Video summary

How Bad Is OEM Motor Oil? Honda vs Toyota vs ACDelco?

Main summary

Key takeaways

Product Review

Product(s) reviewed

SAE 0W-20 OEM motor oils (compared against Mobil 1):

  • Honda Ultimate Full Synthetic (API SP, ILSAC GF-6)
  • Toyota Full Synthetic (API SP, 0W-20; ILSAC GF-6A mentioned later in the video’s chart discussion)
  • ACDelco full synthetic (API SP; Dexos 1 mentioned)
  • Ford Motorcraft full synthetic (API SP; notes about ILSAC/GF-5 availability)
  • Mopar MaxPro full synthetic (API SP, ILSAC GF-6A)
  • Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy (API SP, ILSAC GF-6A)

All tests described use comparable oils in the 0W-20 range.

Main testing & what was measured

  1. Cold flow / cold start simulation

    • Oils frozen to -40°F for ~10 hours
    • Designed as a “race” for:
      • flow quickly
      • ability to lubricate moving parts sooner

  2. High-heat volatility / evaporation resistance (Noack-volatility concept)

    • Heated around 410°F for 2 hours
    • Then weighed to determine evaporative loss

  3. Lubricity / film strength / wear scar

    • Used a lubricity tester
    • Compared wear scar diameter (microscope) after loading with heated oil

  4. After-heat performance

    • Another “race” using cooked oil (same overall winner/placement style)

  5. Oil lab analysis + additive packages

    • Checked impurity/wear metals (aluminum/iron/tin/copper) and additive elements:
      • Detergent/dispersant content (PPM)
      • Anti-wear additives (PPM)
      • TBN (total base number)

Key results (wins, placements, and numbers)

1) Honda vs Toyota (first head-to-head)

  • Cold flow (0W-20 at 70°F race test)

    • Mobil 1 narrowly wins
    • Honda and Toyota tie for 2nd

  • Noack/evaporation after 410°F × 2 hours

    • Honda: 410.86 g → 403.14 g (loss 7.72 g)
    • Toyota: 394.62 g → 387.95 g (loss 6.67 g)
    • Toyota evaporated less than Honda in this described comparison

  • Lubricity / wear scar

    • Honda wear scar: 7.41 mm
    • Toyota wear scar: 7.6 mm
    • Honda considered an easy win (~3% less damage)

2) ACDelco vs Motorcraft (heat test + lubricity)

  • Heat/evaporation numbers (2 hours, ~410°F)

    • ACDelco: 404.64 g → 398.30 g (loss 6.34 g)
    • Motorcraft: 429.80 g → 423.62 g (loss 6.17 g)
    • Motorcraft best evaporative-loss among the group mentioned here

  • Lubricity / film strength

    • ACDelco described as winning clearly in wear scar comparison (“smallest wear scar yet”)

  • Winner for this segment: ACDelco Chevrolet

    • Overall easier win on wear resistance, despite Motorcraft doing better on evaporation

3) Mopar vs Honda / ACDelco / Mobil 1 (evaporation + wear scar)

  • Evaporative loss (410°F × 2 hours)

    • Mopar: 404.62 g → 398.38 g (loss 6.24 g)
    • Mobil 1: 418.88 g → 412.49 g (loss 6.39 g)
    • ACDelco still held a lead due to earlier best wear results
    • Mopar and Mobil 1 were close

  • Wear resistance (lubricity wear scar findings)

    • “Best wear resistance” callout:
      • ACDelco top
      • Honda second
      • Ford third
      • Mobil 1 fourth

4) “After intense heat” race order

  • Left-to-right: Honda, Toyota, Mobil 1

    • Mobil 1 wins, Honda 2nd, Toyota 3rd (close)

  • Left-to-right: Ford Motorcraft, ACDelco, Mopar, Mobil 1

    • Tie: ACDelco Chevrolet and Mobil 1
    • Tie: Motorcraft and Mopar for third

5) Very cold performance (-40°F flow)

  • Cold flow placements by time (seconds)

    • Toyota: 41.0 s (winner)
    • Mopar: 41.5 s (almost as fast)
    • Honda: 45.6 s (slower)

  • Other cold-flow race described (4-oil lanes)

    • Mopar finishes 1st
    • Mobil 1 close 2nd
    • Ford 3rd
    • ACDelco 4th

Oil lab / additive-package findings (unique comparative points)

  • Impurities / wear metals

    • Motorcraft has more impurities than others
    • Still described as “trace levels” overall

  • Detergent & dispersant content (PPM)

    • Motorcraft highest: 2,189 ppm
    • ACDelco and Honda close behind
    • Mobil 1 and Toyota ~500 ppm (~25% less), noted as surprising by the narrator

  • Anti-wear additives (PPM)

    • All oils ~16 to 1700 PPM, except Toyota
    • Toyota < 1300 PPM, described as slightly low

  • TBN (acid neutralizing ability)

    • Most oils: ~6.5
    • Toyota: ~5.7 (lower than the others)

Overall “best oil” conclusion (scoring/averages)

  • Combined test results + oil lab results

    • Motorcraft average finish 2.2 (overall top)
    • Mopar: 3.0
    • ACDelco: 3.2

  • If only practical testing is considered (excluding lab results)

    • Motorcraft and Mopar tie for 1st

  • If only lab results are considered

    • Same ordering trend holds again (as described)

  • Key surprising takeaway

    • The video says the top four brands outperformed Mobil 1 in overall comparisons.

