Mobil 1 ESP Formula M 5w40 - Discontinued

740GLE

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Still have an oil change worth when I stock piled at a Napa sale over two years ago. boy to the miles fly by, never thought 16qts of ESP 5w40 would have me looking for more oil this soon.

Time to see if VIP will hide all the M ESP 5w30 again this black friday!
 

PhotoWrite

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Bummer

After selling our 2000 Golf TDI and buying a '13 JSW last summer I decided to use the Formula M because the oil I was using in the old 1.9L was not okay for the 2.0L.

Based on my own bias, knowledge, and research that included a member here having driven about 150k [my memory], the Formula M seemed like a great though expensive, premium choice for my application and use. I purchased enough 6-packs from Amazon to cover the first few oil changes, and now need to decide if I should stock-up to take the car further, or just deal with the inevitable and find a new product.

Interesting timing of my [late] discovery that Formula M 5w-40 has been discontinued… I was actually thinking about researching if this very low ash oil would possibly be a good choice for my ’14 Ram/Cummins… Probably not regardless, and it looks like I’ll just stick with Delo 400 for the truck, a good, easy, and inexpensive choice.
 

tdiatlast

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I haven't read this entire thread recently, this may have been discussed, but do I remember correctly that there isn't a huge difference between the ESP 5-30 and the ESP M 5-40?
 

jhinsc

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I haven't read this entire thread recently, this may have been discussed, but do I remember correctly that there isn't a huge difference between the ESP 5-30 and the ESP M 5-40?
Probably correct, but if you go to Mobil's website and look up the oil by make/model of car, the only oil that is recommended is their 5w-30. The 5w-40 is only spec'd for MB's. Both descriptions state they're low ash, but only the 5w-30 shows it's VW 507 spec'd.
 

tdiatlast

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Yes, only ONE ESP oil has VW 507 approval. What I remember is that the viscosity of the 5w-30 was more like 5w-37?
 

TDIMeister

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The SAE viscosities do not follow that kind of logic. A 30 weight is defined over a range of of viscosity in cSt and a 40 weight over another range over the 30 weight. A "37" therefore doesn't really make much sense; it will be either 30 or 40, but some manufacturers do not grade the weights on the product label in strict adherence to the viscosity range defined by SAE J300. This is uncommon in engine oils but seen more in gear oils. One can say, however, that oil "x" is, for example, a thin or thick 30 weight depending on where the viscosity @ 100C lies within the range that defines the weight.

 
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tdiatlast

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Does it make more sense to say that the ESP 5w-30 is more like a 40 weight than a 30 weight?
 

TDIMeister

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Mobil 1 ESP Formula 5W-30

SAE Grade 5W-30
Viscosity, cSt (ASTM D445)
@ 100ºC 12.1
@ 40ºC 72.8
Viscosity Index 164
Sulphated Ash, wt% (ASTM D874) 0.6
HTHS Viscosity, mPa•s @ 150ºC (ASTM D4683) 3.58
Pour Point, ºC (ASTM D97) -45
Flash Point, ºC (ASTM D92) 254
Density @15.6 ºC g/ml (ASTM D4052) 0.850

This in the higher range of the 30 weight. it's below the threshold of what would qualify as a 40 weight.
 

turbobrick240

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I believe the M1 esp 5w-30 product would be best described as a very robust, heavy 5w-30. It is made in europe, and comes in liters rather than quarts. All around great oil for our cr tdi's.
 

PhotoWrite

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NOS or brought back?

As my current stock of Formula M is getting low, I've been shopping for a replacement/future oil for our '13 JSW TDI. I was ready to pull the trigger on Kendall Euro GT-1 [with others in contention] when I was surprised to find 6-packs of Formula M for sale on Amazon [not from Amazon like before].

Doing research yesterday I also noted that Mobil does still list Formula M on their site under the ESP category, with the other weight oils...so was it discontinued, brought back, or just hard to find here in the USA? Either way I'm happy to have a couple more oil changes covered with oil on the shelf.
 

turbobrick240

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I'm in the same boat. I no longer need a low saps oil for my car, and haven't quite decided if I should get more formula m esp, regular formula m, or a CJ-4 oil. Right now I'm leaning toward the latter based on cost and availability.
 

turbobrick240

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There definitely used to be both flavors of formula m. Maybe it was the non esp version that was discontinued. Not sure. The esp is mb229.51 and the non esp is mb229.5.
 

PhotoWrite

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Is there a regular Formula M and a Formula M ESP? Not sure I know or was aware of the difference.
Doing a bit more research it appears I screwed up and ordered the regular Formula M [I didn't realize there was a difference], and not the ESP version...
It's after hours in PA at the dealership where the oil is coming from, but I'm using every possible option to cancel the oder before it ships!
Back to decideding on my next oil to use ;)
 

turbobrick240

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Amazon has 5L jugs of Ardeca 5w-40 mb229.51 for $50 shipped. I bet you'd be plowing new ground here with that oil. Probably a great oil.
 

turbobrick240

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Looks like a good oil at a very good price. The mobil1 esp 5w-30 is actually a great oil as well.
 

PhotoWrite

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Yep, I'm also considering Mobil 1ESP 5w30, though the price of that Kendall plus my historical and usage bias toward 5w40 has the Kendall in first place to replace the ESP Formula M in our JSW TDI. Kendall makes a 5w30 version too, both have a suphated ash of 0.78.
 

Fumes

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I know that it's been a while since there were any comments on this subject, but can the 5W40 Mobil ESP Formula M be used on a 2006 BEW diesel?
 

Drivbiwire

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I know that it's been a while since there were any comments on this subject, but can the 5W40 Mobil ESP Formula M be used on a 2006 BEW diesel?
Yes, but the best oil has proven to be the Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel Truck 5w40, I routinely have customers running anywhere between 15,000-25,000 miles on oil changes WITHOUT CAM FAILURES.

Some of them have the original cams at 425,000 miles, all running 15,000+ mile oil changes on the M1 TDT 5w40.

The issue was never the cam, but SHORT OIL CHANGE INTERVALS (less than 10,000 miles) or using 5w30 or oils that lacked the heavy duty EP/HP wear additives like M1 TDT has.
 
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