Which oil?

[Turbogirlie 0]

Apologies if there's already a thread on this line :shock: but having just acquired my '92 G60 I was wondering what oil you guys use? :roll:

 

I know that the previous garage used semi synthetic but unsure which brand. :(

 

Any suggestions gratefully received. :)

 

BTW 4got to ask but is there any probs with mixing different brands or grades of semi synthetic - know 'normal' oil is ok to mix brands but unsure about semi synthetic - know for example if you put normal oil in with synthetic it will seize your motor as it causes one of the oils to globulate and stop functioning. :cry:

[RW1 0]

Grade for this time of the year should be 15w40.

 

Choice? Synta Silver but that is 10w40 but it will get you by.

 

Castrol Magnatec 15w40 will keep the tappets quieter.

 

Never a fan of Shell after a blocked oil cooler due to tarred oil deposits.

 

Don't be pursuaded to use 5w40, 0w40 or 0w30 as the engine wasn't designed for these grades.

 

Others with have brand favourites to add soon.

 

.

[woody 0]

Never use anything else than synta silver in mine.

[Neil VR6 0]

Synta Silver is the VAG recommended oil for the G60 and at £3 per litre I'm not going to argue with that! :) There's a chap on the forum called oilman who represents Opie Oils and hence knows loads:

 

http://www.opieoils.co.uk/

 

You may also wish to use the search as this one's come up loads or pm oilman for advice.

[dinkus 10]

Asked so many times before...

 

Sorry, but lockage :)

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Ay, don't be so quick to lock before Haywire's said his bit! :lol:

 

Firstly, Magnatec does not make the tappets quieter. Certainly not mine at least, and they're only a few months old. Proper VW/GSF INA ones.

 

Secondly, 10W/40 Quantum is prob the best all rounder in terms of cost and low consumption.

 

And lastly, if you fancy something a bit fancy, Haywire is now pushing Oilman's products....namely Silkolene Pro S 10W/50. You get the extended viscosity of the 50, with the benefits of a 10 for the winter. It's an ester based oil, so the same as Redline basically, which we all know and love from using it in the gearbox....and Silkolene is also a reddy colour like Redline, so proves it's 100% synthetic.

 

I've run it in the VR for a week now and smoking on the over-run has completely vanished, yay :cheers: Can't say I've noticed smoother running yet, but that's cause my engine is vastly over fuelling. Will know more over the coming weeks :)

 

10 Litres of Pro S to your door is £72, overnight delivery. So it's way cheaper than Mobil 1 and it's a perfect viscosity for ageing VRs.

[Tempest 0]

Castrol RS 10W60 for me in my G60, same as many a fellow G60er over in Germany (higher autobahn speeds :lol:)

 

Tempest

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Aye, that's a brilliant oil that one.....but it's expensive and you only get it in 4 or 1 litre tubs.

[oilman 0]

The point is that you get what you pay for.

 

Synta is a cheap oil and if that's what you want then fine, can't argue but....

 

If the car is modded of doing trackdays, don't be a fool as you need a proper fully synthetic oil that will stay in grade when stressed.

 

The PRO S is a "race" oil that can be used in road cars but it's built with extreme applications in mind like 10 track hours!

 

http://www.opieoils.co.uk/TechSpecs/PRO ... 0Wheel.pdf

 

Consider what you're expecting the oil to do before you make your choice as it's the engines first line of defence.

 

You should also read this if your car is modded or used on track!

 

If you are "modding" your car and adding BHP then consider your oil choice carefully as the stock manufacturers recommended oil will not give you the protection that your engine requires.

 

A standard oil will not be thermally stable enough to cope with higher temperatures without "shearing" meaning that the oil will not give the same protection after a couple of thousand miles as it it when it was new.

 

Let’s start with the fundamentals. An engine is a device for converting fuel into motive power. Car enthusiasts get so deep into the details they lose sight of this!

 

To get more power, an engine must be modified such that it converts more fuel per minute into power than it did in standard form. To produce 6.6 million foot-pounds per minute of power (ie 200 BHP) a modern engine will burn about 0.5 litres of fuel per minute.(Equivalent to 18mpg at 120mph). So, to increase this output to 300BHP or 9.9 million foot-pounds per minute it must be modified to burn (in theory) 0.75 litres.

