Cheap engine oil: opinions?

somebody once told me that even the cheap oil today is better than the decent stuff that was standard when my engine was designed. what landy are we talking here? I tend to use mid range stuff (£8-£10 per tin) in my motors because im neither rich nor trusting enough in the very cheap stuff.

old engines are supposed to use a bit of oil aint they? ;)

In a Land Rover I reckon you could use oily dogshit for the amount of time it's actually in the engine.

;)

If it's an early engine (pre-serpentine belt) then it'll eat 10W40. The correct grade is 20W50 and yes, it does make a difference. Badger.

As with everything in life - you get what you pay for. When you buy a cheap oil it passes spec when you put it into your engine but very soon wears out the additive package.. When you pay for a well known branded oil it will still pass the relevant specs when you come to change it. I have spent the last two days in the test lab of a "well known company" and one of the things they do is a Remaining Useful Life Evaluation of their used oils, which checks to see how much additive depletion there is over time.

There are also varying qualities of base oils. ACEA specifies that to meet its sequences only certain base stocks are used. It doesn't accept all of them.

As to which "well known brand"? The answer is any that makes its name in lubricants. Lidl, Tesco etc don't rely on lubricants for the main part of their income. However, I don't recommend KY jelly for your engine.

Lizzy

Depends what engine you are talking about, I only put the cheapest oil into my series three, three main bearing petrol engine, it does not expect any better, in fact it is not keen on any oil and spits it out :)

Accompanied by the sound of a chisel on slate Badger, managed to produce the following words of wisdom

I have a nightmare with oil in mine, because it's turbocharged it needs very good quality oil, but it's a pre-serp belt 3.5 so it's meant to use 20/50.

It's oil tight, amazingly enough, but it does seem to lean pretty heavily on its oil. Needs changing every 4k minimum, judging by the pressure gauge.

Fresh oil = 70 lb ft at 2500 rpm, hot or cold [1] Oil after 3k miles = 70 lb ft @ 2500 cold [1], 45 lb ft hot.

[1] Cold meaning around 70 deg, hot meaning around 90 deg.

Pennzoil Racing 25W/50 sounds like it might suit you although god knows if it's available in the UK.

In news:fcpuco$cj3$ snipped-for-privacy@registered.motzarella.org, Pikey Pete wibbled :

Can't recall seeing oil pressure quoted in lb ft before have I missed something? I thought it were psi or equivalent.

That would surely depend on to what use the engine is going to be put, no? Some Dutch entrepreneurials have been known to do different things with theirs.

That's very high pressure (assuming you mean psi!), I doubt if it serves any useful purpose being that high, and it will undoubtedly cause rapid wear of the oil pump drive (dizzy drive gears). It may also cause premature "pumping up" of the hydraulic lifters at anything over 65psi. For oil, try Silkolene, they do a fully-synthetic 20W50. Used it in race engines and it seems good. Badger.

unless of course you are dutch and enjoy wearing womens underwear......

-- "For those who are missing Blair - aim more carefully."

To reply direct rot13 me

bURRt the 101 Camper

200TDi Disco with rotten floor 200 TDi DIsco, "the offroader" 1976 S3 Lightweight

My god that picture did have a lasting effect on you Si I think I'd go with a full synth or do what I do and just keep changing it regularly Unipart Fleet oils are under £30 for 25 litres so it doesnt hurt to much and Unipart was the BL parts division but was dumped when they found it was making a profit.btw I've put the RRC on fleabay plenty of interest 26 watching and 5 bids with 5 days to go Derek

IIRC that wasn't the engine ;-)

Lizzy

1998 LR90 V8, so not *too* old, but the basic engine design is still anno 1963 or thereabouts so your theory probably applies. I agree that mid-range is probably the best compromise.

Well yeah, but with only 105 Megametres (just came up with this :-P) and a rather easy life, I would expect it to be less thirsty. I mean, it's using petrol by the pitcher, using so much oil as well is a bit greedy :-)

Geo

No serpentine belt as far as I can tell (1988 3.5 model - when was the belt design changed?). I'm guessing that our previous mechanic used the thicker stuff, whereas the one I used this time went for less viscous. Still, shouldn't it smoke, even a wee bit?

Geo

Thanks to all for the feedback, I got a better idea regarding what I can go for without worrying. After posting the question, I "discovered" that the guy who sells Ford spares two blocks away from my house, has some Motorcraft stuff rather sensibly priced, so I think I'll go for that.

Now all I have to do is convince myself that I can change oils without creating a spill the size of greenland or destroying anything on the vehicle in the process.

Geo

good luck I've got this on my xmas list fleabay 230168016787 should be easier to handle than the 30 litre pvc skip I normally use,it still misses the bit that drips on the axle though.

Derek

On or around Wed, 19 Sep 2007 02:35:41 +0100, "Pikey Pete" enlightened us thusly:

Silkolene, but it's bloody pricey. might last a bit longer though.

for more mundane engines, Morris lubricants still do a half-decent 20W50. A good V8 will run OK on high-quality 15W40 but may need more topping up. In a choice between a good 15W40 and el-crappo 4-quid-a-gallon unbranded 20W50, I'd tend to prefer the 15W40, esepcially in typical UK temperatures. I daresay that in higher-temperature parts of the world, 20W50 is easier to get.

On or around Wed, 19 Sep 2007 15:18:47 +0100, "GbH" enlightened us thusly:

it is... slip of the keyboard I reckon.

and that figure, if it's PSI, is bloody good for a V8. 30-40 at 2500, engine hot, is what the book says.