Longlife III FE 0W30 507 engine oil

[SuperV8]

That time of year again for my service and I noticed whilst searching for the usual 5w30 507 oil that VAG appear to have a new 0w30 version replacing the 5w30.

"Original VW Longlife III FE 0W30 engine oil. (VW catalog number - GS55545). Replacing discontinued VW Longlife III 5W30 oil (VW catalog number - G052195). Used in Volkswagen vehicles that require 504.00 or 507.00 standards."

Thought someone might find this interesting!

 

[RUM4MO]

My 2011 Audi S4, for its first (variable) service, by the selling dealer, got refilled with 0-20W or 0-W30 Shell, back in January 2013, I moved it back to 5W-30Mobil One ESP a year later.

It must be good for the environment but I'll try to to stay with 5W-30 thanks.

 

[SuperV8]

My 2011 Audi S4, for its first (variable) service, by the selling dealer, got refilled with 0-20W or 0-W30 Shell, back in January 2013, I moved it back to 5W-30Mobil One ESP a year later.

It must be good for the environment but I'll try to to stay with 5W-30 thanks.

0w30 & 5w30 are the same (well very similar) viscosity when hot at 100degrees (they are both 30's) so your/any engine would see no difference when hot.
The 0w indicates its thinner when cold than the 5w - so gives the engine an easier time cranking/starting (especially in freezing temps), and offers quicker engine protection as the oil flows easier from a cold start.
Even though its thinner when cold compared to a 5w its still THICKER than 5w30 compared to when its hot so its not/can't be to thin!

Maybe this thinner when cold oil will help with the famous long crank issue of the TDI's - caused by the VVT valve sticking when cold? Certainly wont hurt!

A 0w20 on the other hand absolutely would be too thin when hot so I hope that wasn't used in your S4.

 

[RUM4MO]

I'm probably thinking more about working out or find engine oils that assist with minimising LSPI as that seems can be an issue with the smaller TSI engines.

Edit:- I do admit that many of us were mugged into thinking "the thicker the better" - even at start up, "back in the day" and missed the point that at cold start, the quality oil was not getting to all the important places very quickly, so it just could not be doing a good job.

 

[Crossthreaded]

I'm probably thinking more about working out or find engine oils that assist with minimising LSPI as that seems can be an issue with the smaller TSI engines.

Edit:- I do admit that many of us were mugged into thinking "the thicker the better" - even at start up, "back in the day" and missed the point that at cold start, the quality oil was not getting to all the important places very quickly, so it just could not be doing a good job.

'Morning RUM. Hope you are keeping well? Big day today, "Twinkle" my Ibiza, (1 litre 3cylinder D.I. engine) got dropped off at AVW first thing this morning to get her cambelt done. Truth be told I'm feeling a bit "impotent" about it all as it's the first time in living memory that I've paid anyone else to do a cam belt on any of the "family fleet". I'm also getting an aircon service done (never been recharged since she was new in 2016) and I'm getting them to renew the spark plugs which are also the originals because I just don't fancy doing "battle" with the coils which I believe can be an absolute nightmare to remove on the EA211 engine family. I'm consoling myself that I managed to do all the other service tasks myself.

Interesting to catch you posting about LSPI concerns. I think I've mentioned before that I'm very interested in the LSPI (low speed pre-ignition) phenomenon and I've read a great deal about it and watched a lot of you tube videos. From what I've seen I think you will be able to hear it if it occurs and you have an "ear" for mechanical distress - the examples I've heard sound a bit like detonation. Not the light "tinkle" you get from "pinking" more a distressingly loud metallic hammering! The two main culprits seem to be unvaporized fuel in the combustion chamber and Calcium additives in the oil. The oil companies seem to be falling over themselves to produce LSPI friendly oils just now and every time I look someone else has come out with a new oil which complies. I've never heard my Ibiza make any questionable noises and I don't believe VAG have a particular problem with their DI engines, but some others do seem to suffer considerably.

