Oil advice and recommendations here!

[Kawasicki]

Thanks Guy

Have a good weekend

Shane

[Bee_Jay]

Sounds sad, but what about an 8-year old, 90,000 mile 4.6 Range Rover P38? I am about to have the valley, sump and rocker gaskets replaced next week as the back of the engine is quite wet. What oil should I be asking them to put in?

I have usually used a 10w-40 Semi-synthetic - is this right?

[opieoilman]

Bee_Jay said:

Sounds sad, but what about an 8-year old, 90,000 mile 4.6 Range Rover P38? I am about to have the valley, sump and rocker gaskets replaced next week as the back of the engine is quite wet. What oil should I be asking them to put in? I have usually used a 10w-40 Semi-synthetic - is this right?

Not sad at all, I also have one of these.

The old V8 design likes the thicker oil. The 10w-40 you have been using is fine, if you are happy stick with it, however you could move to a fully synth if you wish. Go for a 10w-50 or 15w-50 if you go fully.

I use the Silkolene Pro R 15w-50 in mine.

Hope this helps

Cheers

Guy.

[pesty]

Make Honda
Model:- Integra Type R
Year 2000
Engine 1800 Vtec

No mods but it revs to 9k quite regulary and has around 190 BHP suposedly

Brand and viscosity currently used (if known) :-

I found that Vauxhal sell quite cheep fully synthetic 25 litres for about £40.( I bought this beofre I found out there were different types of synthetics from your posts)

Its 5/40 and says on it this API SJ/CF/F.C ACEA A3-98/B3-98

Any advise appreciated

[opieoilman]

pesty said:

Make Honda Model:- Integra Type R Year 2000 Engine 1800 Vtec No mods but it revs to 9k quite regulary and has around 190 BHP suposedly Brand and viscosity currently used (if known) :- I found that Vauxhal sell quite cheep fully synthetic 25 litres for about £40.( I bought this beofre I found out there were different types of synthetics from your posts) Its 5/40 and says on it this API SJ/CF/F.C ACEA A3-98/B3-98 Any advise appreciated

You have the right grade here, the type r calls for a 5w-40 all year round. you could do much better in terms of quality though. The Vauxhall oil is made to acost hence the price, just like tescos coca cola.

Next time go for a good brand name like Mobil, Silkolene, Redline, Motul etc.

Cheeers

Guy.

[pesty]

bloody hell that was fast cheers. anyone want 15 litres of fully synthetic ?

[gdr]

I've been using Mobil 1 15W50 in moderately tuned small block chevrolet. Engine was run in on a 15W50 mineral oil. I've heard conflicting advice about wisdom of using synthetic in big old US V8's, many stick to Valvoline 15w50. Any comments?

[Bee_Jay]

opieoilman said:

Bee_Jay said: Sounds sad, but what about an 8-year old, 90,000 mile 4.6 Range Rover P38? I am about to have the valley, sump and rocker gaskets replaced next week as the back of the engine is quite wet. What oil should I be asking them to put in? I have usually used a 10w-40 Semi-synthetic - is this right? Not sad at all, I also have one of these. The old V8 design likes the thicker oil. The 10w-40 you have been using is fine, if you are happy stick with it, however you could move to a fully synth if you wish. Go for a 10w-50 or 15w-50 if you go fully. I use the Silkolene Pro R 15w-50 in mine. Hope this helps Cheers Guy.

Cool, Hope to see you pop into the Land Rover Forum occasionally (though we seem to keep you quite busy here...)

I was going to use fully synthetic when I first bought it a few months ago, but then someone told me that these engines don't like fully synth.

Would there be any benefit in going fully synth? I only thought of doing it because I bought into the marketing hype (I used to run it in my 3.7 Audi A8)

How do I know if I am happy with Semi-Synth?

One last thing - I have a company petrol card which allows me to buy oil from petrol stations for 'free', hence I am restricted to what I can get at those - seeing as I can't get Silkolene at these, what else? The semi-synth I have been using is Shell Helix (as I only ever use Optimax !!!)

However what you have said is reassuring - I may try that next time.

Joe.

[MGBV8]

Is there a better oil than M1 0W40?

