motor oil: which type

madasafish · Unread post by **madasafish** » 20 Apr 2005, 18:25

>freek
castrol say in their technical description "highly refined mineral oil"
http://amtulld002.bp.com/bpglis/lsdsukf ... 010191.PDF

arry_b · Unread post by **arry_b** » 20 Apr 2005, 18:42

They don't actually go out of their way to publicise that fact to the general public, do they?
Perhaps if they did, people would see it as the overpriced / overhyped product that it is.
BTW - if it sticks to metal, like they claim, how do you change it?

madasafish · Unread post by **madasafish** » 20 Apr 2005, 20:56

Unfortunately, the Advertising Standards Authority and Trading Standards let them get away legally becuase of some technicality.
It's a con . All oil sticks to metal. It's NOT the sticking but the ability to lubricate after some use or under arduous conditions that's important...

shezads · Unread post by **shezads** » 20 Apr 2005, 21:27

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by shezads

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by arry_b

They don't actually go out of their way to publicise that fact to the general public, do they?
Perhaps if they did, people would see it as the overpriced / overhyped product that it is.
BTW - if it sticks to metal, like they claim, how do you change it?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Thats right - if you search for it in google - iam sure you'll find the reports of the court case concerning magnetic - when castrol tried passing it off as a synthetic. Another oil company was not pleased (I think mobile) - and sued for false advertising/ false claims. Suprisingly the courts decided in Castrols favour - even though techies agreed it was not a synthetic in the true sense of the word. It is 'synthetically engineered' - marketing speech for mineral oil - with a additve mixed in.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Kowalski · Unread post by **Kowalski** » 20 Apr 2005, 21:54

Comma do four different types of engine oils.
They do plain mineral (blue bottles), syntheticaly fortified (yellow bottles), semi synthetic and synthetic oils. What the difference between the first three is I could not say for sure, i.e. how much synthetic does an oil need before its semi-synthetic?

Niek · Unread post by **Niek** » 21 Apr 2005, 02:11

Thanks for the input. I'll go for a full synthetic next time (probably 5w40) and steer clear of the Castrol... I'll post if anything 'funny' happens.

shezads · Unread post by **shezads** » 21 Apr 2005, 19:11

I use Halfords own brand - 5w40 in my zx td thats done 105000 miles- you can sometimes get this on offer - 2 for £30 (5l). This is rebranded - I thnink it's Esso or Texaco synthetic. - Similar to Comma.
Runs fine - no need to top up, no leaks.
Comma and millers oils are good quality oils. Castrol slx II is good - but very expensive

Kowalski · Unread post by **Kowalski** » 21 Apr 2005, 21:28

My older Xantia, with 150k+ miles gets mineral oil, it uses no oil and runs just fine. The cheapest oil works as well as the most expensive.

freek · Unread post by **freek** » 22 Apr 2005, 00:43

Thank you all for your useful hints on this topic. I did not suspect that the word 'Magnatec' lead to complete new insights (for me at least) into the way customers are mislead by famous firms. It is now clear to me why I didn't find any information about the consistency on the bottle. Next time I go for the cheaper brands and look at the API-specification!
Regards,
Freek

mattpc · Unread post by **mattpc** » 22 Apr 2005, 00:47

I always find semi synth total 7000 worked a treat from gsf. However, I was dismayed to find that they no longer seem to sell it at gsf. I don't like wasting money but I also like to put decent oil in my car and i found the total quartz 7000 a good compromise..

stewart_c · Unread post by **stewart_c** » 22 Apr 2005, 01:30

I tried an experiment changing the oil in my xantia td using first mineral then synthetic then repeated again & I found that I was getting about 3mpg more using the fully synthetic which over 6k miles was self financing & I beleive that the fully synthetic made for smoother running & at 196k I don't want to encourage any engine problems

madmanbob · Unread post by **madmanbob** » 22 Apr 2005, 03:08

I have found that it made so much difference in the engine of my bike, a BMW R1100S, that I also put it in her bike, also an R1100S and did'nt tell her. The first trip out on the bikes she was amazed and asked what I had done.
I used 5W40 bought in a French supermarket for £15 per 5 liters.

Kowalski · Unread post by **Kowalski** » 22 Apr 2005, 03:44

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by stewart_c

I tried an experiment changing the oil in my xantia td using first mineral then synthetic then repeated again & I found that I was getting about 3mpg more using the fully synthetic which over 6k miles was self financing & I beleive that the fully synthetic made for smoother running & at 196k I don't want to encourage any engine problems
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
I tried the same, going from mineral, to semi-synth to fully synth. I couldn't see the blindest bit of difference between the three on fuel economy and I keep the figures meticulously always have done. I've got fuel economy figures for over 50k miles on Xantias and I know what makes a difference and what doesn't. The biggest difference in fuel economy I've had was keeping tyres at the correct pressure, second came driving at 70mph (instead of 80) and third comes taking off the catalyst. Oil had no noticable effect neither has the fuel brand.

DoubleChevron · Unread post by **DoubleChevron** » 22 Apr 2005, 05:55

Hi Guys,
there is someone on the DSeries-L list that used to manage a Taxi company back in the 80's in the USA. He said a lot of engines were killed from 'black death' back then. However anyone that paid the small amount extra for Castrol GTX(2) never had problems.
25years on and I'm still running plain old boring Castrol GTX in my old CX's and DS's. It's been good enough for the last 30+years, so why would that suddenly be no good ???
As for our modern stuff, modern oils for modern times. My CX GTi Turbo is old technology, I run a 15-50 semi synthetic in it. I figure the immense cost of synthetic oil for it is wasted. After all it will have used mineral oils for the last 100,000miles. However for the same cost I can afford to change it's oil twice as often (I change it about every 6000kms). The Xantia and BX's I use the same oil in. Here in Australia it doesn't get very cold, so getting the thin 05/40 or 10/40 oils is pointless.
I've never had an engine wear out, or engine failure in a Citroen. Just keep fresh high quality oil in them, and don't overheat them and they'll last a llllllllloooooooooonnnnnnnnngggggggg time.
seeya,
Shane L.