Like you and until relatively recently I was very nervous about "ultra thin" oils but have now changed my mind and would always use an oil which meets the manufacturer specification although not necessarily the recommended brand. This is not to say I'd be running my recently sold Hillman imp on it! She liked to sip away at a good quality 20/50 or maybe 15/40 at a pinch! Your comments about the lower (cold) viscosity figure strikes a very real note with me. I "fiddle about" a lot with wee FIATs and their FIRE engines have shimmed type OHC cam followers. If unstarted for a few days the oil supply to the cam followers tends to drain down and the tappets (cam followers) will "rattle" for a few seconds after start up until the oil is pumped up through the oil galleries and head drillings. The older engines - 1990's - I ran on 10w/40 but in the newer ones I use 5w-40 and it's noticeable that the thinner cold spec rattles for less time. Perhaps surprisingly also find a difference in this respect due to individual manufacturer. For a number of years I've been using FUCHS oils in all the car's engines but prior to that I used Quantum in the VAG vehicles and whatever the spares supplier's good quality brand he was selling in the others - Vauxhall, Honda, FIAT, etc. The biggest difference I noticed was when I switched the FIATS from one middle eastern very high profile brand to Fuchs, both high spec 5W-40 oils to the "right" spec - it nearly halved the "rattle time" - can't explain that.

 

[RUM4MO]

Fuchs I think, used to the oil that most VAG DIYers aimed for once out of warranty, the tale was that VAG used that at initial fill at their factories, and VAG had a sort of deal with Castrol for most brands, except SEAT who pushed Repsol.
I started using Quantum Gold, then when it vanished and became Platinum, I moved to Fuchs - then when I got my Audi S4 in 2013, I moved to Mobil 1 ESP 5W-30.
LSPI, looking around the internet, for me at least does always seem to mean ending up on USA sites for Mobil 1 or some other brand, but always its USA area websites.
Mobil 1 European website does not mention any of the "names" that Mobil 1 USA market in their home market for addressing this problem, so is this, in reality, mainly an issue for hot areas that sell low grade/RON petrol, and maybe not (yet) seen as an issue for Northern European markets where cars use higher grade/RON petrol?
One thing that I want to do is to check the ph value of the G13 in my older daughter's May 2019 Leon Cupra, mainly because I've noticed at service time this year, that the ph value of the G12+ G12++ in my Feb 2011 Audi S4 is still near enough the same as it has always been, but my wife's August 2015 VW Polo 1.2TSI's G13 has moved a lot closer towards the "acid" region - which is maybe to be expected and the very reason that VAG started adding the pouches of Silcate crystals to keep that version of coolant G13 in good condition wrt to it ability to resist corrosion on metals in the system. I'm very near the point of changing the G12+/G12++ in that Audi S4 to G12EVO, I have bought the coolant, made up a "coolant level riser" - to artificially lift the level of the coolant so that bleeding becomes easier as that can be an issue with the Audi S4 etc as the heater pipes are at the normal coolant level of below it! Vacuum Coolant Refill Kit bought, a couple of Supercharger Charge Cooler plastic vent screws bought - just in case and a 10 litre clean plastic container as the G12EVO comes premixed in litre containers! It is also available to 50/60litre drums - but that is a bit much for my current use!

Anyway, yes you did mention coming across the term LSPI some time ago, and probably it was that that caused me to search today for available to us in UK, suitable engine oils for VW Group engines.

I hope your belt change went well, a friend of my wife's husband has a May 2011 Porsche Cayanne 3.0D and it has been in a garage in Pitt Street Leith since 2nd August for its service and MOT - and it is still there with reasons why they can't "calibrate" the electric handbrake system - oh dear! The owner thinks that they are a good bunch of lads and always takes that car there and it has always failed its MOTs for electric handbrake issues and a few other things every or every other year, but up to now he has been happy.

