Best Oil for 420SE?
Discussion
Which oil has always been a favourite topic on here - lots of threads, lots of opinions.
The 'thick oil boys': old fashioned engine, so therefore it needs an old fashioned oil - ('...and in any case I drop my oil out every 1000 miles so it must be ok').
Then theres the guys who prefer to use Mobil One (etc.) - because its super quality, (,,,,and should be at the price) - slippery and gets everywhere; especially necessary on cold start ups - where most damage is caused, apparently - survives and does its job in hot ('boiling engines'), too!
I thought I knew - but I admit to being a bit bamboozled me-self, lately...
I ran that Valvoline VR1 Racing, for a while - it has a bit of a following and its readily available - and not expensive - in my Griff. I would get the oil warning light flicking on when the engine was warm - which I didn’t like to see. I changed oil pump rotors, pressure relief valve/ spring, the oil pressure sender associated with the light - and changed the bloody oil 3 or 4 times in the space of a couple of weeks. That oil pressure light kept flickering.
so I changed to Mobil One - and the orange light was never seen again!
It worked for me; as they say.
Next!
The 'thick oil boys': old fashioned engine, so therefore it needs an old fashioned oil - ('...and in any case I drop my oil out every 1000 miles so it must be ok').
Then theres the guys who prefer to use Mobil One (etc.) - because its super quality, (,,,,and should be at the price) - slippery and gets everywhere; especially necessary on cold start ups - where most damage is caused, apparently - survives and does its job in hot ('boiling engines'), too!
I thought I knew - but I admit to being a bit bamboozled me-self, lately...
I ran that Valvoline VR1 Racing, for a while - it has a bit of a following and its readily available - and not expensive - in my Griff. I would get the oil warning light flicking on when the engine was warm - which I didn’t like to see. I changed oil pump rotors, pressure relief valve/ spring, the oil pressure sender associated with the light - and changed the bloody oil 3 or 4 times in the space of a couple of weeks. That oil pressure light kept flickering.
so I changed to Mobil One - and the orange light was never seen again!It worked for me; as they say.
Next!
Mobil One do several different grades. In my experience different engines, in different states of wear, react differently to different oils. 
My old J.E. Engineering engined 450i Wedge was happiest with GTX Magnatec 10-40 changed every 2k miles (on the advice of J.E. Engineering themselves!). My Griffith 500 with a worn cam was quietest with 5-40 fully synth. Any other grade & it would tap like Fred Astair. 20-50 works well but in the cold of winter it does take noticeably longer to bring oil pressure up in my experience. A good quality 15-50 semi or fully seems to be a good place to start IMHO.
My old J.E. Engineering engined 450i Wedge was happiest with GTX Magnatec 10-40 changed every 2k miles (on the advice of J.E. Engineering themselves!). My Griffith 500 with a worn cam was quietest with 5-40 fully synth. Any other grade & it would tap like Fred Astair. 20-50 works well but in the cold of winter it does take noticeably longer to bring oil pressure up in my experience. A good quality 15-50 semi or fully seems to be a good place to start IMHO.
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