oilman

Ideal Cheers, Guy

Yup and cheap ones, but I do not tend to recommend those for track use

As you say Motul is one, such as Motul Sport, Millers CFS or their new EE Performance range, Fuchs Pro S, Gulf Competition to name a few. These are performance/track/race oils but are fine for road use and many more than you may think run them daily. Then there are premium quality oils that are fine for some track use, Mobil, Castrol, Shell and many many more. The point I am trying to make here is the Tesco own brand thing, and the difference you will find between that and a premium or track/race spec oil. They are night and day. One is toll blended to the lowest cost for Tesco, the others are premium quality oils and that is reflected in their performance on and off track. Like everything in life, you can buy quality or you can buy crap, but is important to know the differences between the two. Tesco's own 5w-40 and Castrol Edge Titanium 5w-40 are very different animals from one another. You said it yourself, you would not use it in a fun car although you have no logic for that. I would argue you do have logic, or you wouldn't think twice about it. The answer to your logic is, Tesco own brand is not built to the quality you want on track, would you trust it? As I said in ealier posts its all about how the oil can cope with it, and shearing down under hard use on track. Shearing means the oil is thinng, breaking down, you don't want that on track. The engine will not thank you for it. Cheers Guy

I understand all of that, it does not change the fact Tesco own brand is made to a cost as low as possible and is not designed for track use. Engine oil does not know if it is in a road car or a race car, it knows what kind of stress it is getting and what it can cope with. There is quite a difference between an own brand road oil, and one that is designed to cope with track use and it is all to do with the shear stability of the oil, and this is not reflected by any specs the oil may, or may not meet. It is not dissimilar to tyres, you can do a track day with ditch finders, or you can use a quality tyre. They both meet the same DOT rating for road use. There are plenty of oils fine for both road and track use, but I would not class Tesco's own as one of them. Cheers, Guy

Yup, does not mean it is any good for track use though. Cheers, Guy

The Tesco own is made to a cost, and that cost does not account for track use. FIne for road if you are on a budget, but for track use something designed for and up to the job Cheers, Guy

Most dealers will not know what an ester oil is, they will just have a barrel of correct spec oil to cover many cars. Total is a quality brand and 5w-30 is fine, so the knocking should not be due to the engine oil. Cheers, Guy

You will be fine with Millers

The oil will not have an effect on weather the engine starts or not. But if it has been sat since 2019 it will need changing sooner rather than later. Cheers, Guy

Just to clarify, the spec required for your car is API SN 5w-30. When you put your reg into our look up guide it looks for all 5w-30 oils that meet API SN as they are suitable. If they meet other manufactures specs as well it does not matter Cheers, Guy

Hi There are a fair few I can add to that list. Engine http://www.opieoils....-653-5w-30.aspx Fuchs Pro S, Motul 300V and Red Line are the best options, followed by the Castrol Edge, Mobil ESP, Millers EE and XF, Fuchs GT1 and Shell Helix Ultra Extra. The Motul Eco-Energy, Mobil Super 3000, Shell Helix HX7 AF/AG and Fuchs XTR are good cheaper alternatives. If modified, you might need a 5w-40, but let me know the details. Oil Filters http://www.opieoils....er-2348400.aspx http://www.opieoils....lternative.aspx http://www.opieoils....oil-filter.aspx Gearbox Really, just this http://www.opieoils....4-gear-oil.aspx But, a lot of people have used 75w-80 and 75w-90 oils without issues, it depends on the driving style and climate. Diff The best option is a synthetic 75w-90, like the Silkolene Syn 5, Millers CRX NT LS, Motul Gear 300LS, Red Line 75w-90 GL5 or Gulf Competition LS. A SAE90 or 80w-90 mineral oil such as Motul 90PA, Fuchs Race Gear 90LS or Gulf Gear LS 80w-90 is a good, cheaper alternative. http://www.opieoils....-slip-diff.aspx Coolant Motul Inugel Optimal, Fuchs Fricofin Long Life and Millers Alpine Red are good options. http://www.opieoils....antifreeze.aspx Brakes/Clutch The best fluids for the brakes and clutch are the Castrol SRF, Motul RBF660 and Gulf RF1000. The Motul RBF600, Gulf RF800, Millers 300 Plus and Fuchs Pro Race are close to those, but don't have quite as high boiling points. Realistically, they are overkill for road use.The next step down (in performance terms), but still an upgrade over standard are the Gulf Racing 5.1, Motul DOT 5.1 and Castrol React Performance. Any of the other DOT4 fluids we have are fine to use as a standard choice. http://www.opieoils....utch-fluid.aspx Power Steering You need an ATF and due to the required specs I would go for either the Motul Multi ATF, Fuchs ATF4400, Gulf Multi Vehicle ATF, Castrol ATF Multi Vehicle or Millers Millermatic ATF SPIII. http://www.opieoils....c-442-atfs.aspx Cheers Tim

