oil quality

[darren m]

so whats the difference in branded engine oil say castrol and unbranded or cheaper say carlube

 

or is it all the same stuff.

 

ALSO

currently looking for aprox 7 litres of 5w/30 full synthetic for my 3.0 trooper - any good deals anywhere

 

cheers

[fruity]

I haven't long done all the oils in my terrano, diffs the lot. I used Opie oils for some of it, they offer pretty good prices but the service is terrible

 

So I used morris lubricants for the rest , good price and service for gulf lubricants that they supplied

[Livefast123]

Eurocarparts have got 25% off at the moment and do free delivery.

 

Castrol and Tetrosyl (carlube) are 2 of the main players in the UK oil industry. Unless you are paying for a top end Ester synthetic then the performance of most known brand name oils are going to be fine as long as you stick to the right spec then you will be ok.

[shakari]

You need to be a bit careful about oil nowadays because in recent years the EUSSR has made the oil companies remove some of the additives (especially zinc) and cheaper oils will have even less additives.

 

The real answer is to research individual oils and manufacturers and go for a good oil and/or put in a bottle of additive to replace what's been taken out. .

 

I personally reckon that cheap oil is false economy.

[Zulu]

Just got 8L's (2 x 4L) Castrol Magnatec A1 Fully Synthetic from Amazon for just over £41 del and the 1L bottles are on offer at Asda £7 .

Edited June 25, 2013 by Zulu

[Dead Eye Dunc]

Check the API numbers on the back of the container. That way you will be comparing like for like (or at least both tested to the same spec). Remember, Halfords, etc don't have thieir own refinery, they all buy from the big oil companies. The main thing to check is that the oil you use is correct for your engine. Never go by "my mate says XYZ is ok in Fords." Look up what is recommended for your vehicle. I also reduce the mileage between changes (rather than every 12,000 miles I change the oil and filter every 6-8,000 because I drive my car harder than the average driver might). It doesn't cost that much and certainly does no harm.

[bobt]

Many years ago, I was in an oil canning plant, they were running 3 or 4 lines one line had a drop of green dye added, the others were Ford oil and other well known, it all came from the same bulk tank,

 

the "green" oil was twice the price in the shops,

[robbiep]

The one big thing you can do to extend the life of any vehicle is to change the oil and oil filter regularly. 6 months or 6000 miles is the ideal, if you can.

Ever wondered why in the 90s and early 2000s you never saw a Subaru/Isuzu broken down ? The service interval was 7.5k/6 months. Not 15-20k / 2 years, as it is for so many modern cars. Oils simply degrade too much over use and time to still be effective after the mileages and times being demanded of them.

 

In terms of the quality of the oil, my attitude is that NOT spending an extra £20 on oil sounds great. Until you have to spend £2000 on an engine rebuild, or you have to scrap the whole car because of an engine failure

[00buck]

Tesco were doing 4lt 5w 30 & 10 40 for only £3 the other week

[gazbev]

Be careful and check which grade oil your car needs,and not just 5w 30 I mean a1 or b1 or c2 or c3, some modern cars need low ash oils and of you don't use them they can mess you car up.

I have a Subaru Forester diesel and change the oil every six months its a c3 grade oil like castrol edge so it ain't cheap.

Oils aren't the same these days they have taken a lot of additives out which protected your engine but was damaging the environment these replacement additives deplete more quickly so if you keep your cars for a long time it may be worth looking into changing your oil more often