is it big deal, 1998 E320, 5w30 or 10w30, New England

During a hot summer, if my engine's temperature is between 85 - 90C, then I use 10W40. If it's between 80C - 85C then I use 10W30 synthetic oil with

1-2 cup of Lucas engine treatment.

Stick with 5W30 all year round. It is much more energy efficient than 10W30 You will defintely see it in your fuel mileage calculator.

I did an experiment on the 01 E320 and I see it does impact the fuel mileage in winter time by 0.5 MPG or more.

Found this from

SAE 10W?40: often used with older cars. Exceeds all car and light truck manufacturer's warranty requirements for the protection of gasoline, diesel and turbocharged engines where API SM, SL, SJ, SH, CF or CD is recommended. Exceeds European ACEA: A3. B3, B4 and the engine protection requirements of ILSAC GF?4 for API Certified Gasoline Engine Oils.

This car has over 100,000 miles, is it considered as old car?

Correct tiger low viscosity(low resistance) like 10W30 give you a bit more mileages except it doesn't protect your engine like 10W40 (the heavier oil). I added 2 cups of Lucas oil to 10W30 to equalize / add more protections, I get much better mileages this way too, very slick.

Best to use an oil that is approved by MB. If it is, it will say so on the container. If it doesn't mention MB229.3 (or MB229.5) then it is not approved. Probably won't kill your car, but why risk it? You can get Mobil 1 European Car Formula 0W-40 at Walmart and Advance Auto although for some reason, only in 1 qt bottles. I bought 5/~$31.00 including oil filter on sale at Advance. No MB filters, so got one for son's car :)

BTW, I have same car and live in Canada.

Last time I couldn't find 0W40, so did use 10W30. (both Mobil1), but these are not MB approved. Have used Castrol Syntec too - They have an approved oil.

This is list of approved oils:

Hope this helps!

Don't use Lucas Oil... that is crap stuff.

Believe me or others... synthetic 5W30 protects much better than 10W40 oil.

10W40 oil. | |

In New England, the temperatures are brutal - AMSOIL stays a pourable liquid well below freezing.

With regard to the statement above discussing Lucas, a white paper comparing the differences in some of the most popular engine lubrications:

Also, one for gear lubrications: AMSOIL is the ONLY lubricant that recommends 25,000 miles OR 1 Year drain intervals: AMSOIL for European Vehicles requiring 5W40: AMSOIL EaO Synthetic NanoFiber Technology Oil Filters:

- The ONLY Oil Filter rated for 25,000 miles OR 1 Year -

AMSOIL provides better lubrication, protects against wear, and increases fuel economy due to its slipperiness!

Mobil1 does a better job of marketing, AMSOIL just manufactures the very best money can buy!

Try AMSOIL once and you'll never go back to MOBIL1!

Amsoil does have better property than Mobil 1 but that is because they have alot of good additives.

If I recall correctly, Amsoil used Mobil 1 as their base oil. I don't remember where I read it from.

As for the 25000 miles drain interval, I believe it but that is only specific to certain product that specifically said it. Not their entire line of motor oil.

I am using their Universal transmission fluid for Mercedes 5 speed transmission. Great stuff at great price.

Tiger:

You are correct. AMSOIL also has engine oils that are rated to go

7,500 miles or longer if an oil life monitoring system is implemented in the vehicle. You may leave the 7,500 mile recommend oil in until the oil life monitor advises to change the oil.

I have a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado 5.3L Crew Cab and my last oil change has 8,600 miles on it and still going with the 7,500 mile (XL) AMSOIL installed. Still, using the extended life oil (XL), there is better engine protection and better fuel economy.

Next time, I'm going with the 25,000 mile / 1 Year oil and the AMSOIL Synthetic Nanofiber Technology oil filter. I drive about 25K miles per year, so, only one oil change for me next year. I'll just keep resetting the oil life monitor as it advises me to change the oil.

| > Thanks | | Best to use an oil that is approved by MB. If it is, it will say so on the | container. If it doesn't mention MB229.3 (or MB229.5) then it is not | approved. Probably won't kill your car, but why risk it? You can get Mobil 1 | European Car Formula 0W-40 at Walmart and Advance Auto although for some | reason, only in 1 qt bottles. I bought 5/~$31.00 including oil filter on | sale at Advance. No MB filters, so got one for son's car :) | | BTW, I have same car and live in Canada. | | Last time I couldn't find 0W40, so did use 10W30. (both Mobil1), but these | are not MB approved. Have used Castrol Syntec too - They have an approved | oil. | | This is list of approved oils: | |

| | Hope this helps!

