Oil advice and recommendations here!

[opieoilman]

mgturbo said:

Hi Guy, I have just rebuilt my O series Rover Turbo engine and am carrying out the running in process, up to 600 miles so far. At what point would you recommend i switch to a fully synthetic oil? I am thinking of going to a 15w 50 or 10w 60 FS type oil, Castrol RS/Millers for the 10w 60, Mobil one/Silkolene for the 15w 50. Is it true that a 15w 50 oil of FS base doesnt thin out as much as the equivelent 15w 50 mineral at a given temperature, i.e 120 c? The car will be driven hard so i want the best, the oil must not be too thin as i have worn valve guides that need attending to in the future and my oil choice will help reduce this visible smoke (halved when i went from 10w 40 running in oil to 15w 50 mineral) Your thoughts please. Gareth

Gareth,

To run in go for around 1000 miles on the mineral oil, then change to a true syntheitc 10w-50/15w-50, do not bother going to 10w-60 as it is just a little too thick, and the Castrol Rs 10w-60 is mineral based so at engine temps of 120deg it will be shearing down (thinning) quite quickly, so it will go 10w-60 to 10w-50 to 10w-40 and so on.

A good quality ester/pao syntheitc 10w-50/15w-50 will be plenty thick enough and will stay in grade for a lot longer giving the best engine protection possible.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Guy.

[opieoilman]

nubbin said:

What's the deal with Castrol Magnatec? Is it good, bad, indifferent, clever, or a bit of a con? How does it work? (Or, does it work? )

Its no great deal.

The Magnatec is a hydrocracked mineral oil with some ester added to make it polar, it is then very cleverly marketed.

For ester to be affective in an oil you will need 20%+ content, the Magnatec contains only a few.

You can buy better for less.

Cheers

Guy.

[opieoilman]

Gareth,

No need to change grade during summer or winter.

15w-50 and 10w-50 are both exactly the same viscosity when hot, so the only difference is the cold start viscosity, the 10w is a fraction thinner at 40deg then a 15w making for better cold start protection.

I would go 10w-50 all year round.

Cheers

Guy.

[opieoilman]

Steve,

The recommended grade for both these cars is 10w-40.

You could use either a semi or fully 10w-40 or a fully 5w-40 for better cold start.

Cheers
Guy

[opieoilman]

If you're using decent synthetics then there is no need to flush. They do this for you continuously.

Cheers
Guy

[opieoilman]

wedget said:

Volvo 850 2.5 20v 1994 160,000 Volvo 850 2.0 20v 1994 100,000 Citreon BX 1.6 1992 100,000 My high mileage Volvo 160,000 has a big puff of smoke only at around 6,000 RPM what is a good oil to use. My "Low mileage Volvo" is fine also what is a good oil to use The Cireon smokes all the time exept when driven hard.. Seems to smoke mostly when static.. I have been mostly using Casrol High Mileage stuff, but reading on hear seems i may be wrong.. Both cars are driven 95% of the time well but occasionally i do go a bit silly.. By the way if anybody on hear thinks i am mad for owning such high mileage cars both Volvos are barely run in, admitedly Citreon has not long to go...

Wedget,

For the two Volvo's you have a choice, you can go 10w-40 semi synthetic changed every 5,000 miles or so or you can go for the quality option and go for a 5w-40 full syntheitc and change every 10,000 miles or so.

For these I would look at an oil like the Fuchs Titan SL 5w-40, this is similar in make up to Mobil 1 but at a more reasonable price.

For the Citreon, well again you have a choice, however if the car does not have long to go it may be worth just keeping with the cheaper oils and change regulary, something like the Fuchs XTR 10w-40 or the Total 7000 10w-40 would be ideal.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Guy.

[opieoilman]

WLAcopilote said:

Hello, what oil do you recommend for a 3.9 litre Rover V8? (If you have already posted then I'll trawl through this thread) I have used Duckham's Q and GTX in the past but I think that GTX has changed grade from 15w50 to 10w40 recently. I am under the impression that a Rover V8 relies on volume rather than pressure so a more viscous oil is better. The car is used for a mix of short (under 10 miles) and long (over 60 miles) journeys. Als what oil should I put in a reconditioned LT77 gearbox? A synthetic oil has been recommended. I am going to fit a high temperature warning switch - at what temperature does gear oil begin to break down/should I get worried? Is there an alternative to EP80w90 for an LT230T transfer gearbox? What is the difference between ATF and gear oil in terms of lubricative properties? If I am repeating questions already asked on this thread let me know and I'll trawl through this thread... cheers Matt

Matt,

FOr the RV8 I would recomend a good quality 10w-50 full sythetic as the top option, definalty a good idea if the engine is used in a performance car.

