Oil advice and recommendations here!
Discussion
For the engine oil you have choices. Either 10w-40 semi-syn or 5w-40 synthetic.
The gearbox is more complicated so please let me know the label colour and I will recommend an appropriate oil. The notes are as follows:
Manual gearboxes: units with orange label with wording 'ATF Oil', TQD units with green label with wording 'Special Oil', REFER TO MAIN DEALER. The labels are located next to the oil filler plug
Manual gearbox units with yellow label with wording 'MTF-LT-1': REFER TO MAIN DEALER units with yellow label with wording 'MTF-LT-2': GO PN BMW 031 units with no label: EP 80W. The labels are located next to the oil filler plug
Automatic transmissions: ZF 3HP22, ZF 4HP22, ZF 4HP22EH, 4HP24, A4S270R/310R/310Z (with black rating plate), TQ DEXRON III A5S310Z, ZF 5HP 19, ZF 5HP 24, ZF HP30 (with green rating plate), REFER TO MAIN DEALER all others, check label for special lifetime fill requirements. Always check manuals/labels to ensure use of correct fluid
Cheers
Simon
The gearbox is more complicated so please let me know the label colour and I will recommend an appropriate oil. The notes are as follows:
Manual gearboxes: units with orange label with wording 'ATF Oil', TQD units with green label with wording 'Special Oil', REFER TO MAIN DEALER. The labels are located next to the oil filler plug
Manual gearbox units with yellow label with wording 'MTF-LT-1': REFER TO MAIN DEALER units with yellow label with wording 'MTF-LT-2': GO PN BMW 031 units with no label: EP 80W. The labels are located next to the oil filler plug
Automatic transmissions: ZF 3HP22, ZF 4HP22, ZF 4HP22EH, 4HP24, A4S270R/310R/310Z (with black rating plate), TQ DEXRON III A5S310Z, ZF 5HP 19, ZF 5HP 24, ZF HP30 (with green rating plate), REFER TO MAIN DEALER all others, check label for special lifetime fill requirements. Always check manuals/labels to ensure use of correct fluid
Cheers
Simon
TJ,
For the diff, have a look at the Castrol SAF XJ, this is the BMW longlife 75w-140 for their LSD's.
Fuchs Titan ATF4000 is fine if the gearbox requires an ATF.
For the engine, if it is just commuting and fast road use I would look at a BMW approved 5w-40 full synthetic,if the car is driven hard or used on track then look at a 10w-50, Silkolene and Motul are tops and BMW approved.
Cheers
Guy.
For the diff, have a look at the Castrol SAF XJ, this is the BMW longlife 75w-140 for their LSD's.
Fuchs Titan ATF4000 is fine if the gearbox requires an ATF.
For the engine, if it is just commuting and fast road use I would look at a BMW approved 5w-40 full synthetic,if the car is driven hard or used on track then look at a 10w-50, Silkolene and Motul are tops and BMW approved.
Cheers
Guy.
Elvis McBush said:
Hi Everyone, great forum, really interesting and MASSIVE!!
Hope someone can help me out I'm a bit of a noob with performance engines (previously owned a '93 rover 214 and an '87 fiesta). I've just bought a 1994 (L) Honda CRX Del Sol VXi (Japanese import) with a 1.5 SOHC VTEC Engine.
It's a good little car with an apparently bulletproof engine but it sounds a bit like a diesel at the moment. The noise is coming from the valves and it sounds like they are just flapping around in there. The noise is worst when the engine is cold. The fella i got it off said that it started sounding like that after the last oil change when his mechanic, for reasons best known to himself, put in a part synthetic 10w 40 instead of his usual fully synthetic 5w 40. So I have 3 questions.
1) Could this change in oils have caused the diesel sounding problem?
2) What oil should I be using for this engine given that I do about 5000 miles a year mostly in town?
3) Should I use an engine flush (Forte Advanced Motor Flush Maybe?) before I upgrade to a fully synthetic from the part synthetic?
