What is the best oil for a tuned Mini
Discussion
Valvoline Racing is a very good 20w50 mineral oil.
Since I had a major probem with an early synthetic oil many years ago I've always used a good quality mineral oil.
The best oil I ever used was Kendal 20/50 which is made from Pennsylvania crude as opposed to Saudi crude. It's expensive and can be hard to get.
Another good oil is 'Morris Multivis 15/50' - again a mineral blend.
With Mini it's not just the quality of the oil it's the frequency of the oil change. Early Minis required new oil every 1500 miles. Personally I likie to change at no more than 3000 miles, even with the modern multigrade oils and I change the filter every time as well.
Since I had a major probem with an early synthetic oil many years ago I've always used a good quality mineral oil.
The best oil I ever used was Kendal 20/50 which is made from Pennsylvania crude as opposed to Saudi crude. It's expensive and can be hard to get.
Another good oil is 'Morris Multivis 15/50' - again a mineral blend.
With Mini it's not just the quality of the oil it's the frequency of the oil change. Early Minis required new oil every 1500 miles. Personally I likie to change at no more than 3000 miles, even with the modern multigrade oils and I change the filter every time as well.
Another vote for Valvoline racing 20/50. It has very high zinc content and this is particularly effective in keeping gear wear to minimum especially when using straight cut transmissions.
Being a mineral it also tends to stay inside the a-series ageing oil seal designs
Synthetics and semi's find every exit path 
Being a mineral it also tends to stay inside the a-series ageing oil seal designs
Synthetics and semi's find every exit path I have tryed Miller befor and found it quite good. I than ran with Lucas 20/50 (partly as I got some cheep). The engine was quiter but the gear change was not as nice. I have tryed fully synthetic (I was told that is gives good relibilty) most of the oil was on the floor with in days. I have not run any of them for a long time so dont now the long term reliabilty.
A really good oil for road engines is Morris Multivis 15/50. I've even used this for rallying and it keeps its pressure well up when hot.
These days any quality 20/50 multigrade is probably fine (Castrol GTX, Duckhams 20/50, etc). Just don't ever go for the 'cheap' end of the oil market as the viscosity will drop when hot and the gearbox will suffer.
It's surprising what 'Weasel P*ss' oil some people use to save a few quid, then pay for it in engine and gearbox deterioration.
These days any quality 20/50 multigrade is probably fine (Castrol GTX, Duckhams 20/50, etc). Just don't ever go for the 'cheap' end of the oil market as the viscosity will drop when hot and the gearbox will suffer.
It's surprising what 'Weasel P*ss' oil some people use to save a few quid, then pay for it in engine and gearbox deterioration.
id stick to valvoline 20/50 racing.
good
cheap
can stick cheap stuff in with it if your stuck.
id never, ever use r40 in a mini. its terrible stuff, im sure its great for the engine (but modern normal oil is just as good). the main problems to consider (and this is all real life, not 1960's annorack)
it stinks, it gets into the trim, the carpets, your clothes, your skin, the loom, every where, you end up with the rank cold smell - not the nice smell you get when it burns, but the foul clammy sticky yellow coloured stuff that it condenses down to.
its expensive and needs changing often - not a huge problem, but ive seen someone pay over 100 quid for a litre of the stuff in desperation at the circuit before, everyone else was using normal oil.
read the warning label on the bottle, its far worse for you than normal oil. i got a rash from getting some on me once that turned into impertigo (ive probably spelt that wrong) that got so bad i was put on a two week course of super strength antibiotics. not good
i used to run my road car on it because i thought it was 'cool' 6 months later i stripped the engine, cleaned it and but normal oil back in to the car. ive never looked back.
god its awful stuff, did i mention the smell??????
good
cheap
can stick cheap stuff in with it if your stuck.
id never, ever use r40 in a mini. its terrible stuff, im sure its great for the engine (but modern normal oil is just as good). the main problems to consider (and this is all real life, not 1960's annorack)
it stinks, it gets into the trim, the carpets, your clothes, your skin, the loom, every where, you end up with the rank cold smell - not the nice smell you get when it burns, but the foul clammy sticky yellow coloured stuff that it condenses down to.
its expensive and needs changing often - not a huge problem, but ive seen someone pay over 100 quid for a litre of the stuff in desperation at the circuit before, everyone else was using normal oil.
read the warning label on the bottle, its far worse for you than normal oil. i got a rash from getting some on me once that turned into impertigo (ive probably spelt that wrong) that got so bad i was put on a two week course of super strength antibiotics. not good
i used to run my road car on it because i thought it was 'cool' 6 months later i stripped the engine, cleaned it and but normal oil back in to the car. ive never looked back.
god its awful stuff, did i mention the smell??????
The general opinion seems to be that if you use Valvoline Racing 20/50 you won't go far wrong. I do agree that synthetic is never, ever suitable for a Mini due to the fact that it's the gear oil as well. Remember, the box on a Mini is really a Minor box turned around 90 deg. A Minor should have EP80, so even a 20/50 is a compromise. Already we're putting a lot of power through a box originally designed for only about 35 bhp. No wonder they don't last, especially if the wrong oil is used.
selbymsport said:
I use a motorcycle oil thats designed for use with combined gearbox/engine unit as the mini is. The favorite being Silkolene comp4 20/50 we use this in our race engines and the bearings look unused after a full seasons racing it also takes care of the gearbox !!
I too have used a Silkolene bike oil, I used Pro4 15/50, as recomended by my engine builder. I have to say that I probably wouldn't use it in my new build, mostly due to cost and frequency of changing it.Phil.
haynes said:
A few years ago when my car was a recentish purchase i thought, as the engine was really sweet i would treat it to some expensive mobil 1, which was all the rage at the time. Within a few weeks the gearbox gave up and needed a complete rebuilt. Now its valvoline all the way.
I had exactly the same problem when I used Shell 'Gemini' synthetic oil (as recommended by a Shell Technical Rep!).It did the syncro hubs which then caused other problems. Some of the bits went through the oil pump and the pressure dropped to a very low level, so in all it was a complete engine strip, gearbox re-build and loads of new parts inc mains, big ends, oil pump, etc, and a lot of hours in my workshop.
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