However, fuel efficiency often goes out of the window when power is the only consideration, so the true fuel burn will be rather more than 0.75 litres/min.

 

That’s the fundamental point, here’s the fundamental problem:

 

Less than 30% of the fuel (assuming it’s petrol) is converted to all those foot-pounds. The rest is thrown away as waste heat. True, most of it goes down the exhaust, but over 10% has to be eliminated from the engine internals, and the first line of defence is the oil.

 

More power means a bigger heat elimination problem. Every component runs hotter; For instance, piston crowns and rings will be running at 280-300C instead of a more normal 240-260C, so it is essential that the oil films on cylinder walls provide an efficient heat path to the block casting, and finally to the coolant.

 

Any breakdown or carbonisation of the oil will restrict the heat transfer area, leading to serious overheating.

 

A modern synthetic lubricant based on true temperature-resistant synthetics is essential for long-term reliability. At 250C+, a mineral or hydrocracked mineral oil, particularly a 5W/X or 10W/X grade, is surprisingly volatile, and an oil film around this temperature will be severely depleted by evaporation loss.

 

Back in the 1970s the solution was to use a thick oil, typically 20W/50; in the late1980s even 10W/60 grades were used. But in modern very high RPM engines with efficient high-delivery oil pumps thick oils waste power, and impede heat transfer in some situations.

 

A light viscosity good synthetic formulated for severe competition use is the logical and intelligent choice for the 21st century.

 

Cheers

Simon

[Dubcharged 0]

Well said, oil is the lifeblood of our engines so the more we know about it the better choices we'll make when choosing the oil to use.

[oilman 0]

You only have to ask ;)

 

Cheers

Simon

[StuartFZR400 0]

Finally found what I was looking for, too many threads on oil coolers here - lol

 

So...... Quantum vag stuff is fine and good value but go Silkolene if you can afford it?

 

How about the full synth Gold Quantum?

[oilman 0]

Quantum is ok for unmodded street cars but if the car is modded or used on track, go for something better.

 

Cheers

Simon

[2_Door_fun 0]

Oilman said:

 

The PRO S is a "race" oil that can be used in road cars but it's built with extreme applications in mind like 10 track hours!

 

 

At £45 :shock: a pop that oil better be very nice to me nevermind my engine :lol:

 

Still as you say you get what you pay for. Now where's my gallon of Tesco synthetic....

[oilman 0]

Actually the Members Price is £39.99 and it's on offer until midnight tonight at £35.99 BARGAIN!!

 

Cheers

Simon

[StuartFZR400 0]

+ postage , no? lol

[oilman 0]

Delivered mate.

 

Cheers

 

Simon.

[Trig 0]

Sounds like a deal to me! 1x Silk Pro S ordered! :)

[gradeAfailure 0]

Damnit! ah well, with both cars needing an oil change, couldn't really afford £70 on oil when £45 got me 15 litres of Synta Silver...

 

Next time though, mark my words...

 

Also annoying that it comes in 5L bottles and the VR takes 6L... ;)

[VRTrickster 0]

After carrying out mods I was going to try some( Motul 15w 50 ) any good?

[Trig 0]

Also annoying that it comes in 5L bottles and the VR takes 6L...

 

Good point. Could just top up with something else... or.... £70 on oil... grrr! :roll:

[oilman 0]

Motul 300V is a very good oil, once again I sell it, surprise!

 

Silkolene Pro will also be available in 1L top up bottles from around mid April!

 

About time!!

 

Cheers

Simon

[corradophil 3]

oilman, Interesting reading your comments about oil standing up to high temperatures in highly tuned engines.

 

What temperature range would you suggest is acceptable with a standard oil i.e. Quantum Silver?

 

VW say if the oil temp reaches 145 deg C reduce the engine speed. In light use say 50 mph in 5th gear my cars oil temp sits at around 106 deg C which is well under the max suggested by VW.

 

The highest I remember seeing is 120 deg C. In your opinion is Quantum Silver up to the job?

[Trig 0]

I think you'll find high oil temps mean lower power as well. Once you get over 110 you start using a few BHP.

[dr_mat 0]

Why? high oil temp usually means thinner oil, which usually means less internal friction and more power left to go to the wheels.

I don't know if this changes as things go to extremes..?