Any lubrication recommended (not approved) by the manufacturer only guarantee that it meets or exceeds the MINIMUM level of protection. For only certain oils to be approved for use, the manufacturer MUST supply the lubrication at NO COST to the owners. See the Magnuson-Moss Act URL below.

Remember that the manufacturer can make recommendations. That only infers that the oil which is recommended by the manufacturer is known to them to meet at least their minimum specifications to lubricate the engine adequately.

A manufacturer, by federal law, cannot void a warranty because certain recommendations were not followed to the letter. For a manufacturer to deny a claim for warranty engine repairs due to using a certain lubrication or not following their recommended oil change intervals, the manufacturer must prove that the lubricant was the direct cause of the failure.

AMSOIL is the ONLY lubrication company that provides a guarantee which states if the manufacturer denies, in writing, a warranty claim due to using its lubricants and not following the factory recommended change intervals, AMSOIL will pay the claim through its indemnification and seek retribution from the manufacturer.

AMSOIL lubricants are THE BEST that money can buy - bar none. European Formula developed specifically for Mercedes - BMW - Porsche - Saab - Volvo - VW - DaimlerChrysler and others:: European Formula above will stay pourable down to Minus 44 degrees F.

LOL. From a practical standpoint, all the manufacturer has to do is deny the warranty claim. Which leaves the car owner with few realistic options, unless you want to spend a lot of time and money trying to get them to make good on it.

Haven't you done enough spewing about your own commercial interests? And I suspect that the AMSOIL warranty likely has a lot of fine print conditions attached to it as well.

zo=3D1690163&page=3Ddealer/blueprints...

wrote

Exactly my thoughts too. The guy is only here to try and make a buck. Amsoil is not approved by MB for use in USA although it is for rest of world.

I would say forget about wasting money on high priced snakeoil and get the best oil that MB has approved for your particular car at the best price you can get from your local store. The approved oils are in the list I posted earlier (

). This probably means Mobil 1 European 0W40 or Castrol Syntec 5W40 for the '98 E320 in question. Used with a proper MB filter, FSS oil change interval is about 15k km (9 or 10 k miles), but I do it more often - usually at about

10-12k km. We are in even colder climate than New England.

CN

My only goal was to correct the "only MB approved oil" mentality to make readers aware that a manufacturer cannot dictate certain lubrications without making them available at no charge to the consumer. Only after two posters commented about the use of Lucas products did I make a post including links to read about how Mobil1 and Lucas compared against AMSOIL.

Then, Tiger commented on AMSOIL properties being better than Mobil1.

And then, carnut made the comment "Best to use an oil that is approved by MB. If it is, it will say so on the container. If it doesn't mention MB229.3 (or MB229.5) then it is not approved".

I only posted to let readers understand that a manufacturer cannot demand exclusive use of a certain lubrication without providing it at no charge.

While it is true that it would be nice to gain customers from my postings, I'm here to inform and correct posters that state "only approved" oils should be used because it's just not true.

The web site listed

is not an official web site from Mercedes Benz and even it recommends several AMSOIL products for some Mercedes Benz vehicles. Believe what you want about my postings. I just wanted to clear the air concerning the "MB approved oil" statement.

"Steve" wrote

This TSB was issued in 2001 and should still apply to car in question ('98 E320). Whatever you buy, check that the container says MB229.3. Technical Service Bulletin - Synthetic Oil Recommendations for FFS Vehicles

a.. Oil: Technical Service Bulletins b.. Synthetic Oil Recommendations - For FFS Vehicles c.. Date: February 2001 d.. Order No.: S-SI-00.40/71 e.. Supersedes: f.. Group: 00 g.. SUBJECT: h.. ALL MODELS NEW SYNTHETIC OIL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FSS EQUIPPED VEHICLES Mercedes-Benz USA has changed the engine lubricant recommendation for FSS-equipped vehicles: effective immediately, Mercedes-Benz only recommends the use of MB approved synthetic motor oil for all vehicles equipped with the Flexible Service System as of Model Year 1998.

