tegwin
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| posted on 30/6/08 at 01:31 PM |
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Generic versus premium engine oil?
My hot hatch is due an engine oil change about now...
Last time I filled it with Castrol GTX shiny stuff.....However that stuff is expensive...
Is it really worth the premium, or would the standard "motaquip" oil from my local parts supplier be just as good at keeping the engine
lubed up under quite harsh conditions (I have a cast iron right foot!)
Dont really want to cause damage to the enigne, but likewise I dont want to cause damage to my wallet
[Edited on 30/6/08 by tegwin]
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Would the last person who leaves the country please switch off the lights and close the door!
www.verticalhorizonsmedia.tv
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 30/6/08 at 01:36 PM |
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do you hate your car?
then put crap oil in it
otherwise - http://www.redlineoil.com/products_motoroil.asp?categoryID=1
[Edited on 30/6/08 by Mr Whippy]
Fame is when your old car is plastered all over the internet
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mcerd1
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| posted on 30/6/08 at 01:45 PM |
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there are 3 things on any car that I'm always happy to spend a little more on:
1 - tyres
2 - brake pads
3 - oil
I've used castrol gtx for years and had no issues and its not that expensive (doesn't need to be the magnatec stuff)
what kind of car is it anyway?
[Edited on 30/6/08 by mcerd1]
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britishtrident
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| posted on 30/6/08 at 03:04 PM |
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Put a decent oil in (and by decent oil I don't mean GTX !),
Tesco are doing 4 litres 5w/40 and 5w30 part synthetic or fully at decent prices or 5 litres Halfords 5w/40 fully synthetic is 24 quid this month.
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mcerd1
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| posted on 30/6/08 at 03:32 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by britishtridentPut a decent oil in (and by decent oil I don't mean GTX !),
nothing wrong with it for ordinary crappy tin tops 
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robinj66
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| posted on 30/6/08 at 03:49 PM |
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it's not the oil per se but the additive package that changes from generic to premium.
Depends on how "hot" your hatch is, what age/mileage and how hard you drive it.
Newer,hotter and faster means more expensive oil to prevent damage.
Sorry
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adithorp
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| posted on 30/6/08 at 04:00 PM |
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Just make sure it has the API code. Don't use one that hasn't. Watch out for the ones that claim to be upto..., equivilent to... (or
similar spurious wording) which means they haven't actually been tested.
adrian
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britishtrident
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| posted on 30/6/08 at 04:11 PM |
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Big difference is that synthetic oils just don't break down to anything like the degree of mineral oils.
Not only will a fully synthetic retain its lubrication qualities but the engine oil ways and sump with remain clean and free from tarry deposits and
varnish.
This is why oil change intervals have been greatly extended to 15,000 or 20,000 miles from 3,000 or 5,000 miles intervals in the 1950's through
to the late 1980's
The contrast is really amazing if you ever strip two similar engines one that has run on a fully synthetic the other on even a top quality mineral
oil.
Running a modern injection engine on fully synthetic from new with no oil changes but with oil filter changes every year there is no reason why the
oil should not be able to do 100,000 miles without intermediate oil changes at the end of which the engine would still be much cleaner internally than
an engine running on mineral oil over the same mileage with oil changes every 5,000 miles.
Look on the web and you will find loads of supporting test evidence.
[Edited on 30/6/08 by britishtrident]
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britishtrident
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| posted on 30/6/08 at 04:21 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by mcerd1
quote:
Originally posted by britishtridentPut a decent oil in (and by decent oil I don't mean GTX !),
nothing wrong with it for ordinary crappy tin tops
Crappy tin tops do lot more cold starts than cherished Locosts, 90+% of engine wear occurs during cold starts.
As an example consider 15w/40 mineral oil in say a Rover T16 engine and on a really cold morning it takes 30+ plus seconds for the oil to get through
to the hydraulic tappets.
In the same conditions running on 0w/40 or 5w/40 the tappets are silenced almost instantly.
[I] “ What use our work, Bennet, if we cannot care for those we love? .”
― From BBC TV/Amazon's Ripper Street.
[/I]
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Russ-Turner
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| posted on 30/6/08 at 07:03 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
do you hate your car?
then put crap oil in it
otherwise - http://www.redlineoil.com/products_motoroil.asp?categoryID=1
[Edited on 30/6/08 by Mr Whippy]
We are Red Line agents. I personally wouldn't use any thing else.
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tomblyth
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| posted on 30/6/08 at 08:41 PM |
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vauxhall semi synthetic is about £12 a gallon and its OK
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mark chandler
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| posted on 30/6/08 at 09:30 PM |
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As earlier on, its the API figure that counts, its works on the alphabet so A is lowest quaility, Z would be best but I have never seen better than K
!
GTX is probally around an H, halfords semi synthetic is J so better.
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mark chandler
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| posted on 30/6/08 at 09:30 PM |
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As earlier on, its the API figure that counts, its works on the alphabet so A is lowest quaility, Z would be best but I have never seen better than K
!
GTX is probally around an H, halfords semi synthetic is J so better.
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adithorp
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| posted on 30/6/08 at 10:09 PM |
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The first letter is either S or C for spark or compresion ignition (thats petrol or diesel to you and me) the second is the standard. SJ, SL and SM
are the current standards and the highest C is CJ.
The Vauxhall oil is one of those that isn't actually accredited but claims to meet the spec' unless they've put thier hand in thier
pocket recently and paid to get it independently checked. 2 things make quality oil dearer; advertising/sponsership and accreditation testing.
Semi-synthetic should be 50/50 mix of mineral and synthetic but often isn't in cheaper brands (should legally be listed as synthetic blend).
adrian
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flak monkey
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| posted on 30/6/08 at 10:13 PM |
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I use Castrol magnatec (semi synth) in the MR2 and Castrol Edge Sport (fully synth) in the GTS. Expensive though...
Sera
http://www.motosera.com
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