Lubricating a modded car? Read this first

[oilman]

Originally Posted by kinjamin

Whats so special about using the Castrol as regards to the VAG specific ones?

Kinjamin

I wouldn't say there is anything special about the Castrol Edge oils in comparison to other top end branded oils that meet VW specs, such as Fuchs or Mobil, but they are better than the Quantum that VW sell.

With oils like Quantum, and all own branded oils, they are made to a budget by the lowest bidder, so sometimes Castrol will be making it, other times it may be Comma, Carlube, Texaco or other companies you haven't heard of. As it's the lowest bidder that gets the production contract, they then have to make it at the lowest cost, so the quality of the basestock will be reduced and usually the thing they really cut back on is the additive package. They will use an additive package that just scrapes the VW requirements, so it saves them a little bit, but in oils like Castrol Edge, the additive package will exceed the manufacturers requirements. As the additive package affects a lot of things with the oil, using a proper branded oil will mean that as the car approaches the end of a service period, the branded oil will be in better condition, giving better protection to the engine. Also because of the better additive package, the engine will have been protected better all the way from the last time it was serviced.

Why would car companies want to make an oil that's really good? They don't want the oil to be too good as then it leads to the car lasting too long and less repairs, so less money for the car company.

Cheers

Tim

[kinjamin]

Originally Posted by oilman

I wouldn't say there is anything special about the Castrol Edge oils in comparison to other top end branded oils that meet VW specs, such as Fuchs or Mobil, but they are better than the Quantum that VW sell.

With oils like Quantum, and all own branded oils, they are made to a budget by the lowest bidder, so sometimes Castrol will be making it, other times it may be Comma, Carlube, Texaco or other companies you haven't heard of. As it's the lowest bidder that gets the production contract, they then have to make it at the lowest cost, so the quality of the basestock will be reduced and usually the thing they really cut back on is the additive package. They will use an additive package that just scrapes the VW requirements, so it saves them a little bit, but in oils like Castrol Edge, the additive package will exceed the manufacturers requirements. As the additive package affects a lot of things with the oil, using a proper branded oil will mean that as the car approaches the end of a service period, the branded oil will be in better condition, giving better protection to the engine. Also because of the better additive package, the engine will have been protected better all the way from the last time it was serviced.

Why would car companies want to make an oil that's really good? They don't want the oil to be too good as then it leads to the car lasting too long and less repairs, so less money for the car company.

Cheers

Tim

Thanks for the excellent advice!

Kinjamin

[RichieRich]

hi there i have a pd115 running 160 ish and it has 120k on the clock what oil would u recomend for my engine? thanks, ps ive tried registering onto your site but apparently i dont hold a valid post code of ox7 6la? first time this has happend...

[oilman]

That's a bit odd, can you give us a call?

http://www.opieoils.co.uk/c-751-vw-50501-oil.aspx

Those are all pretty good oils, perhaps the Castrol, Fuchs and Amsoil are the best, but they are all absolutely fine.

Cheers

Tim

[RichieRich]

i can do no probs when is best for you? cheers for that , i used a diff page to register (probably the main one) this time and it worked fine

[oilman]

Anytime from 8.30am to 5.30pm, I'll be there

[bubbles1]

I read somewhere that changing your oil too often is not good for the engine as the detergents in fresh oil can have an adverse effect on oil seals in the engine is this true?

I shall be filling my 200bhp ibiza (2003) TDI with fuchs pro s 5w 40 in preparation for the coming track day and nurburgring season.
My car suffered the dreaded chocolate cam problem at 106k miles and it now has uprated cam followers and with the ester based fuchs oil I'm hoping for no further problems.

[oilman]

Never heard that changing the oil too often is a bad thing. I can't see there being any truth in it.

The Pro S should be ideal.

Cheers

Tim

[RobDon]

Which 5W40 oil would you recommend for a fast road car (no trackdays) driven quite hard, 1.8T Leon with around 350bhp? Currently using Millers CFS 5W40 but have noticed some cheaper alternatives, like the Gulf competition oil, Castrol Edge, Mobil Super 3000, etc..?

Millers CFS - £54.43 5Litres

Gulf competition - £40.49 5L

Castrol Edge - £40.12 *4L*

Mobil Super 3000 - £35.10 5L

Fuchs Titan supersyn - £29.15 5L

Shell Helix Ultra - £34.92 5L

[oilman]

Those are all good oils in their own way, but the Millers and Gulf are the best there as they are the ester based ones and give the best protection. I'd personally go for the Gulf as it's very similar to the Millers, but much better priced.

Cheers

Tim

[RobDon]

That's what I wanted to know, thanks. I'll go for the Gulf next time.

[oilman]

Good choice

[Rgm racer]

Hi Oilman,

track prepped leon cupra r 05 mk1 [400bhp],currently use 5/40 full syn and change approx every 4 track days inc.driving to and from tracks.on track get up to temps of approx 125 deg. [do run oil cooler] would you say on this basis this viscosity is ok?

Am i right in thinking lower first figure is weight cold and second figure is figure when hot? if so are they different units of measurement as otherwise i don't understand how second figure is higher than first as surely oil is thinner when hot?

finally out of interest would the same or very similar viscosity in a "long life" oil be any better? not for reasons of particularly leaving it any longer between changes but does the fact it's designed to last that much longer mean it is a superior quality oil?

[oilman]

Hi

Which oil are you using and how many hours use is 4 trackdays?

Cheers

Tim

[Rgm racer]

Originally Posted by oilman

Hi

Which oil are you using and how many hours use is 4 trackdays?

Cheers

Tim

Hi Tim,

I have been using Shell Helix Ultra 5w40 fully synthetic.

Run approx 2hrs per typical track day,say 6 runs of around 20 mins or more runs of about 15 mins each. So looking at say 8hrs ish hard use [over 4 track days] and then driving to and from track, and very occasional run on road in between to keep things in use as it's not an everyday car. Normally amounts to no more than 2000 miles between changes but would certainly never exceed 2500 miles.

[oilman]

Thanks for that.

This explains oil viscosity

http://www.opieoils.co.uk/pdfs/tech-...-Viscosity.pdf

I'd stick with a 5w-40, but go for a better one as 8 hours at up to about 125C is probably a bit much for the Helix

http://www.opieoils.co.uk/c-656-5w-40.aspx

Out of those, the best ones are the Fuchs/Silkolene Pro S, Millers CFS/CFS NT, Motul 300V, Redline and Gulf Competition.

A longlife oil is no benefit, they are designed for longlife use on the road, not under harsh conditions on the track.

Cheers

Tim

[Rgm racer]

Thanks for reply.

[Rgm racer]

Hi,what Gearbox oil/viscosity etc.would you recommend for my car based on serious track use and running a quaiffe diff,if that makes any difference??

[BrettBlade]

Really useful thread! I have a 2005 PD130 FR Ibiza that's due a change soon, what would you recommend? It's a minefield!

[oilman]

Originally Posted by Rgm racer

Hi,what Gearbox oil/viscosity etc.would you recommend for my car based on serious track use and running a quaiffe diff,if that makes any difference??

As it's got the Quaife diff, go for the Fuchs Syn 5, it's what Quaife recommend.

http://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-68901-fu...-5-75w-90.aspx

Cheers

Tim