 

[Crossthreaded]

Fuchs I think, used to the oil that most VAG DIYers aimed for once out of warranty, the tale was that VAG used that at initial fill at their factories, and VAG had a sort of deal with Castrol for most brands, except SEAT who pushed Repsol.
I started using Quantum Gold, then when it vanished and became Platinum, I moved to Fuchs - then when I got my Audi S4 in 2013, I moved to Mobil 1 ESP 5W-30.
LSPI, looking around the internet, for me at least does always seem to mean ending up on USA sites for Mobil 1 or some other brand, but always its USA area websites.
Mobil 1 European website does not mention any of the "names" that Mobil 1 USA market in their home market for addressing this problem, so is this, in reality, mainly an issue for hot areas that sell low grade/RON petrol, and maybe not (yet) seen as an issue for Northern European markets where cars use higher grade/RON petrol?
One thing that I want to do is to check the ph value of the G13 in my older daughter's May 2019 Leon Cupra, mainly because I've noticed at service time this year, that the ph value of the G12+ G12++ in my Feb 2011 Audi S4 is still near enough the same as it has always been, but my wife's August 2015 VW Polo 1.2TSI's G13 has moved a lot closer towards the "acid" region - which is maybe to be expected and the very reason that VAG started adding the pouches of Silcate crystals to keep that version of coolant G13 in good condition wrt to it ability to resist corrosion on metals in the system. I'm very near the point of changing the G12+/G12++ in that Audi S4 to G12EVO, I have bought the coolant, made up a "coolant level riser" - to artificially lift the level of the coolant so that bleeding becomes easier as that can be an issue with the Audi S4 etc as the heater pipes are at the normal coolant level of below it! Vacuum Coolant Refill Kit bought, a couple of Supercharger Charge Cooler plastic vent screws bought - just in case and a 10 litre clean plastic container as the G12EVO comes premixed in litre containers! It is also available to 50/60litre drums - but that is a bit much for my current use!

Anyway, yes you did mention coming across the term LSPI some time ago, and probably it was that that caused me to search today for available to us in UK, suitable engine oils for VW Group engines.

I hope your belt change went well, a friend of my wife's husband has a May 2011 Porsche Cayanne 3.0D and it has been in a garage in Pitt Street Leith since 2nd August for its service and MOT - and it is still there with reasons why they can't "calibrate" the electric handbrake system - oh dear! The owner thinks that they are a good bunch of lads and always takes that car there and it has always failed its MOTs for electric handbrake issues and a few other things every or every other year, but up to now he has been happy.

Fuchs seem now to be the suppliers of Quantum branded oils you buy from TPS - I read a press release quite recently from Fuchs which clearly stated this. Of course it's virtually impossible to objectively asses whether the oil actually in your sump is doing the best job possible, but the Fuchs seems to be doing a good job in all the family vehicles at an "affordable" price - so that'll do me.

I think there may be something in what you are saying about hot climates and low RON fuel but probably not the whole story. As I was saying above, I've been reading a lot about the problem and the most credible theory seems to be that oil on the cylinder wall and trapped by the top compression ring then becomes mixed with some of the petrol being violently injected by the very high pressure DI injection system. This causes the microscopic oil droplets formed by this process to become much less viscous and so can be thrown up into the combustion space. The dilution also lowers it's ignition point so that it tends to auto ignite under the extreme pressure - and so temperature - of the turbo boosted charge which is now being compressed by the rising piston. This initiation of burning, long before the plug fires, then ignites the main charge of fuel/air in the cylinder and causes a violent increase of pressure in the cylinder well before the piston reaches the top of it's compression stroke so is trying to push the piston down whilst the crankshaft, assisted by the flywheel, is still pushing piston up. No engine can be expected to withstand this for long so eventually you get broken rings and piston lands, broken spark plugs, maybe a hole in the piston crown and other problems like bent or broken con rods. "Beyond economic repair sir - you need a new engine"! Calcium based detergent additives in the oil seem to be a major concern and experiments are going on with magnesium I believe. You can not correct this pre-ignition by adjusting the spark timing because it's not the plug spark which is initiating the burn. Although lubricants seem to hold much of the answer to the problem, engine design is also responsible for the way in which the fuel is injected. A fascinating subject which is moving fast by way of development and there's lots more for me to find out I'm sure.

