82' best oil bet
Discussion
I always use GTX Magnatec in mine. The "conventional" engines 15w40 stuff.
I ran a 998cc on it for ages, when I took the engine apart nothing looked particularly worn... so I figure it works OK.
Some people would say you should use something thicker in an A-series though, more like 20/50, maybe Duckhams if you can get hold of it. I guess this applies more if the engine is very old and worn.
I ran a 998cc on it for ages, when I took the engine apart nothing looked particularly worn... so I figure it works OK.
Some people would say you should use something thicker in an A-series though, more like 20/50, maybe Duckhams if you can get hold of it. I guess this applies more if the engine is very old and worn.
All 'A-Series' Mini engines need a thicker oil than the current 'weasel piss' 10W40 or whatever. Remember it has to cope with a gearbox which would like an EP80 gear oil if that were possibvle.
My personal preference is either 'Valvoline Racing 20w50' or 'Morris Multivis 15w50'. The Morris oil is from the very old and well respected blender Morris Oils of Shrewsbury. It's API/SL standard.
I never use a synthetic oil in a Mini since I blew all my cam bearings out years ago after pulling 7400 rpm with Shell Synthetic in the sump.
My personal preference is either 'Valvoline Racing 20w50' or 'Morris Multivis 15w50'. The Morris oil is from the very old and well respected blender Morris Oils of Shrewsbury. It's API/SL standard.
I never use a synthetic oil in a Mini since I blew all my cam bearings out years ago after pulling 7400 rpm with Shell Synthetic in the sump.
In terms of stuff you can walk in to a shop and buy off-the-shelf, options seem to be somewhat limited. I've been on the look-out for something thick to run in my Rover V8, but around here, the only oil I've found is Comma Premium - something-or-other.
It's very cheap (£4/gallon) doesn't smell quite right, and comes in a bright green can, so one would suspect that it's not very good
Still, it is an Esso oil (I think) and supposedly is 20w50, so I'm actually giving it a go at the moment! I'll probably live to regret this decision, so don't take this as a recommendation!!
This lack of availability is largely what forced me down the 15w40 GTX route. Although, I do like the idea of the oil magnetically sticking to bits of the engine. Even if that is just Castrol sales talk.
If you plan to leave the oil in the engine a long time, it might be worth investigating getting a couple of cans of something, mail order perhaps. Annoyingly, as you probably know by now, a Mini holds more than one can of oil. The only plus side is you have lots left over for keeping it topped up as it all drips steadily out the bottom.
It's very cheap (£4/gallon) doesn't smell quite right, and comes in a bright green can, so one would suspect that it's not very good
Still, it is an Esso oil (I think) and supposedly is 20w50, so I'm actually giving it a go at the moment! I'll probably live to regret this decision, so don't take this as a recommendation!!
This lack of availability is largely what forced me down the 15w40 GTX route. Although, I do like the idea of the oil magnetically sticking to bits of the engine. Even if that is just Castrol sales talk.
If you plan to leave the oil in the engine a long time, it might be worth investigating getting a couple of cans of something, mail order perhaps. Annoyingly, as you probably know by now, a Mini holds more than one can of oil. The only plus side is you have lots left over for keeping it topped up as it all drips steadily out the bottom.
In old mini engines I use any 20/50 (avoiding anything labelled budget or value) and change the oil and filter every 3000 miles. 5 litres will do a change as the engine/filter requires 4.83 litres according the the haynes book.
Swiftune built my performance engine and recommended I use Duckhams QXR, and I again do the 3000 mile oil/filter changes. QXR is difficult to find, so I've used Unipart silver with no problems.
I bought a 1988 golf GTi recently and found it runs on a 15/40 semi synthetic. GSF supply this at £11 for 5 litres. Our sportpack (which has always run on semi from new) is now on it and I change it every 6000 miles.
Cheers
Swiftune built my performance engine and recommended I use Duckhams QXR, and I again do the 3000 mile oil/filter changes. QXR is difficult to find, so I've used Unipart silver with no problems.
I bought a 1988 golf GTi recently and found it runs on a 15/40 semi synthetic. GSF supply this at £11 for 5 litres. Our sportpack (which has always run on semi from new) is now on it and I change it every 6000 miles.
Cheers
Just use shit, ie the cheapest 20W50 you can find, the £2.50 a gallon stuff.....now here's the beauty. YOU HAVE TO CHANGE IT REGULARLY. Look at your dipstick and see how horrid it is and as soon as it is discoloured, reload.
Modern oils are generally made for people like my mum to run 200000 miles between oil changes. Enough blow up products polluting the oil so you need all sorts of magnetic stuff and other residual lubricant filth.
On a car like a mini, it needs clean oil above any fancy stuff.
Fancy oil which has been in there ages will still have crap in it to pit your cam followers, gears, etc.
clean cheap oil!
Modern oils are generally made for people like my mum to run 200000 miles between oil changes. Enough blow up products polluting the oil so you need all sorts of magnetic stuff and other residual lubricant filth.
On a car like a mini, it needs clean oil above any fancy stuff.
