Oil choice nightmare :-(
Discussion
I'm having a nightmare! I have a 350i with 150,000 miles on the clock. The engine was rebuilt by TVR 20,000 miles ago and may be slightly uprated/modified. Whilst I don't do any track days, I do drive the car quite hard from time to time and also do the occasional sprint for fun.
The question is, what oil should I use? The badge under the bonnnet says a standard 15w50 is recommended, however this seems like a very low quality choice considering the modern alternatives on the shelves today. I have been the Halfords and motor factors and 20w50 seems to only cost a few pounds and makes me concerned about the quality.
Next in line are the Magnatec 15w40 Semi-synthetic or mineral oils. All these choices make it clear that they are for use in non fuel injected cars. That leaves things like Mobil 1 fully synthetic and the like, with ratings of 0w40, and 5w40 etc. All these oils seem a million miles away to whats recommended.
At the moment the car runs on 10w40 mineral oil, mainly because this is all I could get from the motorway garage when the dipstick was on empty.
So, what would be my best choice of oil? I know that this topic has been covered many times before on Pistonheads, but it seems people use many different types of oils. If I simply drain my mineral oil and change the filter, can I refill with synthetic or semi synthetic? Are they compatible with mineral oil so that I don't have to bleed the whole system?
What kind of viscosity would be best? 20w50 seems very poor quality these days (and the dearest is under a tenner) amonst all the more exotic oils made today. Should I go for a thinner oil, like a semi synthetic 10w40, or would I be better off with the "unknown brand" 20w50 mineral? I would also like my oil pressure to increase a little as it sometimes drops below 1 bar when hot and in traffic. I spent 45 minutes in Halfords today and walked away with nothing but a headache...
Any help would be appreciated, especially before the weekend when I have a long journey to do and would like to change the oil before then.
Many thanks.
Dan.
The question is, what oil should I use? The badge under the bonnnet says a standard 15w50 is recommended, however this seems like a very low quality choice considering the modern alternatives on the shelves today. I have been the Halfords and motor factors and 20w50 seems to only cost a few pounds and makes me concerned about the quality.
Next in line are the Magnatec 15w40 Semi-synthetic or mineral oils. All these choices make it clear that they are for use in non fuel injected cars. That leaves things like Mobil 1 fully synthetic and the like, with ratings of 0w40, and 5w40 etc. All these oils seem a million miles away to whats recommended.
At the moment the car runs on 10w40 mineral oil, mainly because this is all I could get from the motorway garage when the dipstick was on empty.
So, what would be my best choice of oil? I know that this topic has been covered many times before on Pistonheads, but it seems people use many different types of oils. If I simply drain my mineral oil and change the filter, can I refill with synthetic or semi synthetic? Are they compatible with mineral oil so that I don't have to bleed the whole system?
What kind of viscosity would be best? 20w50 seems very poor quality these days (and the dearest is under a tenner) amonst all the more exotic oils made today. Should I go for a thinner oil, like a semi synthetic 10w40, or would I be better off with the "unknown brand" 20w50 mineral? I would also like my oil pressure to increase a little as it sometimes drops below 1 bar when hot and in traffic. I spent 45 minutes in Halfords today and walked away with nothing but a headache...
Any help would be appreciated, especially before the weekend when I have a long journey to do and would like to change the oil before then.
Many thanks.
Dan.
I have a belief that the Rover V8 isnt exactly a performance engin ein the same way you could describe a quad cam Ferrari V8.. the tolerences are greater, the engineering not so precise.
I have run my 400SE on Magnatec, and upto more reciently GTX synthetic. When the car was newer, TVR dealers charged me for top quality Mobile1, but to be honest I could not justify the price.
If your engine has done a few thousand miles, I dont see a problem in using a reasonable quality oil that doesnt break the bank
I have run my 400SE on Magnatec, and upto more reciently GTX synthetic. When the car was newer, TVR dealers charged me for top quality Mobile1, but to be honest I could not justify the price.
If your engine has done a few thousand miles, I dont see a problem in using a reasonable quality oil that doesnt break the bank
The general concesus is if you can use a 20w50 semi synthetic you are most of the way there. A 350i is the same as an SD1 engine. Lets face it 197 bhp from 3500cc and over head valve does not make for a stressed engine. This is the same basic engine as Buick abandoned in the late fifties! There were no synthetic oils then. If you used Castrol GTX that would be fine! It is all down to personal choice but I have noticed in my 350i when I have used a 10w40 it drinks the stuff, especially if it is a synthetic. This in itself is not a problem as it isn't doing any damage to anything except to my wallet!
I’ve always used Mobil 1 Motorsport 15W50, but recently had my Griff serviced by Joolz who recommended changing to Valvoline Synpower (fully synthetic) 5W50, its only £22 for 4 litres. The only problem is getting hold of it locally, since mail order makes it nearly the same price as the Mobil 1 from Halfords.
Cheers,
Simon.
Cheers,
Simon.