[opieoilman]

Bee_Jay said:

opieoilman said: Bee_Jay said: Sounds sad, but what about an 8-year old, 90,000 mile 4.6 Range Rover P38? I am about to have the valley, sump and rocker gaskets replaced next week as the back of the engine is quite wet. What oil should I be asking them to put in? I have usually used a 10w-40 Semi-synthetic - is this right? Not sad at all, I also have one of these. The old V8 design likes the thicker oil. The 10w-40 you have been using is fine, if you are happy stick with it, however you could move to a fully synth if you wish. Go for a 10w-50 or 15w-50 if you go fully. I use the Silkolene Pro R 15w-50 in mine. Hope this helps Cheers Guy. Cool, Hope to see you pop into the Land Rover Forum occasionally (though we seem to keep you quite busy here...) I was going to use fully synthetic when I first bought it a few months ago, but then someone told me that these engines don't like fully synth. Would there be any benefit in going fully synth? I only thought of doing it because I bought into the marketing hype (I used to run it in my 3.7 Audi A8) How do I know if I am happy with Semi-Synth? One last thing - I have a company petrol card which allows me to buy oil from petrol stations for 'free', hence I am restricted to what I can get at those - seeing as I can't get Silkolene at these, what else? The semi-synth I have been using is Shell Helix (as I only ever use Optimax !!!) However what you have said is reassuring - I may try that next time. Joe.

Joe,

If the garage sell Mobil 1 15w-50, go for that as this a full synthetic of the right grade. If not go for a semi synth. These in my opinion are always worth going for over a mineral. The reason for this is they tend to be a blend of mineral and synth and for the little extra money they cost are well worth considering. A semi should have better heat tolerances and shear stability than a mineral plus you can extend your drain intervals.

Cheers

Guy.

[opieoilman]

MGBV8 said:

Is there a better oil than M1 0W40?

Yes there is always better, however it depends in what context you are asking?

Cheers

Guy,

[MGBV8]

Guy,

Referring to MB classification.

With semi how much synth do you get? and still left with mostly Mineral.

How is research into Magnatec going as at least this should contain esters.

Any update on Silkolene add pack?

[viper_larry]

Hi, can you answer this one for me:

(www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=128862&f=76&h=0)

"I know we've covered this before, but if the service manual says '10W-30 API Certified' oil, what advantage is there in using Mobil 1 which is 0W-40?"

Currently use Mobil 1 and dealer will put in Castrol RS if I let them.

Thanks, oh, and I'm taking the car in today!

[opieoilman]

viper_larry said:

Hi, can you answer this one for me: (www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=128862&f=76&h=0) "I know we've covered this before, but if the service manual says '10W-30 API Certified' oil, what advantage is there in using Mobil 1 which is 0W-40?" Currently use Mobil 1 and dealer will put in Castrol RS if I let them. Thanks, oh, and I'm taking the car in today!

The recomended oil for the Viper in the UK is a 10w-40 semisynthetic or a 5w-40 full synthetic. The 10w-30 you mention is most likely to be a semisynthetic.

I personally would not go as thin a 0w viscosity, the reason for this is for a big engine with lots of torque it will be a little thin, 5w is the lowest I would go. However if you want to improve on this then you can buy getting a better quality one PAO or Ester based. The dealer is unlikely to put in a top oil unless requested, the reason for this is just like most people they are there to make money, so they will put in a quite cheap oil to keep their costs down and charge you a pretty price for it.

What Castrol have they offered to put in, they do some good oils but it depends which one it is? if it is the 10w-60 dont go for it as it is too thick.

Cheers

Guy.

[viper_larry]

It was Castrol RS and I think he said 5W-40. Other Viper owners have recommended Mobile 1 15-50W as I do use the car occasionally on the track and it does seem to run excessively hot.

[opieoilman]

viper_larry said:

It was Castrol RS and I think he said 5W-40. Other Viper owners have recommended Mobile 1 15-50W as I do use the car occasionally on the track and it does seem to run excessively hot.

Yes you could use the 15w-50, the Mobil is a good PAO synthetic and is good with temps. If you are tracking the car and getting high temps, the best bet is to go for a PAO/Ester synthetic. Esters assist the additive pack in a motor oil formulation because they are surface-active (electrostatically attracted to metal surfaces), so they help to reduce wear and friction.

They are fluid at very low temperatures and at high temperatures they are very chemically stable and have low volatility (don’t evaporate away).

They also help to prevent hardening and cracking of oil seals at high temperatures.

Look at Silkolene, Redline, Motul for the futre, around the 10w-50 grade.

[danwebster]

Hi, this is very interesting. I'd be very grateful for your opinions on oil for my engine.

Its a 1380cc A series with a KAD twin cam 16 valve cylinder head on it. Its highly modified and produces 159hp at 7596rpm. It has an all steel bottom end and runs a straight cut box, drop gears, and a semi helical CWP. Its done 1400 miles, and was run in on a 10-40 mineral oil, before switching to a fully synthetic.

