I want to do the oil change on my SRT's so I went to Napa to pick up 18 quarts of Mobil1 0-40w. Last time in it was $6.60/qt. As I am loading up the checkout counter I see this nice little sign in front of the Mobil1. SALE $5.59/gt. NO LIMIT! That's what I call good timing. Check your local NAPA store if you need some oil.

MikeR

 

Thats is a good price.
The Walmart here sells it for $5.49 a quart all the time.
Regular price and plenty always in stock

 

Advance Auto is running a deal right now that's pretty good too.

$26.98 for five quarts of Mobil 1 AND a Mobil 1 oil filter.

I grabbed a filter for my VW GTI and five quarts of 0W-40 M1. I typically pay $6.00 or so for the Mann/Mahle filters I use for my GTI, so I figure I'm in around $4.20 or so for each quart.

I don't know if there is a Mobil 1 filter for the Crossfire.

 

From the Mobil 1 site:

Crossfire Oil Filter;

Mobil 1 Model M1C253

 

Oh, Thank GOD at least this car doesnt use the INSANE Castrol 10W-60 my old M3 did. That stuff was 10.00 a quart + and I believe 3 or 400.00 dealer service.

 

I`m yet to change oil in either of mine. But after some research in the south with our weather 5w40w seems a acceptable alternative by MB standards. I`ve always been a Shell Rotella user. Their 5w 40w synthetic will probably go in mine. Mobil 1 has done no better in many tests than this oil and many times worse. The cost is substancially less for the rotella.

 

Rotella oil is exceptionally good oil, no doubt about it. But Chrysler, and more importantly Mercedes recommend Mobil 1, and I'm pretty sure they have their reasons.
I would like to read some of those tests that you mentioned. Over the years, I've seen Rotella do some pretty remarkable things for some high milage vehicles I had to deal with.

 

The suggestion to use Mobil 1 is merely a marketing deal Chrysler signed with Mobil. In exchange for Chrysler buying Mobil 1 for the initial fill, Mobil agrees to share sponsorships on certain events with Chrysler and Mobil makes a payment to Chrysler in consideration for plugging Mobil 1 as reccommended for the car. Oil companies compete for these deals with manufacturers, though auto makers rarely switch sides.

When it comes to technical standards and not marketing deals, any synthetic that meets either the MB 229.3 or 229.5 standard is acceptable for use in an SRT-6. These are fairly strict standards, and many 5W-40 synthetics DO NOT meet this standard.

Rotella 5W-40 synthetic is a great oil, and I ran it for years in my Jetta TDI, but it DOES NOT MEET MB 229.3 nor does it meet MB229.5, so it hasn't proven that it is good enough to meet the Mercedes technical standard.

The fall back position in the service manual is that any 0W-40 or 5W-40 synthetic that meets API SL or GF-3 are acceptable substitutions.

Rotella T does meet API SL, according to the Rotella T home page. <----- Link

This suggests to me that it is an acceptable fill for the SRT-6. Given how inexpensive the Rotella synthetic is at Walmart it represents a substantial potential for savings on the cost of oil.

Bonus info: There's a good list of oils that do meet the MB 229.3 and/or 229.5 standard on whnet.com. <---- Link

The linked page also lists a few oils that do meet the 229.3 or 229.5, but interestingly they are NOT approved for use in AMG motors. I wonder what the SLK32 service manual has to say about lubrication?

 

I'm using Amsoil 5w-40 which seems to be ok with the German auto makers.

 

So if we look at the data from 'display name' the only oil that meets the 229.5 or 229.3 spec is the Mobil1. For the SRT's it needs to meet the 229.5 spec and that is Mobil1. You can go to the 'acceptable' SL spec and the Rotella T is okay. Guess I'll just use the Mobil1 for now.

MikeR

 

Not what I said, or at least not what I intended to say.

Mopar oil part number 05127394AA is acceptable, as is Mobil 1 0W-40. For the SRT-6, any oil meeting 229.3 OR 229.5 is preferred.

From the list I linked to at WHNET, there are other oils also meet one or both of these standards, and these oils comply with the SRT-6's requirements. The problem with the other MB approved oils is that they happen to not be very accesible in the United States. When you can track them down, usually only at import parts stores or via mail order, they are usually much more expensive than Mobil 1 0W-40.

I brought up the "not approved for AMG use" only because it is interesting, it doesn't strictly apply to the SRT-6. I don't know if the AMG requirement is based on sponsorship or technical requirements.

As for the Amsoil stuff, I don't want to start a war, so I won't discuss it, just like I won't talk about politics, sex or religion with strangers.

 

I was aware the rotella met the service codes for the SRT but did not know that MB had a list that did not include it. I`ll pass it off as just not being tested or available for MB to put on thier list. Thats somewhat of a contridiction to list a specification and not deem the oil aceptable even when it meets those standards.

I`m from a area that has a LOT of nascar teams. I have two very close friends that are engine builders with one having built one year every engine one past champion used that year. Through some discussions with them I`ve formed some very unrelenting views on oil in general. This mobil 1 thing is one of them. That particular oil has been extensively tested over and over again by these same men. Even raced in cars sponsored by other oils. It has proven to be no better than a wide variety of oils in many ways. These teams have even went to the expense of testing the Mobil 1 from thier haulers. In all honesty if it makes you feel better to use the Mobil 1 I`d do it. In reality you gain virtually nothing if anything but a pocket book that is a little lighter. FWIW a straight dino 30w oil has proven time and time again to be superior in many racing engines when compared to synthetics for a variety of reason`s.

 

Just wanted to throw in my .02 even though it isn't worth much...I ran rotella in my big rig I owned, my driver changed oil and filters every 10K...we sent out oil samples every 50K...I wouldn't run anything else...my driver purchased the truck 3 yrs ago and it is @ 1 million just having been overhauled, everything looked grt...I haven't given any thought to using it in my crossfire until you guys brought it up