Oil Advice and Recommendations Here

[opieoilman]

You will have already seen me around and hopefully the advice and posts that I have made will have been of interest to you.

As you know I work for an Oil Distributor who has access to a lot of technical information on a broad range of oils.

I am prepared to offer advice and recommendations on this thread for any make of car.

To assist me, you will need to give me specific information as the data that I get is from a proprietory database and an accurate recommendation is only as good as the information you give me.

I will not be posting brand names or prices, merely the correct viscosity and spec oils for your car.
I will email brands and prices to you on request.

I am also happy to give general advice if needed. Hopefully given time this thread will be of use to all Members of "Pistonheads".

To request a recommendation, I need the following:

Make
Model
Year
Engine size and type
Any significant modifications
Brand and viscosity currently used (if known)

I hope this service will be of interest.

Cheers
Guy

[opieoilman]

mouseymousey said:

I'd be very interested in another opinion on the oil I should be using... Car: TVR Chimaera Year: 1997 - 69000 miles Engine: 4.0 litre Rover V8 Current Oil: Mobil 1 0/40 Mods: None Cheers Guy... Matt.

Matt, you are using a good quality oil however it is a little too thin for the old rover V8, you may find it is drinking this stuff like my mother and her wine.

Go for something a little thicker, assuming you will go for a good quality synthetic look at the 10w-50 grade or even 15w-50.

A 10w-50 would be my choice as it will be a good all round grade for the car.

Cheers

Guy.

[opieoilman]

J_S_G said:

I'd have thought you can just break this down into several standard queries that'll cover a large percentage of cars:

* Rover V8, 1990-2003(ish), 4.0, 4.3, 5.0 in the Chimaera & Griffith

The old rover V8 likes the slightly thicker oil mainly due to the oil pump not being to efficient, you have choices from a mineral multigrade to a full syntheitc. Being performance cars you have everything to gain from using a full synthetic.

Grades 10w-50 or 15w-50.

* TVR AJP V8, 1996-2004(excluding the Tuscan Racers), 4.2, 4.5, and 4.5 Red Rose, solely in the Cerbera

Again the V8 rules apply as above, anything thinner than a 10w-50 will disapear quick, for low mileage cars a 5w-50/5w-40 would be fine.

* TVR Speed 6, 1999-present, 4.0 & 3.6, in the Tuscan, T350, and Tamora.

For the speed six engine for all year round use you are looking for a 5w-40 full synthetic. If the car is being used on the track etc then a move to a 10w-50 would be suitable.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Guy.

[opieoilman]

catretriever said:

the dodger said: For info I use Mobil 1 m/sport 15w-50 Can anyone offer any pricebuster type comparisons for this stuff?

Ok might get in trouble for this, but never mind.

Mobil 1 15w-50 4 liters £26.49
Silkolene Pro R 15w-50 5 liters £26.99

Bear in mind the Pro R is a superior oil.

Cheers

Guy.

[opieoilman]

HarryW said:

Without predjudice nor commitment what do you recon to a certain CFS 10W-60, surely best of both worlds . Just looked at that price for sikolene Pro R where is it available at that price , if you don't mind me asking. Harry

Harry, the certain 10w-60 is an ok oil most likely a hydrocracked mineral, however virtually no car needs an oil of this viscosity. When hot it is as thick as some gear oils, this initially translates to good oil pressure, and too much focus is based on this as pressure is measured on resistance and not flow, and flow is the more improtant of the two. A good quality shear stable 10w-50 will out perform a 10w-60 anytime.

Beacuse most 10w-60 are hydrocracked mineral oils they tend to shear down quite early, so after only a few thousand miles the 10w-60 may well be operating a 10w-40 or lower, A good PAO/Ester synthetic will stay in grade for a lot longer.

As for Silkolene at those prices. E-mail me.

Cheers

Guy.

