Up until now I have been using Mobil 1 15W50 in my 1995 C280. With the advent of Mobil 1 0W40, I have considered switching to this viscosity but have been hesitant since it is not a recommended viscosity on the oil selection chart in my owners manual. From the label on the bottle it appears that the 0W40 conforms to a higher rating than 15W50 and would also be "energy saving."

Does Mercedes Benz recommend use of this oil in older MB's that do not prescribe this oil viscosity?

You probably don't need 0W-40 living in NC. It is designed for better fluidity upon start up in colder climates. Some one please chime in if I am wrong about this (my wife tells me I'm wrong all the time).

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dtf
1994 E320 Wagon (Died @ 308,669 miles)
1995 E300 Diesel (228,000)
1999 E300 Turbodiesel ( died @ 255,000)
2006 Toyota Tundra SR5 AC 4X4 (115,000 miles) rusted frame - sold to chop shop
2011 Audi A4 Avant (165,000 miles) Seized engine - donated to Salvation Army
BMW 330 xi 6 speed manual (175,034 miles)
2014 E350 4Matic Wagon 128,000 miles
2018 Dodge Ram 21,000 miles

Mobil-1 0W-40 should be perfectly OK for your engine.

Eric

EIther 0W-40 or 15W-50 should be great. I think you'll be able to get 15W-50 for less money. I buy it in 5 quart containers at Walmart but can't find 0W-40 at discount stores.

BTW, I seriously doubt you'll see much difference in fuel mileage.

Im sure by all means it would be safe, however I believe its more appropriate for engines with very tight clearances....Im not sure if your 95 is as tight as 02 and 03. I myself use the 15w50 in my 94 E320 with 188k miles on it and its driven pretty hard. i tried the 0w-40 but i didnt like the initial rattle on first startup( I know my engine has a lot of miles but still! ) and the lower oil pressure readings(just below the number 2 when warm and in gear). So i stayed with the 15w-50 and never have a problem even in the dead of winter.

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94 E320 with:
18" ///AMG Monoblock II's,AMG Gen II front bumper, H&R spings,500E sway bar, Bilstein sports, Eisemann Exhst, K&N,E500 Headlamps, Crystal Clear Corners, Avantgard Grill ...and more stuff to come! oh yeah 241k miles!!


My Car WOO HOO...... Now SOLD
New car.... 2001 Jaguar XJR!!!!

I appreciate your comments since you have already tried 0W40 in an older MB. I had not considered the possibility of an engine "rattle" upon start-up but I am sure the greater tolerances of an older MB (due to both initial tolerances and wear) have something that contributes to that occurrence.

The only reason I was considering using 0W40 was that the oil packaging indicates that it conformed to MB specs whereas 15W50 has no such claim. The packaging also indicates that 0W40 conforms to MB spec number (?) and the 15W50 conforms to a different European spec number. Granted, the 15W50 may be what is required for older MB's and the new MB spec is what is needed for newer higher tolerance engines. I am sure that either would be safe to use since 15W50 is even recommended for my 2000 ML320.

So far 15W50 has been fine and, since it is Mobil 1 synthetic, I would not think it would any problem to use even when it gets down to 0 F in the mountains of NC.

At least Mercedes is still recommending use of viscosties that have a high viscosity rating above 30, not like some manufacturers who are now using 5W20. 5W20 really makes me nervous when driving down the highway at 70 mph when it gets over 100 F in NC.

I have an 89 300se and a 90 420sel. The 300se does seem to have a couple or 3 seconds of rattle or rough idling, but once started, I believe it actually runs smoother and seems to have a little more power upon red light starts. I believe the car overall runs better. My 420sel(v8) does not have much rattle upon start up at all and it seems to run better when driving. The Mobil 1 synthetic 0w40 is recommended for the European cars, including the MB. I live in NE TN and the climate does not seem to affect the oil rating. My opinion, you will be just fine and probably will find that your car runs better. I have always used Mobil 1 synthetic in all my cars in the past(even other than mb) and you can generally go longer between oil changes and the internal parts of the motor will last longer. It is high on price, but definately worth it in the long run. I just sold my 93 Nissan Maxima se that had 160k miles on it and it ran at the time of sale exactly like it did when I bought it new. I am a believer.