The visit to AVW went very well. Car handed in at about 07.45 hrs and I had a very informative informal chat with a couple of the techs about the wee CHZB engine in my car. General opinion seems to be that no really major problems seem to be emerging with them to date. I've long been slightly worried about the "loose" sounding 5 speed gearbox fitted to these and one of the guys runs a vehicle with the same engine/gearbox combination. He agreed they do sound a bit like there's too much final drive backlash but again, says there are no major known problems with the box itself although there have been some clutch release bearing noises, especially with early versions - mine seems fine, no noises yet and he says that after over 5 years of use it's unlikely to suddenly do the dirty on me.

They - AVW - did a complete timing belt and tensioner with idler bearing renewal. They used a genuine VAG kit O4E - 198 - 119 - A and seem to have replaced some other stuff too - crank pulley sprocket bolt (a pretty large bolt, goodness knows what that was torqued up to?) also what looks to me like the VVT pulley plug and seal and some other bolts etc. They always like to do an auxiliary belt at the same time, a policy I completely agree with so that was changed too. The engine is running beautifully, just as it did when I handed her in, which is no less than I would have expected. I also got them to renew the spark plugs - still on the originals - and check over and recharge the air con for the first time. Finally as I've not done it since she was new, I got them to renew the brake fluid - sometimes a nasty wee job with the possibility of breaking bleed nipples and spilling fluid on the paint, much to it's detriment. I wondered about the wee water pump belt on the other end of the head but was told it really is virtually a fitted for life component and certainly wouldn't need doing at a mere 23,000 miles so to just leave it alone probably until the next belt needs done or I have a problem with the thermostats.

I asked them to leave the old belt kit in the car for me to examine and initially I thought the belt looked to be in very good condition. No signs of cracking either on the back of the belt or at the teeth bases, but closer examination revealed one dodgy looking bit and I'm glad I had it changed now. The main dealer recommendation to examine the belt and only change it if needed worries me because to have spotted this "defect" the engine would have had to be turned slowly through a complete revolution of the belt and a very close observation carried out. I doubt if many would be this fastidious and it would probably be missed. I'll try to take a picture of this anomaly and post it here maybe tomorrow. Both the tensioner bearing and the idler bearing felt as smooth as the proverbial babies bum and would have been good for many more miles.

I got a call at around 16,00 hrs to say the car had just been parked up and I could come and collect it, and the cost? I got £12 change back from £600. A big bill I have to agree but very acceptable considering what was done and I'm sure, considerably less than the main dealer would have relieved me off. So, full marks to AVW from me for a job well done at a very good price and such pleasant people to deal with too!

 

[Crossthreaded]

Ok folks, I'll have a go at uploading an image of the old timing belt showing the area of concern. This is on the outside of the belt and, to me, looks almost like a join in the belt which is starting to fail? However that doesn't make any sense because surely these belts are made with endless looped cords? If you look closely you can see there seems to be a small amount of separation going on and I'm glad I decided to get a new belt fitted. I've changed many timing belts in my life and never seen one looking like this, it's most usually the base of the teeth cracking if anything. I had a very careful look at the old tensioning and idler pulleys as they run on the outside of the belt and I thought there might be an imperfection which had caused this belt damage - although unlikely as the belt and pulley faces would never line up opposite each other exactly the same with each revolution. The faces were spotless on both components. The belt guards are comprehensive so I think a "foreign body" can be virtually excluded. I'm afraid it's all a bit of a mystery folks.

