Oil advice and recommendations here!

[opieoilman]

jeremyc said:

opieoilman said: The Vantage for the UK climate I would go for a 5w-40, which is suitable from -30 to +40 deg and is the most common range for our cars to be in with our wonderfull climate. Yes any oil that conforms to the specs you mention would do, but I would look for a "true" synthetic that does not use petroleum base stocks, but is made up of PAO or Ester base stock. Thanks for your help. Which brands of oil are a true PAO or ester base stock synthetic that comply with these specifications then? >> Edited by jeremyc on Friday 29th October 17:39

Look at something like Motul, Silkolene, Mobil, Redline. they all do great true synthetics.

We are in the process of becoming a sort of trader on here, but in the mean time e-mail me through my profile and I will forward on what I have to offer.

Cheers

Guy.



>> Edited by opieoilman on Friday 29th October 17:47

[pwig]

Hi mate, now got a 1993 Mazda Eunos 1.6 with 118bhp, I can get selinia racing oil very cheap through work (10w 60 I think) is it any good?

I woudn't mind running it on Mobil 1, but will I damage my engine from going from whatever rubbish is in my engine at the mo, straight to fully synth?

>> Edited by pwig on Friday 29th October 23:35

[opieoilman]

Way off grade mate.

You need a good synthetic 10w-40 or 5w-40 for better cold start.

You can always email me.

Cheers
Guy

[pwig]

Is there any particular oil you would reccomend?

[GregE240]

Hello Guy,

Only just stumbled across this thread!

Thank you for the assistance and wise words thus far. Its been a great read.

I have been a convert of synthetic oil since the early Nineties. I ran an XR2 from 28K - 146K using only Mobil 1 every 6,000 miles. When I sold the car, it still did not use any oil at all between services, the oil always a nice golden colour when it was drained. After that, my wifes 2 MX-5s were run on fully synth, as is my Mercedes and her Porsche.

My own bugbear for your perousal is the Merc. I've a 1998 E240 with the 2397cc "112.911" engine. It has 121K on the clock. It has a full dealer service history.

For its entire life the car has had a diet of either Castrol RS, Shell Helix Ultra or 0W/40 Mobil 1 and has performed faultlessly.

However, more recently I think the top end is a little noisy. At the last service the service chap I spoke to in MB Birmingham advised a slightly thicker oil to cure this. What do you think?

Interestingly, in a recent magazine, a well respected M-B independent advised on this very problem, his recommendation being to add a flushing agent prior to oil change as it may be accululation of foreign matter at the top ends of the vee.

Whilst I have used flush before, I am a bit hesitant to disturb any foreign matter which could damage the engine.

Many thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.

All the best,
Greg

[tuxman]

hi GUY,great topic have enjoyed reading all 9 pages!!last winter i built a ultima can am with a stockish 350 small block chevy ,i have now removed engine ready for a full race engine rebuild strocked to 383 forged crank ,rod and pistons should develop around 500 ish bhp all ultimas run a bit hot so would like to upgrade oil currently run kendle 20w-50 gt1 this is a american oil.block is a 1980 4bolt truck unit with ally heads any advice would be great thanks simon

[opieoilman]

pwig said:

Is there any particular oil you would reccomend?

Yep, I would use a synthetic 5w-40 or 10w-40.

Plenty to choose from here:

www.opieoils.co.uk/lubricants.htm

Cheers
Guy

[opieoilman]

GregE240 said:

Hello Guy, Only just stumbled across this thread! Thank you for the assistance and wise words thus far. Its been a great read. I have been a convert of synthetic oil since the early Nineties. I ran an XR2 from 28K - 146K using only Mobil 1 every 6,000 miles. When I sold the car, it still did not use any oil at all between services, the oil always a nice golden colour when it was drained. After that, my wifes 2 MX-5s were run on fully synth, as is my Mercedes and her Porsche. My own bugbear for your perousal is the Merc. I've a 1998 E240 with the 2397cc "112.911" engine. It has 121K on the clock. It has a full dealer service history. For its entire life the car has had a diet of either Castrol RS, Shell Helix Ultra or 0W/40 Mobil 1 and has performed faultlessly. However, more recently I think the top end is a little noisy. At the last service the service chap I spoke to in MB Birmingham advised a slightly thicker oil to cure this. What do you think? Interestingly, in a recent magazine, a well respected M-B independent advised on this very problem, his recommendation being to add a flushing agent prior to oil change as it may be accululation of foreign matter at the top ends of the vee. Whilst I have used flush before, I am a bit hesitant to disturb any foreign matter which could damage the engine. Many thanks in advance for any advice you can offer. All the best, Greg

Certainly a thicker oil will quieten things down and ester based ones achieve this more effectively than other basestocks.

I would try a 5w-40 or 10w-40 ester based ones, theses are still in grade, viscosity wise and will quieten things down.

You can always email me off the boards for prices and guidence towards the best ones.

Cheers
Guy

[opieoilman]

tuxman said:

hi GUY,great topic have enjoyed reading all 9 pages!!last winter i built a ultima can am with a stockish 350 small block chevy ,i have now removed engine ready for a full race engine rebuild strocked to 383 forged crank ,rod and pistons should develop around 500 ish bhp all ultimas run a bit hot so would like to upgrade oil currently run kendle 20w-50 gt1 this is a american oil.block is a 1980 4bolt truck unit with ally heads any advice would be great thanks simon

Use a good thermally stable synthetic oil which will take much higher temperatures than a regular one.