As i'm sure you're aware oil is a bit of an achilies heel for highly modified A series, after looking around a bit i used Castrol R4 superbike oil (5-40 if i remember rightly) for the first 1000 miles after the run in, mainly because i was led to beleive that motorbike oils have properties that are desirable for the a series, as the both share engine and gearbox oil.

I have just done an oil change though, and gone for mobil 1 15-50, mainly because the castrol was very thin, although it was a 5-40 it was very runny, almost like water, which was causing me problems at high revs.

The gearchange was very sweet with the castrol, a noticable change from the mineral oil i was running it in with. I've noticed that its possibly not quite as smooth with the mobil 1 in.

Your thoughts?

Thanks very much

Dan

[randtis]

Unfortunately I don't drive anythink nearly as desirable as the above, but your advice would nonetheless be greatly appreciated.
The car is a basic Ford Ka, which, me being daft, I have chosen to fill with fully synthetic oil. As far as I am aware, Ford specify a 5W-30 semi synthetic, whilst numerous well respected publishers recommend either a 10W-30 or 10W-40, but I have been using 0W-40 Mobil 1 (serious overkill methinks!) Would you foresee any problems through using this oil, or is there anything better you would recommend?

As an aside, what oil would you recommend for a 2003 BMW 330? The manufacturer says only Castrol, but I don't think that is the best that could be used.

Thanks in advance
Ben

[opieoilman]

danwebster said:

Hi, this is very interesting. I'd be very grateful for your opinions on oil for my engine. Its a 1380cc A series with a KAD twin cam 16 valve cylinder head on it. Its highly modified and produces 159hp at 7596rpm. It has an all steel bottom end and runs a straight cut box, drop gears, and a semi helical CWP. Its done 1400 miles, and was run in on a 10-40 mineral oil, before switching to a fully synthetic. As i'm sure you're aware oil is a bit of an achilies heel for highly modified A series, after looking around a bit i used Castrol R4 superbike oil (5-40 if i remember rightly) for the first 1000 miles after the run in, mainly because i was led to beleive that motorbike oils have properties that are desirable for the a series, as the both share engine and gearbox oil. I have just done an oil change though, and gone for mobil 1 15-50, mainly because the castrol was very thin, although it was a 5-40 it was very runny, almost like water, which was causing me problems at high revs. The gearchange was very sweet with the castrol, a noticable change from the mineral oil i was running it in with. I've noticed that its possibly not quite as smooth with the mobil 1 in. Your thoughts? Thanks very much Dan

Wow! This is serious stuff! The best bet is Silkolene Pro-R 15W/50, a very shear-stable synthetic with a high ester content. It has earned a good reputation in modified Minis, and in bikes with ‘difficult’ gearboxes, such as the Honda Fireblade.(In fact, straight-cut gears are easier to lubricate than spiral types.) The high viscosity and excellent ‘stay-in –grade’ performance of P’R 15W/50 should also help to maintain oil pressure, especially if the original A-Series pump is still fitted.

Cheers

Guy.

[opieoilman]

randtis said:

Unfortunately I don't drive anythink nearly as desirable as the above, but your advice would nonetheless be greatly appreciated. The car is a basic Ford Ka, which, me being daft, I have chosen to fill with fully synthetic oil. As far as I am aware, Ford specify a 5W-30 semi synthetic, whilst numerous well respected publishers recommend either a 10W-30 or 10W-40, but I have been using 0W-40 Mobil 1 (serious overkill methinks!) Would you foresee any problems through using this oil, or is there anything better you would recommend? As an aside, what oil would you recommend for a 2003 BMW 330? The manufacturer says only Castrol, but I don't think that is the best that could be used. Thanks in advance Ben

Ford recomend 5w-30 semi or full synthetic for the Zetec engines because anything thicker can cause the some valves to stick, poor engineering by ford there in my opinion. The truth is they recomend this to cover their back, we tend to suggest that people stick to it however there are many Zetecs out there running around on Castrol 10w-60 for some reason (trendy I guess).

The 0w-40 you are running on at the moment is overkill but should not cause any problems for you.

Next oil change look for an oil that meets the Ford WSS-M2C913-A/B spec and you will be fine, most are semi synthetic but Total does do a full synthetic one.

For the 330 you will need an oil that meets the BMW LL01 spec, this will be of the 0w-30 grade and I always tend to suggest Fuchs as they filled the car with their 0w-30 originally and it is good quality/price.

Guy.