By the way, while we are looking at timing belts, I was surprised to find the old belt was a branded Dayco. I've always seen VW branded belts coming off at the first belt change - and I know this was definitely the original belt as the car was new when I bought it. Also does anyone know why Dayco belts have white teeth? (see second picture which shows the Dayco in front of a Gates I changed recently). All other makes I've ever used are black.

The auxiliary belt looked like it would have happily gone on for some time yet but, for what one costs, I'm glad to know it's been replaced. Plugs also looked in really good nick but, at just over 5 and a half years old replacing them will, if nothing else, have reduced the electrical load in the coils and I'll not have to look at them for another 5 years. Also, of course, it's going to much reduce the risk of them seizing in place. By the way my fears about coil removal were unfounded I was told they came out without much hassle at all. Next time, if I'm still around and not in a home somewhere or had my license revoked, I'll be doing them myself. Having been trained back in the '60's all my life I've installed spark plugs with a sparing application of anti seize on their threads - I would use Copaslip on cast iron heads and Alumslip on the ally ones. Now a days the plugs have a sacrificial plated coating which is supposed to stop the plug seizing to the ally head metal so you're to put them in "dry" now. I have to admit I'm still using anti seize on the older members of the "family fleet" but I'm won over now by the arguments for "going dry" on newer vehicles. I'm mentioning this because I've turned up something I didn't know and in fact need to do more research on because it may be incorrect. It is that, especially on DI engines which almost all use stratified injection (simply put the injector is triggered multiple times during the injection process - it "stutters" - so the charge density varies in the combustion space). I think, if I've read all this correctly, the position of the side electrode is important in all this and correct positioning is achieved by fitting the plug dry and torquing to the recommended figure so the side electrodes will end up facing "right". Anti seize or failing to torque with an accurate wrench may result in the side electrode being wrongly located. Of course I may have completely misunderstood all this but I'll definitely be installing plugs in DI engines both dry and torqued until I know more.

I was also very pleased to see the tensioning pulley is all metal - a sensible choice if the belt is potentially a lifetime fitment. Just find myself wondering why they didn't make the idler all metal too? Also, in that last picture you can see the "humongous" crank pulley bolt and, what I'm guessing is, the VVT pulley blanking plug? Which has a rubber sealing ring on the other side, which is probably why it gets replaced?

Of course I've had a really good crawl around just to see all the nuts bolts etc have been correctly refitted (sorry if that's offensive you AVW guys) and I couldn't see a single thing to call them out about. Absolutely everything just as it should be! However, during all this crawling about I noticed, as you do, that the auxiliary belt tensioner pulley is slightly damp with grease on it's inner face and I suspect it's seal is just very very slightly leaking. It's not worrying me but probably means I'll fit a new tensioner at the next big service - going to keep an eye and ear on it in the meantime, just in case.

 

[SuperV8]

Ok folks, I'll have a go at uploading an image of the old timing belt showing the area of concern. This is on the outside of the belt and, to me, looks almost like a join in the belt which is starting to fail? However that doesn't make any sense because surely these belts are made with endless looped cords? If you look closely you can see there seems to be a small amount of separation going on and I'm glad I decided to get a new belt fitted. I've changed many timing belts in my life and never seen one looking like this, it's most usually the base of the teeth cracking if anything. I had a very careful look at the old tensioning and idler pulleys as they run on the outside of the belt and I thought there might be an imperfection which had caused this belt damage - although unlikely as the belt and pulley faces would never line up opposite each other exactly the same with each revolution. The faces were spotless on both components. The belt guards are comprehensive so I think a "foreign body" can be virtually excluded. I'm afraid it's all a bit of a mystery folks.

To me that joint looks ok. The pale colour is PTFE coating from Dayco HT belts -
From gates marketing blurb: "HT belts are immediately recognizable by their exclusive light-coloured inner side due to the presence of the PTFE film, an exclusive Dayco patent."