The Advantages of Synthetic Oils over Mineral oils Extended oil drain periods Better wear protection and therefore extended engine life Most synthetics give better MPG They flow better when cold and are more thermally stable when hot Surface-active meaning a thin layer of oil on the surfaces at all times (in ester based oils) How Synthetic oils Achieve these Benefits Stable Basestocks Synthetic oils are designed from pure, uniform synthetic basestocks, they contain no contaminants or unstable molecules which are prone to thermal and oxidative break down. Because of their uniform molecular structure, synthetic lubricants operate with less internal and external friction than petroleum oils which have a non-uniform molecular structure. The result is better heat control, and less heat means less stress to the lubricant. Higher Percentage of Basestock Synthetic oils contain a higher percentage of lubricant basestock than petroleum oils do. This is because multi-viscosity oils need a great deal of pour point depressant and viscosity improvers to operate as a multigrade. The basestocks actually do most of the lubricating. More basestocks mean a longer oil life. Additives Used Up More Slowly Petroleum basestocks are much more prone to oxidation than synthetic oils. Oxidation inhibitors are needed in greater quantities in petroleum oils as they are used up more quickly. Synthetic oils do oxidize, but at a much slower rate therefore oxidation inhibiting additives are used up more slowly. Synthetic oils provide for better ring seal than petroleum oils do. This minimizes blow-by and reduces contamination by combustion by-products. As a result, corrosion inhibiting additives have less work to do and will last much longer in a synthetic oil. Excellent Heat Tolerance Synthetics are simply more tolerant to extreme heat than petroleum oils are. When heat builds up within an engine, petroleum oils quickly begin to burn off. They are more volatile. The lighter molecules within petroleum oils turn to gas and what's left are the large molecules that are harder to pump. Synthetics have far more resistance as they are more thermally stable to begin with and can take higher temperatures for longer periods without losing viscosity. Heat Reduction One of the major factors affecting engine life is component wear and/or failure, which is often the result of high temperature operation. The uniformly smooth molecular structure of synthetic oils gives them a much lower coefficient friction (they slip more easily over one another causing less friction) than petroleum oils. Less friction means less heat and heat is a major contributor to engine component wear and failure, synthetic oils significantly reduce these two detrimental effects. Since each molecule in a synthetic oil is of uniform size, each is equally likely to touch a component surface at any given time, thus moving a certain amount of heat into the oil stream and away from the component. This makes synthetic oils far superior heat transfer agents than conventional petroleum oils. Greater Film Strength Petroleum motor oils have very low film strength in comparison to synthetics. The film strength of a lubricant refers to it's ability to maintain a film of lubricant between two objects when extreme pressure and heat are applied. Synthetic oils will typically have a film strength of 5 to 10 times higher than petroleum oils of comparable viscosity. Even though heavier weight oils typically have higher film strength than lighter weight oils, an sae 30 or 40 synthetic will typically have a higher film strength than an sae 50 or sae 60 petroleum oil. A lighter grade synthetic can still maintain proper lubricity and reduce the chance of metal to metal contact. This means that you can use oils that provide far better fuel efficiency and cold weather protection without sacrificing engine protection under high temperature, high load conditions. Obviously, this is a big plus, because you can greatly reduce both cold temperature start-up wear and high temperature/high load engine wear using a low viscosity oil. Engine Deposit Reduction Petroleum oils tend to leave sludge, varnish and deposits behind after thermal and oxidative break down. They're better than they used to be, but it still occurs. Deposit build-up leads to a significant reduction in engine performance and engine life as well as increasing the chance of costly repairs. Synthetic oils have far superior thermal and oxidative stability and they leave engines virtually varnish, deposit and sludge-free. Better Cold Temperature Fluidity Synthetic oils do not contain the paraffins or other waxes which dramatically thicken petroleum oils during cold weather. As a result, they tend to flow much better during cold temperature starts and begin lubricating an engine almost immediately. This leads to significant engine wear reduction, and, therefore, longer engine life. Improved Fuel Economy Because of their uniform molecular structure, synthetic oils are tremendous friction reducers. Less friction leads to increased fuel economy and improved engine performance. This means that more energy released from the combustion process can be transferred directly to the wheels due to the lower friction. Acceleration is more responsive and more powerful, using less fuel in the process. In a petroleum oil, lighter molecules tend to boil off easily, leaving behind much heavier molecules which are difficult to pump. The engine loses more energy pumping these heavy molecules than if it were pumping lighter ones. Since synthetic oils have more uniform molecules, fewer of these molecules tend to boil off and when they do, the molecules which are left are of the same size and pumpability is not affected. Synthetics are better and in many ways, they are basically better by design as they are created by chemists in laboratories for a specific purpose, rather than being modified from something that came out of the ground to be as good as they can for a purpose. Cheers Tim

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Hi folks, With winter here and plenty of cold starts, perhaps it's time to consider changing the oil that you use in your car. Does your antifreeze need changing? Is your gearshift okay when cold? Do you need something to protect your car from the weather? Let us know if you need any advice, we are here to help. You can call us on 01209 202944, email us at sales@opieoils.co.uk, or just ask here. Cheers oilman