[opieoilman]

leorest said:

opieoilman said: Mobil 1 15w-50 4 liters £26.49 Silkolene Pro R 15w-50 5 liters £26.99 Bear in mind the Pro R is a superior oil. My car... Make - TVR Model - 350i Year - 1985 Engine - Fuel injected 3.5l RV8 as per SD1 Vitesse Any significant modifications - None Oil - Mobile 1 motorsport (15w/50 I think) Do you recommend that I use Silkolene Pro R at the next change? In what way is it better than Mobile 1 motorsport? Quality and quantity for less dosh, that doesn't happen often:-) You're providing an axcellent service, manny thanks Leo

The Mobil 1 you are using is the of the right grade and quality and if you are happy with it dont change. The Silkolene has the edge as it is a PAO/Ester as apposed to a straight PAO 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.

The reason the Mobil is so expensive is because it is trendy, quite simply you pay around 30% extra for their product because of this and their marketing, all those Formula 1 signs we see on TV every sunday cost a bit of money etc.

Hope this helps

Cheers

Guy.

[opieoilman]

gsx600 said:

Make TVR Model 400 Year 89 Engine size and type 1992 4.5 BV Any significant modifications Jag injectors, jag air flow meter, currently replacing head gasket and using GTX magnatec to flush through system

The GTX is fine to flush through and for a short run after just to bed it all back in, once this is done again go for a 10w-50 grade, a good Quality PAO or Ester synthetic. The likes of Mobil, Silkolene and redline would suit.

Cheers

Guy.

[opieoilman]

wixer said:

I'd be interested in any recommendations for a running in oil. Earlier this year the engine on my RV8 5.0litre Griffith was rebuilt and we put Valvoline Racing VR1 15W40 from the outset. The engine has a very high oil consumption approx 1litre per 300 miles and smokes when under intial acceleration. There are various thoughts on why this is and one of them is the oil was too good for running in and that the bores have, as a result, been glazed. Any thoughts ??

Yep that sounds about right to me. Putting in a full or even a semi synthetic can cause this to occur. When running in a new or rebuilt engine use a thick good quality mineral multigrade around the 15w-50 or 20w-50 mark for around a thousand miles, this is essential to bed the engine in correctly.

If you are burning a liter every 300 miles I would have it looked at. At worst you should be burning a liter every thousand.

Cheers

Guy.

[opieoilman]

Perhaps the admins should start a new section called

"Doctor Oils Advice and Recommendations"

At least the advice would be in one place.

Cheers
Guy

[opieoilman]

selmer said:

Right on cue: I had posted over at Wedge forum earlier today. Perhaps you can help. When I bought my motor (with a new 4.6), I was advised that because of the nature of the RV8 and it's 'age' it runs best on normal oil eg. Castrol GTX, and the guy kindly handed me a full can of the stuff. Now having read the Bible I see that He recommends synths. I'm not ready for an oil change and the motor hasn't used any since I got it a month ago but I'm concerned as to what I should be using. A friend told me that he uses semi-synth because once the engine's used some mineral you can't switch totally to synth, but having looked at the Mobil 1 page I see that this may be a myth. So, I've got a motor (only 2500miles) running with mineral; what to do next change? Thanks mate. >> Edited by selmer on Tuesday 14th September 14:12

The old RV8 is based on an old 1950's design engine and with the un efficient oil pump attached to most, thick mineral oils were used, however this was only because there was nothing better at the time, all modern engines and when I mean modern 50's/60's onwards will gain from using a full synthetic. The problem here is most people then put in a thin synthetic and this is no good, you have to stick to a thick grade, around a 10w-50 or 15w-50.

Once an engine has had mineral oil in it, moving to a full synthetic is fine when done correctly which is just a flushing proceedure, bearing in mind modern engines are run in on mineral oil drops the bottom out of that myth.

When it comes to the next oil change it is really down to you, stay with the GTX or move up the scale, if it was me and my sports car I would want to put the best in it. 10w-50 PAO/Ester full synthetic.

Cheers

Guy.

[opieoilman]

paddym said:

Dear Dr. Oil, I have a 5.0 l RV8 (March 97, Chimeria) 50k odd, with the Taraka upgrade from TVR Power in it for the last 500 miles. Most driving is road based, year round - but with idle garage time sometimes stretching to a couple of weeks), do about 2 track hoons (like that word) a year

I love these old grunty V8's you have in these TVR's. For the best all round use go for a 10w-50 full synthetic. I do not know what you are running on at the moment. For best results consider an ester based oil as this will look after your upgrade and for track use will be able to take a pasting. Due to the shear stabiltiy of the oil will also be happy to sit stationary for weeks/months at a time.

