Brief test here:
www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/environment/5570566/M...l
The tester makes a good point: don't those old 3-series look small these days?
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I tested this car about ten years ago when it has done about 1,003,000 miles. The object was to do 100mph in a 1,000,000 miler, and I did, on the DERA track. The report ran in Telegraph Motoring.
The test was delayed while Mobil waited for a small part to fix the power steering. It had not done the mileage in a lab. it had done it on roads and tracks. I remember the leather steering wheel that had been held by so many sweaty palms I likened it to how I imagined an old tramp's jock strap (that bit did not get into print).
A bit later, Mobil was brave enough to allow the car to be driven by anyone at the Fleet News test day at Silverstone, so the car got being driven flat out by a couple of dozen more people, including me.
How it got to 1,000,000 miles on Mobil 1 was by being driven in ideal temperatures and having its oil changed every 7,000 miles. Mobil then stripped it down and found virtually no wear.
HJ
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that's interesting, I thought the car had done the million on a rolling road only. The driver's seat must have been a bit saggy ....
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It says in the report the first million was on a rolling road. So it must have been spray-on sweat.
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The recent report was wrong. Most of the mileage was road and track in dry weather. Otherwise the steering wheel and seat would not have been in the state they were in. The passenger seat and back seat were like new because they hadn't been used.
HJ
Edited by Honestjohn on 22/06/2009 at 12:56
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In the Telegraph motoring section: tinyurl.com/mlu3ht
I remember there being a Mobil 1 exhibition at a big motor-racing event many years ago where they had details of this very project on display. If I remember rightly they had a photograph of the cylinder block when new and after 1m miles and I was unable to tell any difference, although I was only a nipper!
To my mind this is a marvellous advert for the benefits of fully synthetic engine oil. It must surely be a major contributary factor towards the unprecedented levels of reliability and longevity of modern motor-cars.
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Or is it a great advert for BMW straight-sixes?
Shame they didn't pick out a couple of other cars at the same time to do this experiment on, say a Ford Escort 1.6 CVH and a VW Golf GTI?
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It was stripped down and rebuilt by selected BMW engineers i.e. it was blueprinted.
I expect with the price they charge for Mobil 1 fully synth and 6000 mile interval for the engine to last at least 1,000,000,000 miles
If they did 2 - 4 miles journeys and the engine allowed to cool down in between in variable English winter weather, the condensation in the engine/ lack of correct operating temperatures and fuel dilution would surely lead to a different picture.
Edited by brum on 23/06/2009 at 17:31
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Not that impressive really. Four years of constant running on a rolling road - never cooling down except for a 6,000 oil change. No expansion and contraction of different metals then putting gaskets under strain and no moisture from cold running.
Hydrodynamic lubrication at the crank constantly and only loss of oil pressure through the whole system at oil change. No overnight `dry` starts for the rings and bores and I bet the engine run at its optimal speed for longevity.
It`s nothing really is it when contrasted with a `cheap` family saloon turning in 100,000+ miles of grueling stop start normal use with a lessor non synthetic oil with changes that sometimes run over the recommended interval - and with thousands of cold start expansion contraction cycles.
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As I wrote before, it wasn't all rolling road. But it was in warm weather states. The rest of the car did show general wear consistent with at least half a million road miles. I still think it was extremely brave of Mobil to let the car out on the Silverstone track and allow any Tom, Dick or Harry attending the Fleet Show to do three laps each in it.
HJ
Edited by Honestjohn on 23/06/2009 at 17:41
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