Pros / Cons (as expressed by results)

Motorcraft (Ford)

  • Pros
    • Best overall when combining lab + test
    • Best detergent/dispersant level
    • Strong evaporation number in one segment
  • Cons
    • More impurities/wear metals in lab results

Mopar (MaxPro)

  • Pros
    • Strong cold performance
    • Very competitive overall
    • Good wear resistance (tied/near-top depending on scoring method)
  • Cons
    • Not consistently the single best in every segment
    • Falls behind in some wear-resistance comparisons vs ACDelco/Honda

ACDelco

  • Pros
    • Top wear resistance (smallest wear scar)
    • Strong lubricity performance
  • Cons
    • Not best in some segments like evaporation (vs Motorcraft) and cold flow (vs Mopar/Toyota)

Honda

  • Pros
    • Very good wear scar vs Toyota
    • Generally near the top across several checks
  • Cons
    • Cold performance came out slower than Toyota/Mopar in the -40°F time comparison
    • Higher evaporation loss than Toyota in the first head-to-head

Toyota

  • Pros
    • Wins cold-flow time test (41.0 s) and performs strongly in cold-flow rank
  • Cons
    • Lower additive performance signals in lab analysis:
      • lower TBN ~5.7
      • lower anti-wear <1300 PPM
      • lower detergent/dispersant vs top leader
    • Lost in wear vs Honda
    • Not as strong overall as several others in wear resistance

Mobil 1

  • Pros
    • Frequently starts fast in “race” segments
    • Does well in some heated performance comparisons
  • Cons
    • Despite reputation, narrator concludes other brands generally beat it overall (wear/evap/lab-weighted outcomes)

User experience / real-world component

  • The host drove a Jeep at Matt’s Off-Road Recovery Games
  • Reported it survived the rock-crawling event without mechanical issues
  • Caveat: the oil’s direct real-world causal effect isn’t isolated in the subtitles
  • Overall tone: test-lab + bench-testing oriented review, not a long-term ownership study

Comparisons made

  • Direct multi-brand comparison:
    • Honda, Toyota, ACDelco, Mopar, Ford Motorcraft versus Mobil 1
  • Sub-comparisons repeated in different test modes:
    • Honda vs Toyota (evap + wear)
    • ACDelco vs Motorcraft (evap vs wear)
    • Mopar vs Honda/ACDelco/Mobil 1 (evap + wear)
    • Cold flow race at -40°F (Toyota/Mopar/Honda times, then 4-lane placement)

Unique points mentioned (all distinct takeaways)

  1. All tested oils: SAE 0W-20; multiple API SP and ILSAC GF-6 / GF-6A confirmations
  2. Uses an oil lab report (independent lab paid) plus bench tests
  3. Bench “no mix-up” protocol:
    • labeling bottles
    • shaking containers
  4. Cold-flow performance measured at -40°F after ~10 hours
  5. High-heat volatility/evap test: 410°F for 2 hours, weighing oil loss
  6. Wear resistance measured via lubricity/film strength with wear scar diameters
  7. Lab-based additive comparisons:
    • detergent/dispersant (PPM)
    • anti-wear (PPM)
    • TBN
  8. Specific measured evaporation losses and wear scar measurements for key head-to-heads:
    • Honda vs Toyota evaporation loss: 7.72 g vs 6.67 g
    • Honda vs Toyota wear scars: 7.41 mm vs 7.6 mm
    • ACDelco vs Motorcraft evaporation: 6.34 g vs 6.17 g
    • Best wear resistance: ACDelco smallest wear scar
    • Cold-flow times: Toyota 41.0 s, Mopar 41.5 s, Honda 45.6 s
  9. Overall ranking depends on whether lab results are included:
    • Combined: Motorcraft #1 (avg 2.2); Mopar #2 (3.0); ACDelco #3 (3.2)
    • Practical-only: Motorcraft and Mopar tie for first
    • Lab-only: order “stays the same” (as described)
  10. Surprising conclusion:
    • top brands outperformed Mobil 1 overall

Speakers / perspectives

  • Single primary host/narrator provides all testing results, lab interpretations, and race-style comparisons
  • No distinct additional speakers with separate product opinions are indicated in the subtitles

Original video