Okay I've tried searching, but there are simply WAY too many debates about synthetic vs. dino blah blah blah. Please do not turn this thread into a debate...all I want to know is where do you guys buy Mobil 1 and for how much? I'm pretty much convinced that nearly all synthetic oils are fine and dandy, so I just want to know what the cost differential is among synthetic oils.

 

Wal*Mart or Target if you want to support a slightly less evil company.

 

Isn't Target a French-owned company? Use Walmart. Support Big oil. Boycott the French. I think Pep Boys has it too. I'm pretty sure it's not too hard to find. Have you looked?

 

Target is not a French owned company!

 

Target's main design department is located in Minneapolis. Thats in the US. Please dont tell me you think is french because of the term "tar jay", heeeheee

Question is, where is the oil from ?!

 

Yeah, most anywhere has Mobil 1. Pep Boys, Autozone, Wal-Mart, etc. It's usually $3-4 a quart.

Dale

 

I buy in bulk at Costco. For a moment I thought you didn't know where to find Mobil 1 , that would be sad...

-s-

 

HAHhahaha...San Francisco isn't THAT far in the boonies.

=]

I totally forgot about Costco...is it fairly cheap there? I was just looking for best prices. Is it agreed that Mobil 1 is probably cheaper than the other big synthetic boys (Redline, Amsoil, Neo, Royal Purple)?

 

I've been doing Walmart for my Mobil 1. You get the big 5 qt jugs (no screwing around with quart bottles) for $19 when on sale. Reg. price is like $22, which is still pretty good.

But then again, carrying 6 bottles through the Walmart checkout lines is like riding the sliding board to hell....

Dave

 

They sell 5qt. jugs of these things?? That's brilliant!

 

only seen the 5qt jugs at Wal-Mart though

FYI, Pep Boys now actually carry Royal Purple in their stores, and they only cost 5.99 a quart!

 

Damn skippy it's brilliant.

They make great storage jugs for toting old oil to Autozone, too.

Dave

 

not sure if you have discount auto parts in your area....but here in florida its a pretty cheap source, depending on the promotions at the time of purchase $3-5 a qt.

 

Allen, the Costco on 10th/Harrison in downtown SF sells boxes of 6 quarts of Mobil1 for ~$20-$24, something like that. The only place I can think of offhand that carries synthetic fluids (Redline) locally is Gotelli's Speed Shop on El Camino in San Bruno, but they charge list price, $8/quart. But I don't bother with any of that. Rotary engines lose it either from their coolant or apex seals, almost never from any oil associated problems. I use regular Castrol GTX 10W30 and save the cash.

 

I was using Mobile one from Walmart for past 2 years (approximately 5 to 8K miles and total of 8-10 oil changes). And recently took my engine apart because of a bad coolant seal.
When I told my engine builder that I been using synthetic, he was very curious to see how it looked inside.. Up on disassemble, we both saw high levels of carbon build up on the rotor.. My builder recommended that I should just go with conventional oil.. Especially I since change my oil less than 1000 miles... Now I could change every 250 since I'll be saving some much money!! LOL!

 

Hmmm, that's curious to know. I had an informal talk w/ a local rotary mechanic (who's been in the business 20 years, BTW) a while back, and he said that he's taken apart engines that have been run w/ Mobil1 and they're very clean upon disassembly. OTOH, engines that have been run w/ synthetic blends like Castrol Syntec, have a "varnish" type residue on the parts.

 

Wow, Thats interesting!! If it was coolant seal, it was definitely on my rear rotor.. but both looked the same.. I wish I would of taken some pics.. Because it acturally had a lot of carbon build up! I was using and only used Mobile1 early 2002 (march or April). I initially put Castrol Syntec (when I first bought the car).. used it for 200 miles and because someone said its bad to use synthetic, I switched to conv. oil.. then I changed it after 500 miles to Mobile1 because someone told me that they burned clean..

 

After thinking about it, I did see some varnish look on my rotor housings.. But don't quote me on that..

 

herblenny,
Any pre-mix involved and what did your plugs look like?

 

Wal-Mart and Sam's Club both stock Mobil 1.

 

Thanks for the all the replies guys. I think I'll just pick up a couple cases of Mobil 1 10/30 the next trip I take down to Costco.

Just to fuel this debate even further, I was talking with Rick at Rick's Rotary in Pleasanton, and he basically said that motors running with Mobil 1 were virtually spotless when he took them apart, but he was saying one of the main benefits was the extra protection/cooling it provided for turbos, especially for those running single turbo setups. I believe he runs Mobil 1 in all of his cars. I had been running Havoline 20/50 for the past few years, but after doing some research and hearing about people's experience, I feel comfortable with switching over to synthetic.

 

autozone carries that stuff.

 

pep boys carry royal purple... anyone use that....

 

Just to put in my opinion. Synthetic does smooth out more explaining the fator of opening the motor upon disassembly. But take note that an your 7 heats up ALOT more than a normal piston engine. Synthetic helps things run more smoothly, that's y its popular with piston engines - pistons going up and down, camshaft roations, rocker arms, etc. A 7 doesnt have any of that and if anything just a eccentric lobe. I use castrol GTX 20W-50 and i live in the bay area. I would say it helps alot for me.

 

^^correction^^ eccentric lobe shaft**