Mercedes-Benz recommends the use of Mercedes-Benz approved synthetic engine oils listed in the Mercedes-Benz oil specification sheet 229.1 or 229.3 which also meet ACEA A3/B3 and/or API SH/SJ classifications. Oil specification sheets 229.1 and 229.3 for worldwide use can be found on the Workshop Information System (WIS). If a MB approved or ACEA A3/B3 quality engine oil is not available, then an API quality engine oil meeting the API SH/SJ classification can be used. Optimal engine performance of FSS equipped vehicles can only be maintained with the continued use of MB approved synthetic oil. Each Retailer will receive under separate cover a copy of an updated "Factory Approved Service Products" booklet which reflects the recommended use of only Mercedes-Benz approved synthetic motor oil for all vehicles equipped with Flexible Service System. The Factory Approved Service Products booklet lists recommended synthetic oils which are available in the USA. All retailers are requested to immediately institute this transition from standard mineral oil to approved synthetic oil on all Mercedes-Benz vehicles equipped with FSS technology. All owners of MY98 to MY01-to-date vehicles will receive notice from MBUSA advising of this change in recommended engine lubricant. Clients owning MY00 and MY01-to-date Mercedes-Benz vehicles will further be informed that synthetic oil will be used as specified by the Flexible Service System and will be covered by the Mercedes-Benz Maintenance Commitment, at no expense to the client. The Maintenance Commitment warranty claims submission process remains unchanged: Synthetic oil should be claimed in a local purchase format. (example: Engoil00550 with the respective quantity).

CN

| This TSB was issued in 2001 and should still apply to car in question ('98 | E320). Whatever you buy, check that the container says MB229.3. | Technical Service Bulletin - Synthetic Oil Recommendations for FFS Vehicles | | | | a.. Oil: Technical Service Bulletins | b.. Synthetic Oil Recommendations - For FFS Vehicles | c.. Date: February 2001 | d.. Order No.: S-SI-00.40/71 | e.. Supersedes: | f.. Group: 00 | g.. SUBJECT: | h.. ALL MODELS | NEW SYNTHETIC OIL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FSS EQUIPPED VEHICLES Mercedes-Benz | USA has changed the engine lubricant recommendation for FSS-equipped | vehicles: effective immediately, Mercedes-Benz only recommends the use of MB | approved synthetic motor oil for all vehicles equipped with the Flexible | Service System as of Model Year 1998. | | Mercedes-Benz recommends the use of Mercedes-Benz approved synthetic engine | oils listed in the Mercedes-Benz oil specification sheet 229.1 or

229.3 | which also meet ACEA A3/B3 and/or API SH/SJ classifications. Oil | specification sheets 229.1 and 229.3 for worldwide use can be found on the | Workshop Information System (WIS). If a MB approved or ACEA A3/B3 quality | engine oil is not available, then an API quality engine oil meeting the API | SH/SJ classification can be used. Optimal engine performance of FSS equipped | vehicles can only be maintained with the continued use of MB approved | synthetic oil. Each Retailer will receive under separate cover a copy of an | updated "Factory Approved Service Products" booklet which reflects the | recommended use of only Mercedes-Benz approved synthetic motor oil for all | vehicles equipped with Flexible Service System. The Factory Approved Service | Products booklet lists recommended synthetic oils which are available in the | USA. All retailers are requested to immediately institute this transition | from standard mineral oil to approved synthetic oil on all Mercedes-Benz | vehicles equipped with FSS technology. All owners of MY98 to MY01-to-date | vehicles will receive notice from MBUSA advising of this change in | recommended engine lubricant. Clients owning MY00 and MY01-to-date | Mercedes-Benz vehicles will further be informed that synthetic oil will be | used as specified by the Flexible Service System and will be covered by the | Mercedes-Benz Maintenance Commitment, at no expense to the client. The | Maintenance Commitment warranty claims submission process remains unchanged: | Synthetic oil should be claimed in a local purchase format. (example: | Engoil00550 with the respective quantity). | | | | CN |

Carnut:

Thanks for posting the TSB from Mercedes-Benz.

As I stated before, the TSB only recommends - the TSB does not state that the oil recommended is the only one approved for use in Mercedes Benz vehicles. And, the TSB goes on to say that the MB 229.1 or 229.3 is equilvaent to the API Spec of SH/SJ or ACEA spec of A3/B3.

The information posted at the AMSOIL web site for the 5W-40 European Forrmula states that it meets the API spec of SM/CF which exceeds the API specifications put forth in the MB TSB and that it also meets the ACEA spec of not only A3/B3-04 but also C3-04 which (again) exceeds the recommendations in the MB TSB.

I understand your concern about using a lubrication not specifically mentioned in the TSB. It is only because Mercedes-Benz has not specically tested the AMSOIL lubricants and therefore cannot make the statement that AMSOIL is known to MB to meet or exceed their recommendations. In no way does this infer that AMSOIL lubricants are not good enough to use in Mercedes-Benz vehicles.

Please click on the link below and read the statements yourself:

Take the time to look around the AMSOIL web site, see the statistics, read about the company's rich history and how the AMSOIL lubricants were developed. Once you have a thorough understanding of the company and their commitment to excellence, you'll be a convert too!

