Motor Oil 2024 Test: Which Brand Wins?
In our 2024 test we compared 6 motor oil options head to head. Motorcraft came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Motorcraft
Price shown in test: around $20 for a quart
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Mopar
Price shown in test: $15
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The quick take
The short version of why each pick lands where it does, built straight from the measured results.
“Combining my test results with the oil testing labs results, the Motorcraft oil came out on top with an average finish of 2.2.”
The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.
Cold flow race, new oil, room temperature (~70F)
- 1Motorcraft Full Synthetic
raced against ACDelco, Mopar, and Mobil 1; Mobil 1 won, ACDelco finished second, Motorcraft crossed the line third and Mopar fourth
- 2Mopar MaxPro Full Synthetic
raced against Motorcraft, ACDelco, and Mobil 1; finished fourth (last) in this heat, behind Mobil 1 (1st), ACDelco (2nd), and Motorcraft (3rd)
- 3ACDelco Full Synthetic
raced against Motorcraft, Mopar, and Mobil 1; finished second behind Mobil 1
- 4Honda Ultimate Full Synthetic
raced against Toyota and Mobil 1; tied for second place with Toyota, behind Mobil 1
- 5Toyota
raced against Honda and Mobil 1; tied for second place with Honda, behind Mobil 1
- 6Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy
won both heats outright: first against Honda and Toyota, and again first against Motorcraft, ACDelco, and Mopar
Evaporative loss (200g oil, 410F, 2 hrs)
- 1Motorcraft Full Synthetic
started at 429.8 g, ended at 423.62 g, a loss of 6.17 g, the best (lowest) evaporative loss of all six oils at the time it was tested
- 2Mopar MaxPro Full Synthetic
started at 404.62 g, ended at 398.38 g, a loss of 6.24 g, second best of the six oils
- 3ACDelco Full Synthetic
started at 404.64 g, ended at 398.3 g, a loss of 6.34 g, better than the Honda and Toyota results tested earlier
- 4Honda Ultimate Full Synthetic
started at 410.86 g, ended at 403.14 g, a loss of 7.72 g, the worst (highest) evaporative loss of all six oils
- 5Toyota
started at 394.62 g, ended at 387.95 g, a loss of 6.67 g
- 6Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy
started at 418.88 g, ended at 412.49 g, a loss of 6.39 g
Lubricity / wear scar
- 1Motorcraft Full Synthetic
performed very well on this test (very little noise, good energy use readings) but the narrator says it 'wasn't quite good enough to beat the ACDelco'; no exact wear scar figure in mm is given in the transcript for this oil. Final wear-resistance ranking across all six oils: ACDelco first (smallest wear scar), Honda second, Motorcraft third, Mobil 1 fourth
- 2Mopar MaxPro Full Synthetic
described as performing well but 'not quite as well as the Honda or the ACDelco'; no exact wear scar figure in mm given for this oil
- 3ACDelco Full Synthetic
won this test outright against Honda ('a very clear win for the ACDelco'); no exact wear scar figure in mm given for this oil, but it is named as the overall wear-resistance winner across all six oils ('the ACDelco came in on top with the smallest wear scar')
- 4Honda Ultimate Full Synthetic7.41 mm2nd
about 3 percent less wear than the Toyota's 7.6 mm, described as 'an easy win for the Honda' in that head to head; finished second overall in the six-way wear-resistance ranking, behind only the ACDelco
- 5Toyota7.6 mm
the worst (largest) wear scar in its direct head to head against the Honda (about 3 percent more wear)
- 6Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy
no exact wear scar figure in mm given for this oil; finished fourth in the six-way wear-resistance ranking (behind ACDelco, Honda, and Motorcraft)
Cold flow race, heat-exposed oil, room temperature
- 1Motorcraft Full Synthetic
raced against ACDelco, Mopar, and Mobil 1; described as too close to call a clear winner, resulting in a tie for first between ACDelco and Mobil 1, with Motorcraft tying for third with Mopar
- 2Mopar MaxPro Full Synthetic
tied for third with Motorcraft, behind the tied first-place finish of ACDelco and Mobil 1
- 3ACDelco Full Synthetic
tied for first place with Mobil 1, ahead of Motorcraft and Mopar (tied for third)
- 4Honda Ultimate Full Synthetic
raced against Toyota and Mobil 1; finished second behind Mobil 1, with Toyota a close third
- 5Toyota
raced against Honda and Mobil 1; finished a close third behind Mobil 1 (1st) and Honda (2nd)
- 6Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy
won both heats: first against Honda and Toyota, and tied for first with ACDelco against Motorcraft and Mopar
Cold flow race, heat-exposed oil chilled to -40F for 10 hours
- 1Motorcraft Full Synthetic