Cheers

Guy.

[opieoilman]

Northern_Paul said:

Dr Oil Might be a bit off subject, do you have any thoughts on flushing the engine(4.0 RV8 with 60K) prior to changing the oil. I've heard this is less advantageous the more miles on the engine. Thanks

Depends how you mean flushing, if you are suggesting a special flushing oil then nooooo noooo. dont do it, some of those even contain kerosene and that is not something I would put into my engine plus you will not get all the flush out and will start to break down your new oil as soon as it goes in.

The correct way to flush is to use the new oil, you will waste it however for the price of a flush, throwing away new oil is not expensive.

Flushing Procedure (Don’t use flushing oils or additives)

1. Warm up engine to get oil circulating
2. Turn off engine and drain old oil
3. Fill with new oil to minimum (you will be wasting this)
4. Warm up engine to get oil circulating
5. Turn off engine, drain new oil and change filter
6. Fill to marker on dipstick

Cheers

Guy.

[opieoilman]

tannertime said:

Dear Dr Oil (nice little agony column starting here!), currently running Mobil 1 0/40 in a 4.0 Speed 6 engine. Can I start topping up with your recommended Silkolene product or should I make the switch at the next oil change? Many thanks, JT

My advice is make the switch at the next oil change, mixing oils is only inviting problems. The addative packs within these oils are so carefully balanced that mixing them can either cause a reaction or cancell them out all together.

Cheers

Guy.

[opieoilman]

CiderwithCerbie said:

Dear Mr. Know-it-oil, Car 2001 Speed 6 Cerbera, running quite sweetly (fingers crossed no chocolate finger followers), 8,000 miles. I used to get my servicing done by the Luti's who own Dreadnought at Callander in Scotland and who are fantastic. They used to recommend Castrol Magnatech 10w-40 for the Speed 6's and most Scottish Tuscans used this - any comments? >> Edited by CiderwithCerbie on Tuesday 14th September 14:36

I personally do not rate magnatec. It is a multigrade mineral oil and something I would put in my knackered fiat uno, for these sports cars you can do so much better.

Some reasons to move to a full synthetic for you.

Assuming that you don't relish the idea of changing your oil every 2,000 miles or and are looking to keep your “pride and joy” in tip-top condition then these are the main areas where synthetic oils surpass their petroleum counterparts.

Oil drains can be extended
Vehicle life can be extended
Costly repairs can be reduced
Fuel mileage can be improved
Performance can be improved

Synthetic basestock molecules are pure and of uniform size. This is because synthetic basestocks are designed from the ground up with the sole purpose of protecting your engine. Nothing is added if it does not significantly contribute to the lubricating ability of the oil.
In addition, in top-quality synthetics, no component is added which might be contaminated with any substance that might lessen the lubricating qualities of the oil. In other words, manufacturers of these premium synthetics implement very strict quality control measures to insure no contamination.

Not only that, synthetic basestocks are designed so that the molecules are of uniform size and weight. In addition, synthetic basestock molecules are short-chain molecules which are much more stable than the long-chain molecules that petroleum basestocks are made of. This significantly adds to the lubricating qualities and stability of the oil.

EXTENDED OIL DRAINS
Stable Basestocks
Synthetic oils are designed from pure, uniform synthetic basestocks, they contain no contaminants or unstable molecules which are prone to thermal and oxidative break down.
Moreover, because of their uniform molecular structure, synthetic lubricants operate with less internal and external friction than petroleum oils which have the non-uniform molecular structure. The result is better heat control, and less heat means less stress to the lubricant.

Higher Percentage of Basestock
Synthetic oils contain a higher percentage of lubricant basestock than petroleum oils do.
This is because multi-viscosity oils need a great deal of pour point depressant and viscosity modifying additives in order to be sold as multi-viscosity oils.
Synthetic oils, require very little in the way of pour point depressants and viscosity
modifiers. Therefore, synthetic oils can contain a higher percentage of basestock, which actually does most of the lubricating anyway. More basestock leads to longer motor oil life.