Fancy oil which has been in there ages will still have crap in it to pit your cam followers, gears, etc.
clean cheap oil![quote=love machine]On a car like a mini, it needs clean oil above any fancy stuff.
Fancy oil which has been in there ages will still have crap in it to pit your cam followers, gears, etc.[quote]
Agreed.
Going slightly O/T, if I may, what gets me with Minis is the amount of metal that comes out attached to the sump plug, every time you take the oil out! It's not just if you run cheap oil either, it's just how they are...
I'd be interested to work out how much metalwork actually comes out of an engine/box over, say 20 years. And it's not uncommon for a basic spec road-going enginebox to last that long - even if it's not been particularly well maintained. Minis VERY rarely get scrapped due to engine trouble. (And yes, OK, this is actually more due to the fact that the rustproofing was non existant than the engines being a good design).
For how rediculously antequated the design is, I'm always surprised at how long the engines last. My current A-series mini engine has about 100k on it I'd guess, and that doesn't smoke, rattle or give any other bad signs. And it doesn't get treated with any special respect for being 17 years old either!
Of course, the gearbox and transfer gears are complete rubbish, but then, they are designed to run in engine oil, so you have to forgive them... I've never had to pull an engine from a Mini for anything other than gearbox trouble. (Well, or just wanting to do performance upgrades).
Fancy oil which has been in there ages will still have crap in it to pit your cam followers, gears, etc.[quote]
Agreed.
Going slightly O/T, if I may, what gets me with Minis is the amount of metal that comes out attached to the sump plug, every time you take the oil out! It's not just if you run cheap oil either, it's just how they are...
I'd be interested to work out how much metalwork actually comes out of an engine/box over, say 20 years. And it's not uncommon for a basic spec road-going enginebox to last that long - even if it's not been particularly well maintained. Minis VERY rarely get scrapped due to engine trouble. (And yes, OK, this is actually more due to the fact that the rustproofing was non existant than the engines being a good design).
For how rediculously antequated the design is, I'm always surprised at how long the engines last. My current A-series mini engine has about 100k on it I'd guess, and that doesn't smoke, rattle or give any other bad signs. And it doesn't get treated with any special respect for being 17 years old either!
Of course, the gearbox and transfer gears are complete rubbish, but then, they are designed to run in engine oil, so you have to forgive them... I've never had to pull an engine from a Mini for anything other than gearbox trouble. (Well, or just wanting to do performance upgrades).
love machine said:
Just use shit, ie the cheapest 20W50 you can find, the £2.50 a gallon stuff.....now here's the beauty. YOU HAVE TO CHANGE IT REGULARLY. Look at your dipstick and see how horrid it is and as soon as it is discoloured, reload.
If you have a totaly standard engine and drive fairly gently, that might not be too bad an idea. However note that the really cheap no-name stuff may well be recycled oil, i.e. old used stuff that has been filtered. I would hesitate to put it in my lawnmower tbh.
For anything remotely high performance cheap crap will not give the kind of protection that decent oil will. It will break down under high pressure and temperature, it will leave nasty deposits in your oilways, gum up the rings etc. In short, unless you really don't care about your engine, I would always use at least a good quality mineral oil.
MR2Mike said:
Just use shit, ie the cheapest 20W50 you can find, the £2.50 a gallon stuff.....now here's the beauty. YOU HAVE TO CHANGE IT REGULARLY. Look at your dipstick and see how horrid it is and as soon as it is discoloured, reload.
If you have a totaly standard engine and drive fairly gently, that might not be too bad an idea. However note that the really cheap no-name stuff may well be recycled oil, i.e. old used stuff that has been filtered. I would hesitate to put it in my lawnmower tbh.
For anything remotely high performance cheap crap will not give the kind of protection that decent oil will. It will break down under high pressure and temperature, it will leave nasty deposits in your oilways, gum up the rings etc. In short, unless you really don't care about your engine, I would always use at least a good quality mineral oil.
Agree 100% Mike.
Use a really good quality mineral based 20/50 or 15/50 with an API/SJ or better rating. Don't use a synthetic or semi-synthetic as the gearbox doesn't like synthetics.
Then change it every 1500 miles - sooner if you use the car for any sort of competition.
I run Miller Oil 20/50 in my 970s Rally Car and indeed all my Mini's. It is a car that Cooperman will know well (liked the Cooper Register article by the way) and it has kept the engine in excellent condition at last strip.
The Miller site has lots of data on its oil for the technical among you. They also specailsie in older cars.
It works for me.
The Miller site has lots of data on its oil for the technical among you. They also specailsie in older cars.
It works for me.
bjw970s said:
I run Miller Oil 20/50 in my 970s Rally Car and indeed all my Mini's. It is a car that Cooperman will know well (liked the Cooper Register article by the way) and it has kept the engine in excellent condition at last strip.
The Miller site has lots of data on its oil for the technical among you. They also specailsie in older cars.
It works for me.
Glad to see you posting on here Brian. When we had that car we always used Valvoline Racing 20/50, but now I've gone over to Morris Multivis 15/50 (it's API/SL).
Hope all is well with you. Look after that dear little Mini, as my grandson always called it.
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