Rover V8 oil which one?

[bilton_d]

The old Rover V8 in TVR 3.9(Wedge 390SE)format and apparently 275BHP, most people seem to advise a mineral 20W 50 oil and not synthetic ..... who uses or could advise what brand?

i was looking at the Valvoline Racing Oil but having trouble locating some locally

[Liszt]

I use Valvoline 20W50 in my Dax(a 275 BHP 4.6) and Range Rover 3.9 after being recommended by Dave Ellis the engine builder. Worked fine for me so far

>> Edited by Liszt on Monday 9th January 17:40

[dern]

I was recommended a 15W40 semi-synth oil for my tuned 4.6l (@300bhp) so would also be very interested in any recommendation.

[mongoose]

I use Silkolene Pro 's' 10/50 in mine,if i had a 390 i'd still be using the same.I cant understand why a mineral oil should be preferable

[v8 jago]

I would use only valvoline racing. If strugling to locate some you can get it from real steel. you will need 2 tubs or what ever you want to call them. I think they are 4ltrs and rover use just a little more. Just change the oil a little more often than you would normaly would.

[number 7]

The consensus with the RV8 seems to be 10 or 15W - 40 or 50 with good detergent properties. See some of the threads from: www.pistonheads.com/members/showProfile.asp?memberId=37408.

I use Motul 300V 15W 50 Competition, got it from Opie - good price.

7.

[stevieturbo]

Last time with mine, I used Motul 300v 15/50. Its fully synthetic.

Fully reccomend it. Got mine from www.asptrading.co.uk/

>> Edited by stevieturbo on Monday 9th January 20:23

[v8 racing]

for any high out per cc engine fully synthetic ester based is the only real way to go, motul v300 or silkoline pro r would be my recomendations obviously the grade depends how hot the oil is getting but generaly a tuned rover engine needs 15/50 mineral oils are just living in dark ages and dont protect your engine anywhere near as good

[opieoilman]

Silkolene PRO S 10w-50, PRO R 15w-50 or Motul 300V 15w-50 are proper true (non petroleum basestock) synthetics. Top quality and top protection.

Cheers
Simon
www.opieoils.co.uk

[JR]

v8 racing said:

for any high out per cc engine fully synthetic ester based is the only real way to go

But we're only talking about 60 to 65 BHP/litre.

[bilton_d]

Plus the engine is a very old design ..... most of the places i have rung advise either a 10w 40 semi synthetic or a 20w 50 mineral if it has slightly higher oil consumption. Not one of them has said to use fully synthetic.

[stevieturbo]

Anyone who says a mineral oil offers better protection than a good synthetic, hasnt got a clue, and must still be living in the dark ages.

[bilton_d]

i don't think anyone is saying that mineral oils are better than synthetic.
The Rover V8 is a very old engine design and not that powerful for its size.

[stevieturbo]

That doesnt mean a modern synthetic wont perform well in it.

[v8 racing]

Bilton, who are the people sayning not to use fully synthetic? i dont mean there names but what type of garages are they? dont take this the wrong way but i have been building probably on average 3 of these engines a week for the last twenty years of all types of spec, the fact that it is an old design is then judged on the oil viscosity you use ie 40 weight or 50 weight etc, the fact that people say to use mineral oil is basically because they can make more profit by buying for a few quid and selling for lots, with PROPER oil such as motul/silkoline retailers dont make as much, personaly i would like to think i offer my customers the best on the market its up to them what they use, i also wont warrant any of my engines unless it is run on ester based oils

[bilton_d]

Most of them are either TVR or Rover based engine sports car dealers ... most have asked if i intend to track the car which i don't, they have advised to use the semi or mineral based oils, change it every 3000 miles and you will be fine. Most have also told me not to leave the oil to drain overnight or i'll have to prime the oil pump.

[tr7v8]

I've always run a mineral oil A. because its a relatively low out put engine with lightly loaded cam etc. B. Because Synth is really for extended service intervals & mine is dropped every 3K miles.

Jim

[v8 racing]

changing mineral oil every 3000 miles still doesnt make it as good as ester based synthetic oil that has done 1000000000000000000000 miles as far as i am concerned, its cheap crap and quite honestly i wouldnt even bother putting it in my lawnmower! But the thing is if you run silkoline or motul you dont need to change the oil for a good 12000 miles so its cheaper and better!!

[v8 racing]

also dont forget mineral oil will give no protection over 100 deg most rover engines will easily exceed this temp!

[JonRB]

I've been running my Chimaera 500 on Castrol GTX Magnatec 15W-40 ("for basic engines" or "for Conventional Engines" depending on packaging) for the past 3 years, as recommended by Dave Batty.

>> Edited by JonRB on Sunday 22 January 20:19