Additives Used Up More Slowly
Petroleum basestocks are much more prone to oxidation than synthetic oils, oxidation inhibitors are needed in greater supply and are used up very quickly. Synthetic oils do oxidize, but at a much slower rate therefore, oxidation inhibiting additives are used up much more slowly.
Synthetic oils provide for better ring seal than petroleum oils do. This minimizes blow-by and reduces contamination by combustion by-products. As a result, corrosion inhibiting additives have less work to do and will last much longer than within a petroleum oil.

Excellent Heat Tolerance
Synthetics are simply more tolerant to extreme heat than petroleum oils are. When heat builds up within an engine, petroleum oils quickly begin to burn off. They volatize. In other words, the lighter molecules within petroleum oils turn to gas and what's left are the large petroleum oil molecules that are harder to pump.
Synthetics are resistant to this burn-off. They will tolerate much higher engine temperatures.

EXTENDED VEHICLE LIFE WITH FEWER REPAIRS
Heat Reduction
More often than not, vehicle life is determined by engine life. One of the major factors affecting engine life is component wear and/or failure, which is often the result of high temperature operation. The uniformly smooth molecular structure of synthetic oils gives them a much lower coefficient of friction (they slip more easily over one another causing less friction) than petroleum oils.
Less friction, of course, means less heat in the system. And, since heat is a major contributor to engine component wear and failure, synthetic oils significantly reduce these two detrimental effects.
In addition, because of their uniform molecular structure, synthetic oils do not cause the "blanket effect" which was mentioned earlier. Since each molecule in a synthetic oil is of uniform size, each is equally likely to touch a component surface at any given time, thus moving a certain amount of heat into the oil stream and away from the component. This makes synthetic oils far superior heat transfer agents than conventional petroleum oils.

Greater Film Strength
Petroleum motor oils have very low film strength in comparison to synthetics. The film strength of a lubricant refers to it's ability to maintain a film of lubricant between two objects when extreme pressure and heat are applied.
Synthetic oils will typically have a film strength of 500% to 1000% higher than petroleum oils of comparable viscosity. In fact, believe it or not, even though heavier weight oils typically have higher film strength than lighter weight oils, a 0w30 or 5w-40 weight synthetic oil will likely have higher film strength than a 15w40 or 20w50 petroleum oil.
Thus, even with a lighter weight oil, you can still maintain proper lubricity and reduce the chance of metal to metal contact when using a synthetic oil. Of course, that means that you can use oils that provide far better fuel efficiency and cold weather protection without sacrificing engine protection under high temperature, high load conditions. Obviously, this is a big plus, because you can greatly reduce both cold temperature start-up wear and high temperature/high load engine wear using the same low viscosity oil.

Engine Deposit Reduction
In discussing some of the pitfalls of petroleum oil use, engine cleanliness is certainly an issue. Petroleum oils tend to leave sludge, varnish and deposits behind after thermal and oxidative break down. They're better than they used to be, but it still occurs.
Deposit build-up leads to a significant reduction in engine performance and engine life as well as increasing the number of costly repairs that are necessary. Since synthetic oils have far superior thermal and oxidative stability than petroleum oils, they leave engines virtually varnish, deposit and sludge-free.

Better Cold Temperature Fluidity
Synthetic oils and other lubricants do not contain paraffins or other waxes which dramatically thicken petroleum oils during cold weather. As a result, they tend to flow much better during cold temperature starts and begin lubricating an engine almost immediately. This leads to significant engine wear reduction, and, therefore, longer engine life and fewer costly repairs.

IMPROVED FUEL MILEAGE AND PERFORMANCE
As indicated earlier, synthetic oils, because of their uniform molecular structure, are tremendous friction reducers. Less friction leads to increased fuel economy and improved engine performance.
Any energy released from the combustion process that would normally be lost to friction can now be transferred directly to the wheels, providing movement.
Vehicle acceleration becomes swifter and more powerful while using less fuel in the process.
The uniform molecular structure of synthetic oils has another performance enhancing benefit as well. In a petroleum oil, lighter molecules tend to boil off easily, leaving behind much heavier molecules which are difficult to pump. Certainly, the engine loses more energy pumping these heavy molecules than if it were pumping lighter ones.
Since synthetic oils have more uniform molecules, fewer of these molecules tend to boil off.
More importantly, when they do, the molecules which are left are of the same size and pumpability is not affected.