raced against ACDelco, Mopar, and Mobil 1; Mopar won this heat, Mobil 1 finished a close second, Motorcraft third, ACDelco fourth; exact time not given for Motorcraft in the transcript's consolidated top-3 recap (Toyota 41 seconds, Mopar 41.5 seconds, Honda 45.6 seconds)
- 2Mopar MaxPro Full Synthetic
won this heat outright ('when it's really cold, the Mopar had more power than the competition'), finishing ahead of Mobil 1 (close second), Motorcraft (third), and ACDelco (fourth); overall consolidated result across both heats: 41.5 seconds, second fastest of all six oils behind only the Toyota's 41 seconds
- 3ACDelco Full Synthetic
finished fourth (last) in this heat, behind Mopar (1st), Mobil 1 (2nd), and Motorcraft (3rd)
- 4Honda Ultimate Full Synthetic
raced against Toyota and Mobil 1; finished second behind Toyota, with Mobil 1 a close third; consolidated result across both heats: 45.6 seconds, third fastest of the six oils overall
- 5Toyota
won its heat against Honda and Mobil 1 ('it's Toyota for the win'); consolidated result across both heats: 41 seconds, the fastest of all six oils in this specific test
- 6Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy
finished third against Honda and Toyota (behind Toyota and Honda), and a close second against Motorcraft, ACDelco, and Mopar (behind Mopar)
Oil lab: detergent/dispersant content
- 1Motorcraft Full Synthetic2,189 parts per million
the highest of all six oils
- 2Mopar MaxPro Full Synthetic
not given an exact figure separate from Honda and ACDelco, described only as 'not too far behind' the Motorcraft's 2,189 ppm
- 3ACDelco Full Synthetic
not given an exact figure, described only as 'not too far behind' the Motorcraft's 2,189 ppm, along with the Honda
- 4Honda Ultimate Full Synthetic
not given an exact figure, described only as 'not too far behind' the Motorcraft's 2,189 ppm, along with the ACDelco
- 5Toyota
along with Mobil 1, about 500 parts per million lower than the Motorcraft's 2,189 ppm, described by the narrator as about 25 percent less
- 6Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy
along with Toyota, about 500 parts per million lower than the Motorcraft's 2,189 ppm, described by the narrator as about 25 percent less
Oil lab: anti-wear additive content
- 1Motorcraft Full Synthetic
transcript states this and most other oils are 'at around 16 to 1700 parts per million' (likely meaning roughly 1,600 to 1,700 ppm, kept close to verbatim given the ambiguous caption rendering), except for the Toyota which is lower
- 2Mopar MaxPro Full Synthetic
in the roughly 1,600 to 1,700 ppm range along with most other oils except the Toyota
- 3ACDelco Full Synthetic
in the roughly 1,600 to 1,700 ppm range along with most other oils except the Toyota
- 4Honda Ultimate Full Synthetic
in the roughly 1,600 to 1,700 ppm range along with most other oils except the Toyota
- 5Toyota
the lowest of the six oils, at less than 1,300 parts per million
- 6Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy
in the roughly 1,600 to 1,700 ppm range along with most other oils except the Toyota
Oil lab: total base number (TBN)
- 1Motorcraft Full Syntheticaround6.5
in the same range as most other oils except the Toyota
- 2Mopar MaxPro Full Syntheticaround6.5
in the same range as most other oils except the Toyota
- 3ACDelco Full Syntheticaround6.5
in the same range as most other oils except the Toyota
- 4Honda Ultimate Full Syntheticaround6.5
in the same range as most other oils except the Toyota
- 5Toyotaaround5.7
the lowest (worst) TBN of the six oils
- 6Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economyaround6.5
in the same range as most other oils except the Toyota
All measurements (1 more)+
Oil lab: wear metals/impurities
- 1Motorcraft Full Synthetic
has more impurities (aluminum, iron, copper, tin) than the other five brands, though the narrator says the oil 'still looks very good with only trace levels'
- 2Mopar MaxPro Full Syntheticnot tested
- 3ACDelco Full Syntheticnot tested
- 4Honda Ultimate Full Syntheticnot tested
- 5Toyotanot tested
- 6Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economynot tested
How it was tested
- cold oil flow race, new oil, room temperature (~70F), run in two heats of 3-4 oils each
- Noack-style evaporative loss test: 200g of oil heated to about 410F for 2 hours, weighed before and after
- lubricity / film strength test on the heat-exposed oil, comparing wear scar size on test pins under a microscope
- cold oil flow race repeated using the heat-exposed (cooked) oil, at room temperature
- cold oil flow race repeated using the heat-exposed oil after also being chilled to -40F for 10 hours
- independent oil lab analysis: wear metals/impurities, detergent/dispersant additive package, anti-wear additive package, and total base number (TBN)
“Combining my test results with the oil testing labs results, the Motorcraft oil came out on top with an average finish of 2.2.”