Take a look at the Silkolene and Motul ranges here, there will be something that's perfect for you.

www.opieoils.co.uk/lubricants.htm

Cheers
Guy

[skinny]

still here guy

skinny said:

why not use a 0W-40 instead of a 15W-40. The viscosity when running at operating temp will be (roughly) the same, but at low (start-up) temp, the 0W will be thinner than the 15W (but still a fair bit thicker than either oil at operating temperature) and so circulate easier & quicker ...

cheers

[opieoilman]

skinny said:

still here guy skinny said: why not use a 0W-40 instead of a 15W-40. The viscosity when running at operating temp will be (roughly) the same, but at low (start-up) temp, the 0W will be thinner than the 15W (but still a fair bit thicker than either oil at operating temperature) and so circulate easier & quicker ... cheers

Skinny,

Sorry, missed that one!

You can use a 0w instead of a 15w but it depends on what engine you are talking about, new BMW and VAG engines use a 0w-30 which is very thin, but an old design V8 has larger oil ways, so when the 0w thins down when cold it can be too thin, not leaving a good enough film and sometimes even leaking.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Guy.

[skinny]

thanks for the reply. hope i am not being too thick but what do you mean by the 0W thinning down when its cold - i thought they only thinned down when they got hot - is the viscosity of the oil a function of something other than temperature?

cheers

[opieoilman]

0w is a much tninner base oil than say 10w and that's the viscosity when cold. Yes oil thins when it gets hot but the polymers contained in the VI Imporvers actually fight back and thicken the oil to the upper number 10w-(40).

Hope this explains

Cheers
Guy

[skinny]

A 0W-40 at 10 degrees will still be much thicker than a 15W-40 at 100 degrees, is that right?

If the optimum viscosity of the oil for the engine is say 14cSt, would it not be better to get as close to that as possible at low temperature (as well as high temperature) by using a low-W (i.e. 0W-X) oil?

thanks for your time guy

[optimanc]

Hi, thats a great service you offer thank you. Here are my details and a few other questions,
Make: BMW
Model: 320i E36
Year: 1992
Engine size and type: 2.0 straight 6 DOHC
Any significant modifications: N/A
Brand and viscosity currently used: Castrol GTX Magnitec, 10w-40

My BMW has done over 165,000 miles and occasionally suffers from pre-ignition as well as feeling under powered. I use Wynn’s Octane Booster to try and cover this loss and avoid pre-ignition. I have booked it in for a test however I know any repairs will be sky high! Can you suggest any thing I could try myself to prevent the pre-ignition and loss of power. And is this a good choice of engine oil or should I use a thinner type such as 0w-40 or 5w-40, perhaps different brand i.e. Valvoline? Can the use of engine additives hinder the engine or health? Finally what does the 10w-‘40’ mean in oil viscosity?

Many many thanks!

[opieoilman]

optimanc said:

Hi, thats a great service you offer thank you. Here are my details and a few other questions, Make: BMW Model: 320i E36 Year: 1992 Engine size and type: 2.0 straight 6 DOHC Any significant modifications: N/A Brand and viscosity currently used: Castrol GTX Magnitec, 10w-40 My BMW has done over 165,000 miles and occasionally suffers from pre-ignition as well as feeling under powered. I use Wynn’s Octane Booster to try and cover this loss and avoid pre-ignition. I have booked it in for a test however I know any repairs will be sky high! Can you suggest any thing I could try myself to prevent the pre-ignition and loss of power. And is this a good choice of engine oil or should I use a thinner type such as 0w-40 or 5w-40, perhaps different brand i.e. Valvoline? Can the use of engine additives hinder the engine or health? Finally what does the 10w-‘40’ mean in oil viscosity? Many many thanks!

The stock recomendation is for a 5w-40 fully synthetic or a 10w-40 semi.

To combat the loss of power you could use a thinner oil (5w-40) but I would not go any thinner with than that with 165,000 miles as a 0w may well leak and cause problems.

Could be an idea to try a 10w-40 full synthetic as well.

Cheers

Guy.

[As One]

Hi Guy,

top service - thank you very much in advance

Make: Porsche
Model: 911 Carrera
Year: 1989
Engine size and type: 3,2 l flat 6
Any significant modifications: N/A
Brand and viscosity currently used: Mobil 1, 0w-40

176.000 kilometers already, bit smokey at times...

Thx,
Felix

[optimanc]

Thanks Guy

I'll take your advice!

Optimanc

[opieoilman]

As One said:

Hi Guy, top service - thank you very much in advance Make: Porsche Model: 911 Carrera Year: 1989 Engine size and type: 3,2 l flat 6 Any significant modifications: N/A Brand and viscosity currently used: Mobil 1, 0w-40 176.000 kilometers already, bit smokey at times... Thx, Felix

Felix,

The 0w-40 Mobil 1 is a top quality oil, however the 0w may be a little thin for a car of this age, does it smoke when cold? or sound a little noisy?

I would suggest next oil change look at a 5w-40, it may not sound like a big difference but there is when the oil is cold. When the oil is up to temp a 5w-40 will be the same a the 0w-40.

Cheers

Guy.

[As One]

Hi Guy,

thanks !

Yes it does smoke a little bit - smells abit sometimes too - time for a rebuild soon me thinks

Will put 5W-40 in next time round - thanks very much !

Felix