Oil advice and recommendations here!

[nubbin]

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? )

[opieoilman]

anto69 said:

Hi, Just bought the following: Ford Mondeo 1999 2.0 Si 82,000 miles Don't know what's in it currently. What do you recommend? I also have a BMW Z3 1999 2.8 55,000 miles Always serviced by BMW in the past so not sure what's in it - I assume it's synthetic. Saw a previous post by you about Slick50 so I'll be saving my money there - can I assume all other additives are of similar (lack of) benefit? Is Molyslip 2001E just as useless? Many Thanks! Anthony. >> Edited by anto69 on Sunday 22 May 10:18

Anthony,

For the Mondeo you will idealy need a 5w-30 semi synthetic that meets the Ford WSSM2C913 A/B spec and there is plenty of good ones out there to choose from, Motul even do a Ford specific 5w-30.

For te BMW Z3 it is recomended for a 5w-40 full synthetic for all year round use, always a good idea to go for a BMW approved oil.

As for addatives, I have never seen one worth going for, if you want results, use good quality oil.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Guy.

[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.

[mgturbo]

opieoilman said:

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.

Thanks for the advice Guy. Think i'll be going 15w 50 for this summer time, switching back to 10w 50 for cooler times

[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.

[sb-1]

Hi,

What oil do you recommend for :

1. Range Rover Vogue V8 4.6 , 2001.

2. Range Rover Vogue SE V8 3.9 ,1990.

Cheers

Steve

[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

[tuttle]

Hi Guy,good to put a face to the name at Japfest a couple of weeks ago.
I have a question whether flushing an engine after changing oil is it worth it?
'95 R33 skyline
45k miles
straight six,single turbo,modified too approx 300bhp@rw.
Quite low mileage for age & a well cherished(spoilt ) car.
If we are using regularly changed,quality synthetics (which contain detergents)deposits etc ought to be minimal.Also read somewhere that flushing dislodges deposits which in turn can possibly become lodged in fine oil lines etc & lead to starvation.Myth,hype or sales scare story?

[opieoilman]

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

Cheers
Guy

[wedget]

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...

[WLAcopilote]

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

[avance70]

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?

[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.

[aceparts_com]

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!

[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.

[aceparts_com]

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

[sprint355]

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