When engineers design pulley systems they ensure each smooth pulley diameter is not evenly divisible with the other pulleys - so if one pulley was 100 for example - they wouldn't make the idler any number which devides evenly into 100 - 100/50/25/20/10 etc.. to avoid as you say increased wear from the pulleys repeatably lining up. Obviously can't do this for timed pulleys!

Regarding plastic idlers - it depends on how much 'work' the idler is doing if they can 'get away' with plastic - so if the idler is only deflecting the belt a few degrees plastic may be ok - it the idler was substantially changing the belt direction metal would be the better choice.

Regarding spark plugs, the modern iridium ones generally have a very long life. Recently changed some on the Mitsubishi Colt in my 'household maintenance fleet' at 60k miles from new - and they looked great the gap was in spec (no erosion). probably could have easily done 80k miles. No seizing in the alloy head. Do not use grease/anti-seize on the threads as this may effect the earth path of the plug - and anyway not needed, the boot from modern coil on plugs prevents water ingress around the base of the plug - unlike my Rover V8 for example where the plug base is open to the elements!

Regarding 'spark plug indexing' this makes 1% of bugger all difference! Don't worry about it - just install dry to the correct torque/angle. Some OEM plugs have the threads cut at the correct angle to 'index' the plug automatically when at the correct torque - but really it makes all but no difference.

 

[Crossthreaded]

To me that joint looks ok. The pale colour is PTFE coating from Dayco HT belts -
From gates marketing blurb: "HT belts are immediately recognizable by their exclusive light-coloured inner side due to the presence of the PTFE film, an exclusive Dayco patent."

When engineers design pulley systems they ensure each smooth pulley diameter is not evenly divisible with the other pulleys - so if one pulley was 100 for example - they wouldn't make the idler any number which devides evenly into 100 - 100/50/25/20/10 etc.. to avoid as you say increased wear from the pulleys repeatably lining up. Obviously can't do this for timed pulleys!

Regarding plastic idlers - it depends on how much 'work' the idler is doing if they can 'get away' with plastic - so if the idler is only deflecting the belt a few degrees plastic may be ok - it the idler was substantially changing the belt direction metal would be the better choice.

Regarding spark plugs, the modern iridium ones generally have a very long life. Recently changed some on the Mitsubishi Colt in my 'household maintenance fleet' at 60k miles from new - and they looked great the gap was in spec (no erosion). probably could have easily done 80k miles. No seizing in the alloy head. Do not use grease/anti-seize on the threads as this may effect the earth path of the plug - and anyway not needed, the boot from modern coil on plugs prevents water ingress around the base of the plug - unlike my Rover V8 for example where the plug base is open to the elements!

Regarding 'spark plug indexing' this makes 1% of bugger all difference! Don't worry about it - just install dry to the correct torque/angle. Some OEM plugs have the threads cut at the correct angle to 'index' the plug automatically when at the correct torque - but really it makes all but no difference.

Thanks Super V8. Being a bit of an ageing Hot Rodder at heart I just love the sound of a V8. The old 2.5 Turner V8 in the Daimlers being a particular favourite with me, it just looked so "beautiful" - I also hold the Rover engine (extensively developed from the old Buick unit) ) in high regard. It has to be the British equivalent of the old small block chevy?

I know my plugs would have gone much longer but at over 5 years old I don't regret spending the money and actually they are much more affordable these days that they used to be. As you say modern plug connectors, very often now part of the "coil on" individual ignition coils are very good at protecting and keeping the plug insulators clean. Unfortunately these extended rubber boots can also make it quite difficult to pull the coils off which was why I decided to let them do the plugs this time round.

Very interesting what you have to say about "divisability" with regard to the pulleys - good engineering practice. I remember, many years ago now when still doing my City and Guilds, one of the students asked why Rolls Royce parts were so expensive. Our instructor chose ball and roller races to illustrate his reply saying, If an "ordinary" ball or roller race is designed so a spot on the ball/roller lines up with a spot on the race once every 50 revs then the RR one will line up once every 500 revs and that sort of precision costs more to manufacture. To this day I don't know if I believe him. In fact in later years I got to know the engineer who maintained the RR's for Holyrood up here and I was in his workshop one day when I accidentally kicked an old wheel cylinder which way lying on the floor - looked to me like any other cast wheel cylinder. "CAREFUL" he said loudly, "That's a Rolls cylinder you're abusing there, have you any idea what they cost"?