My 1995 C280 has 106K on the clock, it has had conventional 20W50 Motor Oil in it since birth.

Does anyone know if it is ok to switch to 15W50 Mobil 1 Synthetic?

Mossimo:

I switched from conventional 20W50 weight motor oil to Mobil 1 15W50 in my 1995 C280 in 1997 when it had 9,000 miles on the odometer. It now has 82,000 miles on the odometer and is running fantastic! When I switched to Mobil 1, I saw my fuel mileage increase by 10% which balanced out the increased cost of the synthetic oil.

Mercedes has a new viscosity v. temp chart since the 0W40 came out. Both 0W40 and 15W50 are approved for use in the M104.

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Ali Al-Chalabi

2001 CLK55
1999 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins Diesel
2002 Harley-Davidson Fatboy
Merlin Extralight w/ Campy Record

Congratulations for these importan Threadid.

What comments about Shell Oil HELIX 20-50. In my Country, Venezuela, the temperature is allways 30º centigrades or more.

Which could be the main difference with Mobil 1.?

Please give me yours point of vew.

Thanks

Mario Farias
laprefar@cantv.net

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MB LOVER

I used to use 20W50 oil as my default choice for my cars in the 80s and the early 90s as there weren't many to choice from in those days and thinner oils tend to cause all sorts of problems for older generation of engines. Even Mobil 1 was offered in a rather thick 15W50 grade in my country.

That was then, and in the past 5-10 years there had been a push towards thin synthetics to liberate more horsepower and fuel economy from modern engines.

I had Shell Helix 15W50 in my M104 engine while it was running in and at its 1st service at 15,000Km switched to Mobil 1 5W50 and I could feel it had less drag on the engine and the engine was more responsive (I've taken into account the fact I'm replacing old oil with fresh oil and an improvement was expected).

Recently I switched to Castrol Formula R (semi-synthetic) 5W30 at 90,600Km and the difference was even more noticeable! At room temp with the oil in its bottle you could feel the differnence; so thin it feels more like tomato juice in there. The car feel a lot more responsive right away, and oil pressure in the lifters builds up within a second from cold (20C).

It has so far done 7000Kms and it has not shown any signs of oil burning at all, with the high ambient temp ( up tp 38-40C ) lately it has coped very well considered its only a 5W30.

I will get the oil analysed and post the results in a few weeks.

I am intending to give the 0W40 Castrol R a try at the next oil change. It's a full synthetic, meets MB's 229.3 spec and a lot more $$$ than the Mobil 1 5W50 offered here. On the shelf you could feel it's so thin in its container it's almost like water.

In the past I thought if thin oil only makes a difference in small, high revving engines, but now I'm totally converted to thin oil on bigger and more powerful engines.

I currently use 15W-50 Mobil 1 but back when Mobil 1 10W-30 was a true synthetic I did a little comparison test. I had two Mercedes (one diesel and one gas). I put 10W-30 in one and 15W-50 in the other and then paid attention to the maximum coolant temps and oil pressure at idle. In every case the heavier oil produced lower coolant temps and higher oil pressure at idle.

I then reversed the procedure at the next oil change and the heavier oil still produced better results.

I lived in Minnesota (USA) at the time and found that even in sub-zero temps the 15W-50 would pour more easily than 10W-30 petroleum based oils.

Now that I live in Arizona the choice is a no-brainer.

Both Mercedes and Porsche recommend using 0W-40 Mobil 1 but state that you can use 15W-50 if you can't get 0W-40. In fact, when Porsche first started installing 0W-40 Mobil 1 at the factory, I asked a U.S. owner what he was told to use since 0W-40 wasn't available at the time in the U.S. He told me that he was told to use 15W-50.