For all year round use a 5w-40 PAO/Ester based synthetic. 10W-50 if the car gets used in anger.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Guy.

[opieoilman]

J_S_G said:

opieoilman said: Perhaps the admins should start a new section called "Doctor Oils Advice and Recommendations" At least the advice would be in one place. Might be an idea to turn this thread into a FAQ when it's all done, actually. Thanksfor the answers on all the engines I posted, by the way. Quick question: Know-it-oil said: For the speed six engine for all year round use you are looking for a 5w-40 full synthetic. Have you got any particular (brand) recommendations? Cheers!

For brands, well I would stick with a top brand like Mobil 1, Silkolene, Fuchs, Redline.

E-mail me and I will send you a list of what I can offer.

Cheers

Guy.

[opieoilman]

HarryW said:

opieoilman said: Ok might get in trouble for this, but never mind. Mobil 1 15w-50 4 liters £26.49 Silkolene Pro R 15w-50 5 liters £26.99 Bear in mind the Pro R is a superior oil. Cheers Guy.

Re Pro R 15W -50 any reason for prefering over the Pro S 10W - 50, which also is a ester synth .

The Pro R and Pro S are basically the same oil. It is really down to personal preference as the 15w-50 is more of a track grade, but it does work well in the old rover V8.


Re the 10W - 60 earlier its apparently fully synthetic not a cracked mineral.

It could well be a full syntehtic, I have not looked at the Millers oil for a while now so my memory is hazy. If it is full synthetic then is is one of the only ones as they are not common in this grade.

But my statement still apllies that it is too thick for virtually any car.

Cheers

Guy.

[opieoilman]

Well, you probably need to look us up then.

We've been distributing oils since 1925 and have been a player in the lubricants business for the last 20 years, we work closely in an advisory capacity with many car clubs (around 65) from classics to modern day cars through our "Clubs Oil Scheme".

We have access either as Distributors or Resellers to 5 major brands of oil and work with technical experts and chemists where required.

Our internet business was launched this year although we have had a presence for the last 3 years.

All of our Clubs oils are distributed by courrier throughout mainland UK via AMTRAK.

Now you know.

Cheers
Guy
We

[opieoilman]

fat chap said:

Hello there, I have a 1997 5L Chim that has just had Mobil 5W / 40 put in after the service (38k miles). Can I top up with (i.e. mix) a Mobil 10W / 50? Thanks in advance Fat Chap

You can top it up, however I never recomend mixing oils due to their different addative packs. If you must top up try to use the same grade.

Cheers

Guy.

[opieoilman]

griffski said:

My 92 Griff with a 4.3 RV8 was recently serviced by an independant and up until that point always used Mobil 1, 0/40 fully synthetic oil which was recommended by the main dealer who previously regularly serviced it. I was recommended to change to Valvoline Max-Life semi synthetic 10/40 which I did. The result so far is obviously higher oil pressure and lower consumption. Valvoline Max-Life is allegedly good for older, higher mileage engines and claims to prolong the life of the valve seals etc. What is your view on this claim ?

Some oils designed for older/high mileage engines contain an addative to encourage the seals to swell preventing leaks and to stop the seal drying and cracking. The rise in oil pressure is obviously due to the thicker grade however this oil will shear down much quicker than the Mobil 1 so keep your eye on it. I can think of no sane reason to put the 0w-40 into these RV8's it can only have been some kind of marketing issue.

I would still go for a full synthetic but keep it thick, like the Mobil 1 15w-50. Ideal.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Guy.

[opieoilman]

Worst case for shearing down is your engine blowing up or siezing, however.

You will notice the drop in oil pressure when hot, your temps will also sit a little higher, these are noticable in the car.

The practical way is to drain a little and rub it between your fingers, if it smell a bit burnt and feels gritty its beggining to shear down.

Cheers

Guy.