I'm so glad to see what you have to say about plug "indexing". I've read a couple of articles about it and have to say I just don't "get it" so glad to hear what you have to say. Completely in accord with your reasoning on not using anti seize on the threads of modern plugs too.

Thanks for clearing up the "mystery" about the white coloured teeth on the Dayco belt. Did you enlarge the image I posted of the damaged bit on the surface of the outside surface of my old belt. The image my camera produced is quite high res so can take enlarging to see more detail, you can see the wee hairy threads which seem to be pulling out of the surface of the belt around that imperfection. I really don't like the look of that and I don't think there's any way it should look like that. As I get on very well with the lads at AVW I'm going to take it with me next time I'm out that way and ask them if they have an opinion on it.

Thanks very much for your contribution here, I've enjoyed reading it and now know why the Dayco has white teeth! All best wishes.

 

[SuperV8]

Thanks Super V8. Being a bit of an ageing Hot Rodder at heart I just love the sound of a V8. The old 2.5 Turner V8 in the Daimlers being a particular favourite with me, it just looked so "beautiful" - I also hold the Rover engine (extensively developed from the old Buick unit) ) in high regard. It has to be the British equivalent of the old small block chevy?

I know my plugs would have gone much longer but at over 5 years old I don't regret spending the money and actually they are much more affordable these days that they used to be. As you say modern plug connectors, very often now part of the "coil on" individual ignition coils are very good at protecting and keeping the plug insulators clean. Unfortunately these extended rubber boots can also make it quite difficult to pull the coils off which was why I decided to let them do the plugs this time round.

Very interesting what you have to say about "divisability" with regard to the pulleys - good engineering practice. I remember, many years ago now when still doing my City and Guilds, one of the students asked why Rolls Royce parts were so expensive. Our instructor chose ball and roller races to illustrate his reply saying, If an "ordinary" ball or roller race is designed so a spot on the ball/roller lines up with a spot on the race once every 50 revs then the RR one will line up once every 500 revs and that sort of precision costs more to manufacture. To this day I don't know if I believe him. In fact in later years I got to know the engineer who maintained the RR's for Holyrood up here and I was in his workshop one day when I accidentally kicked an old wheel cylinder which way lying on the floor - looked to me like any other cast wheel cylinder. "CAREFUL" he said loudly, "That's a Rolls cylinder you're abusing there, have you any idea what they cost"?

I'm so glad to see what you have to say about plug "indexing". I've read a couple of articles about it and have to say I just don't "get it" so glad to hear what you have to say. Completely in accord with your reasoning on not using anti seize on the threads of modern plugs too.

Thanks for clearing up the "mystery" about the white coloured teeth on the Dayco belt. Did you enlarge the image I posted of the damaged bit on the surface of the outside surface of my old belt. The image my camera produced is quite high res so can take enlarging to see more detail, you can see the wee hairy threads which seem to be pulling out of the surface of the belt around that imperfection. I really don't like the look of that and I don't think there's any way it should look like that. As I get on very well with the lads at AVW I'm going to take it with me next time I'm out that way and ask them if they have an opinion on it.

Thanks very much for your contribution here, I've enjoyed reading it and now know why the Dayco has white teeth! All best wishes.

My 'weekend' car has a 4.6 supercharged Rover V8 so I also am fond of this old characterful engine.

Regarding the stitching on the belt - this stitching is 'only' the fabric backing - it's not the actual belt tension strands which are stitched.
You might find the below info interesting:

 

[Crossthreaded]

My 'weekend' car has a 4.6 supercharged Rover V8 so I also am fond of this old characterful engine.

