4 replies to this topic

[cityandcolour]

i have an engine which i'll be coming to fit soon, it'll be quite a high performance one (if that matters)
my question is, can i run it on castrol R, i love the smell of it! it'll be an everyday car as well as my toy, just wondered whether its okay since its a daily driver

[Bungle]

this has been discussed before

from what i remember the engine has to be freshly rebuilt and all traces previous engine oil removed

can't remember why

[lrostoke]

Does smell good though

[GraemeC]

As said, the engine needs to have been run on R40 from the outset as mineral, semi- or synthetic oils will react and emulsify with the castor based R40 and start to block the oil ways. Minerals oil I believe is the worst for this.

You can carry out the change by refilling with R40, running the engine briefly (ie circulate the oil but not get it hot) then change the oil again with fresh R40. Then repeat. Then repeat again and this time should be good to go (although still adviseable to change the oil at around 1k miles). So that's at least 4 gallons of R40 at around £35/gallon. To be honest probably cheaper to pull and strip the engine!!!!!

Another option is to use Castrol Edge 10W-60 (not Edge Sport) as this has some addatives that create a similar odour. However some will argue this isn't in spec for the Mini engine.

Finally, and the most common and best approach, buy yourself a 1l bottle of R40 from a motorbike shop and add a cap full to every tank of petrol - it burns off in the combustion process with no detriment but produces the smell perfectly

[bmcecosse]

It's really really NOT an oil for everyday use - would need to be carefully warmed up before revving the engine. It was THE oil in it's day - but now the modern oils are better for your engine. As above - a spot in the tank as 'Upper Cylinder Lub' - works well!