Also Mobil has discontinued Delvac 1240 40W diesel oil that is used by
Detroit 2 cycles. The recommended replacement is an Exxon oil XD-3
Hi Frank,
Back when the Exxon/Mobil merger was being approved an Exxon upper level marketing guy
told me that they ultimately hoped to consolidate the two lubricant lines. His hoped for
scenario was that, where there was redundancy, they would make determinations as to which
product was superior and which one had the better name recognition; they would then put
the 'hotter' name on the better product and pitch out the leftovers. I'm not sure if
that's what they're actually doing but, in any case those two products are VERY similar in
both quality and marketability.
One caveat: Exxon has two lines of commercial engine oils with very similar names. Exxon
XD-3 is marketed as an economy* oil (Exxon actually refers to it as a "Fleet"* oil) but it
also has the low sulfated ash level (0.8%) that is preferred for Detroit Diesel 2-strokes.
Exxon XD-3 Extra is sold as a premium* product and has higher levels of additives. That
leads to its having a somewhat higher sulfated ash level (1.0%) that is perfectly
acceptable but not optimal for DD 2-strokes.
BTW: Exxon also makes a "super premium"* oil called XD-3 Elite but it's unlikely that you
would run across it anywhere but at an Exxon Distributorship (and a pretty big one at
that!).
Disclaimer: I used to work for an Exxon distributor but no longer have any connection.
Consolidationally yours,
Alex
*The terms shown above are what oil folks use when talking among themselves. Exxon
marketing literature calls XD-3 "Premium"; XD-3 Extra "Super High-Performance"; and XD-3
Elite "Exxon's Best"
----- Original Message -----
From: "Frank Burrows" <fburrows@mail.com>
>
> Also Mobil has discontinued Delvac 1240 40W diesel oil that is used by
> Detroit 2 cycles. The recommended replacement is an Exxon oil XD-3
>
Hi Frank,
Back when the Exxon/Mobil merger was being approved an Exxon upper level marketing guy
told me that they ultimately hoped to consolidate the two lubricant lines. His hoped for
scenario was that, where there was redundancy, they would make determinations as to which
product was superior and which one had the better name recognition; they would then put
the 'hotter' name on the better product and pitch out the leftovers. I'm not sure if
that's what they're actually doing but, in any case those two products are VERY similar in
both quality and marketability.
One caveat: Exxon has two lines of commercial engine oils with very similar names. Exxon
XD-3 is marketed as an economy* oil (Exxon actually refers to it as a "Fleet"* oil) but it
also has the low sulfated ash level (0.8%) that is preferred for Detroit Diesel 2-strokes.
Exxon XD-3 Extra is sold as a premium* product and has higher levels of additives. That
leads to its having a somewhat higher sulfated ash level (1.0%) that is perfectly
acceptable but not optimal for DD 2-strokes.
BTW: Exxon also makes a "super premium"* oil called XD-3 Elite but it's unlikely that you
would run across it anywhere but at an Exxon Distributorship (and a pretty big one at
that!).
Disclaimer: I used to work for an Exxon distributor but no longer have any connection.
Consolidationally yours,
Alex
*The terms shown above are what oil folks use when talking among themselves. Exxon
marketing literature calls XD-3 "Premium"; XD-3 Extra "Super High-Performance"; and XD-3
Elite "Exxon's Best"
