parts, clean and flush out the gunk that is present in your engine, nd improve engine performance to have better fuel mileage.
All of which while ideal temperature regardless of stress levels and climate factors. You can say, it’s a smart oil.
We will compare the two specific synthetic oils. Castrol Edge vs Mobil 1 and we will identify their strengths as well as how each one differs in technology, protection, and future innovation. As well as looking into different types of motor oils that may be ideal for your vehicle’s needs.
Different Types of Motor Oils
Before we dive into the difference between Castrol Edge and Mobil 1, we must first understand the types of motor oils that are being used right now in the market, as well as how the development and innovation of newer oils may protect your engine further.
It is also crucial to educate ourselves on these types of motor oils as we differ in engine types, displacements, as well as oil consumption. We also need to consider the age of the engine, and how older oils will not be efficient for the new engines.
There are different institutes that conduct testing and refinement levels of a motor-oil. like the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the International Lubricant Standardization and Approval Committee (ILSAC), which conducts physical and chemical tests from multiple refined motor-oil samples.
These samples are categorized into groups and identified based on the quality of the refinement. Groups 1 and 2 are motors- oils with fair amounts of filtration and just enough to remove wax. They are commonly called mineral oil. Group 3 is similar to the high filtration level of group 2, but is far denser in liquid terms.
They may be categorized as synthetic oil, but not as much as group 4. Group 4 is essentially pure synthetic oil, with no chemicals or waxes. Group 5 may not be categorized as they are the core components of an oil or better known as the foundation chemical or base oil.
We will focus on two main types of motor oils: mineral oil and synthetic oils. As well as the mixture of both mineral and synthetic oil. Let’s explore each oil type and what are the uses and benefits of each one.
Mineral Oil
Mineral oil or conventional oil is a product of filtered or refined crude petroleum. The initial process of refining the oil is by eliminating natural contaminants (wax and unwanted hydrocarbons (methane, propane, butane, etc.), that are harmful to the engine.
Although mineral oils are cheaper, they do not provide the best protection, lubrication, performance, as well as fuel efficiency for an engine. They can still be effective on older engines that do not require technologically advanced lubricants to work properly, an ideal low-cost substitution for old delivery trucks, private busses or vans for companies, or any old model car that you rarely use.
The other downside of mineral oil is that it has a denser or higher viscosity grade, which means it travels slower in your engine, causing performance issues that will lead to more fuel consumption.
Mineral oil also requires to be replaced more frequently, around 2,000 to 3,000 miles, compared to fully synthetic oil which can be replaced around 7,000 to 10,000 miles. This is due to impurities that are still evident in mineral oil as they are not fully filtered. These impurities tend to burn faster and cause clog or damage to your engine.
Fully Synthetic Oil
Synthetic motor-oils are a combination of base oils (fully filtered crude oil), with added chemicals such as carbon polymers or polyolefins, and synthetic esters to create motor oil that much flows more efficiently in low and high temperatures, performs better, and last longer than mineral oil.
A brief history of synthetic motor oils. It originated in World War II Germany, where the Germans find that crude oil and petroleum created challenges in the battlefield as they pushed toward colder-climate countries. Most of their vehicles and aircraft, would not perform well and would cost German lives in the frontline.
So they drove their scientist in developing a motor-oil that would be efficient in all types of climates. They ended up with a process of converting a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen into liquid hydrocarbons. Americans also adapted to the innovation and used this mixture with their vehicles and aircrafts.
Eventually in the 1960s, it was tested and introduced into automotive racing and it handled well in long, harsh conditions inside a racing engine. Now. most of the vehicles, including motorcycles, aircrafts, and ships, run in synthetic motor-oil.
Full synthetic oil is highly guarded as the ultimate motor-oil as they have advantages such as:
- Having better flow inside the engine even at low temperatures, while maintaining high ideal temperature so it won’t burn faster.
- It also has components that will prevent wear on your parts. Some conventional oils have harmful components that may lead engine parts to degrade. This happens when the engine is kept stagnant for so long and the harmful elements start to corrode the parts.
- Better at fuel consumption. Since it promotes better engine performance, it coincides with the engine requiring less or only the required fuel to power it. On the other hand, if you have a dirty engine internal caused by poor oil quality, it will tend to require more fuel as it no long powering at its normal level.
- Protects engines and increase their lifespan. Technologically advanced fully-synthetic oils out in the market right now have components in them that will help protect your engine from corrosion and damage. This means that even with a high mileage vehicle, synthetic motor- oils will keep your car and engine in top shape.
Semi-Synthetic Oil
Semi-synthetic motor oil is just a mixture of conventional oil and fully synthetic oil. They are a cheaper variant of fully synthetic oils but still better than regular mineral oil. This is a common selection for car owners who do not push their engines to the maximum limit and would use it for their daily workhorses such as getting to and from work and a few other errands over the weekend.
Manufacturers also follow their own blend of semi-synthetics, which means that there is no base formula that other scientist and researchers can base on. all of which are unique to their specific brand.
Motor-oil Viscosity Codes
Viscosity is a measurement on how the thickness of a fluid is. However in its formal term, it measures how resistive the fluid is to deformation at a given rate, or resistance to flow. You may notice that there are numbers and letters written in motor-oil labels.
These alphanumeric characters are actually viscosity levels of the engine oil. Engines differ in displacement, load, or structure, which means that the engine oil that you are using for your car.
Let’s take a closer look at the codes, and better understand the meaning of it. It is crucial that we properly identify the right type of level for your car for it to run in optimum rate. You may find the information from your car manufacturer’s manual, or you may contact the manufacturer for updated codes.