Very grateful to anyone who could shed some light on any of these questions for me
Thanks for looking, Elvis
1) 5w oils flow better than 10w and therefore are better at cold start
2) We recommend 5w-40
3) Don't flush, it's aggressive stuff, just switch
Cheers
Simon
avance70 said:
hi again opie!
im interested in the best oil for BMW compact from year 2000 engine 1.9 (petrol, no mods).
local oil manufacturer "modrica" produces very high quality 5W and 0W-40 oil. could i use one of those or some other oil?
Edited by avance70 on Sunday 4th June 14:00
If the car is on variable service then use a BMW LL01 oil (0w-30, 5w-30 or 0w-40), if on fixed service intervals than a decent 5w-40 synthetic BMW Approved will be fine.
Take a look on our website, bit of a sale going on! Use the members section.
Cheers
Simon
I'd not use a basic oil in a track car, use a proper fully synthetic 10w-50 or 15w-50.
This really explains why it's a no, no.
If you are "modding" your car and adding BHP or using it on track then consider your oil choice carefully as the stock manufacturers recommended oil will not give you the protection that your engine requires.
A standard oil will not be thermally stable enough to cope with higher temperatures without "shearing" meaning that the oil will not give the same protection after a couple of thousand miles as it it when it was new.
Let’s start with the fundamentals. An engine is a device for converting fuel into motive power. Car enthusiasts get so deep into the details they lose sight of this!
To get more power, an engine must be modified such that it converts more fuel per minute into power than it did in standard form. To produce 6.6 million foot-pounds per minute of power (ie 200 BHP) a modern engine will burn about 0.5 litres of fuel per minute.(Equivalent to 18mpg at 120mph). So, to increase this output to 300BHP or 9.9 million foot-pounds per minute it must be modified to burn (in theory) 0.75 litres.
However, fuel efficiency often goes out of the window when power is the only consideration, so the true fuel burn will be rather more than 0.75 litres/min.
That’s the fundamental point, here’s the fundamental problem:
Less than 30% of the fuel (assuming it’s petrol) is converted to all those foot-pounds. The rest is thrown away as waste heat. True, most of it goes down the exhaust, but over 10% has to be eliminated from the engine internals, and the first line of defence is the oil.
More power means a bigger heat elimination problem. Every component runs hotter; For instance, piston crowns and rings will be running at 280-300C instead of a more normal 240-260C, so it is essential that the oil films on cylinder walls provide an efficient heat path to the block casting, and finally to the coolant.
Any breakdown or carbonisation of the oil will restrict the heat transfer area, leading to serious overheating.
A modern synthetic lubricant based on true temperature-resistant synthetics is essential for long-term reliability. At 250C+, a mineral or hydrocracked mineral oil, particularly a 5W/X or 10W/X grade, is surprisingly volatile, and an oil film around this temperature will be severely depleted by evaporation loss.
Back in the 1970s the solution was to use a thick oil, typically 20W/50; in the late 1980s even 10W/60 grades were used. But in modern very high RPM engines with efficient high-delivery oil pumps thick oils waste power, and impede heat transfer in some situations.
A light viscosity good synthetic formulated for severe competition use is the logical and intelligent choice for the 21st century.
Cheers
Simon
This really explains why it's a no, no.
If you are "modding" your car and adding BHP or using it on track then consider your oil choice carefully as the stock manufacturers recommended oil will not give you the protection that your engine requires.
A standard oil will not be thermally stable enough to cope with higher temperatures without "shearing" meaning that the oil will not give the same protection after a couple of thousand miles as it it when it was new.
Let’s start with the fundamentals. An engine is a device for converting fuel into motive power. Car enthusiasts get so deep into the details they lose sight of this!
To get more power, an engine must be modified such that it converts more fuel per minute into power than it did in standard form. To produce 6.6 million foot-pounds per minute of power (ie 200 BHP) a modern engine will burn about 0.5 litres of fuel per minute.(Equivalent to 18mpg at 120mph). So, to increase this output to 300BHP or 9.9 million foot-pounds per minute it must be modified to burn (in theory) 0.75 litres.