If I remember correctly the first part of the 0W/50 etc. refers to the ability of the oil to flow when cold (i.e. the lower the better for protecting against cold wear) and the second part its ability to keep working when hot. So 0W/50 will protect from cold better than 15W/50. If you do short journeys a 0W oil is the best choice, if you do longer ones (30 minutes +) then 15W is fine. Just bear in mind that with 0W you don't have to wait for the oil to truly warm up before nailing the throttle! And if you have a TVR, surely that's the important bit!
l was of the belief that the 0W/50W was the other way round, ie that the 0W was viscosity when warm and the 50W when cold. Can someone please confirm which way round it is.
Stig - will you be using the Valvoline 20/50 in the new beastie? what kind of oil pressure do you see when hot. (the car that is)
Stig - will you be using the Valvoline 20/50 in the new beastie? what kind of oil pressure do you see when hot. (the car that is)
Thanks you guys. I think at the moment that anything will be better than nothing. I went for a trip around my local town today and couldn't find any Valvoline 20w50, however I saw a tub of Carlube 15w50 so may go back for that as a temporary measure. I think 15w50 is actually the number inscribed under my bonnet too.
At the moment I'm trying to get the car back on the road (which it now is), but the oil is starting to get low and hasn't been changed since last summer. Going to Bruntingthorpe proving ground on Saturday to spectate, but may also do a few sprints at the end.
As its all been a bit of a rush so I think I will look out for Valvoline over the next couple of weeks or so, and just put the Carlube 20w50 stuff in for now.
Anyway, is anyone else going to Bruntingthorpe on Saturday? Look out for a green and silver Wedge...
At the moment I'm trying to get the car back on the road (which it now is), but the oil is starting to get low and hasn't been changed since last summer. Going to Bruntingthorpe proving ground on Saturday to spectate, but may also do a few sprints at the end.
As its all been a bit of a rush so I think I will look out for Valvoline over the next couple of weeks or so, and just put the Carlube 20w50 stuff in for now.
Anyway, is anyone else going to Bruntingthorpe on Saturday? Look out for a green and silver Wedge...
Carlube??? If you are going to use an oil how about using a main stream well known one. Castrol GTX 15W50 is as good as anything. After reading the posts I have decided at the next change to give Valvoline a go too. But in the mean time why not go to Asda/Tesco/Halfords and rather than buying the cheapest stuff you can get i.e. Carlube why not get some Castrol? this is only my opinion and if you really want to use the Carlube stuff go ahead but not the best make ever is it? Please someone feel free to correct me!
To help out with the definitions the W stands for winter and so the first number is the viscosity when cold. The S for summer after the second number is not normally shown.
The 15W50 Magnatec is probably as good a choice as any for the 350i unless its undergone a recent engine rebuild to tight tolerances when you may consider a fully synthetic 5W40 or 50.
Jonathan
The 15W50 Magnatec is probably as good a choice as any for the 350i unless its undergone a recent engine rebuild to tight tolerances when you may consider a fully synthetic 5W40 or 50.
Jonathan
I'm only going to use the Carlube stuff as a last resort as there seems to be a real shortage of decent brand named oils in sunny Suffolk! I've been everywhere in my lunch hours for the last 2 days and just can't find anything by Castrol at the corrent viscosity.
If I have to, I will make do with the Carlube stuff just for this weekend until I can go further afield and look in a bit more depth. I can always drain it out again and recycle it back into my diesel astra which I'm sure would be better than the black sludge currently present. I hope to find some Valvoline or Castrol over the weekend or next week.
If I have to, I will make do with the Carlube stuff just for this weekend until I can go further afield and look in a bit more depth. I can always drain it out again and recycle it back into my diesel astra which I'm sure would be better than the black sludge currently present. I hope to find some Valvoline or Castrol over the weekend or next week.
Just replying about valvoline racing oil, i use it in my rover powered jeep and use the jeep as a strip / street racer made enquiries and got told that valvoline oil has no cleaning substance in it and rover engines sweat and produce mayonaise in it so change it regular and if you dont strip the engine every 2-3 years use some engine flush aswell valvoline make that aswell but if anyone knows of a better choice that helps protect your engine whilst screwing the balls of it please let me know as im always open to better advice. hope this is useful advice.
I may not be helping here but what the heck.
Recently I searched the internet to try and find some actual facts as to which oil prtects the best and to see if aditives like slick 50 are any good.
I managed to find a guy who tested Castrol moblie and Amsoil. And his test results stated that the Mobil and castrol synthetics were very close in performance but the best oil(in his tests) was Amsoil fully synthetic.
I cant say weather this information was indipendant or acurate but it did seem quite beleivable at the time.
I'm sure I have seen Amsoil advertised in a magazine or maybe it was in a demon tweeks catalogue ( not sure to be honsest) But I'm sure it would be obtainable.
Recently I searched the internet to try and find some actual facts as to which oil prtects the best and to see if aditives like slick 50 are any good.
I managed to find a guy who tested Castrol moblie and Amsoil. And his test results stated that the Mobil and castrol synthetics were very close in performance but the best oil(in his tests) was Amsoil fully synthetic.
I cant say weather this information was indipendant or acurate but it did seem quite beleivable at the time.
I'm sure I have seen Amsoil advertised in a magazine or maybe it was in a demon tweeks catalogue ( not sure to be honsest) But I'm sure it would be obtainable.
Gassing Station | Wedges | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff