You can't go wrong with Redline. I have used it in all my vehicles (including lawn tractor) for many years. 5W30 is what I use in my Mini and wife's 02 Honda CR-V

 

You can go ahead and add Mobil1 without any issues.

Mixing the oil like this when topping up presents no problems.

Suggest you take 5 qts of Mobil1 along to the dealer for the next scheduled change, so you have Mobil1 as your chosen oil moving forward.

They're more than happy to use the opil you provide, and Mobil1 exceeds the spec of their std service oil for the MINI.

Chris.

 

I have a jug of Motul SPECIFIC 505.01 5W40 oil that I got from work for free, can I top off with that?

 

I use Royal Purple. They're a Texas based company, and even the bottles are made here in Texas. RP makes some really good stuff (oil, water wetter, etc). www.royalpurple.com

 

Hi all:

I too believe more frequent oil change intervals are needed. When MINI offers a 150k engine warranty, I may listen to their oil change recommended frequencies. I changed the oil with MINI synthetic and MINI OEM filter, at 1350, 5000, and will let the dealer change it again at 10k and then I will change it frequently depending on my driving/track events attended.

Question: During summer and track use: Does anyone use MOBIL 1 15w/50?

My 2005 mini gets to about 260 degrees based on my chrono package gauge with 25 minutes track sessions and I wonder if 15w/30 synthetic is too thin....

 

I use Redline. Great stuff. Pricey but so is your engine:smile:

 

Everything I have read about motor oils suggests that you do not mix brands of oil when topping off. Manufacturers use different chemicals when formulating their oil and, mixing can offset the balance of both brands. Of course you can change brands when changing oil but, I wouldn't mix brands to just top-off your oil level. I would wait until your a quart low and then change the oil & filter. I use the OEM filter and Redline 5W30.

 

Apexer,

Well, just had to share your .02 after I made a trip to Wallie world for the mobile 1. Now I am still confused about whether or not it is safe to top off my current Castrol with the newly purchased Mobile1.

What's the consensus? Safe, not safe, idiotic question to begin with, just change the oil, pray it's safe and do it, don't do it, maybe it's OK, hope it's OK, believe it's OK so it's safe to do...:impatient

 

Got this from the CITGO site:
http://www.citgo.com/Products/LubesO...EngineOils.jsp

Myth: You can't mix brands of motor oil.
Fact: Mixing brands is not the best practice because the additive systems in each may be different and when mixed may not function as efficiently as desired. However, no serious problems will occur if you must add a different brand of equivalent quality between oil changes. It is very important to maintain proper oil level.

Also found this interesting:
Myth: My car manufacturer says I'm supposed to use their branded oil to protect my warranty.
Fact: Warranty cannot be tied to the use of a specific brand of oil; however, it can be tied to the use of a specific quality level of oil. Use of a lesser quality oil is construed as abuse, and abuse is not covered by the warranty. CITGO SUPERGARD® motor oils exceed the performance requirements of the API SL Category and the ILSAC GF-3 specification, which the car manufacturers use to recommend service fill oil.

 

Well, if you read SwingMCS03's post you'll see that no serious problems will occur However, prior to that he states "Mixing brands is not the best practice" Like Bill Clinton may say "It depends on what your defination of SAFE is"
As I said earlier, if your down less than a quart and your not driving at WOT, I'd wait. If your a quart low, change the oil and filter with your new mobile 1.

 

Just wanted to say kudos to you for supporting your local economy and being proud of it. Most people don't bother. I live in Boston, so I drink Sam Adams beer. As far as I know, they haven't come up with a lobster-based synthetic motor oil yet.

 

Seriously, I am so confused about what to do. Going into cyberspace I found conflicting statements regarding this issue. Some say it's safe, others say it isn't safe.

I have to admit to being reluctant and having no mechanical abilities whatsoever. I don't even mess with anything like that unless I can actually witness it being done first. Reading someone's directions somehow doesn't get translated to my brain. So, changing my own oil is out of the question until I can watch someone who knows what they're doing first.

So really, I need help. I realize apexer makes some very good points however what about the sites I found that said it wasn't any big deal. Even Click and Clack say it isn't a big deal. Hovering over my car, though, with the Mobil1 I couldn't pull the trigger. Just wasn't sure if I was going to harm my car. I figured I just give it a couple more days and see if I could drag any more information from you guys.

Down less than a quart in Indiana,

Steven

 

Food for thought: A friend of mine who I really respect said that he once decided to do what they did in the Mobil 1 commercials: get identical pans, put them on a stove, and see how quickly the oil goes bad. Apparently, the Mobil 1 turned black pretty quickly, so he tried this other oil called TXI from Germany [or Russia, maybe...]. He repeated the test, the Mobil 1 again turned black pretty quickly, but the TSI stuff stayed nearly mint. He now uses nothing but that. So, last time I changed my oil [with install of my new toys], I put it in. Like 4 thousand miles later, it's still fairly clear, compared to my Mobil 1 which used to be black by now. I think I'm sold.

 

Thanks for stirring the pot... Now I have oil that burns faster than another oil. Probably end up with a garage full of oil and nothing in the car:impatient :impatient :impatient :impatient :impatient :impatient :impatient

 

Any good quality 100% synthetic. Mobil 1 and Redline are favourites.

 

Made the switch today to Mobil 1 5w30. Thanks for all the input. This place is great!