87 replies to this topic

[mini93]

i used valvoline racing oil...like hell i would put asda oil in my engine when iv spent this money on it my bearings probably still look as good as when i put them in...saying that i did run my car in on tesco oil.

[alicetheauto]

I have been using this and the wilkos equivalent for around 10k in one car and 8k miles in another. The current car does not leak, gearchange is still very slick, no rattles, no smoke at all. I do oil changes every 1500miles, and get filters for £1.20 so dont care. I usually change plugs at the same time, but I get them cheap too.

[Sprocket]

Fuels and Oils are manufactured to a base specification irrespective of oil refinery. The different brands of fuel and oil have differing addatives which makes up these brands.

Shell fuels are NOT the same as Tesco fuels, however, they are blended from the exact same base stocks and depending on regions, from the same refinery.

Fuels blended from Shell base stocks have a distinct strong odour, compared to Exon Mobil (ESSO) base stocks, this is because they are refined from oil from differnt parts of the world. The base stocks still meet the same specification

Addatives can be many things but mostly anti aging products, detergents, octane modifiers and lubricants. The more you pay (within reason, not taking into consideration service area inflation and regional differencies) for fuel the more addatives you can expect, and as far as I am concerned, based on experience and evidence, Shell Vpower is the best. Shell also gaurantee Vpower to be 99 octane at the pump It leaves the refinery as 100. There is more to fuel than just the octane rating.

Oils have a similar story. There is more to oil than the viscosity rating. The main thing you should be looking for in an oil for the Mini engine is the ZDDP content. Any oil with an API specification higher than SF, dont waste your money as it will be damaging your cam and gearbox.

There is loads of information on the internet, whether it is right or not, about recycled oil. Oil is recycled as what else do you do with used engine oil after you have put it in the oil bank at your local supermarket. The waste oil is refined once again and is said to be used in low quantities in cheaper oils to reduce the new base stock oil content, which makes it cheaper. It has also been suggested that recycled oil if used in large enough quantities in a blend of new base stock can be classed as semi synthetic as it has had a certain amount of re engineering as a result of the recycling process. How true all this is I'm not sure.

If you love your engine, want the very best for your engine, and want to look after your engine, buy the best fuel and oil

And to bring this back on topic, the ASDA oil does not have an API rating as if it did, it would be printed on the container. That does not mean that it wouldnt meet the API specification, but it also means it might not meet the API specification. You have no idea what addatives are in it (the important ZZDP) if at all, so in such a case you should treat it as a plain 20w50 oil with no addatives what so ever. Far from ideal. Its not exactly looking after your engine in this day and age. I will not use anything other than Millers Trans M 20w50 which is specificaly formulated for these little engines. I'm not sure if it has an API rating, but it most certainly does have the right levels of ZDDP. Others that have a suitable API rating for standard and mild tune, are Duckhams Q (if you can find it) and Halfords Classic. If its a high performance engine use the Millers!! I only use the ASDA oil to start a new engine and get it up to operating temperature, it is then imediately changed for propper running in oil from either Millers or Penrite.

If you do use the ASDA oil, dont use it for anything other than a standard engine and change it frequently as already mentioned.

Whow, that was epic lol

Edited by Sprocket, 20 December 2009 - 10:01 PM.

[In-a-mini]

Alot of people are talking about additives that are added to oils yeah brilliant in modern style engines but minis require more basic good grade mineral oil not all singing and dancing synthetic oil with a huge price tag. As people have said engines that are not stressed or abused cheap oil will be fine and for running an engine in it is perfect. Special running in oil used to be available and pretty much that is all it was. There was an article in one of the mini mags and this stated everything I'm saying here.

[Phaeton]

I think the clear thing here is to remember, unless you have a modified engine, the basic standard engine is a 1950's design, the oil that was available then, probably bears very little resemblance to the high specification of the ASDA stuff. The 2 main thing with an A series is, is there oil in it, yes, do I have at least some oil pressure, yes, the rest is just snobbery.

Alan...

[Sprocket]

I think the clear thing here is to remember, unless you have a modified engine, the basic standard engine is a 1950's design, the oil that was available then, probably bears very little resemblance to the high specification of the ASDA stuff.
Alan...

You are having a laugh mate

The originaly 1960s oil would have had a load fo ZDDP, this ASDA stuff - I'd be surprised if there ws any in it at all!!

The ZDDP is not a modern, high tec addative, and IS immensly important to not only the cam life, but the gearbox too. Modern gearboxes have their own oil and the oil is loaded with ZDDP.

