Apr 18, 2008

Synthetic Oil Saves Gas

ExxonMobil has announced the national launch of Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy, a synthetic motor oil that it says could save consumers fuel and benefit the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

“Helping improve energy efficiency in modern gasoline engines, Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy improves fuel economy by up to two percent compared against 5W-30 and 10W-30 engine oils," said Alan Kelly, president, ExxonMobil Lubricants & Specialties Company.

If just one-third of U.S. motorists reduced their gasoline consumption by two percent, almost one billion gallons of gasoline and eight million tons of carbon dioxide emissions would be saved every year. This would be equivalent to taking around 1.5 million cars off the road, ExxonMobil said.

The potential fuel economy gains are the result of lower viscosity of the synthetic oil formulation.  The trend of car manufacturers is to move to lower viscosity oils, and the two new Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy products meet or exceed warranty requirements for most General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Honda, Toyota, Mazda and many other vehicles. Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy 0W-20 is recommended by ExxonMobil for 5W-20 applications, and Mobil 1 0W-30 is recommended for 5W-30 and 10W-30 applications.  With the lower viscosity, less energy is required to circulate the oil, resulting in fuel economy gains.