Regarding the stitching on the belt - this stitching is 'only' the fabric backing - it's not the actual belt tension strands which are stitched.
You might find the below info interesting:

View attachment 27101

Thank you so very much for that. I didn't know the belts have this stitched join and have never noticed it on any of the, probably hundreds of, belts I've changed in my life. As the saying goes "you learn something new every day". I've got at least half a dozen old ones hanging on a hook in the garage right now. I'm going to have a good look at them to see if the seam is visible on any of them. Looking closely at my old belt it's obvious that it's this stitching which is loosening and you can see the small grooves in the rubber where the threads were before they started to unravel. Yup, for me, changing the belt was the right thing to do. The article you featured states that the stitching is carried out before the belt is vulcanized so whether the failure of this stitching would eventually result in this outer covering delaminating and either the seam opening up or the whole outer belt coming off, who knows? I'm a lot happier knowing I've got a new belt on there though.

The "weekend car" sounds very interesting. Got a picture of it?

 

[SuperV8]

Thank you so very much for that. I didn't know the belts have this stitched join and have never noticed it on any of the, probably hundreds of, belts I've changed in my life. As the saying goes "you learn something new every day". I've got at least half a dozen old ones hanging on a hook in the garage right now. I'm going to have a good look at them to see if the seam is visible on any of them. Looking closely at my old belt it's obvious that it's this stitching which is loosening and you can see the small grooves in the rubber where the threads were before they started to unravel. Yup, for me, changing the belt was the right thing to do. The article you featured states that the stitching is carried out before the belt is vulcanized so whether the failure of this stitching would eventually result in this outer covering delaminating and either the seam opening up or the whole outer belt coming off, who knows? I'm a lot happier knowing I've got a new belt on there though.

The "weekend car" sounds very interesting. Got a picture of it?

Click my 'name' and there is a photo somewhere in there in media I think.

 

[SuperV8]

Click my 'name' and there is a photo somewhere in there in media I think.

Might be easier if I copy it below:

 

[Crossthreaded]

Might be easier if I copy it below:


View attachment 27106

Oh my word, that looks like the biggest "handful" you could imagine! How on earth do you stop it going into orbit? A beautifully brutal looking car - for what it's worth I approve.

 

[SuperV8]

Oh my word, that looks like the biggest "handful" you could imagine! How on earth do you stop it going into orbit? A beautifully brutal looking car - for what it's worth I approve.

Thanks, yes it can be a handful if the roads are cold - let-alone damp! On a hot summer day though it it is 'magical!'
Like I said previously i've supercharged the 4.6 Rover V8, including intercooler, cam, coil packs, custom ECU, and now also have better/softer rear tyres. I think around 400bhp (according to my calcs - hasn't been dynoed yet), and it weights 650kg! which is over 600bhp/tonne.

 

[Crossthreaded]

Thanks, yes it can be a handful if the roads are cold - let-alone damp! On a hot summer day though it it is 'magical!'
Like I said previously i've supercharged the 4.6 Rover V8, including intercooler, cam, coil packs, custom ECU, and now also have better/softer rear tyres. I think around 400bhp (according to my calcs - hasn't been dynoed yet), and it weights 650kg! which is over 600bhp/tonne.

I'm finding it difficult to think of a suitable comment, 600bhp per ton? Would "strewth" suffice? I like a "proper" supercharger, makes the car much more "driveable" with "sensible" throttle response, which I bet you'll need on that beastie! When I think of supercharged V8s the sight of a big "Jimmy" blower nestling between the heads on the top of the engine with it's large toothed belt drive and maybe a "bug catcher" scoop to top it all off. Obviously not the way you've gone. So where's the supercharger situated. Is it a vane type or what?

 

[SuperV8]

Centrifugal supercharger - which is like a pulley/gear driven turbo - spins to 80,000rpm!
Was a 'snug' fit in an already cramped engine bay!