We will start with the second two characters as it will explain the first two much easier. The second two numbers mean how oil performs at 100 degrees Celsius.
Expert Tip: How it is measured is by heating the oil at 100 degrees Celsius (the ideal temperature that a common engine should have to perform normally), then have it flow on a viscometer, a device on how fast the flow of fluid is. and identify the rate of speed when it passes through the device.
They are graded from 20 to 60, with 20 having the fastest rate of flow and 60 being the slowest. The common rule is that having a low viscosity means that it will get to the engine faster and making it effectively flowing at a higher rate. The challenge is getting to that viscosity with a cold engine. Then we now look at the first two characters.
First two characters pertains to how the oil performs when the oil is cool. The ‘W’ is constant as it pertains to winter conditions. Which generally means that even at cold weather, you normally start your engine like you start it in warmer conditions.
The number is actually the same as how the last two numbers are described. But how are they graded with very low viscosity numbers even at cold temperature? This is where the innovation and technology stands out from synthetic oils, as they can be at low viscosity even without having any heat applied to it.
With the low viscosity rate it will easily get to your engine, even from a cold start. Which means that you don’t necessarily need to ‘pre=heat’ your engine before travelling.
Castrol Edge vs Mobil 1 – Differences & Similarities
Castrol Edge
Castrol has come a long way with innovations and breakthroughs with engine lubricants. It has been decades of outstanding testimonies from manufacturers, racing teams, racing drivers, aircraft maintenance, and even Rovers in space, that game meaning to their brand slogan. “It’s more than just oil. it’s liquid engineering.”
With newer, smaller, higher horse-powered engines coming from car manufacturers to meet fuel efficiency and emission standards, it is essential for Castrol to develop a fully synthetic oil. that will maximize engine performance as well as protect it for long lasting use.
Castrol Edge 03084 Advanced Full Synthetic Oil now has a new Fluid Titanium Technology. which transforms the molecular structure of the fluid during high pressure to create a thin barrier between engine surfaces.
By doing so, the lubricant reduces performance robbing friction by up to 20 percent, that will not only let your engine to its peak performance, but by unlocking other engine performance which will result in higher horsepower with less fuel consumption.
In doing so, it also prevents wear from parts as they are likely to cause friction. It also performs 10 times better at high temperature, and has 6 times better at wear protection compared to other synthetic oil brands based on testing made through Sequence IVA vs API SPI limits.
Mobil 1
Mobil 1 is a world-renowned lubricant manufacturer which made an impact in the motor-oil industry with its highly advanced synthetic oil line. It was originally developed by Mobil in 1974, but it is now marketed and sold by ExxonMobil since their merger in 1999.
ExxonMobil also leads its research and development with the ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company (EMRE), to further break through lubricant boundaries and set standards for future lubricants in the future.
Their aim is to adapt with newer engines and different conditions, and apply their experiments on different testing levels for a new product discovery. Hoping that a new lubricant will further validate their roles as standards of synthetic engine oils.
On the top of their list is the Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5w-30 fully synthetic oil. Having a great anti-wear system that will keep your engine reliable and in excellent condition even after 20.000 miles.
Their trick is controlling oxidation forming in the lubricant that causes corrosion and degradation to engine parts. Made from high grade compound chemicals that creates their Supersyn Technology, it will keep the oil at optimum temperature regardless of how harsh the engine is pushed, or how cold the outside temperature is.
Temperatures that can reach up to 260 degree Celsius, and negative 35 degree Celsius. With the lubricant in your engine, it will help resist contaminants that form into dangerous sludge, if not treated, will cause damage to your engine, or worse, will render your engine incapable of working.
It also holds a GF-6 license, which is granted by American Petroleum Institute and International Lubricant Specification Advisory Committee Standards, to specify that the highest quality of lubricant has been met by running through tests and comparisons with other brands.
It is such a reliable engine oil that it is used by specific car manufacturers such as Porsche and Mercedes-Benz, and racing platforms such as formula 1 and NASCAR to lubricate their technologically superior engines.
Similarities:
- Both can withstand extreme low and high temperatures without affecting engine performance
- Both can create a layer of protection between engine parts to prevent friction and wear. Castrol Edge has the Fluid Titanium Technology, while Mobil 1 has the Supersyn Technology.
- Both can have your engine perform at its peak level or better. In turn, better fuel consumption.
Differences:
- Mobil 1 is recommended for high horsepower or air-induced powered engines like turbos and turbochargers.
- Mobil 1 has oxidation stability to keep corrosion and degradation to occur while the engine is not in use. This is ideal for consumers who wanted less maintenance in their cars and will let the oil do their job for them
- Castrol Edge has detergent components which means that it can clean any unwanted buildup in your engine an will be flushed out after every replacement
Is Castrol better than Mobil 1?
This may be subjective to some, but if we factor in consumer points such as technological advancements and standards, cost efficiency, as well as high mileage protection, then Mobil 1 has a slight advantage over Castrol Edge.
It may be a bit expensive compared to the Castrol Edge, but the benefits that you can get from it outweighs the route on going cheap on oils. As a testament to its quality, top German automotive manufacturers as well as racing teams prefer Mobil 1 than any other product in the market, even if they are not sponsored.
Conclusion
With all things considered with Mobil 1 and Castrol Edge, both of which are created with the high standards to protect prevent degradation, and preserve your engine. There might be slight differences of each oil. but it may or may not benefit your vehicle. All in all. both are excellent choices that will save you money and save your engine.. Do you have any suggestions in mind? Feel free to leave a comment below. Cheers!