You owe it to yourself and the customers you serve to investigate AMSOIL lubricants. I know you have your customers' best interest and want only to provide the most excellent care to their automobiles. Once you come to understand that AMSOIL is the best, you will naturally become the best recommendation that money can't buy!

If there are other questions concerning AMSOIL, please don't hesitate to send me mail directly. If I don't know the answer, we have two automotive engineers in our group - one Ford and one G.M.

Steve is right about oil. All that is required to meet the manufacture specification is the grading. All oil in USA is rated by API... I believe the latest grading is SM for gas engine and CJ for diesel.

As long the oil meets that specification and synthetic, warranty cannot be denied. This is protected by I believe Magnusen- (something). law... which is basically protect consumers using aftermarket parts instead of OE parts... stating that if the parts are equivalent grade or higher than manufacture spec, they cannot deny your warranty. This law also protect you from whole car denial... say someone installed a new high performance engine into the car. The manufacture cannot void the warranty for the whole car because of that engine. They can deny the engine warranty but nothing else as long it is stock.

As for those of you who prefer to stick to what MB specified, that's fine... these are the minimum you should use. The keyword is MINIMUM...

Mobil 1 oil was tested by someone... can't remember either and they found Mobil 1 oil is good for up to 12,000 miles but at that time, there is increased in engine wear. Although Mobil 1 specifically stated 7500 miles and are promoting their better Mobil 1 oil that can go 15,000 miles. This is all marketing. to get more money out of your pocket.

Most MB FSS calculated oil change to be around 10,000 miles... I don't think I ever seen anything much higher than this personally. So our cars are basically once a year oil change.

Putting better oil into MB is also good too... protect your investment. The question is what do you get out of it. If you can get more MPG with better oil and product, then it pays for itself in your gas expense.

I do plan on trying out Amsoil for whole car to see if I can get more MPG out of it. Wheel bearing grease, rear end grease, engine oil... whereever there are fristions. I asked a friend who did that and he said he got about

10+% more fuel mileage so it is worth trying.

Before I get flamed from my previous comment.

I have to say that practically all synthetic oil are very similar. You actually get what you paid for and the technicalities between who is much better than the other is non-sense. Why? Well, the majority of US still change synthetic oil out by 3000 miles... 5000 miles or even 7500 miles. Everyone said it is just the matter of keeping the enigne in good shape...

I got news for you... at least in USA, majority dump their car by 3, 4 or 5 years. So what's the point of such a frequent oil change for synthetic? Money in their pocket for something you don't need to spend but you did.

For the rest of us who got cars that racked over 130,000 miles and still keeping it, it make a bit more sense in careful maintenance yet we have to be green... don't just change out synthetic oil because of that 3000-7500 miles mentality.

You have to think about it... when is the last time you had to replace an engine because it worned out from bad oil? Really... when did you do it? For the vast majority of us... never happened unless something else happened... timing belt broke... timing chain jumped... sucked in water... or simply we bought a used car with horribly maintained engine.

Does more frequent oil change save your water pump? No. Does more frequent oil change save your alternator? No.

Yet all synthetic oil should be changed at least once a year... even Amsoil

25,000 miles motor oil said either that or 1 year... whichever comes first.... now why is that? Oil and metal creates acid... acid is harmful for anything, but it is the additive that neutralize that... and it is best to use as much as the product intends to protect until that protection is almost exhausted... not before... because that would be a waste... you paid for it but didn't use it.

It is almost as if you paid $2 for a soda but only drank 1/4 before you threw it away...even though it is your favorite drink.

Enough rambling...

"Steve" wrote

There's NO chance of that - I bought a MB (in fact I have 3!) and I use the oil they recommend (and they have tested those and most other oils including Amsoil which they do include in their listings for some applications). But this thread is (or at least was) about a 1998 Mercedes Benz E320.

I am just a car owner with no customrers or hidden agenda trying to answer a question from an owner of the same model of car that I drive.

Surprised that Amsoil has to resort to Usenet as a method of selling their products. If it so good, why doesn't everone use it? I imagine considering the time this product as been on the market, public does not preceive any measurable cost benefit.

CN

I agree with you. Oil changes can be much less frequent than what US participants in this NG seem to think.

Modern cars have trip computers and give you estimates when the car should be serviced (and oil changed).

I use my car infrequently and when the computer thinks too much time has elapsed it switches from a miles target to a countdown on a number-of-days-to-service basis.

DAS

To send an e-mail directly replace "spam" with "schmetterling"