However, fuel efficiency often goes out of the window when power is the only consideration, so the true fuel burn will be rather more than 0.75 litres/min.
That’s the fundamental point, here’s the fundamental problem:
Less than 30% of the fuel (assuming it’s petrol) is converted to all those foot-pounds. The rest is thrown away as waste heat. True, most of it goes down the exhaust, but over 10% has to be eliminated from the engine internals, and the first line of defence is the oil.
More power means a bigger heat elimination problem. Every component runs hotter; For instance, piston crowns and rings will be running at 280-300C instead of a more normal 240-260C, so it is essential that the oil films on cylinder walls provide an efficient heat path to the block casting, and finally to the coolant.
Any breakdown or carbonisation of the oil will restrict the heat transfer area, leading to serious overheating.
A modern synthetic lubricant based on true temperature-resistant synthetics is essential for long-term reliability. At 250C+, a mineral or hydrocracked mineral oil, particularly a 5W/X or 10W/X grade, is surprisingly volatile, and an oil film around this temperature will be severely depleted by evaporation loss.
Back in the 1970s the solution was to use a thick oil, typically 20W/50; in the late 1980s even 10W/60 grades were used. But in modern very high RPM engines with efficient high-delivery oil pumps thick oils waste power, and impede heat transfer in some situations.
A light viscosity good synthetic formulated for severe competition use is the logical and intelligent choice for the 21st century.
Cheers
Simon
Hi
You could use a 5w-30 for all of those. Hondas aren't that fussy to be honest, but can burn a drop of oil if you like VTEC, so you might find they burn some of the 5w-30. The same can apply to the VX220 as well, but the Focus should really use a 5w-30. I'd probably use a 5w-40 for the lot, other than the Focus and just get a seperate oil for that.
Cheers
Tim
You could use a 5w-30 for all of those. Hondas aren't that fussy to be honest, but can burn a drop of oil if you like VTEC, so you might find they burn some of the 5w-30. The same can apply to the VX220 as well, but the Focus should really use a 5w-30. I'd probably use a 5w-40 for the lot, other than the Focus and just get a seperate oil for that.
Cheers
Tim
Hi,
As Mini is owned by BMW everything is done by BMW specs for it. Originally it would have used an oil that meets the BMW LL01 spec, but you can also use the new BMW LL04 spec. 5w-40 will be fine, but it will also be happy on 0w-30 and 0w-40. All these are BMW LL01 approved http://www.opieoils.co.uk/c-685-bmw-longlife-01.as...
Cheers
Guy
As Mini is owned by BMW everything is done by BMW specs for it. Originally it would have used an oil that meets the BMW LL01 spec, but you can also use the new BMW LL04 spec. 5w-40 will be fine, but it will also be happy on 0w-30 and 0w-40. All these are BMW LL01 approved http://www.opieoils.co.uk/c-685-bmw-longlife-01.as...
Cheers
Guy
Hi
You need a 75w-90 GL5 oil.
http://www.opieoils.co.uk/c-673-75w-90-gear-oil.as...
The Millers CRX NT, Motul Gear 300, Red Line 75w-90NS and Gulf Competition are ideal as top end options. The Millers TRX Synthetic/EE Nanodrive, Mobil SHC, Castrol Syntrax Universal Plus and Valvoline Synpower TDL are good, but a step down from the top oils. Fuchs Gear Syn, Motul Motylgear, Millers TRX Semi and Castrol Universal are good, cheaper options.
Cheers
Tim
You need a 75w-90 GL5 oil.
http://www.opieoils.co.uk/c-673-75w-90-gear-oil.as...
The Millers CRX NT, Motul Gear 300, Red Line 75w-90NS and Gulf Competition are ideal as top end options. The Millers TRX Synthetic/EE Nanodrive, Mobil SHC, Castrol Syntrax Universal Plus and Valvoline Synpower TDL are good, but a step down from the top oils. Fuchs Gear Syn, Motul Motylgear, Millers TRX Semi and Castrol Universal are good, cheaper options.
Cheers
Tim
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