Edited by Sprocket, 21 December 2009 - 12:53 AM.

[Sprocket]

Alot of people are talking about additives that are added to oils yeah brilliant in modern style engines but minis require more basic good grade mineral oil not all singing and dancing synthetic oil with a huge price tag. As people have said engines that are not stressed or abused cheap oil will be fine and for running an engine in it is perfect. Special running in oil used to be available and pretty much that is all it was. There was an article in one of the mini mags and this stated everything I'm saying here.

Running in oil is still available from Millers and Penrite. It is not just a basic oil with no addatives, rather, it has a high ZDDP content to protect the cam while the engine is run in

[minikidx14]

The oil ive got here says ' API SE CC ' Is that good then?

[Dan]

All diesel fuel will be out of specification soon anyway and I don't know how they are going to resolve it!!

Why's that then? Have certain additives been made illegal or is the consistency of crude that is currently available wrong for making Diesel?

Alot of people are talking about additives that are added to oils yeah brilliant in modern style engines but minis require more basic good grade mineral oil not all singing and dancing synthetic oil with a huge price tag.

Mineral oil with additives is still mineral oil, that's not what makes it synthetic. The reason you might have to buy a more expensive oil now than you did in the '50s is because they have stopped including additives that were common back then in modern cheap oils because newer engines don't need them. Also, to suggest that the material specification of the A series engine didn't change during its 50 odd year production run is ludicrous.

Duckhams Q will not be available again, they are now marketing Castrol as their principle classic motoring brand and pulling Duckhams out of that sector. Castrol Classic is the current equivalent.

[Grayedout]

The reason you might have to buy a more expensive oil now than you did in the '50s is because they have stopped including additives that were common back then in modern cheap oils because newer engines don't need them.

and environmental issues and vehicle developments such as cats stop us using certain (very good) additives in the oils !!

[R1minimagic]

The main difference people seem to be forgetting is that the mini engine shares it's engine oil with the gearbox, therefore it is more important to use an oil that has good shear stability i.e. a semi synthetic or better. All engines require ZDDP which is an extreme pressure (EP) additive coating vital areas in the valvetrain to give wear resistance.

Due to the environmental pressure from various governments and other bodies, all European countries have strict targets on the amount (%) of biodiesel that has to be produced. The EN590 specification for diesel states 5% MAX biodiesel (B5), however, due to the pressures there is already a lot of fuel on the forecourts which already has 7 or 8% biodiesel and it is constantly increasing. The main resistance is from the engine manufacturers (OEMs) as biodiesel is not kind to engines. What this means is that if you have a problem with your engine and it is found to be due to biodiesel, your car will not be covered under the warranty!!

Talk is for B10 to be around very shortly, but the OEMs will not approve it!

Also, due to fuel in oil dilution (from blowby, leaky fuel pumps etc) the oil change interval needs to be severely reduced when using biodiesel!!

[Phaeton]

I think the clear thing here is to remember, unless you have a modified engine, the basic standard engine is a 1950's design, the oil that was available then, probably bears very little resemblance to the high specification of the ASDA stuff.
Alan...

You are having a laugh mate

The originaly 1960s oil would have had a load fo ZDDP, this ASDA stuff - I'd be surprised if there ws any in it at all!!

The ZDDP is not a modern, high tec addative, and IS immensly important to not only the cam life, but the gearbox too. Modern gearboxes have their own oil and the oil is loaded with ZDDP.

You're missing the point with selective quoting, on a non-modified A series engine

The 2 main thing with an A series is, is there oil in it, yes, do I have at least some oil pressure, yes, the rest is just snobbery.

Alan...

[In-a-mini]

i was stating what i had been told and read in various articles and by various engine builders. Im pretty sure the article i was thinking of was written by Keith Calver and it went in to oil additives etc. For a fresh engine build things require wear to bed in so when the oil is full of additives things like cams bearings and rings dont settle and glaze over and for cams if they dont work harden then they go flat in no time.
I used tesco (£1 per Ltr) oil in a clubby i drove way too hard for 4 years and other than topping up i never did an oil change. I split the engine this year to rob some bits from and for a 90+k engine it was bloody good inside other than valve recess etc. so i think there is alot of snobbery over some cheap oils.

[Dan]

I knew there was a reason oil threads were banned! It's all coming back to me horribly now.

[In-a-mini]

i didnt know they were banned lol