Lubricants & Coolants

[K67 KRB]

I've just comeback from Halfords and I'm a bit confused.

In the owners handbook it recommends using 5W50 but Halfords only had Mobil1 15W50. The guy said he didn't think they did the 5W50. Is this true, what do other Griff owners use?

Is GTX Magnatec a gimmick or is it top stuff?

Also, is the Halford Coolant okay to use?

Cheers,
Mart

[tj500]

There is such a thing as Mobil 1 5W50, it's what I use, but I get the impression it's not available in the UK, only on the continent (there are previous posts on this).

tj

[julianhj]

Oil choice has been discussed many times, but:

It seems to be that if you don't fancy using the thinner Mobil 1, Castrol Magnatec is the oil of choice for many garages. The RV8 being an old design can suffer from top end wear (like new camshaft req'd at rediculously low miles!), Magnatec claims to better protect by sticking to the components, rather than draining away. Makes sense, and lots of specialists recommend it (David Batty, for example).

All down to personal preference I reckon. I use Magnatec and have got virtually zero consumption over 6k miles. Others are of course better qualified to comment on this whole issue...

[simon.b]

Mobil 1 is available in the UK from Halfords (and others) as 5W40 or 15W50. The thicker one 15W50 is labelled as Motorsport and has a Maclaren F1 car on the label (I bought a can from Halfords at the weekend and got a free bottle of Autoglym wax polish).

The general consensus, and I agree, is that the 15W50 is the best suited for the 500 motor. On the other hand, if you can get it, Valvoline Synpower 5W50 may be better, its certainly cheaper.

Cheers,

Simon.

[Skip]

My local TVR agent put Shell Helix Ultra 5w40 in my 4.0 Griff at last service in March.

[simpo one]

15W definitely gives me more oil pressure than the Mobil 0W stuff, which IMHO is expensive water. Like 30psi instead of 10... which is nice...

[K67 KRB]

Err, I'm still not clear on this.

Sooo, if I use magnetec, which should I use 5W50 or 15W50 etc.

Are there any 4.3 drivers who use magnetec?

Cheers,

Martin

[simon.b]

There’s probably a bit more to it than this, but the first part 15W or 5W refers to low temp viscosity, i.e. lower the number the better protection you get at start up and has less tendency to thicken in cold weather. The second number refers to the high temp viscosity i.e. the higher the number the thicker or more stable the oil it is at high temperature.

In theory 0W50 would be fantastic for a Griff, however in reality it’s a compromise, so you pays your money and make your choice.

Cheers,

Simon.

[K67 KRB]

Just spoke to D. Batty....apparently Castrol Magnatec 15w40 is the way to go.....

Does anyone use Halfords Coolant??????

Cheers,

Mart

[Toffer]

In France, Mobil 1 lower viscosity is 5 rather than 0 and the price is 20 quid rather than 30