I would look at the Silkolene Pro S 10w-50.

For the gearbox, if you want a very shear stable gear oil that can deal with EP loads and high temps then look no further then the Silkolene Syn5 75w-90 ester gear oil.

ATF's are much, much thinner then normal 75w-90 gear oil, can be ok in a daily driver but if the gear box deals with high bhp and again used in a performance car then ATF does not have the temp or shear capability to provide good protection.

Tech data on the oils here www.opieoils.co.uk/lubricants.htm

Cheers

Guy.

[opieoilman]

avance70 said:

Make: RENAULT Model: CLIO RN Year: June 1995 Engine size and type: 1.2 (1171) petrol Any significant modifications: none that i know of Brand and viscosity currently used: ELF (at least that's what the guy told me) additional info: mileage: 130000KM (i think its about 80000miles) i suspect the car had a major accident (whole front left part to the left doors are changed) but the fuel consuption is great (around 6-7 liters per 100km) the car had only one owner - a 75y old lady, so i guess it was driven with a very low rpm. ok i just bought the car and i want to change, among other things, the oil. if i were to guess i think the oil inside is 10w-50, mineral or semi-synthetic. the oil is VERY VERY black, there's enough of it inside, and it looks like the car doesn't spend oil at all, but the oil... its SO black (i plan to change the oil and fuel filters). is that ok? by reading this thread i suppose you're gonna tell me 5w-40 fully synthetic is my optimal choice. ok, but, would 0w-40 fully syn be a better choice? (i just want less fuel consumption and better cold starts) i plan to drive car at 2500-3500rpm. mostly in the city, with occasional 200-300mile trips. in short: -what causes the oil to be so black? should i be worried? -what is the best choice for low fuel consumption, and cold starts? 0w-40? -is 5 liters of oil enough for my clio?

For the clio, if you want fuel economy the best option is a 5w-40, or possibly a 5w-30 to reduce drag and increase mpg. You can use a 0w but you will gain very littl in terms of extra cold start protection over a 5w, the 0w was originally designed for the Artic, we just dont get temps that cold to warrent it, however it will not do any harm.

Usually the oil going black just means it is doing its job, it may also have not been changed for some time, which would make it really black. Generally I would not worry about the oil going black.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Guy.

[opieoilman]

aceparts_com said:

How about a Porsche 993 turbo? I currently use Mobil 1 15-50. I have been doing quite a bit of track work, but tend to give it a slightly easier life now!

For the 993 all year round use they recomend a 5w-40 full synthetic, if you are doing a mix of fast road and track time then go for 10w-50 as a good all round grade.

The most important thing is to use a Porsche approved oil, the Mobil 1 15w-50, very good oil that it is, is not Porsche approved as they dont really like the use of 15w oils.

Hope this helps.

CHeers

Guy.

[opieoilman]

aceparts_com said:

Are there any negatives to using it? I've got gallons of it!

No not really,

You will get slightly less mpg, the most important thing is to let the engine warm properly before giving it any real load, to allow the oil to get up to temp.

Cheers

Guy.

[opieoilman]

sprint355 said:

Sure you've answered this before but 1991 964 3.6 100K

For all year round use for a well maintained engine, 5w-40 Porsche approved synthetic, if you do some track time then consider a 10w-50.

Cheers

Guy.

[opieoilman]

The Comma stuf is not the best quality by a long way.

I would recommend a decent race 5w-40 if you're competing in the car on a regular basis. Low drag and shear stable.

Cheers
Guy

[opieoilman]

lockstock2sb said:

Hi Chaps, I've been using your Fuchs Titan 10-40 Semi in my 106 Gti on 77k and a couple of light mods (see profile) If i was to switch to a full synthetic, would it be safe to do so (any special preparation or can i just sling it in) and what grade would be ok for 2 mile journeys during the week, fast road at the weekend and occasional track days ? I change my oil every 5-6k Ultimately is the difference between semi and full really going to make a discernable difference or should i stick to what i am on? Cheers Steve

Steve,

The Fuchs XTR 10w-40 is great quality semi synthetic, if you wanted to change to a full synthetic then there would be no issues, just a good drain of the old oil, put in the synthetic and away you go. For the 106 I would look at a 5w-40, this will give better cold start protection for those short journys and the quality of the synthetic will give better protection when hot on the occasional track day without shearing down (thinning) which mineral based oils suffer from under hard use.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Guy.

[opieoilman]

avance70 said:

my other car is: fiat punto 1.2 16v petrol year: 2001 mileage: 30000 no mods. temperatures here go as down as -20 degrees (sometimes more). the servicing guys use selenia oil but i never seen what type. i wanna know which oil is the best so i can tell them to change it when the next service interval comes. im wondering is 0w-40 full syn oil the right choice for me? and should i stick with selenia?

For the Punto,

with temps dropping that low you could get away with a 10w-40 semi synthetic but ideally a 5w-40/0w-40 full synthetic would be the best option.

Cheers

Guy.

[opieoilman]

dave@nr30rainey said:

Hi i have a 1989 fiat uno turbo 1.3 MK1 which at this time is standard but will have some mods done raising boost to 1Bar better intercooler i am thinking of using a fully synthetic oil what is the best. The gearbox is a fiat X19 1984 1500 unit what is the best oil fro the increased load from the uno engine Thanks Dave Email [e-mail]

Dave,

I am a big fan of the Uno Turbo, if you are modding and increacing the boost you can go to full synthetic no problem, I would look at a 5w-40/10w-40 for best results but make sure its a true synthetic and not a hydrocracked mineral oil.

For the gearbox, 75w-90 full synthetic is what you want, if it is dealing with extra load and Uno gearboxes are week any way I would suggest the Silkolene Syn5 75w-90 for this.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Guy.

[opieoilman]

I would not have used any of them.

I would have used a race spec 5w-40 like Silkolene PRO S or Motul 300V.

You're simply wasting power by using a thicker oil unecessarily. And..........stay clear of 10w-60!

Cheers
Guy

Call: 01209 215164

[opieoilman]

Pete,

I would be using something a bit better for these cars.

The Castrol GTX is just a basic mineral multigrade oil. For the Rover I would look at a good quality 5w-40 true synthetic and change every 10k or so.

For the track car I would again be inclined to go for a 5w-40 full synthetic to basically deal with the stress and temps put on the engine under track use, a good quality oil will give you 10 track hours before you need to change it.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Guy.

[opieoilman]

pistol pete said:

Thanks Guy. Can you recommend specific brands? Mail me off-line if thats easier. Is there any real difference between the petrol and diesel oils (again, I heard there was not with the Castrol, just the colour of the bottle), or could I use the same stuff in both? Thanks, Pete

Pete,

Give me a minet and I will drop you a mail.

Some diesel oils have heavy detergents in them to deal with the different by products of the diesel engine, however this tends to only really be for commercial use and engines. For normal passenger vehicles pretty much all oils will do both petrol and diesel, this is represented on the tin by the ACEA specs, ACEA A3 is for petrol and ACEA B3 is for diesel.

Cheers

Guy.

[opieoilman]

Munter said:

Hi, I'm currently running Mobil1 0W-40 in a 1.8 MX5. Just clicked over 60,000 miles. The car does two trips of just over an hour each day. 99% of which is done at 4000rpm. Theres no indication of overheating but the temp gauge is one of the sits in the middle regardles types. My question is would it be advisable to move to an oil with higher temp protection?

Munter,

This is fine, no need to change.

The Mobil 1 0w-40 is more than capable of running at around 110deg for long periods.

The grade is also well suited to the use the car gets.

Cheers

Guyy.

[opieoilman]

Zooks,

The Comma is average oil really.

The 5w-40 is not a true synthetic but a hydrocracked mineral oil so it is petroleum based and it will be fine for the car for the next service interval.

Whatever you do, do NOT use slick 50.

Cheers

Guy.